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dave.king1
08-01-2016, 02:45 PM
Just saw this on TDPI so went to the website for a look and it would appear that Richard's little one is not well.

I know they were a competitor of Adam's but regardless it's sad to lose another local supplier but understandable under the circumstances.

My best wishes for a good outcome for little Charlie

All the news here
http://www.diyguitars.com.au/closing-down-sale/

Andy40
08-01-2016, 03:19 PM
That is gut-wrenchingly sad to hear for Richard and his family.

tonyw
09-01-2016, 04:24 AM
Just bought a 12 string 335 off him, hope this helps him shut up shop. Nothing worse than trying to close a business down and your left with tonnes of stock.

All the best to him in the future

wazkelly
09-01-2016, 06:04 PM
Sad story all right. Wasn't really ready to buy another kit but like Tony felt I needed to help him clear stock and bought a flame top tele, some pickups and more naughty oil.

Hope things work out better for Richard and his family.

FredA
10-01-2016, 01:29 PM
Pretty sad story indeed. I did like Tony and ordered a 12 string 335...

tonyw
15-01-2016, 01:23 PM
Mine turned up today, not a bad piece of kit, pots and tuners will hit the bin from what i see at the moment, but i knew that was most likely.

wokkaboy
15-01-2016, 02:12 PM
Hi Tony, can we please see some pics when you do a mock build ? What's the cap is it flame maple ?

tonyw
15-01-2016, 02:52 PM
Hi Tony, can we please see some pics when you do a mock build ? What's the cap is it flame maple ?

Yeh mate flame maple veneer front and back, head stock is shaped which i didnt expect. I think all these kits are just about the same, this one has chrome hardware which i am glad of, i dont like gold. The 500k mini pots read 500k to 530k which is ok but one comes in at 430k, these will go into my junk draw and used maybe in cigar box guitars.
Pickups DC resistance read around the 9.9Kwhich doesnt tell me much other than they are alive, i havent done the henries on them, but i am going to wind myself a set of HB's and gut these for future reference.

7633
7634

wokkaboy
15-01-2016, 03:03 PM
wow that kit looks pretty good Tony. Never seen flame maple on the back of the body of a kit guitar, that's a bonus.
Sure you will upgrade all the electrics.
What are the stain plans for his one ?
Presume you will install a bone nut ?
Also how is the neck fit in the body fairly tight ?

tonyw
15-01-2016, 03:24 PM
I have 4 Stu Mac ColorTone stains here i have never opened Black, Mahogany, Cherry Red, Vintage Amber.

At the moment i am thinking of popping the flame front and back with black, rub it back then do a cherry red, darker on the outside and lightening it back to the middle. The bit of basswood between the front and the back, i might do mahogany, then darken the mahogany and do the neck and headstock, its either that or Vintage amber, but i am going to stain a tele neck with the Vintage Amber and a drop of mahogany in it, so dont want to over kill it. Finish? neck will be tru oil, body, i will either use the last of the tru oil i have or shoot some Behlins nitro, then again i might french polish it. My Baritone came out a treat using tru oil so i guess i am leaning a bit that way for the body, seeing as i am used to using it and happy with the results.

The neck fits very nicely into the pocket but i wont say its perfect.

wokkaboy
15-01-2016, 03:34 PM
plans sound great Tony. Just be careful with the veneer you don't sand through. You should get an idea looking from the side of the pup holes the width of the cap but it's often thinner near the edges/binding

tonyw
15-01-2016, 03:46 PM
plans sound great Tony. Just be careful with the veneer you don't sand through. You should get an idea looking from the side of the pup holes the width of the cap but it's often thinner near the edges/binding

Yeh mate already got the gauges out and doing some tapping, there wont be alot of veneer there thats for sure. I am also tomorrow going to be going over it with a magnifying glass looking for glue, i have found 2 nasty pieces at the neck join on the neck itself, some goop will fix it.

Plenty of sanding, but only light on the veneer until i get a few coats of finish on it.

Emily
16-01-2016, 12:59 PM
Bought at flame top tele, some Tru-oil and some stain from him. Wasn't planning on doing another kit but I am excited to get it.

wokkaboy
16-01-2016, 02:30 PM
welcome to the forum Emily, be keen to see some pics of the build, be careful if the veneer is thin not to oversand,

FredA
16-01-2016, 05:22 PM
Hey,
I got mine as well:
7645

Pretty happy with the kit.
I ordered a set of Wilkinson pickups to upgrade the kit pickups. They're a bit larger than the kit one so will have to play a bit with the pickup routes.

