The Template and Router Jig

Because of the way I'm hollowing this build out it is going to be easier to make a router jig template and have the router do the hard work.  So I grabbed an old piece of spare MDF I had laying around and got to work...

I used my jig saw to cut out the internal part of the jig and then glued the template plan down before moving to the band saw.

Just needs a bit of tidying up with sandpaper and files and it's be ready to fit to the body blank!

The body blank

I was given five lumps of oak to choose from so I chose the two that were most similar in size and shape.



Using my electric plane and a fence I squared off a jointing edge on each piece and got them glued up.

    

I then printed of some plans of a Deluxe Telecaster and had a play with some design ideas.  I'm going for a Fender/Gibson hybrid idea.  Sadly I can't use the Tune-O-Matic bridge in the pics as it's fixed at a 12" radius and the fingerboard is 9" one so I'll fit a fix tail Strat bridge.

The oak body blank was originally 55mm thick and at 10lbs was very heavy!



I didn't take any pics (I know I should have) but I used my router and planer jig to level and thickness it down to 40mm it's still quite a hefty 8lb lump of wood though!  Hopefully when its shaped and hollowed out it will be a much more favourable weight.

Introduction

Well, it's a new year and well I guess it's time for another guitar build project...

During the hollow bodied Les Paul Florentine build I helped a friend to build this Billy Bo tribute -



Originally he bought a Mahogany (looks more like Meranti to me) neck from CH Guitars.  When it arrived it appeared to be very Fenderish in style and he wanted more of Gibson feel so he bought a different one and gave me the CH neck in return for the lump of Mahogany I gave him for the body.

Anyway, late last year he bought a new house and promptly ripped out the fire place which had some big timber plinths which were then subsequently given to me for guitar building.

They turned out to be oak, which is generally considered a tad heavy for use in a solid body electric guitar so and he'd mentioned in one of jam sessions that he'd love a telecaster so I had thought...

Why don't I hollow it out as per the Florentine, put a nice top on it and fit the neck he gave me and return it as a nice present!