Lyn #12 - The Pine Tele

Hey guys, just another quick update.

Finally got back into it and have managed to start applying the T.O.

Unfortunately the pine has developed some hair-line splits it in several places. I’m not sure if it was the heat or the humidity, but I hung the body on the clothes-line after applying the first coat of T.O. (as is my usual custom) and several hair-line splits have appeared in the pine. I guess the problem is that the marine plywood is so stable it has not given the pine any chance of movement and the pine has split. Either that or it is a result of the rubbish job I did with the gluing that has let me down.

I have now applied eleven coats of T.O. and the splits have remained stable so I am hoping that sealing the wood has controlled them.

From a purely cosmetic point of view if the splits stay as they are I can live with them (as DB says, they’re not faults, just character traits). I just hope they don’t open up later with changes in the weather. Like a lot of things with this guitar, time will tell.

So far I am quite satisfied with how she is going, and have enjoyed the build to date.

Still a few things to do, but the end is in sight. It will soon be time to start thinking about Lynn #13 I guess. Lol.

Cheers guys,
rob

Robin, sounds to me like the humidity may have been outside of the 40-60 range when you glued up. Otherwise it would have to be the suggestion you made of the marine ply being more stable than the pine. We'll go with character traits....

Thanks for the heads up Gav. I didn't realize that there was a humidity range with Tite-bond. Who would have thought that reading the instructions would actually come in handy lol.

I've bought some nice hardware for this one so if it all goes belly up I will put it down to experience and use the hardware on the next one. If I have to bin it I will not lose any sleep over it.

Character traits FTW. ;)

Robin - just saw the screw / magnet idea - I'm working an IB-5 and the idea's spot on for what I want to do!

Pine will do that, not the most stable timber..

I reckon that now you have it sealed it shouldn't move to much more.
And yes, treat those cracks as more character :)

Time for another quick update.

There hasn't been much to show of late and as my computer died I haven't been keeping up with the Forums, so I have been spending the time applying the TO and waiting for it to cure a bit.

I had to re-think my magnetic control cover idea. My idea was sound but without a selection of magnets to choose from it is difficult to come up with the right combination of magnets that will hold the cover securely in place and yet still be able to remove the cover with a stronger "lifting" magnet. It is still do-able, but more magnets are required to get it just right.

So, seeing as #12 is very much a test bed I have come up with a plan B.

My main goal is to not have any visible "finger" recesses cut in the body of the guitar. So I have chiseled into the body an angled recess under one end of the control cover plate. The cover can now pivot on the magnet at this end. Simply apply some pressure to this end of the cover and the other end pops up just enough to reduce the magnetic pull to allow the stronger "lifting" magnet to do its stuff. I hope I have explained that well enough, I have attached some pics to help.

It is still a work in progress but at least now I can remove the cover. lol

Pics
Pic 1 shows the cover in place with no finger pressure
Pic 2 with a little pressure the end pops up and the "lifting" magnet (or a finger nail) can do the rest.

Cheers guys,
rob

looking great Rob and nice to have you back on the forum. Looking nice and shiny how many TO coats you up to ?
Looks like you got some nice hardware in the background are they Gotoh machine heads and what sort of pups is going in this baby ?

Hey Warren,

Gee wiz, you don't miss much do you? lol.

They are indeed Gotoh tuners. I have only ever used the standard kit tuners for all my guitars, but I wanted something a bit special for this one so opted for Gotohs. I think she will need all the help she can get. This way if she doesn't sound any good I can rule out cheap tuners as the culprit.

I have fallen in love with P90's and the Tonerider Hot 90's sounded good in my other Tele so I went for them again. Until I built my LP Jnr I never even knew what a P90 was. Every guitar collection should have at least one P90 guitar, preferably more!

Also my usual 20 odd coats of TO. Be quiet DB ;)

Cheers mate
rob

Well, it took over 100 hours but Lyn #12 is finally finished.

It’s been a wonderful journey, and I have enjoyed every frustrating minute of it. I admit to making more mistakes than I would care to admit but the final result is an absolute joy to play and although not my best guitar she certainly is the most precious.

In a direct A/B comparison to my other P90 “T” type, she has ever so slightly less volume and sustain but in a stage situation it would never be noticeable. Given that the other one has a string through Gotoh bridge I am pleasantly surprised.

She has a very international flavour.

Australia - Marine Ply
Chile - Laminated Pine
China - Neck (thanks Adam)
Japan - Gotoh Tuners & 3 way Switch
England - Tonerider Pickups (via Korea)
Germany - Roller Bridge
US of A, Y’all - Bigsby Tremolo
Taiwan - CTS Pot
Labour - Straya

Now to move onto the next project. lol.

Thanks for checking out the build diary.

Cheers
rob

Seeing that if there are no pictures, it never happen, I had better include a few.

Just a few more