Telecaster Build - Part 9 - Body and Pickup Routing

This Telecaster build video series is intended for my lutherie students at a Denver area college where I teach electric guitar construction. I decided to make these videos public…hoping that other people all around the world can benefit from them. My students are first time builders and are being required to build a variation of a Telecaster or a Stratocaster. I believe that learning Fender construction techniques is foundational to a well-rounded guitar building education. I am building a Tele in this video series…and I will be building a Strat live at the school. With this foundation, I hope most of the students will continue their education by taking the advanced electric guitar construction course next semester.
This video covers routing the perimeter of the body and all the Telecaster pickup and electronics cavities. Special care is taken to ensure that the center line of the guitar is still valid after creating a great fitting neck pocket. If the center line shifted at all…the entire guitar body would be realigned to correct any change.
Feel free to post a comment should there be any questions…and try to reply to questions as soon as time will allow. Let me know if this serious helps anyone…and any topics that you hope that I will cover in future episodes of this build series.
If you enjoy the intro music on this video, go to ericjasonbrock... to check out more of his songs. Eric is a very talented musician out of Cincinnati Ohio, and I know he would greatly appreciate your support by purchasing some of his music.
The very nice motion design incorporated into the Intro, Outro, and the subtitles as created by Summer Simpson, a professional video editor in the Denver area. Go check out her lengthy resume at www.summerbsimpson.com, and shoot her an email if you need some help with video production.
Make sure you subscribe to the Maximum Guitar Works KZbin channel so that you don’t miss out on future videos. Feel from to post comments and/or questions below. You can also contact me directly at [e-mail].

[@jaredburrows]

Thanks so much for this video. I've built many teles but never thought of using pins in the bridge holes for alignment and holding the template in place. The simplest ideas are the best. I appreciate you sharing your wisdom.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Hey man... that is one good looking bridge!

[@amitsapir2]

One good looking bridge for a good looking fella

[@MatthewSmithx]

really enjoyed this series. I've watched dozens of guitar build videos because my 5 year old daughter has been begging me for a red jazzmaster/jaguar with a white pickguard and the only ~20" scale guitars I can find are all black strats (and I think I'll start her on a 3 string). They all either used tons of specialty tools or didn't go into enough details as to how they did certain operations. I think after watching your neck and neck pocket videos I finally feel ready to dust off the router table and get to building her the world's only red hardtail jazzmaster 3 string 3/4 scale with a p90. Thank you!

[@maximumguitarworks]

Sounds super cool. You will have to send me pictures.

[@MatthewSmithx]

@@maximumguitarworks I definitely will. I have all the CAD worked out so I think i'll order the hardware and get started on it this weekend.

[@juliansuarez3849]

Looking so cool this tele mr stache!!! Super enjoy your work.

[@maximumguitarworks]

Thanks! Not sure if I have ever been known for my mustache...my wife doesn't even know that I have one! ;-)

[@matthewdrake9699]

Absolutely love this, just an awesome channel

[@mmj58bbr]

Fantastic videos. Can you comment on pickup pocket depths calculations for custom pickups such as the loller CC s compared to traditional.

[@MStone-im1mu]

Awesome! Looking GREAT!!!

[@maximumguitarworks]

Thank you...I appreciate your encouragement.

[@palm444]

Tele looks great!

[@maximumguitarworks]

Thanks Steve!

[@amitsapir2]

Thank you Steve! Why don't luthiers make the neck pocket in a shape of something like a jigsaw puzzle, to prevent the neck from shifting to the side? Also, what is the benefit in a neck pocket like on Tom Anderson's guitars?

[@maximumguitarworks]

Amit. Thanks for your comment. Those are a couple good questions...and I honestly don't know if I have the answers. Most companies that make bolt-on necks seem to just follow the Fender standard. It seems like the you could make the pocket in any male/female shape and it would work. The question is why deviate? What Tom does is cool...and you can probably find the answer on forums as to why he does it that way. The true answer might be...because he can. I'm not a guy that believes that we should always do things "because that it how it has always been done". However, most of the time I stray from an acceptable standard, I find out why it was done the way it is. From a builders point of view...a traditional pocket with a slight amount of movement can help tweak the final setup. Once the bolts are tight...it really doesn't matter. There are many people that do things only because it is not what Fender did/does. I believe that Leo was more of a genius than many give him credit for. With that said...I still look for ways to improve my quality and processes.

[@amitsapir2]

@@maximumguitarworks thanks Steve!

[@mgcnashville6615]

What size roundover bit should be used for a traditional telecaster style? 1/8”? Or 1/4”? I know strats use 1/2”. However, I’ve seen conflicting info regarding roundover bit sizes for teles. And, how would one go about rounding over an arm contour?

