Tl1

Thanks to prompt delivery service the tele i bought in the sale arrived this morning. Not really sure what im gonna do with this yet, besides the fact that i wanna upgrade the pups and electrics this time.

I also want to slim the neck profile down a bit so it feels more like a strat neck, but finish wise ive no idea

Anyway heres some pics out the box

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...pssmjjosov.jpg

Neck fit is nice and tight, way better than my thinline was which is great. pickguard fit is terrible lol, i selected a black one when i ordered the kit but tbh i havent even decided what colour to go with so ill order that later on

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psfbtw3ot2.jpg

Theres a slight ding in the fretboard, i guess wet rag and a soldering iron is the way to sort that out? Also some odd lines on there too, not sure whether i should look into staining it darker to hide those or make a feature

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psem7uit9o.jpg

Body looks good besides a few little dark spots just behind the bridge, again i havent decided on the finish yet anyway so not an issue

Im planning to get the frets dressed and the neck and bridge fitted before i do any finishing. I also wanted to do through body stringing so ill have to look into getting a different bridge too

Looks like a great kit Ben! Some nice figure in the fretboard. Great to see your purchase there already! One of the benefits of being in WA. I'm trying to wait patiently for my kits to get here, but it's a hard ask! Will be watching your progress. Any notes you can give on reducing the neck profile greatly appreciated. I will be doing the same to my next Tele build.

cheers,
Gav.

Cheers, i figure its a case of some graft with a rasp and then sandpaper, but yeah will check out some how to's on trusty ol youtube!

Hi Ben,
kit looks good. That grain in the neck is really cool I'd not worry about trying to cover it up. I've seen similar grain in some of my maple necks.Also those dark marks south of the bridge would be grain as well, they should look great stained.
Thought you said you ordered a black pickguard ? The white one may need a bit of re-shaping by the looks.
Check the intonation when you get the string through bridge. It seems the factory route the bridge pup cavity too far south.
I'd try and remove the ding in the neck with an iron and wet cloth. Be careful not to damage the frets either side

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gavinturner

Any notes you can give on reducing the neck profile greatly appreciated. I will be doing the same to my next Tele build.

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80grit. You will be surprised how effect it is. That's all I used to change the neck on my TL-1TLB from Tele D profile to a shallower C profile. And you are less likely to go too far with it.

Yeah i ordered a black one but i guess choice of colours maybe wasnt part of the sale deal or it was overlooked? not a problem, can get em cheap as on ebay anyway or from PB HQ.

Cheers for the heads up on intonation, I figured the pickup route looked a bit off from the gap between the pickguard and the bridge plate (even though the pickguard is wonky theres still a sizeable gap). Ill be extra careful making sure its right

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fretworn

80grit. You will be surprised how effect it is. That's all I used to change the neck on my TL-1TLB from Tele D profile to a shallower C profile. And you are less likely to go too far with it.

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Sweet, thats really useful to know. Depending on how this one goes, i may go back and do similar to the neck on my other tele (although i stained it so i dunno, cos itll end up looking really manky)

not massive progress, but this is something i wish id bothered to do on my first build, recessed input jack (still needs cleaning up a bit)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psav1a66fs.jpg

Nice fit there Ben!

Cheers,
Gav.

so i got one of the cheap vintage looking bridges off ebay with the brass saddles, but wanted to check what the deal was with the cavity for the bridge pup too far down wokka was talking about?


From what my trusty steel ruler is telling me, if i move the saddles a couple of mm away from the pup, the intonation should be good-the screws on them are mega long and theres loads of space for adjustment.

it should be the same distance from the 12th fret to the saddles as from the 12th fret to the nut right? thats what i can remember from my last build

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psvkt2gjkt.jpg

pic ^^^

ive got some cheap vintage style tuners on the way too, and gonna get some tonerider pups when i get paid next

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BenWA

not massive progress, but this is something i wish id bothered to do on my first build, recessed input jack (still needs cleaning up a bit)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psav1a66fs.jpg

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That looks fantastic - great job.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BenWA

it should be the same distance from the 12th fret to the saddles as from the 12th fret to the nut right? thats what i can remember from my last build

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Almost but not quite. :)

Don't forget to add approx. 3mm to the low 'E' and about 1mm to the high 'E' for compensation.

