I'm just about to embark on my first guitar build & am seeking some advice.   I'm planning on building a Tele because I'm thinking that might be simpler for a first time builder & also I have a Tele already which I can compare to as I build. I'm doing this on a bit of a shoestring budget with many things I have already.

Questions:

1.   I have a poplar body blank & also some 1mm booked matched maple veneer which I was thinking of using on the front.   Is veneer wise to use on the top of the guitar or is it better to use something thicker to avoid tear out with the router.

2.  I want to add some fake ivory binding round the body & was looking at rebating router bits.    I realise that stew mac do some router bits designed for this job but they are expense (to me at least) for a first time builder & this may be the only guitar I ever build.  I see other cheaper rebating bits, which I get aren't going to be as good because "you get what you pay for", but they make too big a cut for the binding I have.  Is there an easy way to make them take less of a cut ?  Maybe wrapping something round the bearing or packing out the guitar body to get the bit further away from the body.

3. When I look at my neck side profile template the part that bolts to the body has a depth of 23mm.  I plan on using a finger board glued on this.  When I measure my Tele (maple neck) the thickness here appears to be about 27mm.  This implies that the finger board would only be about 4mm thick in the centre, which when considering the radius would mean that at the edges the depth of the finger board would only be 1-2mm which just seems wrong because the fret tangs must be deeper than this. I've been looking at plans but there doesn't ever seem to be any info on these dimensions. Could anybody shed any light on this for me please ?

Please excuse these probably basic questions, & thanks in advance.

I’m working towards making a start on an acoustic build (in other words, trying to build up the courage 🤣) and have been gathering some of the tools I will need.

As you can see I’ve been making cam clamps, before I make any more, I’m just wondering if I should make some with different length of jaws. As you can see from the picture, the jaws are 180mm total length, maybe longer or shorter ones would be useful? The ones I’ve made should be a suitable length for e.g. gluing the bridge, but I’d appreciate your input before I make anymore.

Another question I have is regarding a bending iron, which I think would be a pretty essential bit of kit but I don’t want to spend a fortune on one when it might only be used for this project. Again any advice on cheaper alternatives would be appreciated.

All the Best,

Brian👍🎸😃

Well, I had planned to be very disciplined and do most of the course material first and then start my build. That lasted 1 day before I decided it would be much more fun to cut some wood! Here's progress after a couple of days. Mahogany back and sides and a cedar top based on a 12th fret grand concert(ish) shape.