Beyond Partscaster. Building a Telecaster from parts. Avoid the pitfalls and mistakes. Part 4.

[@danielanthony1054]

That ferrule trick is genius, thank you so much for showing us

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Thanks Daniel. I can honestly say that came about by endlessly trying to get them out with other tools. It’s a good method for all types of ferrule be they the ones in the body or the headstock. I just stumbled across it one day. Thanks for your message and support C.

[@CGrimm89]

Thank you so much for this series! I really love the way you explain every Little detail for all the different steps and share your knowledge with us. I‘m going to build my first Partscaster and your Videos are incredibly valuable support for getting the results I‘m hoping for.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Thanks very much. I’m my opinion knowledge is for sharing. In fact knowledge not shared is selfish. The best way to approach a build is to proceed slowly and just don’t stress about it. Make each element fit and don’t be afraid to take a bit of material away if required to make things fit. Unless you buy everything from one manufacturer there’s a pretty high likelihood that something with need adjustment. If you need to do it just keep checking the fit. Watch as many vids as possible too. Nobody has all the answers. C

[@CMRWoodworks]

Really enjoying this series, Chris!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Thanks so much. One more telecaster show to come. It’s a bit hot right now but hopefully in the next week or two. The next project will be a Les Paul Junior

[@justick]

Cool tools!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

I love tools and particularly the cool ones Ray. Thanks for watching

[@d.g.8506]

great video

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching. I'm hard at work on part 5 now. Take care C

[@martynharveythepoet5114]

Another great video - thank you Chris! Especially useful?.... Drilling the Ferrule holes - always tricky! Looks like you've got a great method there so I'll be using this on my next build. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2025! :-)

[@marks2254]

Making a template to locate the ferrule holes was a great idea!!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

It works for me Mark. Sometimes just getting holes in the right place is the whole deal. C

[@marks2254]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking if you’re looking for subjects, a how to on making one of those templates would be a good one.

[@thevinylgeezer]

Absolutely brilliant. You have really inspired me to start working on my guitars. I bought a Squier Telecaster for $100 and have been using it as a practice piece to learn. Thanks for these videos.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Any message that says you have inspired me is a joy. Thanks so much. C

[@hock4540]

Add wax to any small screws, helps them go in easier and prevents them from breaking. Lots of cheap/bad screws out there.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

That works C

[@toddliggett4093]

So, I'm a drummer, but I love guitars! Very cool instrument, and really versatile. Their construction is fascinating, both acoustic and electric. I'm really enjoying your video on this build. Great job narrating and demonstrating! Seriously, you knocked it out of the park. Also, I really enjoy the subtle humor. Keep up the great work.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Thanks Todd glad you are enjoying it. More to come. I working on new videos at this moment. The current build is the Les Paul junior. All the best. C

[@lynyrddeville]

A particular thing that you are doing on your chsnnel , is making sure to point out a lot of the painful mistakes that I know were made in my early attempts that can be very painful tp learn. I will for sure be looking for some good scrapers and investing in quality files.I prefer the fact that they cut, not just scratch.Great series, I wish I saw it years ago.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Mistakes make us wiser. Speed is my foe. I can be tempted to rush my work. Stop when you’re tired. Don’t build when you don’t feel like it. Most errors I make because I’m tired or rushed. Good hand tools are essential. Sharpening is all we did the first week of my course. Have fun and happy Christmas C

[@liamtarmey3549]

Amazing work, I’m starting a project now (black and gold tele) and these videos are a lot of help

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Wonderful to hear this Liam. If you have any questions you can contact me here. C

[@Meylan191083]

A new subscriber. I love this series. I am in China and starting to look at custom made telecasters. Finding a kit on Taobao is easy but this series is making me consider buying one and taking it to a luthier to shape it to what I would want. I also prefer a slimmer neck on guitars.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Thanks so much for subscribing and your kind words. Putting a Tele together from parts isn’t hard. I do a lot of extra stuff that you can avoid it you want. I like to reshape the neck and refret. These are sometimes the real weakness with kits. Best of luck C

[@RyanChenMusic]

that string ferrule method is genius. I'm no luthier but it seems the straightness of the ferrules is purely cosmetic, so if it looks straight even though its slightly crooked within the wood, that's seems just as good as far as i'm concerned!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

An ideal method would use a deep throated pillar/press drill. In the factory this is now done with a cnc and was originally done with drill system with six chucks. My pillar drill is to shallow and so I had to think up a new way. It’s adequate. I’m not a factory and seldom make telecasters so this method gets me there.