I also ordered a bottle of Aussie Oil... quite tempted to try it!
I'm going for a clear natural look on this one, now stain.

Any advice on what to use to grain fill this:
7648
I'm actually tempted to just sand it flat a little bit (very little... don't want to go through the veneer!) and not grain fill, what do you guys reckon?
Cheers

cork sniffer
16-01-2016, 05:33 PM
I'm actually tempted to just sand it flat a little bit (very little... don't want to go through the veneer!) and not grain fill, what do you guys reckon?
Cheers

Fred that's what I'm doing now. This is my first build so I'm feeling my way slowly.
It's for my wife and she wants it super simple, no shine, no decal nothing. I suggested her initials and number 001 on the head stock rear, I got NO! NO! NO!, OK I get it "KISS".
Eight coats on, time to let it sit and harden while I sort the electrics.

7649

tonyw
16-01-2016, 05:43 PM
I may wind myself but i am also thinking about either Gotoh Vintage, or Wilde Bills L500C the latter winning at the moment.

I went over the body today and found 2 small cracks, 1 between the bridge and the stop tail and one just after right on the middle join, these i will fill, the rest of the guitar i am just sanding.I am going over it again tomorrow, i did find a tiny bit of glue on it 1st time around.

I drilled a hole right through a tele headstock today installing tuners, i used to bag people for it, i am realy cranky with myself for the lapse in concentration, havent done it before and have drilled 100's of headstocks, lucky its my neck for a project and it wont be seen when i finish the repair.

wokkaboy
16-01-2016, 11:57 PM
Nice kit Fred. I'd grain fill instead of sanding. Choose a light to medium colour to blend in if you are going natural

FredA
17-01-2016, 07:01 AM
@wokkaboy: thanks for the advice. So sand a little, then grain fill, then sand with 400 and up?
Cheers

Sent from my 0PJA10 using Tapatalk

wokkaboy
17-01-2016, 09:33 AM
Hi Fred, Yes I sand lightly say 180 and 240 grit, then grain fill, and then 240 up to 360 or 400 grit. Once you have grain filled don't sand too hard or it will come out of the pores.
Give the grain filler plenty of time to harden, like 5 or 6 hours I usually do.
I got no idea how thick the veneers are so don't oversand the lower grits

FredA
17-01-2016, 09:43 AM
Thanks for the advice.
I'm considering trying Aussie Oil and they recommend sanding to 1200.
I've tried it on an off cut and it looks okay.
Cheers

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wokkaboy
17-01-2016, 09:47 AM
no worries Fred, be careful if you sand to 1200 grit you are almost polishing the surface and the timber pores won't take as much stain or oils

gavinturner
17-01-2016, 10:34 AM
Hey fred, if you use Aussie oil on the body, my experiences with the stuff might be of some interest to you.

http://guitarkitbuilder.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Using%20Aussie%20Oil

cheers,
Gav.

FredA
17-01-2016, 06:43 PM
Thanks Gavin.
Do you think I should sand to 1200 as suggested on the bottle, or that would polish the wood too much as wokkaboy was saying?
Cheers

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gavinturner
17-01-2016, 07:12 PM
Definitely agree with Wokks. 600 max for the Aussie Oil. It depends too if you want to stain before applying the oil. If you want to stain I would say 400 max or you wont get the depth of colour.

cheers,
Gav.

FredA
18-01-2016, 03:03 AM
Okay will try that. Thanks guys!

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tonyw
18-01-2016, 05:29 AM
When a little glue wont do, this is on both sides, QC was bad that day.

7693

Get some goof off or Goop today

FredA
18-01-2016, 05:50 AM
@tonyw: I've got the same on mine, but only on one side.
Do you find the neck fits in well in the cavity?
I haven't tried to line it up with the strings on, so may be good, but when it is fully pushed in the part of the neck that rests on the body is not completely flat against the top of the body. It touches near the pickup, but not near the end of the body.

tonyw
18-01-2016, 06:11 AM
@tonyw: I've got the same on mine, but only on one side.
Do you find the neck fits in well in the cavity?
I haven't tried to line it up with the strings on, so may be good, but when it is fully pushed in the part of the neck that rests on the body is not completely flat against the top of the body. It touches near the pickup, but not near the end of the body.

