BUILDER’S YARN
I’ve just bought Guitarist magazine, as I have been doing since the 1980s, and this issue (445) coincides with me completing a home-build Barncaster, which is a Telecaster made from floorboards. However, mine has not been built from barn floorboards but was a cheap kit (which weighed a ton). Out came the planer, which removed a good inch from the back and then, with the addition of chamfers matching those of a Stratocaster, the weight problem was remedied.
A quick trawl of Amazon soon got me upgraded control panels and new machine heads. Watching Crimson Guitars on You Tube presented me with some really great ideas, and I also I watched quite a few videos about finishing techniques. I actually did some electroplating of the neck plate, which worked a treat.
I am now approaching 70 and the guitar build was a bucketlist to-do before I kick it. I will probably pass the Barncaster to one of my nephews; both can read music and are really creative youngsters, so it will be going to a good home. The Barncaster plays as good as my Stratocaster and weighs about the same.
Guitarist is a great magazine and it’s good to see that there are quite a few readers who are into building guitars. It’s really worth the time and effort; with careful work you can build a unique instrument. Paul Kelly, via email
Nice work, Paul – the ‘Barncaster’ is a beauty and with a name like that and Tele looks, it’s surely born to play country music? Joking aside, we’d like to thank all the readers who’ve sent in their pics of homebuild guitars. Keep them coming and we might well run a competition to find the nation’s top home builder.
In the meantime, we’ve heeded the call of readers’ interest in building guitars, amps and effects with a new series of features called ‘The Build’. In the first installment, on page 86, we packed Nev Marten off to build a stunning tweed combo at Rift Amps and we have more projects in the pipeline.
Send in your suggestions for the builds you’d like us to tackle and we’ll have a go at the best and share what we’ve learned along the way.