ShortScale.org

Mike wrote:That upper forearm rash should be worn as a badge of honour.

+ some digits. The tummy cut is useless i find unless you wear your guitar at a certain height. I'm a lowrider man myself so the tummy cut is nowhere near my fat american burger carrier.

Mike wrote:I just think they look daft with contours

WAT

Mike wrote:it's sort of my right to feel that way too.

ha, no shit. i don't recall telling you otherwise. when i wake up in the morning, the one remaining constant from the previous day is that i know mike will always tell it like it is. this is a good thing.

Mike wrote:Mind you, you don't like the chrome on a Jaguar, so our tastes are clearly polar opposites on guitar aesthetic.

i didn't say i don't like the chrome on jags, i said i wanted one with a jazzmaster style pickguard. not because of the chrome, but because i like how the one on my jagmaster suits that body size/style, and thought (damn my uniqueness) it would be cool on a jaguar.

i'd say polar opposites is a tad extreme, unless you love ibanez shreddar guitars, the wangcaster, or swingers... for instance, i love your duo, your jags, your old tele, your p-bass and your goldtop, but with tele's we certainly differ. fortunately, i know these differences exist, and it doesn't change how i feel about you chap, i want to ensure that the sentiment is reciprocated.

and don't get me wrong, i love tele's, however, i find them a bit uncomfortable to play for a long period of time. like my les paul, and my dot.

I finally was able to go out and purchase a drill press. I have been waiting to get one so I could drill all the neck and body holes nice and straight. I plan to start tomorrow and get updated photos tomorrow. I am hunting for pickups as well and I hope I can get a twisted tele off ebay soon.

This baja tele is really coming together. The drill press saved the day and I was able to drill all the holes for the pickguard, neck pocket, control plate, string ferrules, and the bridge. I rounded off the edges with a round over bit and fixed a couple of router mistakes. I just scored a set of baja tele pickups from eBay. He had make an offer and I got both for $160. He originally wanted $120 for the neck and $95 for the bridge. Never hurts to make an offer. I put together everything I have and it's looking sharp. The ash looks amazing and the guitar is pretty light to hold. I need to buy a electro socket jacket, nut, tuners and paint.

looking great! what color?

great work! i love how the brass saddles compliment the neck tint so well

I am going to use ReRaunch aerosol guitar paint. I am heavily leaning toward Fiesta Red. One of my favorite colors and rare on Telecasters. I plan to not go with a primer coat to let some of the Ash grain show through if I can manage it. The body needs some hand sanding before I am ready for paint, but I am definitely getting close now. Going to be a Fiesta this summer.

http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/fencuscol.html

July 1st update:

Just ordered the paint, clearcoat, and sand & sealer from Reranch. I decided on Daphne Blue and the nitro clear coat should help it age nicely. I bought some Oil Grain filler from a local Hardware store and I am planning to start filling the grain very soon. Hopefully it will look something like this, but with more wood grain visible.


I also order the 6-in-line Vintage Gotoh Locking tuners and vintage string retainer from StewMac.com. I love the Gotoh locking tuners on my Jagmaster and will still have the vintage look. I hope to get this guitar up in going in the next 2 weeks. It's been teasing me while I had to stop to build my fence around my backyard.

man thats looking good. Daphne Blue with the grain showing is going to be sweeet

going to be beautiful.
Cant wait to see the end result..

I just applied two coats of the Oil based grain filler to the Tele body. I am hoping to start and Sand & Sealer Coats tomorrow. I am taking my time, but I am anxious to start painting and ultimately finish this guitar. I have learned so much from this guitar that the next one should be much easier for me. Of course my next project is completing the 1978 Fiesta Red Musicmaster, which is more assembly than building. That should keep me occupied for a while.

I got my paint from ReRanch and tuners and strap locks form StewMac.com.

I decided to go all out and make my own custom neck decals for my tele. Here are 3 versions:
#1

#2

#3


Let me know which one you like! I plan to start Sand & Sealer coats tonight!

#1 looks pretty good to me

#1 - I think that the 20100001 is too big a font on the others.

I am going to cut out all 3 ideas and see how they layout on the actual neck. Then I can adjust font sizes and compare to my other guitars as well.

i think you should put a fender telecaster logo on it, because those look cheap.

newman? nahhhhh...

hotrodperlmutter wrote:i think you should put a fender telecaster logo on it, because those look cheap

I got to agree with this, as it is a fender anyway. I can appreciate people wanting to put their individual logo on a guitar but the fender logo is just so much cooler.

i could see if it was some custom guitar or something like that, but it's not.

bajacaster sounds cheap, as well.

hotrodperlmutter wrote:i could see if it was some custom guitar or something like that, but it's not.

bajacaster sounds cheap, as well.

I appreciate the honest assessment. I would rather people tell me what they think than just go along with it. I have worked really hard on this guitar and I want it to look great.

Anyone have a good source for Fender Telecaster Decals? I could make one if I need to. Any suggestions would also be helpful.

Newman is my last name and my students come up to me and say "Hello Newman!" all the time.

i'm not trying to be a snob, honestly. there are just very specific things i'm particular about, and other names on a fender headstock (other than squier) is one of them.

on tele's, i personally love the real baja logo. silver script, super simple, and good lookin.