Paddys TL-1TH Build

Hi everyone, this is my first build and I'll be building a Thinline Tele. The kit should (hopefully) arrive at my place any day now. I'm looking to paint it a solid black colour, with a silver-pearl sparkle to it. I'm looking to achieve this with black gloss paint, combined with silver sparkles. This will hopefully match the pearl pickguard. I'm also looking to paint a thin silver trim around the f-hole.

I've ordered a custom TV Jones Super'tron pickup with a chrome plating, and I'm on the search for some other silver/pearl hardware to really make this baby shine.

My current plan for setup is:

1. Shape the headstock
2. Sand, seal, paint, and clear coat the body
3. Lacquer and coat the neck and headstock
4. Wire and solder the electronics
5. Install hardware
6. Fit neck, make sure everything is properly set up and aligned
7. String, test, perfect!

Am I missing anything obvious?

Hey pshumack if ya look in build diary at my tele, on the last post you will get an idea at what black with sparkles looks like on a tele

Sounds like a great plan mate- and if it's half as good as jarrod's, it will be pretty good indeed.

Congrats on your first kit. Looks like you have a solid plan of attack.

One tip I can give you is to do a mock build to check the fit of the hardware before you start sanding and finishing. It's much easier to make any adjustments before it's painted. Though your TL should be pretty straight forward.

I like your idea of the silver outline around the f hole. That should look sweet

Hi Patrick, and welcome to the PBG Family.

I absolutely agree with Dan, make your mock-up build (No. 6 on your list) your first priority. I have learnt the hard way that making any mistakes early on in the build is much easier to fix that at the other end after you have applied your lovely finish. Ask me how I know LOL.

A Thinline was my second build and it is a guitar I still play regularly to this day.

I hope you enjoy the build mate, If you are like the rest of us, it won't be your last. Oh, and don't forget to ask lots of questions, there are plenty of helpful and knowledgeable people here to help.

cheers
rob

hi Patrick,

Welcome to the forum and I hope you enjoy your first kit - you've chosen a great one! Your plan looks solid - you seem well prepared. I agree with Dan & Rob in that you should definitely do a test fit before you start finishing - drill your neck bolt holes, mount your bridge and do all those things that might lead to marring your finish if you do them at the end. It really pays off in the final result. I agree with the other guys that your vision sounds awesome. Can't wait to see the pictures in your build diary!

Here are a couple of other things that occur to me that you might also consider.

1. If you are painting, you might want to fill the wood pores before sealing using a pore filler (a slurry of Timbermate is perfect for this) and sand back smooth as part of step 2. Not 100% necessary but leads to a smoother finish before the clear coats go on. I usually do this at 360 grit and 400 grit.

2. There are several options as far as your neck finish goes. Are you going to spray colour on the neck and then lacquer, or leave it kinda natural (the traditional tele look)? I have tried several options for neck finishes, including: a) colour spraying + nitro, b) colour spraying + poly, c) no colour + tru-oil, d) wudtone neck finish. Many builders out there who spray their guitars with colour+lacquer/poly still prefer a tru-oil finish on their necks so that they get a much better feel when playing. I would agree with this wholeheartedly - I used lacquer on the neck of several of my early builds, but switched to Tru-Oil and was a convert. However, then I tried a Wudtone neck kit and believe me when I say that the feel is 100x better. If you want more of a standard tele neck look I would recommend a Wudtone neck kit if your budget can stretch to it. If you are going to spray colour the neck and headstock though, then by all means go with the lacquer. You'll probably want to matt up the neck finish with some steel wool though to make it nice and fast.

Anyway, hope all this jibber-jabber helps in some way.

cheers,
Gav.

Cheers everyone, especially for the mock build advice. I'll make sure I get that done nice and early.

Gavin, at this stage I'm considering either a pale Tele finish, or going with a Wudtone vintage finish, the darker yellow tone. It's more of a Strat-type neck colour. That's about the only thing I can't make my mind up on at the moment. There'll be plenty of photos to come!

Well, the big day is here, and according to Australia Post the package should be arriving sometime today. Hopefully it's early, so I can get stuck into it straight away. First on the list is to head down to Bunnings and pick up some smaller drill bits.

Hi guys, so a week into the build and I'm loving it. Definitely a lot more challenging than I first expected, but I think I'm keeping up so far.

I'll put up some photos asap, but at the moment I've made the most progress with the neck - the final shape has been cut and I'm sanding the surface back nice and smooth. I'm progressing with my mock build, but at the moment it's proving a little problematic. Hopefully someone can give me a bit of help here.

I've figured out that the pickup's plastic mounts need to be removed, and the pickups will instead be mounted English-style to the pickguard. The problem I'm having is that the metal 'feet' of the pickup don't seem to fit properly into the cavities dug out for them in the body. Is the fix for this as simple as filing away the excess wood so that they will fit, or is there more modifications to the pickups that needs to be done? I'll post some photos if that helps!

Cheers!

