Okay, So… Done Ordering Parts!

heh… I should’ve waited, but here I was, on my first rainy day back in the city, so I figured… why not? Let’s do it! I get paid in a week, and can pay off the parts when I get some dough.

So, I bought the tuners. Gotoh vintage. Come highly rec’d. Also some screws for the pick guard. Hope I ordered right!

And… AND… bought.the.neck. The most important part except for the body. Went with medium jumbo frets, regular satan finish, and a corian nut.  Here it is:

A lovely hunk of birds eye maple! Can’t wait for it to arrive!

So, here we are. The final cost in materials:

Running total: $767.72

Tuners and final screws: $46.61

Neck: $272.50

GRAND TOTAL IN PARTS for my first child: $1086.83

Next up: the assembling!

See ya. Lovin’ the city, btw.

ALG

I’m Moved!

And thank fuck for that, I can tell ya.

So, we’re settling in, re-doing the kitchen (thank you, Ikea!), and I’m starting a new draft of my current novel. However, this also means that I will soon be starting the assembling of the body. That should only take a day, unless my soldering skills are worse than I think they are. Got everything I need for it, so now we’re back on the road, heading towards that early December finish date.

I’ll leave you for now with this VERY beautiful Tele, the Merle Haggard model. LOVE that paint job, and goes for a whopping $5900.00.

See ya soon.

ALG

Update!

Um, I’m moving, hence the lack of updating, heh. Once I get settled in, then I’ll do the wiring and such, and get the neck, etc.

So, hang in there! I’ll be back very soon!

Oh, and Here is the Tele I Could Buy With What I’ve Spent So Far.

a Fender 60′s Telecaster. Cost: $699.00

Alder body, Maple “C” shaped neck, made in Mexico.

So, not even at the American made Tele prices, yet. I don’t think.

See ya!

ALG

More Spending!

Okay, so we’re now getting down to the soldering stage, so for that I bought one of these:

That will help me hold the wires I’ll be soldering. I’ve done SOME soldering before, on my strat, and it was hard to hold the soldering gun, the solder, AND the crap I needed to solder!

Cost: $17.63

I have also purchased everything else I need to finish the body. The string ferrules, the strap knobs, a complete wiring kit, the chrome plate and knobs, etc. I now feel like we’re entering the last turn before the finish line, as only the neck and tuning machines remain, plus setting it all up.

The cost for the above mentioned body parts: $73.56

Total cost of this Tele to date: $767.72

Best,

ALG

And the Body is DONE.

Just got done hand buffing the finishing. Man, talk about elbow grease. I was sweating like a pig by the time I was finished. The body, with the pickguard and bridge in place (mocked up), rests nearby on the floor, so I can gaze lovingly at it. The hand polishing worked EXTREMELY well. Seriously, it’s just not that much less shiny than a professional job. I didn’t expect that.

There was one hitch in this, and it taught me a good lesson: That is I’ve learned the value of putting in the correct amount of grain filler. I did not do that, and swamp ash is VERY grainy. The polishing compound is very much like jewelers polish. Like a stiff toothpaste. It got caught in the grain, and even though I was able to get a lot of it out again, it worked its way deep into the crevices, and I’m unable to get any more out. I was very dismayed, as I’m sure you can dig. To get this far, only to be tripped up at the finish line? Shit.

However…

What’s happened is that the filler has HIGHLIGHTED the grain! The guitar is patterned now, and not in a bad way. It’s pretty cool, and again, I guess you could call it a “happy accident”. For my first time out, I can feel pretty proud of it so far.

The only thing left that could give me fits is the soldering. I have a soldering station, but I’m going to invest in a better one. I’m moving at the end of the month, so I can’t buy any other bits and pieces for it until we get settled in the new place. However, I think I’m going to get the neck next! Woot!

Best,

ALG

Okay, I Know I Said No More Pictures, But…

The pick guard and pups showed up today, so I thought I’d do a brief mock up of how it’s going to shape up. Man, I was so happy when I pulled that pick guard out. PERFECT fit.

Here you are. The last photo until it’s all together. Nope, this is all you get! Quit asking.

ALG