[@petertheobald5898]

Great demos and instruction, Chris! ....As for the polished part of the bridge in front of the pup, I have a suggestion? ...The original 52 tele was mostly shown with ash tray cover attached in publicity shots and so this part of the bridge was the only part visible above front view??!!🤔🤗

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Someone posted this earlier. It’s the right answer. Great piece of economy by Fender isn’t it? Thanks for watching

[@charliedogproductions]

gonna be building my own tele over the next few months probably. can't wait for the next part. these videos are super helpful!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Next part coming soon. Thanks for your input and support

[@WS-bk7uu]

Love how you break everything down, especially for complete novices like myself!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

I always think I talk too much. That’s my way of saying thank you. C

[@vntg649]

Really enjoying your build! Plan to build a tele in the next year as my first.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

It’s the best way to start your journey as a guitar maker. You learn so much.

[@sisdl15]

Thanks again for this series, Chris! Trying to get my head around my first build. I thought most bodies would fit most necks, and notice that most Tele bodies come with holes already drilled for bridge and ferrules etc. So what made you drill them in a different position?

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

The body was from a guitar I bought for my son a long time ago. It had a modern six saddle design and the string holes were in a different place. This meant they didn’t line up with the vintage bridge I wanted to use. I therefore had to drill new ones as you cannot simply move the bridge. It’s very unlikely the you would have this problem. The very best of luck with your build. C

[@waynekeenan6252]

just subscribed this morning love your content i could watch all day my good friend is a luthier and together we are making myself a telecaster which i have airbrushed heath ledgers joker on were nearly ready to have it completed thanks for the great content wish you all the best with your channel

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Thanks so much Wayne. I’d love to see your telecaster and the artwork. All the best with your project.

[@waynekeenan6252]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking i shall send you pictures via email when it is completed i shall be in touch

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

@@waynekeenan6252 I look forward to it

[@juliomorel5516]

Nice!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Thanks! Very kind of you as always Julio. Thanks for sticking with me. I hope I can get a community page going soon so we can all interact around a subject. Take care Cx

[@markrup6369]

Been waiting for this!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

One more after that one Mark then it’s on to something different. What would you build?

[@markrup6369]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking I don't know, Chris. Perhaps try a Telecaster next? Haha...

[@piotrkarel]

have you considered drilling the string through holes from both ends? You can drill the outside ones all the way through and inside 4 half way. Then you hold the bridge on the other side to mark the holes precisely and drill from the back. Just wondering?

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Would run the risk of missing the other hole and creating a ridge inside the channel where the strings will get trapped. I considered it once but couldn’t guarantee a perfect match. My current method works really well. Thanks for your input. C

[@piotrkarel]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking Fair, thank you :)

[@Vidar.m]

Considering getting a squier tele deluxe and upgrade it.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

It’s a good way to go, but you must consider that you’re gonna have to do an awful lot of stripping in order to get off the polyurethane finish. I have to say that can be quite challenging as it can be ludicrously thick. But I would never discourage anyone from building their own instrument.

[@tidesmain]

I recommend getting smaller template bit (I use WPW PFT30633) for ferrules and pegs. I have no drill press yet manage to achieve pretty much perfect holes by simply routing them.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Interesting. I had a look for that and found one. I use my jig as I get great results and it fast and simple. The error becomes a non issue as it is internalised. Whatever gets the job done

[@rudiyantohalim736]

I would suggest to make the Ferrules flush into the body, though it's not vintage

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Hmm I don’t think so. I’m gonna stick to the vintage vibe. It’s purely a personal preference thing. Thanks for you input.

[@rudiyantohalim736]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking I've guess it, that's why I said it's not vintage. I'm enjoying this series, because lately, I'm curious about Tele. Been playin strat for a long time.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

@@rudiyantohalim736 I love strats too. My problem is I love all guitars. I’m addicted. Way too many guitars in my house.

[@rudiyantohalim736]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking Dang....lucky you 😁👍Which one is your fav? I'm dreamin a Gibson Les Paul, because it's very diffrent from my strat(Construction, pickups, scale lenght). And my Heroes like Gary Moore to Slash play one

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

@@rudiyantohalim736 my current fave guitar is the Harmony Stratotone I made recently. There is a full build 7 part video here. It’s light and easy to play. I use it like a handy acoustic. Different guitars make us play different stuff and differently. I also use the orange tele quite a lot. I tend to circle through my collection.

