Congratulations goes out to John Forrester for his guitar build, to earn him Guitar of the Month for November 2024.
John used our TCK-100 kit as the basis to create his guitar.
“This is my 3rd Solo kit. I found this TCK-100 semi hollow kit from the B-stock section of the Solo website with minimal flaws on it.
I have always wanted a Tele with humbuckers and figured it should be fairly simple to do. Not so much! I only have basic tools to route out the pickup space and constructed a new bridge and scratch plate out of aluminum.
Body
I started by sanding down the body with sandpaper ranging from 200-500 grit until all the sealer was removed and then filled all the scratch plate holes with wood filler and sanded it smooth.
The bridge cavity was made larger to accommodate a Humbucker using forsner bits and chisels.
Three coats of Minwax true black stain were used on the back and sides. Sanding between each coat. The front was painted using Rustolium metallic aged gold paint. I applied three coats, sanding between coats, and did a final coat while the previous one was still wet which created the crackled effect. I used four coats of Rustolium semi-gloss clear coat to seal everything. On the final coat on the back, a large amount of overspray started to drip on one section. After many attempts to fix it, I ended up sanding it back down to where it is now and decided to put a tree of life image there instead. The image was downloaded off the internet and printed onto a wax paper sheet and pressed onto the body. I added additional colouring and very carefully sealed with three coats of clear coat.
I used recycled perforated metal for the F hole and the control cavity. The control cover is secured using magnets glued to wood dowels inside the cavity. A three way lever switch selects the pickups and a CTS push/pull 500k pot volume control splits both pickup coils. The humbuckers are from an Epiphone 339 that I upgraded previously.
The bridge and neck pickup plate was made from a sheet of aluminum and there were a few other attempts that didn’t work out. I might upgrade the saddles in the future.
I attached two rubber feet to the bottom of the guitar to keep it stable when leaning it against a wall or amp.
Neck
The neck was sanded down with 200-500 grit sandpaper and finished with tung oil and sanded down again with 500 grit sandpaper for a smooth finish. I painted the headstock with the gold body paint and sealed with the clear coat. Wilkinson tuners were installed and highly recommended – Very stable. I removed the existing plastic nut and installed a brass nut. Also, roller string trees were installed.
To attach the neck I drilled out the screw hole and installed grommets instead of using the neck plate for a cleaner look.
There were many challenges to overcome on this build. Mistakes let to a better finished product, especially on the back of the body and the bridge. All the parts fit together very well. I have no issues with the quality of the guitar.
On to the next project!”
– John Forrester
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