ahh yeah, still got loads of space for saddle movement as it is, these old style tele bridges have so much back and forward adjustment compared to strat style saddles (although i guess you lose out on only being able to adjust the strings in pairs).
its better for me if i dont need to route out the pup hole larger cos im operating on minimum tools hah

necks on and holes for bridge and through stringing done

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psszsb9xfo.jpg

ideally id have liked to get the neck tighter and flusher into the body, it must have moved slightly while clamped for drilling.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psp5bp5zkq.jpg

Ben the pickguard will cover that small gap in the neck pocket, assuming you will be using a pickguard

yeah i will be using a pickguard, it was more just a case of me being anal about the fit

on my thinline kit, the neck pocket was routed slightly bigger than the neck from the factory so there was a of a gap between the neck and body, i figured this time id try get it nice and tight

you're talking fractions of a mm gap there Ben, all good

looking good Ben

Looks good mate!

cheers. the build isnt gonna get exciting until the end of the month when i get paid and can afford some dingotone and pickups. just trying to get everything else prepped and setup in the meantime. so happy i didnt mess up the through body drilling, it would have upset me greatly if i had

hey Ben you got heaps you can do before you look at staining it.
You can cut the headstock shape and sand the neck and body in preparation.

what colour DT you thinking about and what pup upgrades ?

gonna get the tonerider tele pups, and colour maybe karajini red or outback sunrise. was thinking of maybe doing a burst to black, not sure yet though

Headstock is marked ready for shaping, i just couldnt be bothered today haha. gotta try take my time with this one cos ive not got space for any more guitars

Ben, outback sunset with a black edge burst will look cool.
Check out my 4D buddy Wayne's SG2 in outback sunset the pic was taken late arvo and it shines !

wow nice, looks awesome. i was gonna go for more of a red this time cos my last one was kind of orangey brown, but i think you might have just swayed me! also orange is my favourite colour, and the black pickguard looks great against the colour on that sg

couldn't help but notice the BMX in the first pic.... yours?

yeah outback sunset is a nice mix of orange and red. It looks even better in the flesh. When DB saw it a few weeks go he was liking it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zeromick

couldn't help but notice the BMX in the first pic.... yours?

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Yeah I ride bmx. The main reason my guitar playing slacked for the last 10 years cos i got more into riding instead

haha nice, my riding slacked because of guitar playing... that and to many injuries haha

ive been lucky partly cos i mostly nibble and it takes me ages to learn anything, im still riding a bit aged 28. been trying to lose some weight recently as well which has helped, however cos im 6'6 ive always got my height working against me haha

heres my bike if youre interested, set up with a nice high seat and front end haha
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps382brgnh.jpg

so i was thinking red burst with a black pickguard, but then this happened and now im in a quandary....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psqxagqihc.jpg

also, i got my tuners but the holes in the headstock are too big, any tips besides plugging and redrilling to fit them in the larger holes on the cheap? i remember reading about this before but cant remember where on here

Nice man, im 28 as well, originally a trails rider but had a solid accident when I was 18 so I put some front brakes on and started riding parks and doing more of the tech stuff. Shooting photos keep me in 'the scene' probably a lot longer than I would have been otherwise, made a heap of good friends!

With that tort pickguard.... id go gloss black!

Bloody hell Ben 6'6 on a BMX... Do your knees hit your chin? Haha.

Gloss black or stark white on the tort is always a winner. I've seen some nice surf colours that go well with tort too

yeah cant make my mind up, some shade of yellow/off white would look lush with the tort i reckon, but id be fussy on the shade. will have to have a think

Oly white....it will yellow with age!

Check the FB page Ben - posed the question to the community and got some good responses ;)

ahh nice, cheers!

my thoughts thus far
although seafoam blue/teal is a classic with the tortoiseshell, i think that better suits a strat or jazzmaster shape personally
black as well, though i like how it looks with the tort i dont think its what im after
im leaning towards white/off white/cream atm though the idea of an orange or red shade is also appealing. the tort looks good contrasting with the unfinished basswood, but i think if i was to just put a clear over it, it would be too much with the maple neck
need to consider whether to go for a translucent colour/stain or a solid colour finish as well, i havent decided yet

i think im probably just overthinking it to be honest though haha

its funny cos i originally planned to use a black pickguard, and bought this one on a whim out of curiosity cos it was cheap, but im really liking how it looks thus far. will have to have another think