DTL-1 Ash body. First build

[Johnny Bravo]

Hi all

First time builder here - nervous and excited.

I've dabbled in playing guitar for 30 years - never really got good but passable enough to play in a couple of garage bands and play a gig or two. My axe has been a black Japanese strat with a fantastic, warm, smooth neck pick up (from the factory but maybe I got lucky).

But I've always wanted a telecaster and for years I've been contemplating what I would buy - I saw a beautiful cherry sunburst Frankenstein strat with a humbucker, middle and neck pickups and with a maple neck that felt soooo good. The $5000 price tag scared me away...but only just

I like Prince's tele but have since found out that it's a Hohner tele replica and decided that doing a sunburst finish might be a bit much for my first guitar. Maybe for a hollow body tele in future...

So, I've settled on trying to make my own "tribute" to Springsteen's workhorse tele (which I understand is a hybrid of at least two guitars). The tribute is fairly low level - a butterscotch stain and black pickguard - but I think that's as far as my skills will go.

Here come the questions:

- the holes for my bridge are pre-drilled. I've mock-up assembled and the bridge matches the cavity and pickguard well. Given the amount of travel for the saddles on a Telecaster bridge, is there any reason to assume that I'm going to have much trouble with scale length? Otherwise, why are the holes pre-drilled at all?
- can anyone recommend a decent vice/clamp? I've seen a ~$50 Stanley "hobby" one at Bunnings. It's mainly for cutting the headstock to a tele shape
- also, is there anything I might want to look out for when buying a clamp for the neck (again for the mock up build)
- a member here (thanks RocknRolf) suggested I might consider using some stain/filler to bring out the grain in the Ash. Is there any reason that Timbermate 250g Ebony Wood Filler won't be totally groovy for Ash?

Thanks all, in anticipation. Keep on rockin'

[Trevor Davies]

Hi and welcome Johnny.
Your tribute Tele sounds like a good plan.
I did the TLA-1 which had bridge holes predrilled and they were fine. Those saddles also have got a lot of room for adjustment. Still best to measure the nut to bridge length and make sure the high E is the correct 648 mm (and the others are 648 + - my low E was 652 mm!).

Vices - sorry no idea! I have a cheap one (30 years old) bolted onto a saw horse. I have used a cheap work table (about $20 from green shed) and a quick release clamp (with plastic end pieces) to cut my headstock. I was quite surprised at how hard the maple headstock was to cut by hand with a scroll saw. Very easy with a jigsaw though.

I used Ebony timbermate on my TLA-1 build which has an ash body and it did a great job of highlighting the grain. I then used FW jarrah stain with tru-oil as the top coats.

I hope this helps.

[Johnny Bravo]

Thanks very much for your thoughts, pal - very grateful.

I'll do my measurements and come back to the forum with any concerns.

Cheers

[McCreed]

Welcome Johnny.
As Trevor said, ebony Timbermate is a poplar choice for grain filling and contrast. It's what I used on my TLA-1 also (SEE IT HERE). That link takes to you the Photo Gallery section of the forum where you can see others' finished guitars of same models.

As for cutting your headstock, I don't know that vice would be a great advantage. I'm not saying it won't work, I just think there are other methods that will be more stable. I prefer clamping the whole neck on my bench so that the bottom of the heel and part of the back of the headstock are touching the bench. Angled headstocks are a whole other animal, but ST & TL can be done this way.

You can use any clamp of choice (G, F, Quick-grip etc) provided it's large enough. You want to be sure you protect the neck at the contact points, and don't clamp directly on the frets. At least not too tightly. Too much pressure can bend the frets or cause them to lift at the ends. I've made little wooden blocks with saw cuts spaced to go where the frets are, and allow the pressure to be applied directly to the fretboard. You don't have to have those, it's just what I do.

[Johnny Bravo]

I think I get what you are saying - I could lay the neck on the table (probably rest it on some cardboard) and clamp it down with only the end (the headstock) hanging over?

As for the fretboard, I was going to use off cuts of a yoga mat to place between the frets and then a layer of something firmer over the top of that (ie the idea being to spread out the force along a larger area). It doesn't have to be too tight I suppose to resist the movement of a coping saw (and I will be taking that slowly with lots and lots of small movements and a high teeth per inch blade).

thanks for your thoughts.

[McCreed]

I think I get what you are saying - I could lay the neck on the table (probably rest it on some cardboard) and clamp it down with only the end (the headstock) hanging over?

Yes. I've done it so there is just enough of the backside of the headstock (flat area near the nut) to get on the bench so it's good and stable.

Your clamping strategy sounds practical.

[Johnny Bravo]

Thank you very much

[Johnny Bravo]

Day 1 - 3rd January 2022 - "Shots Fired"

Have finally bitten the bullet and committed to getting started.

Step 1: Off to Bunnings I go for clamps, Timbermate wood filler, straight ruler and a coping saw.

Step 2: Return home and have coffee - all good adventures start with coffee

Step 3: No more putting it off - time for cutting the headstock

Step 4: Open coping saw packaging and struggle to work out the various "teeth per inch" blades. I have four to chose from. I go for the one which (I think) has 18 TPI. Ah yes, I remember (vaguely) what it was like to be 18. Acne and awkwardness around girls. Good times.

Step 5: Pace nervously around the kitchen table after trying to work out the best way to secure the neck, in preparation for headstock cutting. Clamps applied, frets protected. Let's get this sucker.

Step 6: Holy crap! First thing I found out - coping saws are not my best friend. My complete lack of any practical woodworking skills shines like a beacon. I adopt the approach of giving myself as much margin for error as possible. I think (at best) I got within a centimetre of what I'd marked (and even the marking had been generous). Oh well, better that than overdoing it.

Step 6: So...much...rasping. Why is it so damn hard to create gentle curves? Curse you, Leo Fender and your gorgeous Telecaster shapes! And whoever said that sculpting was like finding the subject within a block of marble (all you have to do is chip away the excess marble) was full of crap. Aaarggh.

Step 7: Lots and lots of sanding. Lots of sweating and squinting (does it look ANYTHING like a Tele?) and 3 hours later I think I have something which is worth putting down and proceeding to the next stage of mock up build. There will be more sanding and smoothing, I know, when doing the finish. Destiny awaits...

Memo to self: Post help request. We have a problem - slight split in the grain and I don't know how to fix. Fingers crossed that some good soul here can help.

Step 8: More coffee. Everything seems better after coffee.

Summary: We've made a start. Wish I had some basic woodworking skills. Headstock is in the ballpark of looking "telecaster-ish". I'm pretty crap but, in spite of it all, having fun.

[Trevor Davies]

It sounds like a pretty standard (to good) sort of day building guitars. First steps are done.

Maple is quite hard isn't it - but hopefully is was a good learning experience. I learnt to use a jigsaw

Can you post a picture of the split in the grain?

[Johnny Bravo]

Thanks, Trevor