Donāt have a clue as to what would be most suitable in which position, Rob.
And the cavities on the body may have an influence on what can fit without further woodworking.
My tele is a partscaster.
Iām glad i built it, but given the cost of everything, i could have bought a MIA Fender for the cost.
Iāll post up some details once i get home tonight.
1 Like
Yeah Iāve seen necks for like $800+ on their own.
Guess itās one of 2 things, cheapest kit possible for the experience or a custom one built to your ideas.
Downside of the last one is it may not work out wellā¦,
I had been looking at building a cheap kit, but painting the body kept putting me off.
The trigger for my build was a UK retailer posting up some relicād bodies heād had commissioned, which set the build in motion.
The original build thread can be found at WTF do I do with these? (Tele bits and build content!) - Making & Modding Discussions on theFretBoard
Iāve just had a look at what my build cost, and this is the rough breakdown from 2017/8-
Body - Ā£340
Neck - Ā£285
Gotoh bridge + various generic bits (neck plate, jack/socket - Ā£63
More little bits + pieces - Ā£25
Schaller machine heads - Ā£65
Oil City Masterwound SOL67 pickups + loom - Ā£165
The total for parts was just under Ā£1000, plus I paid a tame luthier to give it a once over and make sure I hadnāt made any faux pas.
I have no regrets about building it, as I still love how it looks, plays, and sounds, but it certainly wasnāt a budget build.
I do have an unpainted Strat body, and roasted maple neck (itās not flamed, so is a lot less figured than the one on my Tele) for another project, but Iāve still never decided how I want the body finished 
Seeing the couple images youāve posted, I think you might find some inspiration in this thread - Are there UK builders making ābarncastersā? - Guitar Discussions on theFretBoard
1 Like
ah awesome info. Barncaster, love it!
My Strats are mainly all from parts:
You can get rattle cans of Nitro Cellulose and vintage lacquer if you want to paint them. Iāve done one of mine shell pink.
Find someone with a CNC mill and then you could have any timber you like for the body? Glue up a blank from reclaimed timber or something? Iāve never looked into it but would be surprised if there arenāt CAD designs for nearly-teles and nearly-Strats in the public domain.
2 Likes
CAD Guitar Model - Fender Telecaster ('58 Standard) | Electric Herald like thisā¦ Now Iām tempted! I have a pile of timber of various species.
1 Like
Some inspiration from here
They have paper printed to scale layouts they glue onto the wood (body/neck), that must help a lot?
Have to think about what I would need or find, we have a local manshed that should have some stuff to help
Pretty sure I could find some funky timber here, would need the right cut for the neck, if I went that way, building a whole neck seems a step up though
oh this is interestingā¦ plenty of templates out there
With a bit searching, you can probably find the template for any guitar, along with sources for premade routing templates.
If you want to do some reading up about guitar building in general, try and get a copy of Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock - Itās Here! | Melvyn Hiscock
2 Likes
That does look worth a read!
Hello mate. Iāve also built my own guitar (offset Tele), which probably cost about Ā£1000GBP, maybe more. I was thinking what I could have bought for that money but then it wouldnāt be unique or mean as much to me. 
I saw a Limited Edition Fender Tele based on a 52 but with a roasted ash body/roasted maple neck and couldnāt afford one, so thought Iād try and build my own, thought it would be fun. I tried to use as many Fender parts as I could, to try and closely match the guitar that inspired me.
Anyway, Iām glad I took it to a luthier to do the final setup as a neck I had fitted had maxed-out on the truss rod so had to be returned. Iāve had so many issues with this build, usually down to parts suppliers or the parts themselves, so Iāll be glad to finally get it back and play it!
I apologise for the blabberingā¦
3 Likes
I guess thatās the downside with building a parts caster, can be expensive and no guarantee of a good result.
Looks great though
1 Like
That is the big risk.
Most of the risk can be mitigated by doing lots of research, and asking the right people, the right questions.
Thankfully when I built mine, I made use of the extensive knowledge of various TheFretboard members, to ensure everything I bought was suitable for what I wanted it do. Plus they provided help when I wasnāt sure about anything.
1 Like
So a Roasted swamp ash tele body and a roasted flame maple neck from warmoth looks nice, not ā¦ not cheapā¦
$225 for the body, $489 for the neck (w/t stainless frets, vintage style tuner holes, graphtech nut
I think once wire wool/brushed with true oil , black? pick guard and some brass fittings should look nice!
Nothing ordered yet
So was in Rockshop today trying out a bunch of Teleās , all made in USA, not so impressed with some but that was setup I think.
This one was the best, super light, the wood looked gorgeous but well over blingād for me, its also $9k ahah
Figured out I want a body cut on the inside, probably a sloped heel and possibly an elbow cut too but not 100% on that.
Was ok with the ashtray bridge but imo its not the best solution to a bridge. Have to thinkā¦ but still I think plan on a kit.
This looks intersting
or go for a whole parts cheapie for practice?
Iād vote for the kit but it states āAll challenging wood cutting, drilling and shaping has already been professionally done, as well as fret leveling and dressing.ā
Soā¦ Itās just assembling a bunch of parts again. And finishing.
For my personal preferences, this is not ery stimulating.
Yeah I known what you mean, Iām sure there will be some fangling but not so much actual making rather than assembly