New member - TL build

Hey All,

First post here - I've just taken the plunge into building my first guitar. I build custom hand wired valve amps from scratch so I figured I'd give a guitar a go and pulled the trigger on a TL kit! I'm actually a bass player who dabbles in guitar but figured I need a new guitar so will build 6 strings instead of 4 first!

I've done a fair bit of reading on this forum thus far and I am amazed at what you guys are turning out. Fantastic stuff. I'm hoping to draw on your knowledge here throughout the process and will start a build diary shortly.

So far I have filled and sanded the body of the kit, neck is sanded but I'm waiting on some tools to level the frets (there's a few that need attention). I'm planning on doing a cherry burst and have Dalfords nitro cans to do that. The neck pocket is a neat fit on this guitar so I wasn't sure about whether the neck pocket should get a few sealing coats then masked off for the remainder of the finishing coats? Trying to evenly sand the 2 vertical walls is a bit of a challenge without affecting the floor of the pocket - are there any tips about how much (if any clearance there should be for finish here?

Looking forward to contributing here - I'm guessing this will be as addictive as amp building which I love doing for myself and others!

Cheers,

BD

Welcome BigDaddy,
You’ll get plenty of help if you ask for it.
I’m sure your amp building skills would be of interest to people in the community.
Good luck with your Tele.

Welcome Big Daddy

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...I wasn't sure about whether the neck pocket should get a few sealing coats then masked off for the remainder of the finishing coats?

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Welcome BD!
I paint bodies with my paint jig which has a bit of wood that mounts into the pocket (here's a picture, post #2). It sort of simultaneously masks the bottom, but is narrower than the width of the pocket and allows for some paint to get on the sides.

I prefer having the paint on the top/front sort of wrap around the edge into the side of the pocket rather than having sharp edge.
There is no scientific reason for this, just the way my OCD brain works :p

On a few I have sprayed a bit of primer in the pocket (and let dry) before mounting the stick just to seal the pocket a bit. Probably makes no difference. I've seen plenty of brand name guitars with bare timber in the pockets.

You'll find that the saying "more ways to skin a cat" can be aptly applied to what we do here!

Cheers,
Mick

Thanks fellas - I've been thinking about making one of those painting sticks but didn't think about the width of it covering/masking the pocket walls. That makes sense. Looking at this neck, it is a tight fit with no gap whatsoever on the sides which I think will be problematic for a finish on the neck or any on the side walls of the pocket. I'll have to try to find a good way to sand those edges evenly without affecting the floor of the pocket.

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I'll have to try to find a good way to sand those edges evenly without affecting the floor of the pocket.

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A good square block of hardwood with sticky-backed sandpaper* or regular sandpaper fixed with double-sided tape to one side of the block.
That way you can use the bottom of the pocket as a "guide" but not sand it.

I have a few different sized Tassie Oak off-cuts that I use for various sanding jobs. I cut them on a table saw so they're as square possible.

edit to add:
*You can also make your own sticky-backed sand paper by using a contact adhesive spray. Just spray the back of the paper only, not the block. You can the spray at most hardware, electronics or craft stores.

Thanks for the advice! Why didn't I think of that! I have spray adhesive and made a block in preparation for fret leveling. I'll make some tonight!

Welcome BigDaddy, looking forward to your build.

I also noticed your icon, “Go Da Bears”


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