Hi Paddy, post some pics please, sounds like you may have to file some excess wood in the pickup routed cavities, which reminds me I'm building a TL-1TH better see if I have the same problem.
Hopefully you don't have to file much wood. Don't modify the pickup mounts.

Cavity will files away to the appropriate size very easily if you have a steady hand and a Dremel!

Here's an imgur album

http://imgur.com/a/5AYkN

Paddy, looks like you don't need to remove much of the cavity for the pups to fit. As Gav suggest if you have a dremel with a sanding tool (and a steady hand) that will be the easiest way, otherwise a rounded edge file or rasp. Keep checking the fit regularly so you don't remove too much of the cavity !

I've sanded quite a bit of it back at the moment, and they seem to fit a little better but it'll take a bit of work. Shouldn't be too great a hassle though.

From here, the mock build will continue, in these tentative steps:

1. Fit pickguard and pups
2. Fit neck
3. Fit bridge
4. Fit other assorted hardware (tuners, output jack, strap buttons)

How does that sound?

sounds good Paddy, don't go ahead and drill any holes until you are happy with the mock fit and read the 'how to build' section of aligning the neck before drilling the neck holes, you need the bridge screwed in place and low/high E strings fitted to align the neck

So I was being bloody impatient and I managed to snap the pickup out of its housing. It looks as though I've snapped it at the point where it's soldered, so it shouldn't be too difficult to fix. That'll teach me some patience.

Another slight issue I've found is that the pick guard does not fit snugly against the bottom of the neck. It actually seems like its a few mils too narrow. Wokkaboy have you noticed this with your TL-1TH build?

I have noticed with a couple of the pickguards that they are very snug - that said - better that way than the other - given no-one's going to see the bit around the neck, you can gently sand / file it to get a better fit.

In terms of snapping the pickup out of its housing, what do you mean?

Hi Paddy,
yes my pickguard was too narrow around the neck when I did an initial mock setup. Easily fixed with a round and straight file try and match the neck profile shape and widen it to suit. 5 min job. Again keep checking the width before filing too much off.
Unsure what you have done with the pickup, the pickup surrounds won't be required as they will be screwed to the pickguard, if you snapped the wire going into the pickup you will have to re-solder a join and make sure it's well insulated.

Hi Paddy

I also have a TL1TH kit and have noticed the same with the pickup route and the pickguard fit around the neck.

Gav, Brendan and Wokka's advice for these issues will definitely work (I have done similar on a previous build). Certainly they reflect my planned approach (when I get to my TL1TH build).

If you are using a Dremel and have not used them much/before, I would warn you to test your technique on some scrap wood. This helps you to get a feel of how they can run away of you aren't careful.

Cheers

Darren

Hey Darren,

I'll stay away from something like a Dremel as I'm not the best with power tools. I've been using a wood file at the moment and it seems to be doing the trick. The problem at the moment is more finding the time unfortunately. I've just ordered a T-Bird Wudtone Finish for the body, and an aged vintage finish for the neck and headstock. The headstock is just about ready to go. It needs more sanding but aside from that, hardware wise it's ready to be painted.

Next step is to continue with the mock build. I'm still wrapping my head around exactly what order everything will need to go in, so once I've got a more definite idea of what I'm doing I'll take plenty more photos.

So most of the mockup build is done after a productive day today. The neck, bridge, and pickguard are fitted, as are the tuners. The headstock shape is just about done but still needs a shit tonne of sanding. All that's left to do is install the strap buttons, the input jack, and then disassemble and paint. Here's a dodgy iPhone photo http://imgur.com/VXeIJyw

My Wudtone paints have also arrived in the mail! I've ordered a t-bird blue for the body, with a high gloss finish, and a vintage yellow for the neck. I'm going to try and have some fun with the painting, but it looks to be straightforward enough so long as I paint in thin coats, sand gently between each coat and take my time with it. Any Wudtone veterans out there with some more hints?

Hi pshumack.
There area few tricks with Wudtone.
First. apply the colour in thin layers and grab some ultra fine ( 0000) grade steel wool and gently rub back each layer before applying the next. It is also a good idea to let each coat cure for as long as you can stand! a minimum of 24 hours but if you can leave it for 48 hours even better. Remember, patience gives the best results!
the same rules apply for the neck finish.
If you have any other questions, please contact me at dingobass@pitbullguitars.com
I am here to help :)

Cheers dingobass, I'll make sure to use the steel wool as I'm going.

Mock-up looks great Patrick. The thinline should look awesome in T-Bird! Can't wait to see how she comes out. I've been considering this combination myself - a great choice! Keep us posted!!


cheers,
Gav.

Yeah. I have a real soft spot for thinlines or any hollow/semi-hollow body (love my RC-1)). Should look awesome in T-bird, especially with the pearloid scratchplate.

Thanks boys. The time has gotten away from me these past couple of weeks, but hopefully if the sun comes out within the next few days I can get out and get the first couple of coats on.

Make sure you read the how-to-build thread, re how to prepare the binding before you start. You'll save yourself a lot of time later on.