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First Commission Build - Is A Super-Tele A Thing?

#124
A week or so late on the plate topic...
I'm currently re-skinning (manzanita + maple, slab style) a lawsuit era FrankenTele, and decided to back-load it this time around. And, also use a traditional Tele plate.
But it's a blank plate, on the back, used as a control cavity cover. Countersunk 1/8" to be flush. Seems right.

The "keep it original" ship sailed 30 years ago on this one, btw.

f-tele-back-plate.jpg


Rick
 
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#125
No update on the build, I'm still waiting for my template set to arrive. I think the current plan is to hold tight until Labor Day weekend and then we will head out to the woodshed for a camping/luthier weekend.

For those not familiar, the woodshed is what I call my boss's place. He has 40 acres out in the country that includes a 30'x30' wood shop with a Powermatic table saw and massive outfeed table along with just about every other tool you could need (planer, jointer, belt sander, spindle sander, miter saw station). I like to do my big milling operations there, just because the table saw is so much better and the outfeed table is just massive. So for now we wait.

In other news (looking at you Bent), the racing weekend went well. We had two main events this weekend, so double your chances to destroy stuff. :roflmao:
I laugh because it hurts too much to cry.
Anyways, for those interested in that stuff, you can visit my YouTube channel for the latest update. -
http://www.youtube.com/terribletim68
Just look for the most recent video. It's a bit long, but that's because there was two races in one. What can you do? :thumbsup: :cool:
 
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#130
TerribleTim68 said:
Bah! I found a problem in that video that I mentioned above. I'll have to re-upload it later after work today. Boo!
Click to expand...
Okay, corrected video is now posted, for those who care. I'll just link to this -
https://www.youtube.com/c/TerribleTim68/videos
It's the most recent one.

I really gotta stop editing videos late at night when I'm tired after a long weekend and trying to rush to get it posted by a certain self-imposed deadline. Those video editing programs are complex and my eyes aren't what they used to be. Nor is my brain, so there's that. :meh:
 
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#131
Just a couple pointless updates -
  1. I received my order of Black Dyed Poplar veneer from JSO Wood Products on Saturday. Steve was very great to deal with, he even helped me get it to the right address since I had not even been on Ebay in the last 6 years and it still had my old address. A little panic on my part as I noticed that it was shipping to where I no longer live, but Steve handled it professionally. Thank you to those here who suggested him. I have not unboxed it yet, partly because I'm concerned about trying to roll it out just to look at it and then rolling it back up and breaking it or something stupid. So for now I'm just leaving it boxed. How are you guys storing your thin veneer? Do you leave it rolled up or are you laying it flat somewhere?
  2. I also ordered an Amana 47224 bit for my pickup and control cavities. It's a bit smaller diameter at 1/4" than the Amana 45475 at 3/8", but it has a 3/4" cutting depth vs the 45475's 1/2" depth. I've just had too many issues getting a deep enough route with the 45475, even after removing the template. Hopefully this will change that, this Tele body is probably gonna be a bit thicker than the basses I've built for me, because I like a thinner body (on my basses too ;) ), but I want this one to be a bit more traditional. The 47224 should arrive tomorrow.
  3. Still waiting on the template set, UPS tracking says it should arrive tomorrow as well. This one has been painful, I ordered from "Guitar Building Templates" on April 12th. Tomorrow will be the 3 week mark, which tells me they didn't have stock and had to make one to fill the order. It didn't ship until the 27th, which also confirms that they had no stock. I'm less than thrilled with this one. I get that you don't have inventory on hand to fill orders as they come in, it's probably a small shop, working out of his garage, kind of like myself, and times are tight and everyone's inventory is low. But it also shouldn't take you two weeks to fill the order and ship it either. If you get an order, you should put it into production and fill it within a single week. It's a paying customer, don't make them wait like that, it's frustrating. I may just be venting here, I'm getting older and you know the whole "grumpy old man" thing.
Still waiting until Memorial Day Weekend to go out to the wood shop and do my big milling operations. Until then, we wait! But yeah, anyone wanna chime in on that veneer storage question? :eyebrow:
 
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#133
BishopJP said:
Any veneer longer than 3' gets rolled back up using the cardboard roll it came in. Trying to roll it up without the cardboard may cause splitting; guess how I know. :rolleyes:

I also had a similar turnaround time from GBT; I figured they were all made-to-order.
Click to expand...
Thanks Bishop! Any tips on successfully rolling it out and back up? Go slow? Store in a warm area? Anything like that? I have so many fears here of it totally crumbling. I really have a lot to learn working with this, it's the first time I've ever tried this.
 
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#134
-Roll it in a big, loose roll, then tighten. I usually store it inside; probably doesn't make a difference, but my garage gets hot and humid in the summer so I get precious about some wood stuffs.
-I lay it cup down when I cut it, like a plan set, so the ends don't curl up. If you put a straight edge on the veneer with the ends curling up, that can be enough to get the ends to split.
-Sometimes, I tape the end of the roll with low tack tape to keep it from splitting.
-I usually use an Xacto knife to cut it, but I have had good luck with a "roller-cutter", I think they are called? The missus has one for cutting fabric. I also sometimes steal her cutting mat as well. Also, the blade will follow the grain if you let it.

Hope that helps, please keep in mind, I am still learning about it too; all of the above comes from the things I screwed up.
 
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#135
Once I unroll the veneer, I don't roll it back up again. I usually cut it into my useable lengths and then store it flat up in the rafters under a piece of cardboard to keep the dust off it. Re-rolling it just leads to cracks, splits, breaks and tears. That last word is not "tears" as in tearing the wood, it's "tears" as in the liquid that pours out of one's eyes when crying. :)
 
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#137
Beej said:
Once I unroll the veneer, I don't roll it back up again. I usually cut it into my useable lengths and then store it flat up in the rafters under a piece of cardboard to keep the dust off it. Re-rolling it just leads to cracks, splits, breaks and tears. That last word is not "tears" as in tearing the wood, it's "tears" as in the liquid that pours out of one's eyes when crying. :)
Click to expand...

Look who's all fancy, having "rafters" and places to put things...
 
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#139
Hey, glad you had good luck with JSO, they're great to work with. :thumbsup: Normally, I just cut away enough tape to unroll what I need... then just roll it back up and slap on a few pieces of packing tape to hold it back in the same fashion that it was shipped/packed. As I use it up, I cut more cardboard off the roll to minimize the bulk.
 
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