Wood has arrived!

The wood for the guitar body has arrived! This is a block of US Swamp Ash, as mentioned in a previous post.



The tight swirls in the grain will look great once finished, as well as providing a good tone wood.



The quest to find a bandsaw I can borrow has been completed (Thanks Paul!) so this should be cut out in the next couple of days. Bandsaw's are expensive and this job should only take 2 minutes, so it seems ridiculous to purchase one for a couple of minutes use.



Also today arrived my first woodshaping tool, a spokeshave.



This tool planes wood a small amount at a time for the curves all around the edge of the guitar body.

Unfortunately I managed to order the wrong one so a replacement has been ordered. I need a spokeshave with a curved base, and this one is straight... So not good for round edges!

Next update should have the guitar body shape cut out

- Lewis

Headstock Logo & Neck

Here it is:



I will glue this logo onto the headstock as a template, then using a router I will inlay it into the wood. I will then fill this routed shape with superglue and a dark sawdust. Once this is dry I will sand it smooth to create a dark inlayed logo.

As for the neck itself, I have decided to use a one piece maple neck, however I am still working out the mechanics of building one from scratch due to the truss rod. (A truss rod is a steel rod that runs the length of a guitar neck to counter-balance the tension from the strings, to prevent the neck from snapping in half). Large guitar companies have a machine that drills a large hole in precisely the right place for the truss rod to be fitted.

On a rosewood or ebony neck, the truss rod is fitted into the neck wood (usually maple), then the fretboard is glued over the top, allowing for plenty of space to fit a truss rod. However being that the neck for this project will be one piece of solid maple, there's a strong chance that I will buy a neck, and then shape the headstock myself. I cannot see any other way of achieving this task from scratch and I have my heart set on a maple neck. I still might change the inlays however and the headstock will be a custom shape.

-Lewis

Got Wood?

Ok, been a bit dormant for awhile but here's more information!

I have decided to build my Telecaster out of US "Swamp Ash" as it has a distinctive grain for my natural finish.



I have found a UK supplier of such wood and it's on order so should arrive in the next few days (and pictures will go up). Once this has arrived the first job of marking out the wood and shaping it can take place.

I have also ordered my first specialist woodshaping tool, A convex spokeshave. A spokeshave is a type of woodplane that allows you to work wood into intricate shapes or in this case, allows me to shape the curved edges of the body.



That's all for now. Once the wood and spokeshave arrives I shall upload more pictures and update the blog!

-Lewis

Introduction

Hello world!

I have decided to build a telecaster from scratch as a first DIY guitar project. I have limited tools and woodworking ability, so this shall be a lengthy project and will hopefully inspire others to try this for themselves.

I have researched this for about 6 weeks now, learning everything I can about different guitar woods, finishes, woodwork techniques, tools I need etc.

Due to the length of time it will take to complete this project (and money permitting) there may be lengthy periods of in-activity (ie. it will take 3 weeks for the lacquer to set once the body has been sprayed).

I plan to use the best resources possible and not scrimp on any part of the design, hardware or electrics. If I'm going to do this from scratch, it's worth doing properly!

I shall explain as I go along exactly what stage the project is at, as well as tools used and what tasks were undergone etc. I shall try and keep this interesting and avoid all the technical babbling!

Anywho, I hope anyone who reads this gains a valuable insight into this project and the task at hand

-L