[@terryjohinke8065]

Good job . But I would prefer you stated ALL measurements in inches and fractions of inches. Even though I'm Australian, and we've been working with metric since the 70s, all instruments were made in imperial. Please could you state both?

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

I’m sorry Terry. I pretty much think in both with a bias towards metric. But it’s unlikely I can summon my primary school self to revert to 15/54ths of an inch. I try to steer away from measurements generally apart from scale length which I think of in terms of inches only. It’s just me making guitars at the end of the day. I’m putting in a huge effort filming, presenting, editing and publishing my work whilst actually building a guitar in real time at the same time. If you could perhaps look up what 22mm is in imperial I will cover all the other aspects. Thanks for your support. C

[@M5guitar1]

I'm surprised that you didn't take a measure of the bridge position to make sure the intonation is ok.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

You think I didn’t?

[@ClinToneCust23]

where do i get the ferrale hole template?

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

That’s a good question. I can’t remember where I got this from. It’s so useless!! I’ll look for it again and get a link for you.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141639813691?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=XbFzf4xyQZO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[@ClinToneCust23]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking I think I would like to build my own.. just unsure how to go about getting the perfect measurements

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

@@ClinToneCust23 I think life is too short to do stuff you can easily buy. I’d rather get in with the guitar. I do build jigs and templates but I so often find I never use them again. This plate gets used a lot though and not just on telecasters.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

@@ClinToneCust23 you could always get the bridge and drill through the holes. No measurements required that way. I’m ruler phobic

[@tylerjarrett981]

Do you have any good suggestions for a cheap high quality neck I can fix up to use for my tele build?

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

That is a toughie Tyler. I would scan AliExpress for a 50/60's style TL style neck. Vintage style would have 21 frets. Rosewood necks are far better to handle for a novice as maple necks are harder to refret and refinish. I will have a look for you.

[@tylerjarrett981]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking Ok awesome! Thanks so much! I’m trying to build my dream guitar but on a budget because I’m a teen and don’t have lots of money haha

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

This is silly cheap but would be great to experiment with >but watch out for shipping costs! < Take a look around AliExpress. It's silly cheap and shipping times can be up to 30 days. I use them A LOT. www.aliexpress.com/item/4001068519329.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.69d41e10f9FliS&algo_pvid=d99d9739-acee-41c2-896f-2d30a3ae650d&algo_exp_id=d99d9739-acee-41c2-896f-2d30a3ae650d-4&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000014020873557%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21GBP%21%2114.51%21%21%21%21%21%402100bdde16547197128522415e9f20%2110000014020873557%21sea

[@NEILBSMITH]

@@tylerjarrett981 Where are you located? I have an extra one with an ebony fingerboard.

[@tylerjarrett981]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking awesome thank you so much! I enjoy your videos a lot!

[@MegaJimako]

Do you put copper tape in cavities? I mean guitar cavities...not teeth... :p

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Funny. I have done it in the past. To be honest I’m not convinced it does much. Mostly I don’t bother. But I guess if I had screening issues I would give it a go. I should do an A B comparison one day to find out definitively if it does anything at all. C

[@asensibleyoungman2978]

Men doing things in sheds = real men.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Shedhalla. My second realm. C

[@vk2ktm]

Hi Chris, Your production work is good. I really appreciate that you discuss issues, but don't waste time discussing your thought process. there are a lot of 20 minute vids that should be 5 minutes long - yours are not among them.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Kind words thanks VK2KTM. It's obvious that you get what I am trying to do. There are too many lock off videos with no commentary. I am trying to entertain and make guitars. Ocassionally, both fail but hopefully not at the same time. C

[@vk2ktm]

@@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking I fix and repair things, and play guitar as a hobby. I've learnt how to repair and set up guitars via youtube. my first build project will be a baritone. Watching people like you gives me the ability to dream and plan. thanks.

[@tmeyer2022]

Using a 4.5mm drill bit: "I don't know what that is in American". Here's a clue: In America, we are still mostly using the British Imperial systems! Oops!

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

Indeed you are. The idiot in charge here, recently threatened to bring back imperial units. It didn’t go down well.

[@Brian-zb5ct]

The profile of the back of that headstock is horrible.

[@chrisreynoldsguitarmaking]

I’m always baffled when someone lobs in a negative comment like yours. The back of a telecaster headstock is a pretty standard thing. I can honestly say I have given it no thought whatsoever. It’s how they are and this one is pretty normal. I could go on and take a look at others but unfortunately the prospect bores me almost as much as your inane comment. Big love C