Well she is pretty much done. Strange looking guitar but happy overall. Lots of swirls from polishing so I’m going to try turtle wax swirl remover and see how that goes.
Intonation was a big worry but I have set it up and it is fine. Dead happy it plays great too. Tusq nut going in today. I’ll get more photos and do a sum up of the build later today hopefully.
I think I’m gonna call this one done. It’s been setup, just needs a clean down really.
TLA 1-S Kit
Splatted maple top stained with Coolangatta gold.
Ash body sprayed Pelham blue nitro straight on to the wood to show the grain then finished with nitro lacquer.
Maple neck and headstock sprayed blue too. First time using sanding sealer too, the neck feels like glass after polishing up the lacquer.
Grover tuners upgrade ( I would definitely recommend )
Graphtech Tusq nut which also I would recommend, although I haven’t had time to compare with the bone nut on my other build.
PS: if anyone goes for tusq I had to get the epiphone version of the nut and not the Gibson one to fit the pitbull neck.
CTS pots
Patent pending switch
.47 orange drop cap
Dingo cap resistor combo
GFS 63 Tele vintage wound pro bridge pickup
GFS vintage 59 classic alnico V neck pick up
Stock bridge which I may upgrade but I’m so happy with the sound this thing makes I am struggling to spend the money on an upgrade. Will it make that much difference??
Frets have been levelled ( only my 2nd go at it). Recrossed and polished. Put a set of flats on it ( first time ever playing with these on guitar)
Setup and playing great. I might have a go at a sound demo and post up a video.
I just need to give it a good clean. The grain is still prominent on the back and I have got some cutting compound stuck in there. I’ve tried water and a cloth to no avail. I’m scared to use turps or metho in case it melts the nitro. Anyone any ideas?
It’s no guitar of the month entry but happy with it and learning so much with each build. As always thanks to everyone’s help on here. It’s one of the most helpful forums I’ve been on for anything. I don’t post much because I don’t really have any knowledge to contribute but hopefully I can help after a few more builds.
Would anyone have any idea on how to solve this problem? I’d really like to stain the back of this body and not fill The gap and spray solid colour on it? Some glue and clamps maybe?
Is the join exactly on the centreline of the body, such that you’ll be wanting to put a strap button there? And, if you have clamps large enough, can you squeeze the gap closed dry with clamp pressure?
If it’s on the centreline I’d squeeze it closed, mark where your strap button will be, drill a hole for a thin dowel (~5cm deep) at the button mark, unclamp it and squeeze in Titebond (thinned with some water if needed), push in the dowel to force in the glue, then clamp to close the gap. Leave to set and then trim the dowel flush. The dowel provides a solid point for your strap button and will in turn be hidden by it.
If you can’t squeeze it closed dry then injecting thinner glue (CA/super) and/or filling with a glue and sawdust mix may be needed. If it’s not on the centreline then some more pictures and info will help to assess the situation.
I'd certainly try it, with some lightly watered down wood glue to penetrate the cracks. Use a syringe with a thin nozzle if you have one as it's important to get glue on all those inner surfaces. But it's very awkward shape to clamp, as the edges you want to clamp down hard on are all curved. All I can think of is cutting out a couple of pieces of wood that compliment the edges but the curves go past the middle so that you can clamp it in on both sides of the 'hump' of the body curves to hold it in place like this*:
Use the outline of the body as a template to draw out the shape on some wood, and cut it out with a jigsaw or coping saw. You don't need to be super accurate, just good enough so that it fits around the body shape.
*Note how I've deliberately altered the body shape to avoid infringing any possible copyright infringement, and not just drawn it badly.
I'd check the clamping actually works and closes up the gap with a dry run before using any glue. You don't want a mess of glue in there and then find you can't clamp it and so the glue dries without filling the gap or providing a proper join.
Last edited by Simon Barden; 09-08-2020 at 11:53 PM.
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