TL12-F build no 4.

I really wanted a tele thinline f hole but there is a wait for them at the moment. A 12 string has always been of interest so I got a TL12-F kit to finish while I wait. Ordered a tele scratch plate that would fit a humbucker from realparts and have a tonerider AC2 ready for the neck and a push pull pot ready to split the coils. The kit arrived today and the neck fits quite well. The only cosmetic issue is the string through holes (particularly one) dont line up but I can live with that.
For the finish since the flame maple looks so good I am going for a natural Danish Oil finish. I may coat with acrylic later depending how it turns out.

Nice looking kit!

Just curious what value pots you are using for the build?

I am going for a 250k pot to start with and see how it sounds. I will probably play it more single coil than humbucker.

Playing it in the jingle-jangle morning of course.

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Originally Posted by stansby40

I am going for a 250k pot to start with and see how it sounds. I will probably play it more single coil than humbucker.

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I have 250k pots in my HSS G&L. It's a PAF, so not high output and it sounds fine.

A simple curved headstock using the bandsaw and the sand attachment for the drill press. No nonsense but effective on such a large headstock.

Some more progress as the bridge and the neck have been positioned and the holes drilled. String alignment and 25.5 inch scale look good. The kit actually had 2 little punch holes that were used to position the front of the bridge. Unlike other tele's there are 2 screws in the front of the bridge and 3 at the back. I suppose this is to help with the extra tension 12 strings exert on the bridge.

2 coats of danish oil applied and is starting to show the nice flame maple grain. Danish oil is quite easy to apply and will be interesting to see how it improves with more coats.

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Originally Posted by stansby40

2 coats of danish oil applied and is starting to show the nice flame maple grain. Danish oil is quite easy to apply and will be interesting to see how it improves with more coats.

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Oo yeah, that’s looking NICE! Great job.

After 6 coats of Danish (wet sand with Danish Oil on the 4th coat) the colour is coming and a nice satin sheen. I will let it dry and polish with a furniture wax.

Coming along nicely.

Just make sure any wax you use doesn't have any silicone in it. That makes it impossible to do any simple finish repairs without stripping everything back.

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

Coming along nicely.

Just make sure any wax you use doesn't have any silicone in it. That makes it impossible to do any simple finish repairs without stripping everything back.

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Yep Gilly Stephensons cabinet makers wax. A mixture of beeswax and carnuba wax.

That's fine.

the wax has been put on and buffed to a nice satin sheen. Even the back has come out well even though it is 4 pieces of relatively unmatched basswood. The neck is OK but I am not sure how danish oil will go with hands rubbing up and down the neck as you play the guitar. I will put a few coats of wipe on poly to protect it. I also need some poly to cover the decal when I put it on. You cant see in the photos but the grain both front and back have a definite 3D look when you move the guitar.

Bridge and Humbucking pickup installed. 250k push pull pot and electrics done. Split to the slug coil on the tonerider AC2. Standard kit bridge pickup. Neck now given a few coats of wipe on poly to protect it and the decal. Had a bit of trouble finding where to put the string tensioner but seems Ok where it is (you can see the screw holes for it on the headstock). Ordered a new set of ernie ball strings as broke the octave G string (a pretty common occurrence it seems). The nut that came with the kit was bone even though I upgraded to a bone nut. I now have a spare. The existing nut needed quite a bit of sanding to achieve a reasonable action. At least it was easy to get out, a few gentle taps with a piece of wood and a rubber mallet. It certainly did jingle jangle and take you back to the sixties.Look forward to getting the final setup done.

Lookin' good!

Looking good.
I am still tinkering with my tele 12 but happy so far.
Interested to see how the humbucker goes in the neck.
The high G can be a problem. Tune it up very slowly. I had to buy some spare stings just for that one.

On the bridge saddles, the smaller, moveable saddle has two holes its fixing screw can use. I think it comes fitted in the rear hole as standard, but it will need moving to the forward hole if you are going with the normal' octave string on the bass side' arrangement. The octave string will be intonated with its saddle further forward than standard (thicker) string saddle.

With the rear hole being used for the fixing screw, the smaller saddle can be moved backwards from level the main saddle position, but not forwards. With the forward hole being used for the fixing screw, the smaller saddle can be moved forwards from level with the main saddle position, but not backwards.

There are two saddle fixing holes present so that the same bridge can be used for both right-handed and left handed applications (or if you want the octave string to be on the treble side of the pair, like Rickenbacker - though you'll need a new nut cut specifically to do this).

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

On the bridge saddles, the smaller, moveable saddle has two holes its fixing screw can use. I think it comes fitted in the rear hole as standard, but it will need moving to the forward hole if you are going with the normal' octave string on the bass side' arrangement. The octave string will be intonated with its saddle further forward than standard (thicker) string saddle.

With the rear hole being used for the fixing screw, the smaller saddle can be moved backwards from level the main saddle position, but not forwards. With the forward hole being used for the fixing screw, the smaller saddle can be moved forwards from level with the main saddle position, but not backwards.

There are two saddle fixing holes present so that the same bridge can be used for both right-handed and left handed applications (or if you want the octave string to be on the treble side of the pair, like Rickenbacker - though you'll need a new nut cut specifically to do this).

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I just checked the bridge and you are right there are two holes but unfortunately the front hole is not threaded so I cant use it. I suppose I could tap it if I had the right equipment.

It should be. It's a copy of a Gotoh bridge and that has both holes tapped. Looks like there are problems with these bridges as there was another one that had the small saddles far too low.

The build is pretty well finished. A good thing about oil finishes such as Danish Oil is you dont have to wait a month for things to harden before you can finish off the guitar. My son had a set of taps and we tapped the front hole on the octave string saddles and that helped greatly with setting the intonation. I may still have a common problem with this bridge as the octave strings especially for the low E and A strings are lower than than the other strings. In the playing area of the fret board its not too bad and is quite playable. I will see how others go with a replacement bridge or consider a Gotoh bridge. It sounds good especially with the tonerider picker in split or humbucker mode. The kit pickup is a bit bright and harsh but still quite useable. It wont be my go to guitar but it looks good and adds to my collection of teles. If I ever join a 60's cover band I will be set.

Very nice

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Schmick mate, how does it go for neck dive with all those tuners?