[@maximumguitarworks]

The bottom line...use what you want. 1/8" is more vintage...1/4" more modern. I use 3/8" because I love the extra comfort. In the end it is up to you and what your goals are.

[@mgcnashville6615]

@@maximumguitarworks Thanks! I agree with the bottom line. Just going for a mix of vintage and modern on this one. Traditional pickup routs, cavity, etc. But with belly and arm contour.

[@stevenboyer8887]

Please name the router bits/bearings you use. Thank you

[@maximumguitarworks]

I will try in the future...can't remember that far back. I know is some video...and some comments I have posted...I have included links to bits that I have used. That is probably more recent videos.

[@brunoCondor]

Thanks again for the lesson Steve !I might have an intresting question. The Tele guitar has 21 frets, but the Strat has 22 frets, as far i can see and count on the video. I can't tell if the stratocaster has a bit of an overlay of the fretboard at the heel of the neck ? That's as far as i know the way Fender does it if there are 22 frets on. So my question is, that's why counterfeit Chinese or other pickguards don't fit on the neck pocket, but a real Fender one does fit on a 22 frets one. I have a Squier Classic Vibe, who has also 22 frets and i've put a Chinese pickguard on it, but had of course a file out situation to make that overlay of the fretboard to fit. However.. miraculously the holes for the pickups still did match up ?? I had allready sold the original pickguard that was on the squier, so i couldn't compare and measure. I also noticed after, i actually didn't need to file out the pickguard pocket of the Chinese pickguard, because the fretboard exactly fitted just over that pickguard, who had probably the same thickness as the original. But if i see a real Mexican or American strat, the distance between the upper side of the neck pickup and the end of the fretboard, no matter if it's a 21 or a 22 fret one seems to be the same ?? Same as on your Tele template here ? And the body shape stays the same.. so that would mean, a template for a 21 strat would not be good for a 22 fret neck. You can't shift the bridge back, because of the scalelenght, so you would have to rearrange the distance of the pickups between the scalelenght point on the bridge and the end of the 22 frets fretboard ? Could you clear this up please Steve ? I' wrestling a long time with this question in my mind now. Thanks in advance ! Greets from Belgium.

[@maximumguitarworks]

Hey Bruno. Once again, thank you for your comments and great discussion point. Honestly, I'm not sure I have your answer. In this case...yes the Tele has 21 frets and a squared off end of the heel. The Strat is a rounded heel end...and the 22nd fret is right at the end of the heel with a slight overhang of the fretboard. The rounded heel does give that slight wiggle room for super minor setup tweaks as I mentioned in the last reply I just posted from Amit. I wouldn't call myself a Fender expert. I have normally shied away from guitar copies because I would rather become known for my own twist on guitars. However, because Fender has an undisputed place in history...I figured that it would be a great place for my students to start. I purchased the CAD plans from a guy online who seemed to have the most accurate files I could find. The bridge location is really the only critical dimension. Let you said...you can't move the bridge. The pickups can be moved a little for spacing...although that would mean you can't use manufactured pickguards. I try to make my own pickguards because I can tweak things as needed. Honestly, I'm not sure if I ever had a Chinese made pickguard to compare to a US/Mex Strat or Tele. So, sorry Bruno...but you might be continuing to wrestle this question for a while longer!

[@brunoCondor]

@@maximumguitarworks Thanks for your time and reply Steve ! Maybee i don't have the full answer, but i got again a bit wiser. If i find out.. and i will.. i am very persistent in that, i'll keep you informed, right away. Thanks again !

[@gerthalberg9735]

Hi Steve - Hmm mother of pearl surrounds on the Pick-ups. What are you going to choose for the pickguard. Black is going to look to hard, mother of Pearl will make the Pick-ups vanish, tortoise will be Odd looking😈

[@katilynboyd3894]

How thick is the body blank when you first get it

[@maximumguitarworks]

1-7/8” to 2.0”

[@katilynboyd3894]

@@maximumguitarworks so would a body blank that's 44.5 mm work

[@maximumguitarworks]

That is the finished thickness of the body. So the blank should start off a little thicker...for sanding and such. With that said...there is no rules that say you can’t vary the thickness some. The builder is the final say. If you go too much thicker...it could be too heavy or uncomfortable (both personal preferences). If you go too thin with the body...that could impact your choices for certain electronics options.

[@katilynboyd3894]

If the body blank already sanded would 44.5mm work

[@maximumguitarworks]

Yes it will...nothing to worry about at all.