When that router quit, I almost judged you as an amateur and went to the next video until you said you hit it with a hammer. Obviously, a very professional maneuver. Well done, well done.
+1 Great tribute to your grandpa to have something so timeless and amazingly cool like your guitar there. Thanks for taking us through the steps to build it - time to get into the shop and make one for myself!
This is beautiful. You make it seem so doable with the way you go through the steps, but you still show the craftsmanship it takes to make something like this. The stain looks awesome, the shape is perfect, and it's a lefty so I love it that much more. You earned yourself a new subscriber, sir!
Excellent clear commentary and straight forward comprehensive steps. One of the best no nonsense or self indulgent clips on the net. Practical and very useful tips. Well done Jeff.
I must have just about devoured every guitar build video on RU-vid but, Brother, yours was one of the most enjoyable. I ain't going to give you a hard time for getting a prefab neck. You accomplished what you set out to achieve with good skills and you must be happy to have a good instrument with some family wood. So to speak.
Making necks is like building chairs. Just about any idiot can make something you can sit on, but to make a functional chair that fits the body like a glove takes years of practice. For your first build, it's better to go with a prefab neck. It removes so many variables that could frustrate a first-time builder. Jeff it's obvious to me that you have the skills necessary to build your own necks - hell, to build your own guitars completely from scratch, if you want to. You gotta get your feet wet somehow. This video was an entertaining first step, and hopefully you'll get into carving your own necks and discovering the subtle geometry that separates a "playable" neck from a truly great one (you're a guitar player too, so you know what I mean). Kudos on an awesome video.
Wood Butcher thank you. These first couple builds are my practice. I wanted to get the building of the bodies under my belt first while not worrying about the necks. I will make some. That is for sure.
This is one of the most entertaining things I have seen in a while. If I made a Tele out of a piece of one of my relatives' barn I would appreciate it way more than other guitars. Beautiful finish. Reminds me of my Rustic Ash Telecaster.
Wow what a great looking guitar, i love the finish you did on it. Cheers and you have a new subscriber. and as far as the 19 dislikes, they don't know what the barnyard shuffle or a telecaster is.
And this is exactly the reason I went to this video. To learn how to make one of my own so I don’t have to search all over gods creation to find a good lefty guitar that doesn’t cost my life savings!
This is exactly what I’m working on atm. Building a tele using wood from my grandpas garage. He just turned 99 and I we sold the house. So this video will be my defence for the 100 times I plan on returning to it. By the way, love the outtakes at the end of your videos. Thanks for sharing. And gorgeous guitar btw.
that is a cool way to do it. I like the look of the pick guard but kind of defeats the point of using fancy wood. I suppose you could use regular controls for a telecaster, though couldn't you?
Absolutely. You can do it however you want. That's the fun part. Its your choice. I have seen some nice guitars made that still use the pickguard. I might do it on another build as well.
Splendid instructional video...thanks! On mine, I felt that a very shiny surface wasn't quite appropriate, so I sanded the b'jesus out of the body before and after sealing it THEN used an oil based minwax wipe on poly (about 20 very thin coats) with a cloth (not brush) ONE STROKE... so did not need to sand and polish.... resulting in a natural grain semi-gloss finish... a lot less work, and just the effect I wanted.😆
Man your enthusiasm is inspirational. Keep on keeping on. I can't help feeling you need an awful lot of heavy-duty, expensive tools I don't have but I enjoyed watching. Thank you.
Awesome video. Very similar to my guitar - a lefty telecaster with a right handed neck that my brother made for me some 30 years ago - and she’s still rockin!
Thanks. Thats awesome. As a side note, I believe I went to school with someone of the same name as you. I also went to school with another Jeff Baker. That was awkward. Are you from the north east?
Barncaster turned out nice. The finish seemed like it took forever but it looked as if it was worth the weight wait. The thin, black finish worked very well. It brought a lot of the grain out of the body. A very successful project.
Grandpa would be proud of you son:) great build for a first:)...i use that 2 part liquid glass to cover over instead of sponge brushing the polyurethane...looks like glass when cured
Very good tutorial or well... walkthrough or whatever its called, very entertaining and those outtakes were priceless. You've won another subscriber in me :)
Very very very nice! Obviously your a wood professional. It's pretty clear why some handmades are so expensive. However, it doesn't seem to sound very much like a tele, does it? Maybe the wood, PUs or strings? Anyway, awesome job!
+Denis Alves thank you! Most likely its the pickups. I play a lot of rock and built the guitar for that purpose. The neck pickup gets a bit twangy though, like a regular tele.
It's a nice guitar. As a tip, for wet-sanding those concave curves on the sides on future guitar builds, you can use those black rubber 3M squeegee blocks they sell at auto parts stores. They're nice and flat, and they conform to curves nicely.
not always, I just bought Tyla's guitar (singer from The Dogs D'Amour) that he used on his 25th solo album, its hand painted by him too, (hes also an artist). To me its very special and certainly unique. If i tried making a guitar myself it would just end up looking like shit, so buying one is also a good option. haha
caldurham78 Yes, this guitar in particular has special sentimental vaue, but if you went and bought a piece of alder or ash and used a tele template you'd have a telecaster. You could customize an existing guitar to your liking and it would be just as unique and cost much less.
caldurham78 I can definitely agree that it's a unique experience, especially if you're buying tools on the go the first time around. It makes you appreciate a well made instrument a whole lot more as well.
RealGamerManz yeah nah I understand that, I'm not having a crack but if you wanted to know that it's structurally sound you would spend the time, plan ahead and do it right the first time.
Thank you very much for this video, i have my final year of school coming up next year and i'm planning of making a fender esquire esc guitar in my shop class for gcse's, and you have thankfully shown a great in depth way to finish the guitar to the exact same colour as i planed! thank you once again, and keep up with the great content!-CB
Great video Jeff, I really like the sunburst look to your guitar and the black does the wood grain justice. Your blooper with the polish inner seal - we've all been there! :)
That's a sweet build. Been playing for 15 years, worked on them a bit, but always wanted to build my own. I'll use this video as a guide, but may do my own body shape. Great video to follow!
Really great video and build. Enjoyed it. Not being critical at all, just a tip I was taught. If you put one or two layers of masking tape around the neck pocket template. It will be just enough to mahe the neck joint fit together tightly and ultimately make the guitar resonate better. Anyway, great build.
+Zachary Collins thanks. I did discover the fit was just a bit loose. I added tape on the baritone barncaster I made to tighten it up a bit. For my template I think it could use 3 layers. Then I can sand it to fit.
