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Welcome to the Telecaster Project Build blog.  Posts are listed in reverse chronological order, or can be selected via the tiny menu icon at top left.  You might also start at one of the page links above for an overview.
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Process - Electronics

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Soldering the pups was actually one of the most relatively easy aspects to this entire build.  There are good wiring diagrams online, but I really relied on my intuition and a good multimeter.  The switch was the hardest part, only in that there are 8 terminals coming from it while there are only three leads connected to it!  And I wanted to ensure that the forward position went to the neck pup and the rearward position went to the bridge pup.  I easily isolated which terminal did what.  After realizing that each pup connected to two terminals, it was easy to work out which ones would have the right pup active in what position - including both at the middle switch position.
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Template - The Body

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Fortunately, many classic guitar body designs have been around for decades, and plans exist for download or purchase.  Fender plans were especially easy to find online.  My first concern was whether I could print to 1:1 size and trust the measurements.  A quick test print revealed that the output of my pdf plans already printed 1:1 with no changes to printer settings.  Yah! Twelve pages later I had all the 8.5x11 sheets necessary to construct my paper template.  These pages were taped together and then cut to a more manageable size, followed by careful measurement of each element to verify the scale.
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Lessons Learned

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Ok, so every project ends with lessons learned.  If it doesn't, you aren't working hard enough or you have been doing it too long and need to move on to something else.  Me, on the other hand, I end most projects with plenty of lessons; though I try not to, I make mistakes!  And while not always sure that I will try again and benefit from the experience, there is no point in repeating what is avoidable.  I often try new things and move on to the next project, so mistakes are common along the way.  Here's how you can benefit from mine.
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