Adding an Arm Rest & Belly Cut contour to a Telecaster body.

This is how I've always put an arm rest and belly cut contour into a guitar body. In all my videos I never say... "this is how it's done" I always say... "this is how I do it".
All music in this video was written and performed by me.
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[@yohanonshine4664]

I like to work on guitars and consider some of my ideas to be unique. I watch a lot of different builders but few go into detailed preparation as you . Thanks Johnny B for going in depth with the best techniques

[@dustdevilz4771]

I use a small Dewalt battery powered angle grinder with 5” 80 & 120 grit disks. I have access to a commercial band saw and lots of other woodworking equipment but I’ve found that using the angle grinder is best. It cuts very clean and fast up to a tape line. On the first Telecaster body I contoured I retained the original finish as here which was undamaged by my grinding and sanding. The transition between the original finish and the contouring job was very neat without any chipped paint. I stained and shot clear poly on the new exposed contoured areas. Very easy to do. Ive done several bodies now. I like your credit card trick for the required hand sanding.

[@bldallas]

Very cool, nice job! The bottle opener is the icing on the cake, though. Love it.

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

I have a similar Mexican-made Telecaster, which started out as sunburst but is now red. I used a belt sander to make the contours. The body is poplar (not basswood), and veneered with maple.

[@iamhiagoh]

I'm impressed that someone did exactly what I planned to do on my Telecaster

[@paolo-1283]

You should try adding contour to the neck heel too like the ultra, professional and elite series.

[@PoppaWheelies]

This is a very interesting process ! I enjoyed watching . I won’t be adding a forearm contour to my tele build , it’s a maple cap. I am considering a belly cut !

[@e.r.559am7]

That is a terrific video. Sadly I don't have the tools for it. Maybe one day.

[@frogssong]

that bottle opener is the most badass thing ive seen on a guitar!

[@eddiejr540]

5 piece bodies sound so much better than 1 piece!!!!....great work on that tele!!!

[@allanaxe6781]

You are a brave man... I thought about getting that done on my tele , nice to see your work :)

[@syedabdullah3311]

Thanks..done my contouring projects on my tele..your vid really helps

[@MikeCindyWhite]

Turned out great man!! Thanks for the video, I love that bottle opener!! Awesome work my friend... Mike.

[@davidriel7805]

That’s awesome. Glad I found your video as this is exactly what I want to do. Thanks

[@katyleventis5151]

thanks for sharing your wisdom & skills ~ will save me a lot of grief trying to clone the Fender offset scallops and boobie cuts on a guitar I'm designing 🤗

[@ilemraz]

the bottle opener is very clever

[@NeverSayDieAgain1]

Nice job ! Thanks for the help

[@steveadams5085]

Great video. Really appreciate the tutorial and tips. Subscribed.

[@ruprechtsrubberglove]

Excellent thanks

[@davidodle782]

That was amazing

[@williamdon3442]

Subbed just bc of the bottle opener. Cool idea.

[@ricardomestre3197]

Great video, many thanks

[@jamesbutterson5218]

That's cool Johny, you can do that exact thing on a table saw same type of jig. 💚🎸🤘👌💨

[@FF-so3su]

Great video

[@tonyv7055]

Good idea,, but it's kinda important to know what angle you're jig holds the guitar relative to the barrel sander!

[@willisleonard2135]

Hi Johnny B....wanted to let you know.....all the video's on youtube about the frankenstrat and all the builds in no way compare to your research....not one. The keen eye you have and all the research you did is above and beyond anyone out there....thank you for all your hard work. You are an expert on the subject. Even the official EVH frankie is incorrect...$1,699 for a wrong replica....they should have watched your video's first.

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

Thank you, I really appreciate that!

[@LoveGuitar63277]

Has your drill press held up over time? Typically, sideways pressure can ruin the bearings and result in less accurate drilling (as in straight down into material). That said - this is almost exactly how was planning to mod a Tele-style body I have. Thanks for posting the great video!

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

I don't do this every day so the drill press has held up great. Down vs side pressure... down 99.9% side 0.1%

[@dejavoodooV2]

Imagine how hard it is to do an 'exposed top wood binding' effect on the bottom horn of an LP thick with poly...crackling and chipping like walking on thin ice...turned out ok in the end/baptism of fire...but in general save your LP studio faux binding for the real deal ones I guess;)...it was fun to watch someone else tackle poly in that way. It's a surprisingly difficult technique. But my lord you can turn some plain old scratched black pawn guitars into 'faux Wolfgang natural tops'!)...slow and steady wins the race

[@JackstandJohnny]

This was a great video!

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

Watch all the way to the end, I finish the video with photos of the body in various stages, It turned out really cool.

