Five years ago, I started making a Tele-style guitar inspired by the Gretsch Roundup. When Covid hit, I was up to my ears in repair work and lost my shop help, so I was forced to put the project aside. But the time is now right to complete the build.
1) My creation has a pine body and old-growth Honduras mahogany neck. It’s routed and drilled for a Joe Glaser string bender.
2) The body is bound with herringbone and tortoiseshell on top. And while herringbone looks great with a black pickguard, I’ll keep this build more “Gretschy” by making a thin leather pickguard with stitched edges.
3) I decided to install banjo-style tuners because I love their look and function. However, they wouldn’t fit in the standard six-in-line holes I’d drilled in the peghead, so I used mahogany to plug the holes.
4) To hide the plugs, I wanted to veneer the front and back with matching mahogany. Because veneer adds thickness, I used a rotary Safe-T-Planer to remove 1/16″ of wood from the front and back. I was sure to avoid planing into the upward curve toward the nut (my stopping point is the gray line).
5) I completed leveling into the curve by clamping the neck into a mill and using a drum sander. Because I couldn’t see what I was cutting, I checked often to be sure I didn’t go too far.
6) The front after leveling…
7) … and the back.
8) Using mahogany sanded to 1/16″ thick, I sawed two overlays to finalize the shape of the headstock. After cutting the pieces, I wetted and bent them into a curve on a hard-maple dowel.
9) Here’s the overlay ready to be glued onto the face….
10) TiteBond glue and plenty of clamp pressure kept it right while it dried.
11) Once both sides were veneered, I drilled and installed the new tuners.
12) I’ve mentioned Rickard Cyclone tuners a couple times before; they’re simply the best I’ve ever used.
After I was ready to final-shape and sand the peghead, I turned my attention to the body. My shopmate, Elliot John Conry, made a branding iron with my initials, which I’ll use to mark the body (like Gretsch). To decide location, I drew the brand on a piece of mylar (top), and in the November issue, you’ll see where it lands. I’ll also spray the body Amber Sunset orange, assemble the guitar, and install the Glaser string bender.
Dan Erlewine has been repairing guitars for more than 50 years. The author of three books and dozens of magazine articles, he has also produced instructional videotapes and DVDs on guitar repair. From 1986 through his retirement in late 2019, Erlewine was part of the R&D team and company liaison for Stewart-MacDonald’s Guitar Shop Supply. Today, he operates a repair shop in Athens, Ohio, where he builds replicas of the guitars he made for Albert King and Jerry Garcia in 1972. This column has appeared in VG since March, 2004. You can contact him at danerlewine@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared in VG’s September 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.