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Blog Archives

My First CNC Guitar: a Sapele Telecaster

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Sapele Tele

With the CNC up and running it was time to try it out on my first guitar. I’d already decided the next would be a Telecaster thinline out of Sapele with a Maple cap. A “Sapele Tele.” I found a PDF online of a classic Telecaster body. This was opened in CorelDraw! where I was … Continue reading »

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Finishing Up the Body

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Sapele Tele

Ouch! When I was prepping to cut out the body on the CNC, I knew I didn’t have a long enough bit or enough Z height to cut the entire way through from the top. I considered cutting half-way through from the bottom first and then flipping it over, but I was anxious that I … Continue reading »

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Digital Abalone

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Sapele Tele

For this guitar I wanted to do something a bit different for the fret markers. Though I considered a somewhat elaborate inlay like the previous two, for this one I was thinking of something a bit simpler and unique. As I’m in software engineering I’d been toying with the idea of essentially labeling the fret … Continue reading »

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Introducing “Honeybee,” the Sapele-Tele

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Sapele Tele

After a few false starts, first with the headstock finish, next with the body, I finally managed to wrap this project up. I’ve been playing it for a few weeks now at rehearsal and plan to play it in my next gig. Here are the glamour shots fresh from the photographer. The specs: Body: Sapele … Continue reading »

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