[@0000song0000]

Thanks so much. I precisely want to mod a finished guitar ( an LP-like guitar loaded with EMGs, which is so battered i would sell it for less that the price of the pickups) so, i rather turn it into a completely custom-me instrument 😅

[@Sammywhat]

Great job! What a chore with that poly finish. Any idea what kind of body that was? Was it genuine fender? If so, US or Mex?? Thanks for the upload!! 😉

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

It's genuine Fender, made in Mexico. If you pause the video at 15:27, you'll see three holes in the body. Something to do with alignment at Fender's Mexican factory, I believe.

[@ghostandbell2006]

Luv this☆♡

[@tomcarnahan6351]

I recently bought a 1983 telecaster. The neck is November 30 1983 but I don't remember the inspector's name. Serial number indicates it was made in Fullerton, but it never felt quite right. Under 7 lbs and I thought it was relict to look like a 1952 blackguard. awesome guitar and I got a great deal on it but it has been sanded and painted. yellow paint in the cavities under the pickups and all routed areas. I picked up my other tele and figured out that it had been carved out at the belly. I try to keep my guitars original but this is such a great sounding and fun to play guitar. Really is one of my favorite guitars but still have an underlining doubt if the body is original. I would love for someone with some expertise help me figure it out

[@Bronson-Apollo]

What would be a fair price for a Luthier to do this Johnny B?

[@jeffreycollins7297]

Basswood is also very easy to gouge and mess up. But it sure is nice.

[@jwilkinson341]

I was just doing this and realized Arm Rest is rounded not sanded straight I will have to make some wood with a radius to use for sanding with a Tele you can get away with it because most tele don't have one, more noticeably on a Strat

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

Would love to see the finished project...

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

The finished guitar is at the end of the video, check it out!

[@MarioinRmd]

Back in the day, I think Fender had a similar jig and blasted the body through a band saw.. Are doing any more Frankie videos? I really liked the painting investigation.

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

More Franky stuff is coming!

[@MAP448]

What about contouring the horn for better access to the upper fret registry? Also maybe next time use an exacto knife or hobby knife to outline so u don't chip as bad? You did a nice job though.

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

The client didn't request the lower horn to be opened up and the chipping was only when I used the rasp file, as I showed in the video I only went so with the rasp, no chipping remained in the final product.

[@davidv496]

Do you offer this service? I like the approach and the final product.

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

I'm not taking on any outside work at the moment, but thanks!

[@davidv496]

@@JOHNNYBGUITARS Thanks for the reply!

[@alexjames1146]

I want to see the finished product.

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

Watch at the end of the video you'll see the finished guitar. Let me know what you think.

[@Qstick333]

Would you consider doing this to my les paul?

[@rickmoore7501]

wonder how much weight you removed with belly cut?

[@jitsroller]

Did the guitar get stained or left like that?

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

It got painted gold, check the end of the video to see the finished guitar.

[@peteytwofinger]

hey can you ruin my tele for me ? lol jk .... nice one !

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

You came at me with a low blow, but then you back peddled?! you're a real "classy" guy... petey with a little "p".

[@user-xn2ip9on7h]

hello? I am someone who watched the video and was thinking about trying it myself. However, is it okay to do the arm rest and belly cut contour work as above on the telecaster thinline model? I am worried that holes may be created in the thinline model while working on the contour.

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

I wouldn't, even if you managed to not go through into the hollow part, removing wood could compromise the integrity of the body.

[@17th_Street_Preacher]

& he didn’t want a contoured neck heel...biggest reason many avoid Fender

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

Biggest reason?!

[@17th_Street_Preacher]

@@JOHNNYBGUITARS yeah a nice smooth neck obstructed by a block joint

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

@@17th_Street_Preacher I get what you're saying, I wouldn't say a standard neck heal (that is found on most guitar brands) is the "biggest" reason people avoid Fender. I think the client was manly going for aesthetics rather than playability.

[@stratolestele7611]

Lol. "the biggest reason people avoid Fender." lol

[@17th_Street_Preacher]

@@stratolestele7611 yes cause they feel like 💩 right in the heel lol

[@fernank017]

You should wear some eye protection if you do this!! don't want poly and wood chips flying into your eyes

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

What makes you think I wasn't wearing eye protection?

[@handel1111]

boomers would condemn this

[@jazzdrumguy5044]

I get the belly cut, but way too much talking about the arm rest.....you lost me.

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

This is one of the reasons I don't make videos anymore.

[@JesusLordOfLords455]

Should be called a gut cut

[@JOHNNYBGUITARS]

Why???? Belly cut, Molson muscle, it's just a name.