Sheppzcaster - lfgss guitar build collab

Using the original blueprints, I made a template for the scratchplate and routed it out of WBW plastic. I forgot to take any pictures of this, just one of all the statically-charged chips that scattered all over my shed and stuck to everything :)

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The I addressed the edge radius of the guitar, running first a 1/8" then (when we decided it needed a bit more taken off) a 1/4" inch round over bit around the edge of the front and back of the body. The area around the neck pocket is left for now, it'll be addressed properly once the pocket is cut out.

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And once that's combined with the scratchplate and the new nickel telecaster bridge, it's starting to look like the original pictures...

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There are a fair few little bits and pieces left but three main jobs remaining:

• position the bridge and the control plate into the pickupguard so that they all meet closely and without any gaps.
  
• route the neck pocket; and
  
• position / cut the holes for the neck pickup and toggle switch into the pickguard from their cavities underneath it. Not quite sure how to do this accurately yet but I'll definitely need the position of the pickguard fixed relative to the bridge, neck and control plate, so this will be done last.
  

Noiiiice

With the scratchplate cut to size, we need to position stuff on it, in the right place for the routes underneath.

The bridge cutout is easy, as it's pretty square and just needs the bridge positioned. The neck pickup and the control switch are harder, as both the cavities are hidden under the scratchplate.

I was wondering how to do this, but then remembered I had an old telecaster scratchplate kicking around. Given all the routes in the guitar (neck pocket, bridge and neck pickups) were made using a telecaster template, this old scratchplate would fit on the guitar. I.e. in the picture below, the neck pickup is in exactly the right place for the cavity underneath:

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So, I made an MDF template off it using the router, which (when carefully positioned on the Sheppz scratchplate) was used to put in the neck pickup hole:

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Also, I routed out the neck pocket to its finished depth, and cut out the hole between that and the neck pickup cavity

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Finally, I drilled out the cable channels between the various cavities - these are there to run the cables between the control cavity, the pickups and the control switch.

Handily, and accidentally given how much those drill bits wander during use, the hole from the neck to the bridge pickup met up in exactly the same place as that from the bridge to the control cavity. Mostly this just looks neat, but it will also make sure that the cables don't foul on the bridge pickup when it goes in.

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So, progress so far:

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This looks mega!

did you consider taking some more material from behind the scratchplate for alternative pickup options, and to lose some weight?
although when its all wired up it'll look super neat with the wires going through those holes.

We talked a lot earlier on about making the whole thing hollow (or at least chambered). To do this, you'd make a hollowed out body blank (except for places like behind the bridge and where the strap buttons screw into and so on), then put a thin top over the whole thing.

Here's a picture of my Les Paul, where I did something similar before putting the maple cap on.

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However, to do that, you need to either bind the guitar, or be careful about thicknesses of the top, as you otherwise might get a glue joint in the middle of your edge contours.

So... long way of saying we just decided to make weight a priority in choosing the wood and make it a solid body :)

I personally don't like the look of visible weight reduction, even under the scratchplate, but if when we weigh it at the end of the build and @Sheppz want's it a bit lighter then we could certainly do something like that. LIke you say, that would also give more pickup options at the neck by routing a big cavity there, though I'm not sure how regularly people change between pickup types.

Very nice!

Finished off a little job of placing the input jack. First by drilling a hole for the Tele style cap (which will be nickel on the finished product rather than black), then connecting that to the control cavity.

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Then using the telecaster templates to place the bridge screws and string holes, I could place the bridge exactly where it was going to end up in the finished guitar. A cheapo pickup was placed to ensure that there was clearance in the cavity below.

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Then I slide the scratchplate underneath it, and drew around the bridge. That gave an accurate shape of plastic to be removed

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And then it's all put back together again. We were aiming for a tighter fit of the scratchplate around the bridge than a standard telecaster has.

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I think that pretty much all that's left now is to cutout the shape for the control plate to fit into, nickel plate it and position the toggle switch.

Then it'll be off to its new owner for painting...

Love how this is taking shape.

You gonna shield the cavities? If so, what with? I've got a pot of paint if you need it.

My department I think and yes I was assuming I’d use shielding paint

Lots of pictures to post, might not get them all done now!

One of the tricky bits left was to drill the toggle switch hole. It's tricky because we can't see the cavity hole through the scratchplate, so drilling the hole in the scratchplate for the switch becomes difficult.

I.e. how do you drill the centre of that cavity in the scratchplate?

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I found the centre of the hole with a compass, then drew three lines through that centre to the edge of the body, marking them on tape.

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Then, I placed the scratchplate back on and redrew those lines. Their intersection is the centre of that cavity from a couple of steps ago.

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