Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build - Finished

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Rasalrew
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Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build - Finished

Post by Rasalrew » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:07 pm

Hey everyone, first post and first “build”. I have been going through posts, getting ideas, and admiring the community on this forum, and figured I’d share my project thus far. Maybe it can help someone down the line!

Always loved the look of an offset, but the Telecaster was the first true love, and when I saw telemasters and jazzcasters, it really stuck with me. Had the chance to play a Johnny Marr Jaguar at a local shop last year and connected immediately with how it felt & played and really sealed the deal. I wanted to give my first stab at doing something on my own instead of going to the custom shop route. I bought a Squire Vintage Modified Jaguar off secondhand at a that made the rest of the project seem reasonable.

There have been plenty of mistakes along the way. Some I decided to keep visible because I felt like it was a part of the learning curve (and partly frustration Ha!). For now it is what it is, and I’m still proud.


 Instead of trying to cram the entire build into one post, I'll go in sections with as much information as I can give. I don't own a woodshop, or a garage, I have my apartment, a tiny balcony, a rehearsal space, and limited access to a friends tool shed and carport. With patience an a lot of determination I was able to make these work for me.

Alright, let's start with the body!

I came across an Image online of this customized Squire VM Jaguar. I loved the color and tones. Almost pulled the trigger on ReRanch Desert Tan 55’, but found a nitro-combi spray locally. I was able to test multiple colors & not feel guilty about shipping costs and buying blindly online.

The first steps were to gut the second-hand purchase, strip it, plug unwanted cavities, route new cavities, sand, bondo, seal, color, clear, and finish with compound.

Below is the inspiration:

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Here is the body process:

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Body is basswood, I wanted a light guitar. While I feel its possible to refinish a basswood body, I don't recommend it. The fibers tend to break, rip up, dent and heats very easily. I had to sand, re-sand, fill, re-sand...fill....you get it. Heating the poly and scraping it up was not fun. If I do this again I would use ash, or something similar.
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I needed to plug up the jaguar control plate cavity. I got some scrap basswood shaped as best as I could, glued and malleted into place.
Sanded it down level and filled it. Surprisingly worked well, hopefully, it doesn't shift as the body goes through the elements of time.
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Got a fostner bit and my dinky black and decker drill and went nice and easy for routing, Followed again by, sanding, re-filling, re-sanding.

Color

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Sprayed the first coat outside. Realised I was using the wrong color (Ivory), So I used it a Tack coat and switched over to the appropriate color. Eventually, I switched to shooting passes and coats in a spray booth as the first few passes and coats were drying before they hit the body and caused an awful textured layer. Sanded it down and started over.
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These rattle cans were working great, The nitro-combi worked fine, sandable, dried well, true color. Somewhere one of the passes became a lot darker than the rest, and I didn't realize this until I started sanding what was supposed to be a final coat, wet sanded 800-1200 grit. Dark splotches started showing up as I sanded certain areas. I think this is from running the cans to close to empty. Having already sanded and re-colored quite a few times (and going through 3 1/2 cans of color) I decided to keep the imperfections and move forward, I thought the coat felt nice and thin, as I had sanded so many time, more on this afterward...

Clear
I used a mixture of Watco Clear Semi-Gloss & Satin. let it sit for 20 days in a warm and dry area for wet sanding. In hindsight I would've just went with satin. 2 cans, 800-1200 grit wet sanding. nice and thin.

Rubbing Compound & Polishing
I bought a polishing pad and drill extension and used Meguiars 7 Rubbing Compound & Car Glaze polish. a little goes a long way.
It does attract dust and lint and can leave the guitar feeling gritty if left out for a while, but it does feel and look like a factory finish of polyurethane, which is cool, but not what I was after! haha.

Mistakes
    • Drilled a hole too deep and went through the body of the guitar,
    • Needed to chisel away the side of some cavities for the pickguard and one of them cause cracking and a puncture on the back of the guitar.
    • Weird discoloration from user error or faulty cans.
    • Sanding possibly too far & exposing uncured paint.
    • Applied color to thick and possibly unevenly, the whole point of a nitro-finish is how thin it can be, and easily it applied. Failed on this.

