I built a Tele style guitar with lumber and Masonite. The neck and electronics are from a Squier Affinity.
The body alone can be made very inexpensively, a sheet of hardboard is about $15 and the lumber costs about the same or less.
I used construction grade lumber(buy seasoned lumber, if you can) and hardboard to make a guitar in the shape of a telecaster body.
After sawing the wood, and cutting out the body shape with a scrollsaw, I glued the hardboard top and back to the frame.
I made some templates out of paper, which were helpful for placing the pickup cavities and electronics.
An acrylic neck jig helped line the neck up properly.
Finally, I painted it a bright red color, with some truly suspect graffiti style spray paint.
I recorded some sound samples, which far exceeded my expectations for Squier parts. The Guitar is comfortable to play, not too heavy and keeps good tune.
It's a win, in my book!
Total cost for this build was right around $300, as follows:
Squier Affinity Telecaster....$230
Douglas Fir 2"x12"x8'....$18(divided by 4= $4.50 per body)
Hardboard/Masonite 4'x8'....$15(divided by 6= $2.50 per body)
Top load bridge....$15
Strings....$6
Spray Paint....$10
Vinyl Sticker....$4
Sandpaper....$20
Scroll saw blades....$10
Obviously this build could be made for much less if you already have a donor guitar, or find a $100 donor guitar. At the time of my Squier purchase, used Affinity teles were $200 minimum, so I decided to purchase new.
Currently, the cheapest similar new Dano guitar for sale is $500, so that's a pretty substantial savings.
Thanks KungFu Luke for the scroll saw(and the router)! Learn more at:
kungfucrimewave.bandcamp.com/...