HiddenGuitarist's TLA-1 and TLA-1R Builds

So, after several months of enforced idleness with this build, I have finally been able to get past the above obstacle. I'm taking a course in guitar building this year (I'll post details in a separate response for those who may be interested) and consequently have access to all of the requisite tools of the requisite size, and was able to take these in to make use of the pedestal drills there.

Additionally, one very useful tip I picked up doing this that will probably of use to others: when drilling your string through holes, in order to get the the best possible alignment on both sides, drill only the outside two holes all the way through from the top; drill the others only half way through. Then flip the guitar over, and using your outside holes as markers, align the centres of the other holes on the back, then drill these from the back to the mid point. In this way, if there is any deviation of the drill from vertical, it will not be apparent from the faces, and there should still be plenty of clear passage where the holes meet to allow the string to pass through. Given the short length of 2.5/3 mm drill bits, this also makes it easier to drill than trying to get sufficient working length of bit outside of the chuck.

I still have to do the widening of the holes on the back to accommodate the ferrules, but I will wait until later to do this so that I can at least get moving with the next stage.

Here are the front and back holes for one of the guitars:
Front
Attachment 17943
Back
Attachment 17944

If anything, the alignment on the back is actually slightly better than the front (the G string is slightly off relative to the others), but better that way round since the holes on the top will be covered by the bridge plate.

With these holes now drilled, I can make a start on sanding and first stage of finishing. In order to give greater depth of colour to the grain, I'm going to apply a very dark black stain first, then sand this back to reveal the natural wood again, while hopefully leaving a darker grain line, then set to work with the DingoTone Black Stump. Perfectly timed to coincide with the long weekend :D.

Good stuff Rich, it's a tough job to get holes straight even with the right tools. You nailed it.

Nice work there HG, i really like the back grain on the Telebody, that should come up lovely under the black stump.

Thanks guys. After several hours of sanding in the last couple of days, here's where I've gotten to. Front and back have been taken to 180 grit and then black stain applied. Tomorrow I'm aiming to work through to 320 grit on back and sides, taking back the heavy stain and preparing the whole body for the first round of the Black Stump. There's some really nice figure, almost holographic under bright light, in both guitars, and even some medullary rays in one.

Attachment 18003Attachment 18004

Attachment 18005Attachment 18006

A little more sanding progress. Fronts and backs taken back towards the natural wood colour and sides of one guitar prepared, all to 320 grit. Sides to complete on second guitar, then I can start on the body finish proper. Necks to follow.

Attachment 18072Attachment 18073
Attachment 18074

Great popping man. Its hard to sand that DT off eh? gums up the paper a bit

Thanks Andy. Actually, rather than using the DingoTone, I started off with a basic wood stain (Feast and Wilson?). Thinking was two fold: different stain and therefore a bit of a different shade of black, and also avoid having to work over the oil/wax base of the DT.

A lot more sanding this weekend to get the necks ready for their first coats; and applications of the first coats of DT all round. Here's how things are looking after that first application. Black stump has been applied very sparingly to the bodies in order to preserve the grain pop, scarcely a third of the bottle for the two of them:
Attachment 18183Attachment 18184Attachment 18185Attachment 18186

I think I'll probably go for another application of base stain on both bodies and necks before I move on to the intensifiers and top coats, but I'll see how things are looking next weekend before making the final call on that.

Another couple of coats of DT applied in the last 10 days. A bit an oopsy: I accidentally left a partial handprint on one of the necks when forced for carry the parts in from the garden when it started to rain. Some careful work with 2000 grit wet and dry and I was able to just about get rid of it. Here's the latest progress:
Attachment 18452Attachment 18453Attachment 18454Attachment 18455

Also working on a decal for the headstock, here's the prototype:
Attachment 18457
I also intend to attach the PBG decals to the back of the headstocks to indicate their provenance.

builds look great Rich ! Thought I was seeing double with 2 bodies and 2 necks then went back to the start and realised your doing 2 builds side by side. Love the grain in the headstocks looks tops. The logo should look great. Keep boxing on. Don't you hate it when rain forces you to rush and grab an uncured neck or body to get it out of the rain !

Thanks Wokka. Yes, I'm pleased with how they're coming up, and yes, always an annoyance! Hopefully, all of the finishing will be done by the latter part of the month before autumn/winter sets in here in earnest.