Homebrew Tele

My homebrew Telecaster started out as a "Keef tribute" about ten years ago. I had three reasons for making it: 1) I needed an electric guitar, 2) I wanted to know how a guitar is built, 3) I loved the sounds and looks (still do) of Keith Richards' vintage Tele.

The first incarnation was a self made alder body made of planks from the barn in my grandmothers place. It was done with "two hands and a Black & Decker" and looked like that, too! It had a Fender Tele replacement neck, SD Broadcaster bridge pup, a Fender WRHP neck pup, black chrome Schaller tuners, self made pick guard, knobs and brass bridge. After a year or so I got a Strat pup from my brother and swapped it in the neck position. I also bought a 6-way replacement bridge for it.

As I started studying industrial design in 1995 I had access to almost every imaginable tool and machine. I ended up talking guitar with our assistant guy, and he donated me a nice plank of black alder. I got the planks glued, and control + bridge pup cavities routed but then the project ended up in hiatus due to my studies.

It took me almost two years before I continued the project, this time in my father-in-law's workshop. The finish was done by a local luthier Juha Ruokangas. The guitar got it's parts from the first version, but I made a new w/b/w pick guard and bought a 3-way vintage bridge for it. The guitar was completed in the spring 2001. This year I made a new b/w/b pick guard and put the WRHP back in it. The guitar will donate the WRHP to my '74 Custom when it's ready for assembly. Then I'll have a choice between Gibson minihumbucker, a p90, a Strat pup or a standard Tele neck pup to replace the WRHP with.

A Telecaster "Junior" project.
Though Teles are my first love I've always liked Les Paul & SG Juniors. I had toyed with a wild idea to cross breed a Tele and a Gibby Junior. This project is still in it's early stages as I have only cut the wood planks. The guitar will be an all mahogany neck-through-body slightly modified Tele shaped guitar with two cutaways, one p90 pup, a gibson stop/wraparound tailpiece + vol and tone. The reason for the hiatusof this project is a '74 Tele Custom restoration project.

I also made an extra Telecaster body of the spare mahogany from the "Junior" project. It's a regular Tele 2-piece body which is now just cut and sanded to shape with no routings. I have no plans for it yet and I have considered: 1) selling it for somebody and routing it after the wishes of the purchaser, or 2) keeping it waiting for an inspiration.