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Got the templates in today. Of course the neck template is way off from the neck pocket template. Gonna make a template from the neck this time, that way I get a good fit. Didn't want the huge control plate on the front, so I routed it for the back. Then just gonna make a control plate cover for it.
Anyway, here are some pics, I whipped this up in about an hour today.

Its coming along!

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Looks good. What's the wood?

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Mike

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

Routed the truss rod channel today. Neck is claro walnut.

Looks like yer going with a scarf joint then?

Actually, the way it looks, he could go with either a scarf joint or the regular Fender type straight headstock, depending which end the truss rod adjustment goes.
I like and use the scarf joint, but I really need to try the straight headstock, just to say, "hey, i've done that", lol.

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Mike

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

No scarf joint. Although I did break down and do a scarf on my PRS build. This will be a regular style fender headstock. Except I am planning on doing it as a reverse tele headstock.

looks good, im digging that top, and that walnut neck.

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~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

You and me both!

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Mike

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

neck mocked up with fingerboard! getting closer!

Lookin' sweet!

All mocked up, haven't seen a reverse headstock tele, thought it would be cool to build.
Anyone wanna rout this neck pocket for me? I hate routing them.

Sure, send it all to me.
I promise to send it back!

You know it took me forever to figure out what was in your avatar. I have a cockatiel that looks just like that one. Plus 4 others. And a quaker parrot, and a parakeet. haha
I'm assuming that's a male like mine since the face is so yellow.

You know, this telecaster is my second build ever. The PRS copy I have going on is my first. You may actually want to send it back when you get it.

I just practiced a bunch on scrap before I undertook serious builds, helped me get comfortable with my equipment, and helped me to know what to do and what not to do.

That's what i did. I built 2 or 3 necks out of pine until I got it right before I started on my first real one.
You're doing fine!

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Mike

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

Those cockatiels are funny little birds.
We have 2, and a grass parakeet and a rose breasted cockatoo.
They're more my wifes deal than mine!
A lot of work....
Anyway, just take your time if you are making a template for that neck pocket,
and triple check the line up on it.
Good luck!!

I have a weird problem. I made a template for my neck pocket, and it fits my neck PERFECT.
So I went ahead and routed it with my template bit, yet, I have a tiny gap on all side of my neck. Not even big enough to shim, but I'm a perfectionist.
I have no idea why. But I can fill it in with some dust and glue and no one would ever know.

to late to help you on this build but to avoid that in the future whenever you are routing a neck pocket take a peice of masking tape and rap it around the bearing on your bit this will make you cut just slightly undersized. after you make the cut with the masking tape, check to see if it fits, if its to tight or wont go in at all then take the tape off and make a clean up pass. this will help you avoid removing to much wood.

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~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

If the gap is small enough, you may end up not being able to even notice it after finish, if you're using a finish like lacquer of poly that builds up as you spray. You're gonna have a certain thickness of finish. Once you finish the neck and the body, the finish on both might be enough that you'll never notice the gap, if it's small enough.

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Mike

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

Jimmy, I saw a gap between the neck and body on a $6000 bass.
Little things like that don't matter, if it sounds good!
Just my opinion.
Do the best you can and keep trying to do better.
The bar is pretty high around here!

I took some pictures of the pocket with the neck in there, you can see the gap isnt huge at all, but it bugs me.
Also, I plan on setting this neck, and the heel isn't flush with the body, but is proud by about 1/16". Is that too proud of the body for a standard tele bridge?

It's been a long, tough couple of weeks, but I finally got the neck glued in, have to fill some small gaps with some dust and glue, but the neck is as they say "laser straight"

Decided to route my pickup cavity today and make sure my scale length was right. Looks like I got it. 25.5" exactly. Plus this thing has extra long screws to help with intonation.




Decided to use some franklin's hide glue to set my neck. I have heard not to use this stuff, but I wanted to see how well it would truly hold up, so if you're searching the forum for hide glue and see that this has failed, don't use it! If not, then use away!

so do you usually wait to carve your necks till after they are glued? how does that work for you ?

_________________
~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

I usually wait until the frets are in to shape them. That way after I tap them in I can put them in a clamp without having to have a caul made the same shape as the carve in the back.