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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Mar 21, 2020 11:36:32 GMT -5
Have you seen these? I rolled the dice and took a chance on the Tele kit. It arrived today, and I am pleasantly surprised at what you get for the price. The body and neck are very nicely made. The entire thing comes mostly assembled so the first-time builder can see how it all fits together. But the wood is unsealed and unfinished (it is very good quality mahogany and the machining is very good), so it must be broken down and reassembled. The scale length is the same as a tenor ukulele. The neck has the truss rod and fretted fingerboard already attached; the fret ends need attention, but I expected that. It has a pre-slotted nut installed in the neck, and a generic headstock that I'll carve into a Tele shape. The hardware is astonishingly good for a little kit like this, and is better than the hardware on some budget guitars that cost $300+. The bridge and control plate are standard Tele stuff, and the nut width is the same as a typical Squier Telecaster (1 5/8"). The pickups are ceramic no-names, and I'll use them to start with. If they make any sound at all, I'll be happy with 'em. The pots are mini/dimes, and the three-way blade switch is the cheap plastic type. But it has a nice positive click so I'll use it along with the pots it came with. My goal with this is not to slap it together as a cheap, simple kit, but go all-out and make it as good as I possibly can. The instructions state it can be completed in a weekend, and I'm sure it can be done, but I'll do a full-up finish on the body and neck, level and crown the frets, and tweak it to perfection. I'll recess the neck plate for a custom look and I'll probably make a new pickguard. The one it comes with really lends a clunky look to the guitar; it's too big and throws off the visual balance of the completed piece. This: www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Instrument_Kits/Guitar_Kits/Electric_Guitar_Kits/Mini_T_Style_Electric_Guitar_Kit.html |
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Post by Leftee on Mar 21, 2020 12:25:20 GMT -5
😎
I’ve really wanted to build one of these, but no lefties.
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Wrnchbndr
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Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
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Post by Wrnchbndr on Mar 21, 2020 14:31:57 GMT -5
This looks like a great project for all sorts of people who have an itch. The price is good in every respect. For anyone who doesn't own major workshop tools, this is the way to go. If you want to learn a whole bunch of guitar knowledge, in the best way possible, go for it because there isn't a better way to get an education.
For people like Peegoo, there are all sorts of options to make this into a monster and a great example of evil genius. I tend to see an electric octave mandolin or something like my nine-string Stratopixie.
You'd have a hard time beating the price and StewMac generally won't sell junk.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Mar 21, 2020 16:19:04 GMT -5
Leftee, call Stew Mac and ask if they can get you one in lefty. I'll bet they can, at the same price. wrnchbndr, I am going to let you down, brother; I'm not going too far off the reservation with this...it's going to be a six-string thing. I was considering making it a four-string and tuning it like a ukulele. If this comes out good, I'll order another kit and make a uke. Despite copping out, I am doing a few dee-lux things on this one. I made a router template to cut a recess 1mm larger than the neck plate to allow room for paint. The supplied plate is small; 47 x 50 mm, and drops in flush with the surface. I also cut the paddle headstock into a Fender-correct Tele shape.  |
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Wrnchbndr
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Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
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Post by Wrnchbndr on Mar 22, 2020 11:46:24 GMT -5
No rocket motors? No warning lights or pressure gauges? How about retractable landing gear? Oh! Oh! - an anti-theft device involving an ignition coil???
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Mar 23, 2020 11:42:47 GMT -5
No, but I'm thinking about some other wacky stuff.
I discovered a glaring problem with this kit: the tuners are assembled dry. There was no grease or oil on the shafts or gears--not even a trace. They turned okay, but one felt particularly crunchy so I removed the button and slid the worm shaft out to see if perhaps the gear teeth were boogered up. It was dry. I suspected this one might've been bypassed in the lube department. But for gits and shiggles I popped open the other five and they were all dry too. Word to the wise if you order one of these kits.
An easy way to lube these cast tuners is to set the tuner flat on the bench with the string post vertical. Apply two drops of light machine oil to the string posts and allow them to sit overnight. The oil will run down into the gear mesh and also get into the bearing surfaces for the worm shaft. Give them a spin the next day with a string winder, wipe 'em down, and they're ready to go.
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Wrnchbndr
Wholenote
Posts: 353
Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
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Post by Wrnchbndr on Mar 23, 2020 18:10:30 GMT -5
I lube tuners with a tiny drop of 3 in 1 via a toothpick and then melt paraffin wax into them with a mini torch.