    Recap
    Becuase of the discoloration and other faulty cosmetic blemishes I tried some relicing in some inconspicuous spots. Checks and dings, general wear, and weather checking (hair dryer & compressed air). I decided not to do anymore, because of how thick the finish is, and I felt like it wasn't authentic looking enough, and I wasn't about the sand away the clear coat to make the discoloration look naturually worn. I'm thinking of ordering a Jaguar body of ash, or some other wood and doing this all over again later on down the line, but for now I can live with it, and I feel like I can do this better. I would use this paint again, but I would control the environment a lot more to ensure proper distribution and cure times. looking back over these photos, the color is insanely ambiguous, it looks green in some light, yellowish in others, tan or cream. I'll follow up with the rest of the process as I get around to it. Thanks for reading! 8) :D :freako:
    - R

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    Patched hole :squint:
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    Puncture hole from extending cavity :fp:
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    Splotchy discolartion Above on the Horn & Arm area
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    Relicing revealing paint thickness

    FINAL FINISH

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    Inside and outside images to show color variation
Last edited by Rasalrew on Thu Sep 20, 2018 8:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by aliendawg » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:36 pm

That's pretty cool, man! I'm not a very knowledgeable guy when it comes to building a guitar. But i think this one is nice!! What neck are you goin to use?

looking forward to see how it all turns out
"With the resurgence of offsets it seems like we're also seeing a resurgence of people who don't know what to do with them" - 601210

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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by alkalineHemlock » Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:24 pm

That plug was super clean, wow. Super excited to see how this turns out, may just need to try something similar one day too!

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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by leokula » Mon Jun 18, 2018 6:19 am

Looking great, and this color shade is awesome!
Jaguar > Jazzmaster :)

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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by Rasalrew » Mon Jun 18, 2018 8:45 pm

Thanks guys! Alright, story time about the neck!

I order an unfinished maple CBS style mustang neck through Warmoth, with the intention of converting the headstock to a Tele. I made sure that it fit in the pocket first! Traced and cut a tracing of my Tele neck, & then traced that outline onto both front & back of the new neck. I then carefully cut slits around the outline with the jigsaw, then followed the shape with a few continuous cuts. I finished it by hand with 400 grit and a rounded metal pipe.

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Before the Cut
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After the cut.

Color & Tru-Oil


I had read on another forum of a person coloring their necks with Windsor Newton oil paints, thinned with turpentine. I followed this up with videos of the same process with guitar bodies. Seemed possible so I went for it, starting on the headstock, and back first. Went on well !
NOT the same case for the fretboard. Immediately there was black oil coming from the frets and mixing with the linseed and causing dark streaks on the paint job on the fretboard. I called Warmoth, and this is something they’ve been told happens when using oil paints (and possibly others?) on their necks. Apparently, its the glue reacting, and possibly being removed? I didn’t really get a clear answer, besides “lacquer should work”.

I decided to continue with this carefully. It was a pain, but I managed to make it through and got a nice color. I let it dry for a long time, hitting it with Japan dryer every few days. Moved on to a bunch of Tru-Oil coats. In the end, the finish came out looking great everywhere else but the fretboard. The Tru-Oil pooled up at the frets and left streaks that couldn't be leveled out. I tried to be ok with it, but it bothered me too much.

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Finished Oil Paint & Tru Oil Neck
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With Decal
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Color comparison of Bare wood V.S. Tru-Oil and Oil Paint

Sanded the neck back bare wood. Got 2 Colors of Transtint and whacked it on. I only used lacquer for the headstock face the rest of the neck is Tru-Oiled with nice thin even coats. Admittedly the decal came out better on the Tru-Oil finish during the first attempt. But on the other end, the transtint was really easy to work with, should've done it the first time! Anyway, I'm excited, I like it and can’t wait to play it.


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Pre Laquer & Tru-Oil.
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Finished Neck
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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by Ceylon » Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:20 am

First of all, that's some damn nice work there, especially with the plug and the neck.

I've been wanting to do one of these for a while (not that I have either the tools or the skills) with Jaguar plates and switching, a Tele bridge pickup, a Jaguar middle pickup and maybe a minihumbucker or Firebird pickup in the neck, so to sort of echo the Nashville Deluxe Tele layout. Four-way switch that gives you Bridge-Middle-parallel and series and then on-offs for that circuit and the neck pickup, along with the bass cut and rhythm circuit. I think that would make for a super-versatile guitar. How are you planning on doing the pickups and switching?
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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Thu Jun 21, 2018 8:10 pm

Ceylon wrote:
Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:20 am
I've been wanting to do one of these for a while (not that I have either the tools or the skills) with Jaguar plates and switching, a Tele bridge pickup, a Jaguar middle pickup and maybe a minihumbucker or Firebird pickup in the neck, so to sort of echo the Nashville Deluxe Tele layout. Four-way switch that gives you Bridge-Middle-parallel and series and then on-offs for that circuit and the neck pickup, along with the bass cut and rhythm circuit. I think that would make for a super-versatile guitar.
What would work great for that idea would be what I came up with for my Strazz build: 2 3-way switches (in my case 2 DP3T Mustang-style switches): one for B/B+N/N, but where the neck wire actually comes from the other 3-way switch for M/M+N/N. Depending on where you have the neck/middle pickup switch set, you could have Tele sounds (B/B+N/N), Strat sounds (B+M, M+N) or all 3 (B+M+N), and since it's on 2 switches, you can have different things like 2 or 3 different "presets".

