Telecaster Project

I recently bought a Telecaster body to replace the body on an existing guitar, but because that particular project didn't work out, I decided to buy a few more parts and assemble a complete guitar from scratch. The body was pre-drilled and routed which was handy as I don't have a router or a drill stand.

I started off by applying a finish to the body using Birchwood Casey Tru-oil which is very easy to use, and as I wasn't after the usual high gloss polyester finish, was ideal for the job.

I bought a new 22 fret, 9.5" radius neck which fitted nicely into the body, with just enough movement to enable the strings to line up properly. The neck was already finished with a satin vintage tint and a bone nut. For machine heads I went for some Jin-Ho-R2's (which are sold under several different brand names), they slotted into the 10mm holes on the neck perfectly. The neck was then bolted onto the body, I was expecting to have to use a shim, but as it turned out that was not necessary.

For pickups I was thinking Tonerider or Ironstone. I settled on the Ironstones as they were not only cheaper, but also included the bridge plate I needed.
Once the pickup's had arrived I shielded the cavities in the guitar with copper tape and ran earth wires throughout. The front pickup was installed into the scratch plate which was then screwed down. The rear pickup arrived already fitted into the bridge plate, so that was also fixed into place with the four screws provided.

I wanted to rotate the control plate so that the volume was closest, and the 3 way switch was at the back out of the way. That didn't prove to be much of a problem, although the neck pickup did need the wires extending to reach the 3 way switch. The jack hole was routed for a traditional round jack plate, so I put in an electro socket which is held in place with screws rather than a clip.

I installed some 8mm ferrules into the back of the guitar to hold the strings, these were gently tapped in using a small metal bar and a hammer. Some strap buttons were then added to finish off the body work.

It was then time to put the strings on. The first thing I noticed was that the strings were sitting a bit too high in the nut slots so the slots had to filed. The truss rod also needed a bit of adjustment as the neck was too straight and needed a slight bow in the middle, and one or two high frets needed a light tap with a hammer to eliminate some string buzz. As the tuners are not staggered, I also added two string trees.

The vintage style 3 saddle telecaster bridges require a bit of a compromise when it comes to doing the intonation, but I was able to get the octaves fairly close on all the strings. If it had been a problem I could have used compensating saddles, or fitted a similar bridge with 6 separate saddles. A modern bridge plate would not have been an option, as they are a different size.

I am very happy with how the guitar turned out, it sounds great, plays really well, and was a very enjoyable project.