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New esquire project... COMPLETE!!!


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57 minutes ago, killerteddybear said:

If this is a transparent finish I'd skip the pickguard.
Or, a clear pickguard. OR, tinted transparent.

Was going to stain and TruOil finish it. A look kind of like the fender sandblasted series. 

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28 minutes ago, Travis said:

Was going to stain and TruOil finish it. A look kind of like the fender sandblasted series. 

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That's the DGS photo for my 2014 Sandblasted Tele, since then I've swapped out the black pickguard for a white one.  Of course, if I change my mind, I can always swap it back.

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  • 2 months later...

Getting closer...

Body stained and oiled. Hardware mounted and electronics completely wired up. All that’s left is to bolt on the neck and pickguard. Decided on a matte black pickugard to cover up a little bit of bleed in the black when applying the blue stain. This was my first time doing a staining process like this so it’s far from a pro job. But the point of this project was not to end up with something immaculate looking. This is something for me to play hard and beat up. 

Couple of issues slowed me down a little bit. When installing the bridge yesterday, two of the screws stripped completely. Damn you, Joe Barden and your soft ass screws...  had to drill them out to remove from he body. Trip to the hardware store this morning for some wood screws took care of getting the bridge mounted  

After two different sets of knobs purchased, neither set fitting even tho I ordered ones that were supposed to fit the 1/4” CTS pots that came with the RS vintage upgrade kit I got. Pulled the copper sleeve off the volume pot and one knob slid right on. The solid shaft tone knob wasn’t having it. So I drilled out the knob a bit to make it fit. 

Anyway...  should be able to complete it next weekend and be ready to plug in. 
 

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11 minutes ago, RobB said:

That looks great! Very original look and feel. I was wrong about the stained finish. The tru-oil gives it a nice sheen. Good job!

Thanks!  Few coats of the tru-oil and rubbed it down with a scotch brite pad to give it a super smooth satin feel. I like how it turned out so far. 

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48 minutes ago, bubs_42 said:

Good to see that Badger set you up with some great knobs. 😀

I’ve got a set of standard chrome dome knobs to put on there but wanted something a bit non traditional with this build. They feel really nice and the CTS pots from RS spin super smooth. We’ll see what I think when it’s complete and I can actually play it...

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13 minutes ago, bubs_42 said:

Loose the guard and keep the knobs.

I’m going to wait to drill the holes until I get the neck attached. Then I can do a photo comparison side by side and see which I prefer. 

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Got the Esquire up and running. Will need to file down the nut a bit and fine tune the pickup height to dial it in 100% but I got a feel for how it’ll be. @JGravelin makes a killer pickup and this tele bridge he wound for me is no exception. Super clean and twangy at low/no gain settings, raunchy when pushed to an AC/DC style crunch. Push the amp into slight breakup and then roll off the volume a bit, cleans up really nicely. 

All in all, I’m very pleased with the way this project ended up, only a few frustrations along the way. With all of the delays due to parts availability and shipping with Covid/2020, it took me much longer than I anticipated. But hey, someone wiser and more talented than I said it best, “the waiting is the hardest part”

Already have the next project planned...  😜

 

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21 minutes ago, specialk said:

Can I like this one more than once? 😁 Beautiful. 

Thank you!

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  • Travis changed the title to New esquire project... COMPLETE!!!
10 minutes ago, Dutchman said:

And no pick guard! Great Choice! Kinda looks like a Novo creation! Great job!!

Thanks! Once I put it all together it really seems to pop without the pickguard. Can’t wait to get it all dialed in and get some significant play time in on it. 

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Congrats on the build, that's a very sharp-lookin' Covidcaster!  Your photos make me want another one!  It's a very cost-effective build also, considering used sandblasted Fender guitars are way overpriced on Reverb, IMO.

I'm guessing that you went over the grain areas with black pigment to highlight them, then wiped off the excess, leaving the black pigment in only the grained areas?  That would make the most sense to me.  It seems to me that Fender always described the 'sandblasted' process backwards.  Fender's own description of the 'sandblasting' process doesn't make any sense to me, especially since I have an example to look at firsthand. 

From what I can tell, the black grain 'highlights' on my Fender Sandblasted Tele appear to me to have been applied after the color finish, not before; and after the sandblasting process, not before...otherwise, the black highlights would be diminished, blasted away more or less.  Plus, there's tell-tale traces of black pigment on the unblasted painted areas of the guitar body, not just in the blasted grain areas .  I'm no expert, but that's my semi-educated guess; and all other photos of original Fender Sandblasted guitars that I can find appear to me to show that they were done the same way.  Here's Fender's description from a Sweetwater ad, and again their description seems backwards to me:

After Fender applied a transparent finish to this guitar's ash body, it was sandblasted, leaving its surface grain pattern textured with ruts and grooves. Its black grain-filler coat was then visible beneath the color finish coat, creating a one-of-a-kind surface topography — no two sandblasted instruments are alike.  Note: The process of sandblasting often reveals natural anomalies within the wood.

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1 hour ago, crunchee said:

Congrats on the build, that's a very sharp-lookin' Covidcaster!  Your photos make me want another one!  It's a very cost-effective build also, considering used sandblasted Fender guitars are way overpriced on Reverb, IMO.

I'm guessing that you went over the grain areas with black pigment to highlight them, then wiped off the excess, leaving the black pigment in only the grained areas?  That would make the most sense to me.  It seems to me that Fender always described the 'sandblasted' process backwards.  Fender's own description of the 'sandblasting' process doesn't make any sense to me, especially since I have an example to look at firsthand. 

From what I can tell, the black grain 'highlights' on my Fender Sandblasted Tele appear to me to have been applied after the color finish, not before; and after the sandblasting process, not before...otherwise, the black highlights would be diminished, blasted away more or less.  Plus, there's tell-tale traces of black pigment on the unblasted painted areas of the guitar body, not just in the blasted grain areas .  I'm no expert, but that's my semi-educated guess; and all other photos of original Fender Sandblasted guitars that I can find appear to me to show that they were done the same way.  Here's Fender's description from a Sweetwater ad, and again their description seems backwards to me:

After Fender applied a transparent finish to this guitar's ash body, it was sandblasted, leaving its surface grain pattern textured with ruts and grooves. Its black grain-filler coat was then visible beneath the color finish coat, creating a one-of-a-kind surface topography — no two sandblasted instruments are alike.  Note: The process of sandblasting often reveals natural anomalies within the wood.

Thanks!  And yup, that’s how I did the finish on this. Black stain, sanded back, blue stain, oil. (Well, several rounds of staining/sanding)

 

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