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Post by 9fingers on Mar 25, 2020 8:57:22 GMT -5
I lube tuners with a tiny drop of 3 in 1 via a toothpick and then melt paraffin wax into them with a mini torch. How do you direct the paraffin into a closed back tuner? |
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Post by Leftee on Mar 25, 2020 11:35:30 GMT -5
I don’t know why I don’t have a mini-torch. 🤔
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Mar 25, 2020 12:32:31 GMT -5
"How do you direct the paraffin into a closed back tuner?"  Leftee, every shop needs a micro torch, along with a refill can of butane: www.homedepot.com/pep/Fox-Run-Creme-Brulee-Torch-4849/311428374You open the valve and squeeze the trigger and *POP* the torch lights up. Super handy for large heat shrink, removing bubbles from the surface of poured epoxy, desoldering cap cans from amp chasses, shooting down that mosquito you just cannot seem to catch, etc. Don't burn down your shop just to kill a mosquito tho. |
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Post by Leftee on Mar 25, 2020 12:46:24 GMT -5
It just seems like a lot of fun that I’ve been missing out on.
Because fire
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Mar 28, 2020 20:23:51 GMT -5
Exactly! Also handy for melting a booger on the end of 550 paracord and poly rope. I got the Mini-T body and neck sanded out, sealed with shellac, sanded back with 220, and shot primer, color, and two coats of clear. I don't do a lot of painted headstock faces, but this one just seemed to want it due to the dark color of the mahogany neck. Baby blue for a baby Tele:  |
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DrKev
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It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
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Post by DrKev on Mar 29, 2020 5:17:10 GMT -5
Awesome! I LOVE painted headtsocks!
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Post by 9fingers on Mar 29, 2020 9:55:13 GMT -5
"How do you direct the paraffin into a closed back tuner?" Leftee, every shop needs a micro torch, along with a refill can of butane: www.homedepot.com/pep/Fox-Run-Creme-Brulee-Torch-4849/311428374You open the valve and squeeze the trigger and *POP* the torch lights up. Super handy for large heat shrink, removing bubbles from the surface of poured epoxy, desoldering cap cans from amp chasses, shooting down that mosquito you just cannot seem to catch, etc. Don't burn down your shop just to kill a mosquito tho. Thanks Geno! |
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woody
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Post by woody on Mar 29, 2020 10:06:49 GMT -5
"Baby blue for a baby Tele."
Congrats, it's a boy! Maybe the next one will be a girlie mini-strat in Shell Pink.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Mar 29, 2020 10:41:09 GMT -5
"It's a boy!" Funny! I hadn't even thought of that. If I had pink paint on hand, this would've been pink. I have blue guitars, but no pink ones  It was about two minutes from being gold, but the toy-like appearance of the guitar and the gold color seemed to be a bit too...unrelated...for it to work from an aesthetic perspective. But I will sprinkle some bling on it with a white pearl moto pickguard. The pickguard it comes with is really thick and oversized which completely throws off the visual balance of the little guitar. It's also a weird shape--probably to avoid throat clearing and other sounds of discontent from Fender. So I'll make a new one that more closely resembles a typical Tele pickguard. This is the stock pickguard:  |
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 12, 2020 21:45:14 GMT -5
I got it all put together. I dialed in the nut and setup; it plays fine and sounds remarkably good with the cheap pickups that came with the kit. The switch is a cheepie and the jack is one of the short tang types that will fail over time. The worst part of this kit is the tuners; they work, but they're crunchy and not very precise. These are perhaps the crappiest new (out of the box) tuners I've ever encountered. I still need to install the string tree and strap buttons. I'll let it sit for a few days and then tweak it a bit more as things settle in. Overall this was a fun project; I'll probably give it to one of the little kids here in the neighborhood. It's the right size for a five year old   |
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Post by Leftee on Apr 13, 2020 7:19:21 GMT -5
😎
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Post by Pinetree on Apr 13, 2020 12:42:42 GMT -5
What key are you tuning to?
I have a mini Epiphone LP that is a lot of fun tuned up to G.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 13, 2020 13:25:50 GMT -5
That's where I have this. I may try mandolin tuning on it, but I already have a little Tele mandolin, so it may be just more of the same:  |
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woody
Wholenote
Posts: 245
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Post by woody on Apr 13, 2020 13:58:30 GMT -5
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 13, 2020 14:41:00 GMT -5
That looks like it could be a fun show.
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It was about two minutes from being gold, but the toy-like appearance of the guitar and the gold color seemed to be a bit too...unrelated...for it to work from an aesthetic perspective. 