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The schematic I came up with also eliminates any dead spots for the switching as well.

Sorry for the derail Rasalrew!!
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by Rasalrew » Sat Jun 23, 2018 4:08 pm

No derailment at all! Happy for everyone to contribute.

Ceylon I actually asked Jason (Shadoweclipse13) to do a custom schematic for me, and once I have a free day I'm going to get to work soldering it together with some pickups I got from the great Mr. Curtis Novak. I would highly recommend asking him any questions you may have, he is knowledgeable & a skilled electronics wizard for sure!
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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Sun Jun 24, 2018 6:13 pm

Rasalrew wrote:
Sat Jun 23, 2018 4:08 pm
I would highly recommend asking him any questions you may have, he is knowledgeable & a skilled electronics wizard for sure!
Aw, shucks :blush:
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by oid » Sun Jun 24, 2018 6:38 pm

This is turning out to be a great looking guitar, liking pretty much everything about it. What oil colors did you use to get that color on the neck? I suspect if you mixed the oil paint with linseed and then thinned that to a nice wipe on consistency it would keep things thick enough that the solvent would not get up under the frets and melt the glue. Look forward to seeing this one finished up.
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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by Rasalrew » Wed Jun 27, 2018 4:46 pm

oid wrote:
Sun Jun 24, 2018 6:38 pm
This is turning out to be a great looking guitar, liking pretty much everything about it. What oil colors did you use to get that color on the neck? I suspect if you mixed the oil paint with linseed and then thinned that to a nice wipe on consistency it would keep things thick enough that the solvent would not get up under the frets and melt the glue. Look forward to seeing this one finished up.
Thanks!!

Originally I used three colors and mixed them together in a ceramic bowl. Winsor Newton: "Winton Oil Colours"
109 Cadmium Yellow Hue, 76 Burnt Umber, 744 Yellow Ochre. I did this application method twice, but always got a reaction with the fret glue no matter how much I thinned it. The color was LOVELY but such a hassle on the fretboard. I did this application twice on the fretboard, but ultimately after I had finished the neck for the SECOND time, I decided to completely strip it and start a new with Transtint Dye (no different than colortone)

This process was a heck of a lot faster. Colors i used are Honey Amber & Cordovian. A little goes a long way. I diluted the mixture with Alcohol and Water in a glass jar, i don't have any precise measuring, just LOTS of testing on scrap. Applied with a rag. Wear gloves!
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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by oid » Wed Jun 27, 2018 5:14 pm

Rasalrew wrote:
Wed Jun 27, 2018 4:46 pm
Wear gloves!
Where is the fun in that!

I am impressed with myself, I got two out of three of your colors right, missed the cadmium yellow.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by The Dead Ranch Hands » Thu Jun 28, 2018 4:36 am

This is a really interesting project. I think it's going to look great when it's finished

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Re: Jaguar & Telecaster Hybrid Build

Post by ClintCC » Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:12 pm

Great progress thus far! Can't wait to see it complete

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Re: Jag-Tele

Post by Rasalrew » Thu Sep 20, 2018 8:16 am

Done, Done and Done! I finished a few weeks ago but was waiting on some hardware after a few technical issues and wanted to wait until all the new parts were installed. Thank you to Jason for a wonderful schematic.

As I mentioned earlier I abandoned the "relicing" of the guitar pretty early on. for the areas that are reliced I do like, but basswood isn't a very forgiving wood so I just let it be and it'll do its thing over time. Lots of accidental blemishes and clumsy mistakes over the course of the build, but the learning was worth it and If I decide to do this again I'll approach some aspects very differently!

I spent a few days dialing in the bridge, neck & trem systems. Wanted to get this thing set up on my own without bringing it to a tech. Might need the nut slotted deeper a bit, feels high at the first few frets. Also not convinced the tuners are "genuine" fenders, There some slight strip slipping and the suspect is not the trem bar. :-/

Admittedly not used to the smaller neck & fretboard, all those Tele playing years have spoiled me comfort wise... looking forward to the challenge.
Overall really happy with how it looks and how it sounds, and once I work out those final kinks I really think it'll be a wonderful unique guitar.

I've got tons of photos so here are the best ones. I'll post a video/clips if anyone's interested in any of the functions/sounds


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