I do, but i havent done alot with the neck, make sure you drop it in from the top, not push it in front the front. There is an angle on these necks, without going into too much detail and confusing things, so if you put some cardboard under the front of the body the neck pocket will line up. Hope this helps

dingobass
18-01-2016, 08:28 AM
I have yet to come across one of these kits that hasnt needed some finessing of the neck pocket, not that this is a problem though.
Usually you will need to shave a bit off the body at the cut out side where the fingerboard sits on the body, there shold be a slight gap between the two in order to ensure the neck heel sits down flush in the pocket.
You may also need to tidy up the pocket and perhaps place a shim or two on the sides of the pocket to achieve a nice firm fit.

tonyw
18-01-2016, 09:20 AM
Checking the neck and its not too bad, and will be better once i get my sanding block into the pocket, even had to do this to a Warmoth neck going onto a Highway1 body

Neck in the pocket, the gap looks worse than what it is, it is there because of macro, i may have to shim it will see how it lines up, i will line the neck up and check the angles once i have the bridge on it, its not got much to do at the moment by the looks of it.

7694
7695

Anyone attempting this and hasnt before? If in doubt take it to a good luthier, it will be worth the cost in the long run.

dingobass
18-01-2016, 09:31 AM
I have seen more challenging neck to body joins :)
You should be able to wrap this puppy up with no dramas..

As for Warmoth gear, IMHO overpriced and not very good considering how much they charge......

wokkaboy
18-01-2016, 09:37 AM
that neck join looks pretty good Tony.

Add Warmoth gear to DB's 5 terabyte document of products he hates !

tonyw
18-01-2016, 09:43 AM
Over priced yes, but i always went for the screaming deals, much cheaper. I built my Baritone using their body and neck and it all went like clockwork. Haven't used them since because of the expense, and i have access to plenty of bodies and necks, and i do my own bodies if needed, cant be flogged putting the time into scratch necks after having done 2 previously for friends.

Chambered Baritone
7696

tonyw
18-01-2016, 09:49 AM
that neck join looks pretty good Tony.

Add Warmoth gear to DB's 5 terabyte document of products he hates !

He aint going to like the Bari then :p it has 15 very very very thin coats of TO on it, and alot of love.

wokkaboy
18-01-2016, 09:57 AM
nice looking baritone Tony, what timber is the body ?

tonyw
18-01-2016, 10:10 AM
nice looking baritone Tony, what timber is the body ?

Southern Swamp Ash, its wood taken from the lower portions of southern grown wetland trees, that have root systems growing below the water, now that takes some grain filling or what haha.

Not to be confused with Ash or Northern Ash which is heavier, my G&L ASAT is made from Ash the upper portion of the Swamp Ash, and its a plank compared to this.

Emily
18-01-2016, 01:47 PM
I got mine today, It looks pretty nice. I will post some photos later. The only issues I am having is the neck pocket is a bit loose and I have a lot of glue spots on the veneer. Is goof off the best way to remove the glue?

wokkaboy
18-01-2016, 02:07 PM
Hi Emily, try goof off and if that doesn't work a small wire brush usually works, be careful though not to sand through the thin veneers

Fuzzbeard
18-01-2016, 05:34 PM
Had this turn up today, I wasn't in a hurry to get another kit but the wife was there while I had the website open and she said you should get that. Now I'm not one to argue with my wife so here it is... but I'll probably come home tomorrow and find out she has spent $1000 on a pair of shoes or something.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160118/c7bd7529d09f22918fe08e47e8673b26.jpg

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

wokkaboy
18-01-2016, 05:56 PM
looks good Fuzzy, look forward to the build diary.

Emily
19-01-2016, 09:36 AM
Goof off is amazing stuff. With the exception of about 2 tiny spots all the glue is gone.

wokkaboy
19-01-2016, 09:38 AM
good to know Emily, I've never tried it but will keep it in mind next time I get the glue blues !

tonyw
19-01-2016, 09:51 AM
Went and got some today, but i have doing a repair on a headstock i drilled through (watch your drill depth mark hasnt slipped) but i will go an give it a go right now.

wokkaboy
19-01-2016, 10:00 AM
haha Tony, don't you hate drilling through the headstock, I usually only leave enough of the drill exposed so it won't reach the front face.

tonyw
19-01-2016, 10:29 AM
haha Tony, don't you hate drilling through the headstock, I usually only leave enough of the drill exposed so it won't reach the front face.

I have never done it before after drilling 100's maybe 1000's of anchor holes for pickups, i usually have a tape marker in the drill bit and i check after every hole, but the phone had rung and i got distracted. I even recently paid out on a mate for doing it, but i have finally joined the club, my brother who is a top class violin maker these days, went out of his way to give me a call about it. :mad:

tonyw
19-01-2016, 10:59 AM
I got rid of the big dollops of glue using goof off and some P240 grit, was a bit a of tough task but i got there, the other side was worse than this one.

I might have to start a build thread in the other brand guitars/parts etc.

