First build - semi hollow Tele - WIP

[Ronald_Handmade]

Finally getting started on my first build. Only took 11 years or so. I'm making a semi-hollow telecaster style electric.
Main body will be Tasmanian Blackwood with a stripe of Brazilian Bloodwood through the centre for contrast (and to get the width I needed...) with a cap of quilted Queensland maple. Fingerboard in native olive. Haven't picked the timber for the neck yet, but I'm thinking either Tassie oak, or possibly more of the Queensland maple. Any suggestions? I also have heaps of Australian red cedar, but I'm not thinking that will be dense enough for a neck? I also don't want to introduce too much more colour...
Also tossing up between black and chrome hardware for this one. Probably a humbucker in the neck with a typical tele skewed pick-up in the bridge. Also haven't decided on doing a pick guard and control plate or just leaving the timber in its full glory...

All feedback is very, very welcome!

[kiwigeo]

Queensland Maple is a good neck wood...I use it a lot. Its easy to work, supply is good and its not too expensive.

[Ronald_Handmade]

Queensland Maple is a good neck wood...I use it a lot. Its easy to work, supply is good and its not too expensive.

Thanks - that's handy to know! In this case, I think I may have enough left of that same length to get a neck out of it as well. I'll have to check. I can't argue with the price either - or was free! My uncle's father passed away not long ago and my wife and I were invited to pick through some of his wood stash. Mostly cedar, but some other bits and pieces as well...

[Ronald_Handmade]

Top and body blanks run through the thicknesser and glued up. Neck blank is sitting on top in both pics (there was plenty of the QLD maple for the neck - and another one for another project too...)

I'll hopefully make a bit more progress soon.

This is the project I have to finish up before I can get properly stuck in on my guitar build. River coffee table in Tassie Blackwood, white cedar and epoxy resin. There will be a shelf going in from some highly figured red cedar too...

[Ronald_Handmade]

Some progress pics. Body glued up, shaped, and hollowed (as much as it's getting hollowed anyway...) I realised to late that I took this pic before I cleaned up the sides with a couple of chisels, but the top is glued on now and I'm not opening it back up!

Top glued on, bridge and custom pick guard sitting in place to give a rough idea of how it should look when it's finished.

The pick guard is made from a highly figured piece of Meranti I found at Bunnings. It was a $60ish board that was warped, (but incredibly highly figured), so I got it for $5! It's laminated to a piece of 1mm G10 (a fibreglass type composite material) and run through the thicknesser down to 3mm thick.

[Ronald_Handmade]

So it turns out I realised I never posted more pics of this, and it's been finished for quite a while now. When I have time, I'll try to go back and post some more of the progress photos, but here are some finished pics of my first ever build.
It's definitely not perfect, and there are a lot of things I would do differently if I were to do this same build again, but I'm happy with it - particularly given how long it took me to actually stop procrastinating and just start the damn thing!

[Ronald_Handmade]

(I have actually made 2 electric ukuleles and a second, 100% custom design, electric guitar since this one. I need to get much better at posting updates!)

[WJ Guitars]

Great to see the finished guitar no matter how long it takes to complete.

Wayne