Attaching the Fingerboard....

It's a good idea to score the underside of the fingerboard to help the glue.
Cover the truss rod cavity with masking tape, and trim the tape close to the cavity. Spread your glue (I used Titebond) with a credit card or similar plastic.
Remove the tape!
I had marked the center line of the fingerboard, so I could line it up directly on the neck.
The important part is to be straight! The face of the nut slot should be 18 7/16” (18.4375”) from the edge of the heel (thanks Jim...).

Cutting the neck...

I decided to cut the neck pattern out before attaching the fingerboard. This was because the rosewood board I have is already radiused - so flush trimming the neck would have been difficult to do with a radiused side...

Fitting the Truss Rod...

There was a small gap at the heel end of the truss rod rout - so I plugged it with a small piece of the neck blank scrap. It was a real snug fit without the plug, but thought it wouldn't hurt - just in case over time there was any movement...

Routing the Truss Rod Channel

I placed the truss rod on the blank, lined it up on the center line, positioning it so that the adjusting nut was just shy of the edge of the heel... That marked out the beginning of the rout. Then I marked the truss rod end at the nut side. Ready to rout.

The Real Neck...

Ready to go. I squared up the 4 sides, marked out the center line, and drew the neck outline using the template. Incidentally, I marked the center line on the neck template first. here's how to do it accurately, because the neck tapers toward the nut, and the heel has rounded edges - so it's not as straight forward as just measuring with a ruler.
I used an angle finder (a stainless steel protractor attached to the end of a ruler via a hinge). The neck tapers at 0.84 degrees. so from the heel end, that means 89.16 degrees. 0.16 degrees is pretty hard to measure in woodworking, so 89 degrees is close enough. setting the angle finder at 89 degrees on one side of the top of the heel and at 91 degrees on the other side allows you to mark out equidistant spacing on both sides of the template. Then the points are joined with a straight line. do this again a few inches away and you end up with 2 parallel lines... mark out their respective center points, and you have an axis for the center line of the neck. you will notice that the center also intersects the with the position of the 3rd machine head (G String).
The center line of the neck is what I used for the truss rod rout, as well as lining up the fingerboard later on.
In order to position the neck template correctly over the center line of the birdseye blank, I just lined up their 2 center lines... (then traced the neck outline).

In the first pic you can see the birdseye blank, and in the second you see the center line on the template....

Incidentally, you'll notice that the birdseye maple blank looks much darker and brown than regular maple. I bought a piece that was slowly heated for a couple of days to really dry it. The process also darkens the wood. It's apparently extra stable...

Truss Rod Rout Test

I drew up another neck outline on a new piece of MDF, and instead of cutting it to shape I routed a channel for the truss rod. This was to check that the fence I rigged up was straight - and so I could do another test before the real piece. Worked well.
The truss rod I used is a Hot Rod. It came from Stew Mac. The router bit I used the Hot Rod router bit, also from Stew Mac.
These Hot Rods are designed to go in straight, avoiding the need to worry about routing a curved channel in the neck like they did in the 50's.

Let's Get Started Already... The Neck!

I apologise for the verbal diarrhea thus far - but I suppose that's what blogs are for. When none of your family or friends will listen anymore, it's time to go web....
First step: I bought Vintage Spec Tele Templates from www.canadianteleparts.com.
They are precision CNC Cut templates made from 1/2" MDF. I have been in contact with "Jim" who has been really friendly and quick to help answer my dumbass questions....

I decided to get a piece of 1/2" MDF and practice my bandsaw and flush trim work on test pieces to reduce the risk of wrecking my beautiful Birdseye blank....

I traced the outline of the neck onto my piece of MDF....

Then cut it out on the bandsaw....

Then trimmed it with the router.... (the purchased template is beneath my test template)...


Then I took the opportunity to drill for the tuners...

My Design....

'52 spec body, Swamp Ash Core, AAAA Flamed Maple Top, Double Bound with Pearloid Binding.
'52 spec neck, Birdseye Maple with Rosewood (slab) Fingerboard, 12" Radius, 22 Frets with (probably!) Medium/Medium Fretwire
Vintage Spec Gold Tele Bridge Plate with Brass Saddles
Gold Schaller Locking Tuners with Pearloid Buttons
I plan to wind my own pickups..... more on that to follow...
It's going to be finished in Vintage Amber Nitro, with a Pearloid Pickguard... Mother of Pearl fret markers...

Books I bought early on.....

'Build Your Own Electric Guitar' by Martin Oakham
'Make Your Own Electric Guitar & Bass' by Dennis Waring & David Raymond
'The Fender Telecaster' by A.R. Duchossoir
'Six Decades of the Fender Telecaster' - by Tony Bacon
'The Guitar Pickup Handbook' - by Dave Hunter
'Guitar Electronics For Musicians' - Donald Brosnac
'The Router Book'- by Pat Warner

and whilst not essential for building a Tele, you will need to read 'Unfinished Business - The Life & Times of Danny Gatton' - by Ralph Heibutzki

Crash Course....

First things first. After my initial wave of adrenalin at the thought of building my own, I realized I hadn't ever used a router. Upon further reflection I also had to admit to myself that I had never used a bandsaw.... in fact, if I was to be totally honest, I couldn't recall ever having set foot in a woodwork shop.
Time to educate oneself pronto.
I became a member of 3rd Ward in Brooklyn. It's like a cooperative for creative individuals to use as a workspace and one of their facilities is a wood shop. They also offer educational classes, so I signed up for an introduction to woodworking, as well as an intensive weekend dedicated to the router.
Quite tangential to Telecaster building, but worthy of a mention - 3rd Ward memberships include a free green bike.

Decisions....

Initially, the choices can be overwhelming.... wood choices for neck, fingerboard, body etc..... trim choices, pickup & configuration decisions, hardware, color..... So just before lunacy took hold, I realized that one does not have to limit oneself to just a single build of a lonely guitar..... aha! I began to focus on my FIRST guitar...

In The Beginning.....

I am going to write this as a step by step guide to the way I have decided to approach a Tele build.
I thought I was a purist until I started planning my own build. Like many times in my life, I was wrong. I realized that I loved many fundamental aspects of Leo's design, but that my own version needed to have certain 'modern' aspects as well as my particular Tele aesthetic...
Hopefully, anyone following this will be able to build a Tele using this as a guide. With many uncertainties in the world today - one thing is for sure...... We need more Tele's.