Tele Build Project

[t_ross33]

Cruising Kijiji (more popular than Craigslist in these here parts), I ran across a nice loaded Squier tele body (the neck had been removed for another project) for cheap cheap. "Hmmmm" I thought to myself, I have a tele neck and some misc. parts kicking around from my "Modified Vintage Modified" project. So I'm going to build an "Affinity Vintage Modified" tele.

• Candy Apple Red Squier Affinity tele body w/ hardtail bridge
• 9.5 in radius maple neck
• Duncan Designed humbucker (neck) and stacked tele p'up (bridge)
• New 3-way switch and pots
• white pearloid pickguard. Maybe - would look good, but I have a white tele pickguard for a neck 'bucker to use. The pearloid might be better eye-candy for resale though.

It's going to take some modification as the neck p'up route is single coil only. Gonna have to dig it out to fit the humbucker - that should be interesting - ha ha.

The goal is to a) practice my wiring, soldering and woodworking skills; b) use up some spare parts that are just gathering dust; and c) flip it and make a little bit of moolah. A new VM Tele runs about $350. For an investment of about $75-$80 I should be able to sell it for $250.

I'll post pics of my progress. Wish me luck!

 

[t_ross33]

A New Hope

Loaded Squier Affinity Telecaster body...

A quick mock-up of the soon to be Affinity Vintage Modified Tele...

 

[Hampus]

Wicked :spank I like!

 

[bcdon]

I really like the maple neck paired with the candy apple red body.

 

[FrankenFretter]

Nice! Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

 

[Katastrophe]

Looks great! I like the grain on that neck.

 

[Algonquin]

Good luck with the build Trev... you might just find yourself a keeper when you're finished!

Have fun! :AOK

 

[guitarhack]

That's certainly a pretty neck. It looks great with the body.

 

[t_ross33]

UPDATE: new pots and 3-way switch on the way from guitarfetish.com. In addition, I'm going with a white pearloid pickguard. Once it arrives, I'll lay out what I need to scoop out of the pickup route to accommodate the neck humbucker. Excited to get started! I'm just afraid I won't be able to sell it once it's done - LOL!

 

[Commodore 64]

In my experience selling partscasters south of your border, you can reasonably expect $150 from something made from MiM standard parts. That said, the thinner, lighter Affinity body and top loading bridge might be pretty cool. Both of my current Tele (one is a Samick) styles are top loaders and I dig em.

 

[t_ross33]

STEP 2: Found a friend with a router :AOK

Naked body before surgery:

Post surgery:

Close up:

It fits!! :

 

[cebreez]

Nice!

 

[bcdon]

Very nice. How did you do the route? Is that something a dremel could do?

 

[t_ross33]

Very nice. How did you do the route? Is that something a dremel could do?

Nope, used a good ol' Black and Decker. (Carefully) peeled about 1/2 inch depth, then set the bit to do the bottom 1/4" or so. Made sure to tape off the top of the body first, one set of hands holding it steady and another set of hands gently working the router... easy if you go slow and take your time. If need be I can clean it up or open it up a bit with a dremel or similar rotary tool, but I think it will work fine.

 

[t_ross33]

OK got everything together, wired up and ready to go, BUT...

I'm having issues with fitting the neck. It seems like the neck pocket on the Affinity Tele is not as deep as a regular Tele. Can this be possible - I know the body is thinner but I would have thought necks were fabricated to a standard dimension? The neck from my Squier Vintage Modified sits too high out of the pocket... even with the saddles cranked up a ridiculous amount the strings still barely get off the 21st fret. What's going on here?

 

[sunvalleylaw]

That looks like a really nice project! I had not checked in in a while. I hope the neck sorts out for you!

 

[t_ross33]

Well I figured it out. The screw holes in the neck from my Vintage Modified Tele were not as deep (apparently) as what an Affinity Tele has. Also, I think the screws from the Affinity Tele were a bit bigger in diameter. This made it very difficult to screw the neck down tight enough to seat properly in the neck pocket. I drilled them out (carefully, with shaking hands and sweat on my brow) and voila... all good. Needs a bit of a set up, but other than that sounds and plays pretty good. I don't think I'll sell it. I'm going to keep it as a backup and for my kids to bang around on. That was a fun project... can't wait to see what's next :dance

 

[Katastrophe]

Pics of the final product!

 

[Eric]

Pics of the final product!

How about this?

 

[t_ross33]

Thanks Eric! I'll try to get some better quality pics up soon. I'm really digging this little tele. It plays and sounds really good. I'm not sure if it's the lighter gauge strings (only had a set of 9's laying around), the top-loader bridge, the lighter/thinner alder body or a combination of everything - but it seems to have a bit more "jangle" than my VM Tele. No longer thinking of selling it. If nothing else it will make a nice backup guitar for gigs.

 

[Katastrophe]

How about this?

Now that's just awesome! Great job!