TLA-1 First Build

Hello! Well, my TLA-1 package arrived (thanks to Pitbull by the way for stellar customer service!) and I've put together the mock build. First a quick word of warning: this is my first guitar build AND pretty much my first attempt at a woodworking project with any real level of finesse, so I'll probably (definitely) be asking a bunch of questions along the way. Still, I'm expecting to learn a lot and looking forward to it!

With that said, here's my mock build:

Attachment 5053

Attachment 5054

The neck fit is pretty tight but seems OK. It wobbles a little from front to back but I assume this is the 'wiggle room' mentioned in the quickstart guide so all good.

The pickguard doesn't fit well around the neck which makes everything alse look kind of skew. I'll need to trim it back a little so that it fits better- what would be the best approach to do this?

Attachment 5055

The bridge pickup fit into the cavity is pretty snug and seems a bit further back from the pickguard than I was expecting. Is this an issue? I've read in other threads where the cavity size had to be routed out so the pickup could be moved further towards the neck - not a thought I relish given my lack of woodworking experience but willing to give it a try (after a bit of practice) if it'll give a better result.

Attachment 5057

Also, I noticed that the bolt for one the bridge saddles is shorter then the other two - is this the way it's supposed to be?

Attachment 5058

Well, that's about it for now. Once I've worked out whether or not I need to route out the bridge cavity I'll get to sanding!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ralphile

Also, I noticed that the bolt for one the bridge saddles is shorter then the other two - is this the way it's supposed to be?

---

When you set the intonation, the saddles for the thicker strings won't need to be as far forward as those for the thinner strings. Don't think of it as being shorter, so much as the others need to be longer.

Right - thanks for clearing that up.

the pickguard is a pretty poor fit on my tele too, i wouldnt worry about it as the plastic is dead easy to file out or reshape to make it fit.

grain on that body looks good, you got any idea what colour youre going with yet?

Hey Ralphile, nice looking tele! That grain will look amazing with a stain. I'd be careful when sanding though, a few forum members have found that their ash kits have had a veneer on top and sanded through.

I'd be interested to hear other peoples opinions as well, but I can't really see defined join lines, which makes me think it may be a veneer top. However it is hard to tell with this resolution and it does look like the grain matches the entire thickness of the guitar in the first photo so you may just have well matched grain where the joins are.

It does also kinda look like there's a join in the middle so maybe the factory has started doing two piece builds as well as three and four.

Good luck with the build!

There's a join line pretty much down the centre, so I think it may be a two-piece build and I just got lucky with the grain match. After your comments I've had a closer look at the edges and it doesn't seem to have a veneer on top.

I'm thinking of going for Dingotone 'Coolangatta Gold' for the body and will also look at using a darker Timbermate grain filler as well - some of the results other people have achieved on the forums look sensational!

Thanks for all the encouragement - time to get to it!

OK, so I've spent the weekend/evenings sanding down the body to 240 grit and it's feeling pretty smooth, and I think I've gotten rid of all the glue spots and machining marks.

Attachment 5291Attachment 5292

My plan now is to use Timbermate 'Walnut' to fill the grain before staining it with Dingotone 'Coolangatta Gold'. I'm new to this so I've been poring over the forums and other sites for the best way to apply Timbermate. The consensus seems to be that you thin it down with some water, but what is the best way to apply it?

Some suggest painting it on, others use a plastic scraper, others wipe it on with a rag. Is there a 'best' way to do it in anyone's experience?

I've also seen it suggested that you should wipe off the excess after a couple of minutes, while others leave it on quite thick and then sand off the excess after it's dried. Is either method preferable?

Any hints you could pass along would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Ralphile I water down the timbermate a bit, keep mixing it so its like a paste, not too sloppy. I use a plastic scraper to try and fill all the cracks nicely.
I wouldn't try and wipe it after a few minutes as you will risk removing big chunks.
Let it dry overnight and I use an orbital sander with 120 or 180 grit paper to get the excess off. When most of its removed go back to hand sanding 240 grit and usually 320 grit is high enough.
Body is looking good !

There are as many ways as days in the week...

My preferred method is to mix the TM with water until it just maintains a peak when you lift the spatula out of the mix, slightly thicker than cream I guess.

On flat surfaces I use a rubber sqeegee and force it in across the grain.
Let it set for an hour and sand back with 320 grit and re apply if needed.