7718

wokkaboy
19-01-2016, 11:01 AM
Hey Tony, looks much better, start a build diary in Non Pitbull Guitar section

dingobass
19-01-2016, 02:17 PM
Over priced yes, but i always went for the screaming deals, much cheaper. I built my Baritone using their body and neck and it all went like clockwork. Haven't used them since because of the expense, and i have access to plenty of bodies and necks, and i do my own bodies if needed, cant be flogged putting the time into scratch necks after having done 2 previously for friends.

Chambered Baritone
7696

Nice Bari.... Pity about the poo oil :p

I reckon you should keep building necks if you are scratch building...
The neck is 90% of a good Guitar and it is the way each individual builds a neck that makes bespoke Guitars a whole lot better...
The neck can make or break a build, I have seen some really beautiful Guitar bodies that had pre made necks slapped on and it really let the whole thing down..
Bodies are easy, necks are a whole new world and I say jump on in and make your own.
This will set your builds apart from the music shop cookie cutters.

tonyw
19-01-2016, 03:35 PM
Poo oil is my fav for necks, it did what it was suppose to do on the body and 8 yrs later still looks superb, i havent used it since but i have a big bottle of it here :p haha.

Making my own necks gives me nightmares, i hate it with a passion, as soon as i get to faceting with my files i cant be bothered anymore, but i do have a friend will make me beautiful necks if i ask real nice :rolleyes: or pester my brother.

I have concentrated more on guitar pickup winding and wiring, thius is where the sound is, making bad guitars sound better, very passionate about it, and a good set up is where i like to spend my time, and fixing other peoples stuff ups is ok too.

Even making my own bodies, i am slack, these have been sitting around probably 5 yrs and i havent done anything more with them, they sit in my bodies pile.


I am also very very busy, i play alot, do alot of recording, i love photography and i am in the bush with my detectors looking for gold every chance i get, so not alot of workshop time.

A carbronita style i call It El Suga Mama
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w38/my04tone/newteles-003_zpsrgwgyw6k.jpg

To spec 52 Tele, i have templates from a guy who had a 52 in his shop and measured up every inch of it.
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w38/my04tone/newteles-004_zpsayaeqktl.jpg

Ahh one day

Blueshound
23-01-2016, 02:40 AM
This arrived yesterday. Something about the simplicity of a slab of wood with P90s.

7799

andrewdosborne
23-01-2016, 03:11 AM
Yes agree Blueshound, I'm also rather partial to the simplicity of this style guitar. Nice looking kit!

How snug is the neck joint?

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

Emily
06-02-2016, 02:16 PM
Finished the Guitar

8350

wokkaboy
06-02-2016, 03:05 PM
Looks great Emily, so that looks like a flame maple veneer ? How does it sound and did you use the stock hardware ?

Emily
06-02-2016, 03:44 PM
It sounds great. I need to do a fret levelling though there are a couple of high frets.

The Tuners and the bridge is stock (Although I think the tuners will get an upgrade), the pickguard, control plate, knobs, pickups and electronics are not.

It is a flame maple veneer.

wazkelly
06-02-2016, 04:58 PM
Hi Emily, looks great.

I bought one of these kits too and yet to get started and wondered if you encountered any glue spots or issues on the flame maple top?
How was the pickup route as most PBG forumites have mentioned the need to move about 5mm closer to neck for intonation purposes?
Cheers, Waz.

Emily
06-02-2016, 05:35 PM
It had heaps of glue spots which I didn't notice till my first coat of stain. Goof off took most of the glue off. I found the cavity position fine.

The pickup routing and the control panel routing is fine if you use the stock pickups and electronics. I upgraded both and had to enlarge them slightly.

wazkelly
06-02-2016, 05:55 PM
Thanks Emily. I suspected a few shinier spots I saw on first inspection of mine may end up being the dreaded glue and have bought some Goof Off in getting ready for that part of the build process. Good to hear standard positioning for bridge and controls was ok however I bought the Wilkinson PUP upgrade and yet to fully dry fit everything.

Just wondering what you used in your upgrades?

Emily
07-02-2016, 03:31 AM
If it was off i wouldn't have noticed tbh. When I enlarged the cavities I made them bigger than I intended so if they were off I wouldn't have realised.

The upgrades were Tonerider Vintage Plus pickups and The electronics upgrades were this wiring kit here http://www.realparts.com.au/wiring-kits/te-style/wiring-upgrade-kit-for-te-style-guitars.html.

The pick guard, knobs and control plate i just ordered from eBay.

wazkelly
07-02-2016, 03:56 PM
Cool. How does it sound?