Tonemaster

Overview

This guitar is based on plans I purchased from Guitar Plans Unlimited. It is a semi-hollow maple/alder bolt-on with a maple/maple neck and telecaster pickups.

Specs

• Curly maple top, chambered alder body
• Maple/maple neck
• Curly maple headstock cap
• Tinted nitrocellulose lacquer finish
• 25.5" scale length with 22 frets
• Stew-Mac 0148 medium/medium fretwire
• GFS "Fatbody" Tele-style pickups
• 3-way pickup selector, 1x tone knob, 1x volume knob with push-pull series switch
• Dunlop straplocks

Body

Gluing and surfacing the blank

Cutting out the body and routing to shape

Chambering and routing the wiring channels

Joining the top

Gluing the top on

Installing the pickup standoffs

Test fit

Finishing

The first time I finished this guitar, I used Sherwin Williams conversion varnish over tinted shellac. This was a mistake -- the shellac was much more flexible than the CV, which let to cracking. Still, it looked great at first.

Buffing

Assembled

Front/Back

Details

Refinishing

A year later I had to strip the original finish off due to severe cracking.

I refinished it in nitrocellulose lacquer, which is much easier to apply than conversion varnish.

Neck

The neck came off a Line 6 Variax guitar. I replaced the fretboard, added a decorative headstock plate, and slightly reshaped the profile.

Fretboard removal

Headstock faceplate

Recarving and side dots

Tuner holes drilled

Completed

Finally, it's done.

Front

Back

Headstock

Details