Official Luthiers Forum!

..and was just happy that it plays and sounds great.
I built it as a gift for a friend in England.
It's my last build until I get my shop built. Just to hard
to do on the patio. Hopefully by next summer I can start again.

Long list of things to learn- like bending wood for laminated
heads and backstraps, inlay...etc., but for now it is what it is.

It's just a great hobby for me but I do take it very serious so
honest opinions are valuable and appreciated.
I'm not good with a camara but gave it go.

Glad to try and answer any questions.
The control plate? I wanted to use rosewood to play off of fretboard
but what I had didn't match. (vol, tone, blender)
SD vintage pups.

And thanks to all that post info to help guys like me trying to learn.

That's a beautiful tele, Michael! I like the wood combo. It's also nice to see a top with just a standard but nice grain pattern. The curly, flamey stuff is beautiful, but a simple, interesting grain pattern is just as nice, and it's a welcome respite.
What finish is that? What woods were used?

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Very classy! I like the style! =D

_________________
Jim Hansen

Thank you Jim and Mike.

It has a tru-oil finish. I don't know how to spray yet but
I really like the feel and looks of the oil. Does require a
very good sanding job for best results IMO.

It's Zebra top on Sapele. Mahogany and hard Maple neck.
The fretboard is a Rosewood blank from Stu-Mac.
I built a little table saw and use the blade and templates
from Stu-Mac to cut the fret slots. I glue and press the frets.

Bone nut and I set nut action with a dial indicator.

Nice job!

BRAVO! I love it.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thank you Chris and Alan.
It's a great feeling getting kudos from you guys and
I sure appreciate it.

Tru-oil is a beautiful finish. Lots of natural warmth.
The last guitar I built I used Minwax Wipe-on Poly. Same kind of thing. I think I'm going to end up gravitating away from glassy finishes like lacquer to the satin or semi gloss Wipe on poly. Going to try the next few guitars with that, and without grain filler. Kind of let the wood "be what it is".
Again, beautiful tele. Nice work.
By the way, the zebrawood reminds me of a wood called Hackberry(Austrailian wood, IIRC). There's a fella on the TDPRI that has used it a lot. Beautiful wood as well.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

[quote="Mike Baker"
Kind of let the wood "be what it is".
Right on Mike.
I like the look of the pores myself.
Plus, it's a lot less work.
Shiny guitars make me nervous.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Man, that's one classy tele. I love the zebrawood with the tru oil finish.
On the whole guitar, the only thing I'm not crazy about is the asymmetry of the neck laminates of at the headstock. But that's just a small thing, and with a tele headstock, I don't really know what you could have done about it.
Looks really clean and professional.

Sure you do - veneer.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks Andrew and I agree about the head.
When I get back to building learning how to
bend wood and inlay is a must.
Really the "learn" list is long for me.

I like it actually. It's interesting. Caught my attention.

_________________
http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

+1! Me too.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I like the way the neck fairs into the cutaway, and I think you've achieved a very nice true oil finish. Nice guitar all around.

Thank you cphanna.

Until I built I'd never played an oiled neck/guitar and I have nothing bad
to say about it and really liked the aspect that if I needed to back-up it
would be much easier to deal with.
Using oil has taught me how well I sand LOL...so nice to get more tries
to get it right.

The transitional heel is very comfortable.
No pattern/design for that...I just carve by feel.

Wow, that's terrific! Lucky friends you have.... The laminated neck-thru is nice and I bet the thing has some excellent sustain? I like the way the heel is carved, very playable and accessible. Hmm, you must have a pretty nice front porch.....

Thank you BRC.

All the guitars and the one 5 str bass have been laminated neck-through
and all have great sustain and stability.

I hope the owners feel lucky as well. Although the others didn't receive them
as gifts they only paid for the materials....maybe. I didn't keep very accurate
cost sheets so I'm certain I didn't make money. I just felt any cost to me were
like educational fees. I feel we all gained. Their comments after playing them
support that.

It's my back yard patio LOL. My wife has been very supportive and cool about
giving it up but I don't think she'd give up the front porch lol.

It's been nice having some free time since completion but now the work starts
building my shop. She's very happy...the slab is poured and I've started this
weekend. Looking forward to having a workshop to continue learning.
I may have to make a good many new friends or I may have to build another
shop just to store guitars!

That is absolutely gorgeous! You got a great shine on that oil. Did you buff it with a machine or just by hand?

_________________
Music. And Stuff.

Nice variation on a classic design!
The zebrawood cap is amazing - the colour is a little warmer than the zebra I have worked with - did you dye it?
Really like the heel transition as well.
Congrats, I bet it plays as good as it looks!

Thank you Nick and Robbie.

Nick I really think the key to a nice oil finish is
in prepping the wood.
I sand it to 400 and then I work it over with mesh pads.
When I can't see any hair lines I apply one coat of Tru-Oil sealer.
Then I usually see all the imperfections and work them out as needed.
I guess I don't follow the directions-
When I apply the sealer and can't find any marks I let it cure for at
least 24hrs. Then apply pore filler and prep with mesh pads again.
Another coat of sealer, 24-48hrs and then the oil.
I wipe the oil on and wipe as if I'm trying to get it off...very thin coats.
I allow at least 12 hrs inbetween. I lightly go over each coat with a mesh pad-depends
on what I'm doing to determine which pad.
After a few coats ( I let the guitar determine how many) I let it cure for
4-5 days.
Then I rub it down with the finer mesh pads and apply the Tru-Oil sheen and conditioner.

Robbie I didn't dye the Zebra but this is the guitar that I was going to attempt
my first round with Z-Poxy. I would say that it may have tinted it but I tried to
remove all the effects of it.
The first Tele style I built had a Zebra front and back and looked very much
like this one...with just the oil finish.
I think it plays most excellent. I'm hoping my friend agrees....it shipped out yesterday
evening and right at six days to England...I'm nervous for a while longer

Michael! This is awesome - you have really shown your chops early on with the really nice lines - where the neck meets the body especially - I really like the wood selected as well - makes for a really different take on a Tele - bravo!

_________________
"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Thank you Virgil. I'm in awe of your projects and appreciate you
taking time to comment.

My friend received the guitar yesterday. He was very, very happy.
What a great feeling to hear and a certain relief.

I was so proud to receive the comments from members here that
I gave him a link so he could read the fantastic support given.
I again thank you all for that as it not only made me feel special but
I'm sure had a very cool impact on him.

I take pictures during a build and then I make a little book, made at "Shutterfly" and
include it and some glow in the dark custom picks (LOL I guess one could use them but
I think they're like the candy from Sweetwater.)...so he had a great day.

Cheers to you!
Michael

Looks AMAZING !!!! Great Job !!!!