In the long run you will not save $$$ unless building more guitars as you will likely have tooling expenses depending on the parts/materials you select. You will find it addicting, IMO! It is super satisfying and gives your idle hands a task! Intonation is the most critical measure of course… the rest is all asthetics. Depe ding on your skill level you may end up with rxactly what you want.
I recommend buildi g frim scratch. As ling as you posess a few key tools, the woods are cheaper etc. Building a neck, fretboard, inlays, frets, truss rod, nut and tuners sounds impossible but is, to me, the most rewarding part! Other than playing it, that is. If you need any help… Shout out!!! Łove music! Love building!
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You can definitely do it if you are just moderately handy. Lots of people do. Telecasters are simple things bolted together. The precision luthiery is for other guitars haha. That’s one of the things I love about a Tele. It is humble and unassuming.
@Marcus420 like the tune nice sound/ Little reggae ska vibe going on I’m digging it
Down the road you might hate me for this.
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Haha! Right…
I was going to link the T.Downs pdf
p2?
You might like this one. It was kind of a challenge and I just winged it as I went. Learned a few things that I would have done differently, maybe a Mark II one day. I really enjoy making a quick and simple guitar.
https://www.classicalguitardelcamp.com/viewtopic.php?t=117540
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Find someone that has a cnc machine, locate the telecaster cnc files and find the wood you want to use for the body and go. Cost me about $50 each to have the bodies cut. Or buy a router template and cut your own.
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it’s gonna be really easy if you start with parts. by hand will be easy if you have access to tools and are able bodied.
I made a pine telecaster from the ceiling beam of a very old log cabin. Paid to have a slab cut and leveled at a local mill. I rented time on a cnc to cut the body, and finished the wood work with hand tools.
The neck was made by a wood worker who had a wood shop and machine tools in his garage.
I finished the guitar with hand rubbed clear beeswax based oil finish.
I probably won’t be able to build another guitar… But I’m very happy with this one so I guess I don’t really need to.
If I can ever find some nice salvaged redwood I might get something made locally.
Really, the neck is the only real important part. As long as the neck fits well enough in the neck socket the bridge can be moved around a smidge here or there so the strings line up on the neck. The bridge plate and the pick guard covers up the holes for the pickups. The holes for them are best done with a router, same with the neck socket. But even a Forstner bit and then clean up with a chisel will bet you there. A router is faster and easier though. It also allows you to rough cut the body and with a pattern bit you can clean up the exterior using a pattern shaped on a piece of1/4" mdf. I sort of free-handed cutting the neck pocket here just with a carpenter square.
First coat going on. The big square cutout? Just an experiment I will try as a humbucking coil with the regular coils in single coil configuration. I hate noise. It will be covered up so no big deal.
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Back in the 80’s and 90’s I built a couple guitars with Warmouth parts. Their stuff is amazing quality. Building a strat or tele is super easy. The wiring and setup will take the most time.
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Well since I have two Epiphone Les Paul s, an ES-339, a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, a Paul Reed Smith S2 Custom 22 semihollow, 3 acoustics and an Ibanez bass, I need to come up with a scheme to force the hand of my financial advisor (wife.) To give me a Christmas present.
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Better start thinking, Christmas is coming and there is only so many shipping days left.
Been playing guitar since my early teens…over 25 years!
I’ve played in metal, country, rock, progressive…basically everything other than rap…lol
Here’s a guitar I’m currently building
SG Jr from Precision Guitar Kits out of Canada…imo the best bones in the industry!! This guitar will be loaded with Tone-Pros compensated bridge, and tuners, David Allen P-90, and RS Guitarworks Vintage wiring kit…all top of the line parts!
Guitar progression pics…
Here’s a few of my tube amps as well
Enjoy
Brian(Alaskagrown)
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Precision makes some great guitar kits, better than the OEM manufacturers in a lot of ways. I have wanted to build one of their Les Paul copies, but it would never pass the wife without getting rid of other guitars I own. 
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I.just ordered an ash stratocasty.body from eBay…I.hope.its not.a.mistake…
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My buddy wanted me to make him a SG since he was a big ACDC fan. OK, gave him a Strat copy to learn to play on. Well, not that much fun practicing. Gave it up. See, saved me some work. I just missed a lawsuit Les Paul for $50 this week. The ad was up for 12 minutes and I had to look up the guitar first. Ended up the guy badly screwed up on the name and by the time I figured out what it was it was gone.
Yes the screwed up name probably meant it went cheaper right?
No, I don’t think the guy bothered to find out what they were worth. Not that they were high buck guitars to begin with, it was just that this model made for two years were made well.
Even a Standard, made in Mexico Tele can be a killer guitar and reasonably priced. Tele’s don’t need to be fancy and expensive. In fact, being cheap and cheerful is part of a great Tele to me.
To each his own, and I know they are really sweet, but I couldn’t see spending a lot on one, like the custom shop prices when I can take a Mexican Tele, spend an hour setting it up, maybe doing some fret work although not likely to need it unless you’re picky, and it’s outstanding. I like the “50’s Classic” which has been replaced by a similar model with a different name, but the regular standards are great too.
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what a nice blackface bandmaster @Alaskagrown ! love those amps
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