I've got to build a new guitar.
Got. To.
I bought this neck last year, made by someone from whom I've bought a few necks over the years (including some really tasty solid Rosewood necks).
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That's solid ebony, with gold frets. Obvs bolt-on and TC shaped, so now I've got to come up with a suitable body design. I'm not a great fan of slab-fronted Teles, so I'm thinking it'll be Tele-ish, but probably a carved top.
Had a quick look through my parts-cupboard over the holiday, and found a set of these ...
... which, as luck would have it, are black nickel covers (that's just dirt you can see on the pics, not damage to the covers) with gold pole pieces.
(Specs here)
I've got various options for body wood and cap (if I use a cap at all), trying to think up a suitable body design now.
The neck is reasonably heavy, so my previous vague idea of a building hollowbody probably won't work for this - I'll have to build a hollowbody another day.
Thoughts, peeps?
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Yes @Russ - could well be something along those lines.
In years gone by I've experimented with shaping/carving the front of a Tele;
And also done a hardtail, twin P90s (in red, coincidentally!)
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@tv101 Nice neck. I would build a “black out” guitar with all that darkness. Cosmo black hardware (Gotoh maybe), bridge, tuners etc. You could leave the grain open on a nice slab of Ash, dye it black and seal it with something matt. Just think, shiny black chrome hardware, matt black body and that lovely dark neck. Just my thoughts. 👍
Make guitars, not war 🌍✌️🎸
Then I did some drawings ...
the fainter and larger outline is from a Tele template. The thicker and smaller outline is based on my old Gibson Nighthawk.
I shall be making a TeleHawk.
The headstock was preshaped to a Tele style, so I think the body needs some Tele references on it.
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Good to be back @Russ - I'm just hoping that I can stick to "I've started, so I'll finish". It was good r&r yesterday. First time I've managed to do anything guitar-building related for many a month.
It's good solid stuff @Boo. Bought a couple of 8' planks from a wood fair a few (7-8) years ago. They've just been stuck at the back of the workshop. Sadly, I could get a one-piece body width-wise (which wouldn't look right, IMHO), so there's a bit of waste, though I guess I could try making some Ash necks.
Looks like a Blueshawk. Tele style hardware or Gibson style?
There'll be a reason for that @clinton - I used my Nighthawk when I re-shaped the original Tele shape. It's a bit of a combination, but the 'hawk shape is probably the dominant one.
And, consistent with that, the hardware will be a bit of a combination too - Tele-style bridge, couple of HBs, 5-way switch, etc.
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Whats the plan for tomorrow then?
The plan was to get a bit more done than I actually got done - unfortunately I didn't manage to get as much time out there as I'd hoped.
Because that plank is one-piece, it's too wide for my planer-thicknesser, so out comes my surfacing bit and jig ...
That's one mean bit!
I aim to take off <1mm per pass
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A bit of sanding, and re-draw the outline ...
I've got the scale length and neck pocket marked out.
First job in the morning (hopefully) will be to use my special @darrenking Bagpress neck pocket cutting jig to get the neck in place, then start to do some cavity-ing.
The body is now 40mm thick. I'm pondering options for carving and cavitying.
I've got some off-cut from the plank that I could - possibly - slice and joint into a "top" for the back, and then I could make some special sound-enhancing cavities from the back.
Then I could add some not-f-hole-shaped f-holes into the top. Maybe a carved top?
Hmmmm ....
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