Have a play around, see which method works best for you is probably the best advice I can give...

Thanks Wokka & DB! Nice to have somewhere to start - I'll give the squeegee/scraper method a go and see what the result is.
Stay tuned!

An old credit card works well as a scraper too.

Grain-filling and final sanding are done! I went with the Timbermate 'Walnut' colour. Overall the effect of the grain fill is pretty subtle - not sure if I'd do it again on a future build, but I might change my mind once the stain goes on.

Attachment 5357Attachment 5358

Tomorrow I'm hoping to apply the first coat of 'Coolangatta Gold'.

Here's the body after applying the 'Coolangatta Gold' stain. It's a bit more orange than I was expecting but I'm still pretty happy with the result.

Attachment 5390Attachment 5391

There is a small patchy area on the front of the guitar - I'm not sure what has caused it, or whether it's just part of the grain? It wasn't noticable after sanding but has shown up once the stain went on. I'm not too concerned but if anyone has an idea of what casued it or how it could be treated then I'm all ears.

Attachment 5392

Might be about time to have a look at the neck while the stain dries.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ralphile

It's a bit more orange than I was expecting but I'm still pretty happy with the result.

---

I think that is all part of the fun. Waiting to see what colour the stain will end up as when it reacts with your bit of wood.

Those lighter patches are evidence of the stain not being "taken up" in those particular spots. For some reason in those areas the stain did not penetrate. The most likely cause is residual glue in the wood fibre. You can open up those fibres gently using a brass toothbrush, and re-apply the colouring in those areas carefully to blend them out.

Id be tempted to attempt another application on the right hand side of the body as well, as that slab is considerably-lighter than the other.

It’s been a while since I updated my build diary so here’s a brief rundown of what I’ve done:

Body
- Tried to use the wire brush technique to open up the grain on the patches in the body finish, but without any success. There doesn’t seem to be any residual glue so it might just be a quirk of the wood grain.
- In any case, I’ve moved on with another coat of stain to the lighter side of the body as suggested, and put on a couple coats of intensifier (I think one more this weekend should do it).

Neck
- Shaped the headstock and sanded the neck, and have applied the first coat of colourless finish except on the fretboard.

Which leads me to my query – how do I finish the fretboard? I’ve poked around on several forums which suggest that wax is not enough, and that maple fretboards need a harder finish otherwise they can absorb sweat and warp. Should I be putting the clear finish on the fretboard as well?

I'll post some photos of the progress soon(ish).

It's been a long time since I posted here what with everything going on, but in the last couple of weeks I've had some time to pull everything together! Getting the finish right on the front side of the body was very problematic but I managed to get it somewhere near where I wanted it - good enough for a first build. Here's some photos:

Attachment 7707 Attachment 7708 Attachment 7709 Attachment 7710 Attachment 7711

I'm still working at getting the action and feel right, but getting there slowly. One problem I'm having is the A string going out of tune as soon as it is fretted close to the nut, unless I press very lightly. I think the issue may be with the slot in the nut - it seems very high compared with my other guitar (an old Strat copy), in fact all the slots seem a little high. I guess I could file them down or something?

Also the frets are high above the fretboard compared with my other guitar, but that may be something I have to get used to.

Hi Ralphile, build looks excellent. It will take a little while to fine tune the axe and for the neck to set in.

So presume this is the stock plastic nut ? To lower the slots you can use the top 3 strings E A D like dental floss and file them down a little. If you think all the strings are too high at the nut end then best you remove the nut and run it over 80 grit paper on a flat surface to lower the profile of it. If you remove the nut you might as well upgrade to a bone nut will sound heaps better.
There are about 3 or 4 different profile and width frets and I'd say your strat copy frets are worn down. There is small, medium, large and jumbo and different widths available. Your tele build frets probably seem high as they haven't been used and worn much.

Did you manage to get some stain on the fingerboard between 15th and 16th fret ? You should be able to sand or steel wool this off, wrap some 1200 paper around a rubber eraser works well.
Looks like you evened up the stain depths alot closer on each sides of the 2 piece body.

Have you intonated the bridge yet ? could be the reason your low fretted notes aren't in tune. Hopefully the bridge saddle screws are long enough as you haven't modified the bridge pup cavity so the bridge plate moves closer to the pickguard