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.

On one level just another bandsman and on another a build with so many first time tasks. Safe to say I learned a lot. 

The design considerations when chambering, carve top styling, the joy/pain of carving a fancy maple top, double staining, faux binding. My very first attempt an a nitro finish. With all the sanding and buffing I should have forearms like Popeye  (probably showing my age with that reference.). In fact I thought I had sanded the life out of this project and in the final analysis I could have and should have gone further. Everything shows up - even when it could barely seen. So, it’s not perfect but only I can see where the bodies are buried! I also achieved my best ever fret job! Plays like a dream.

So my best build so far and i am giving it away….., I had a lot of fun doing it and want to express my thanks to Mark for his supportin dealing with all my questions, queries and occasional moments of stress throughout the process. I will probably have to do another just because i can.

Did the pickup inserts and headstock pattern with the laser and even managed to engrave the slot and screw holes for the switch. Couldn't cut it but could engrave right through lol. Original german made floydrose made in the schaller factory plus schaller tuners. 

Gotoh 2 point trem, guitar anatomy locking tuners and warman destroyer pickup set. Similar sound to the seymour duncan jb hotrodded set. 

Came up with a new headstock design a bit of a cross between an ibanez and the black machine B7 alternative headstock. I would never have built this for myself but it was fun building something a bit odd. 

The body is mahogany, mahogany neck and purple heart fretboard (which I cut the fret slots by hand with a scalpel then saw, but will buy a fret slot mitre jig from you for my next).

This is technically my second build as I made one entirely from left over kitchen worktop oak for my daughter before it which I can post if anyone would like.

I made many, many mistakes building this guitar, but seem to have overcome most and learnt so much in the process (and nearly lost the end of a finger 🙈).

A massive thank you to Mark and Carol for the invaluable insights into how a anyone can build a guitar. Thank you for giving me the confidence to have a go. Your site is a great resource, with videos always given in a passionate way which I really appreciate. Never condescending and always encouraging and your passion for guitar building shines through! Thank you all!

Anyway I decided earlier this year that a makeover was required, I wanted to renew the wiring loom with new components, change the pickups to P90 type and refinish the neck and top of the body. 

I'm now having trouble posting more photos in this post, so will continue the story on a fresh post, you all will just have to contain your excitement for a while🤣🤣

Brian👍😊🎸

Walnut on alder, gunstock oil finish. Chambered body fitted with a nice PAF style pickup from Bareknuckle. 

Off to shed for next project!

Unfortunately it seems like most times I go in I get caught up dealing with Hackspace things rather than me things. It seems there are always things that need to be sorted, or people with questions, and so on. So I'm lucky if I get one guitar bit done.

Anyway, the build is an almost-Bandsman, with a couple of slight variations that will become clear as I go along, I'm using one of David Dyke's blanks kits , which is great value for money but has caused me some hassles because the neck bank comes precut with a headstock angle that's a bit greater than I wanted.

So a couple of pics to follow