First Time TL-1L build (Natural Finish)

So after borderline waiting at my front door for 10 days for my first PitBull guitar to arrive, i finally have the time to get stuck into it and start my mock build.
This will be my first project and as such any advice or feedback this awesome community has to offer would be super appreciated (I have been reading build threads ever since I ordered the guitar).

So far I am super happy with the kit. the neck joins the Body super well and everything seems to fit in its place.
My plan for this guitar is to keep it a natural finish, with as small amount of lacquer as I can get away with. Possibly a Maple timber stain with a colour reducer as to not darken the timber too much, Does anyone have experience with this kind of finish, or does anyone have any other ideas as to how to achieve a natural light finish?

Having a hard time uploading pictures from my stupid laptop, I will upload some later on.

Cheers
Zeus

Hey Zeus, sounds like a great plan! Looking forward to seeing your build come together. You might need to reduce the size of your photos before posting them. Try reducing to a long side of 1000 pixels.

cheers,
Gav.

Here are the pictures i promised earler.
Completed the mock build this morning, all worked well, easier than i though it would be to measure up and drill the holes for the bridge and scratchplate.
Started sanding with some 80 Grit, I have now moved on to 120 Grit. looking good so far.
I go crazy for natural finish guitars, however Im not sure if the grain is nice enough to pull off the look that I am going for. what do you guys thing?

Thanks Gav, you were right. That was the problem all along. How silly of me.

You could try enhancing the grain with Timbermate, it's like turning up the contrast knob to bring the timber alive.

I think there's enough there - I've done a basswood VP bass using Tru Oil with pretty vanilla grain and was really happy with the outcome... (http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=2759). Comes down to your choice of finish and how it's applied.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swanny

You could try enhancing the grain with Timbermate, it's like turning up the contrast knob to bring the timber alive.

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Thanks Swanny, I have heard that Timbermate works really well. And it looks like I can get it from bunnings, Ill grab some tomorow, see how that goes.
Any recomendations on which shade to use?

Spent most of my afternoon cutting and sanding down the headstock. Made a rough sketch of what I wanted and cut it out with a coping saw. then sanded down to shape. There are still some saw marks and imperfections that are proving a pain to sand out...but with patience I will prevail. What do you guys think of the shape?

acquired myself some walnut timbermate. really hoping i made the right choice on shade there. my thinking was that a dark highlight through the grain might be different and look cool.
having said that, I am pretty lost as how to i am suppose to get this thick putty into the grain of the timber. can someone help me out on that one?

wow Zeus thats an original headstock shape, wouldn't want to go any narrower in the centre area as there will be quite a bit of string tension on D G B E strings. Should look cool once it's cleaned up.
Walnut timbermate will work well.
To prepare it I use a flat surface to prepare it, old icecream lids work well. Add a bit of water and mix it with the TM till you get a fairly thick slurry. Can be applied with a plastic paint scraper or a sponge/squeegie. Wipe it over the entire body and let it dry for a few hours before sanding back. THe only timbermate left after sanding will be sitting in all the small pits in the grain surface. A bit of practice you will work it out pretty quickly.
Worth pre-sanding to at least 240 grit before filling

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wokkaboy

wow Zeus thats an original headstock shape, wouldn't want to go any narrower in the centre area as there will be quite a bit of string tension on D G B E strings. Should look cool once it's cleaned up.
Walnut timbermate will work well.
To prepare it I use a flat surface to prepare it, old icecream lids work well. Add a bit of water and mix it with the TM till you get a fairly thick slurry. Can be applied with a plastic paint scraper or a sponge/squeegie. Wipe it over the entire body and let it dry for a few hours before sanding back. THe only timbermate left after sanding will be sitting in all the small pits in the grain surface. A bit of practice you will work it out pretty quickly.
Worth pre-sanding to at least 240 grit before filling

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Thanks Wokka, I'm really pleased with how the headstock it has shaped up. I am a bit worried about the strength of the headstock when under tension. hopefully it will be enough.

after trying to sand out the saw marks with 80 Grit, I have concluded that they are a tad too deep to sand out, Plus being right at the thin part of the headstock, I wouldnt want to thin it out any more than I already have. Hope nobody nottices.

Should I use the timbermate on the back of the neck?
Cheers for the advice
Zeus

hey Zeus, you can timbermate the neck but the maple grain is much tighter and doesn't really need it. See if you can fill the cut mark that is too deep to sand.
You may have seen Perry Ormsby builds headstocks in a similar shape, really narrow in profile but he uses carbon fibre to strenghten them - I think I read that somewhere

I filled (timbermate) and sanded the front of a tele headstock yesterday, worked a treat.

Zeus, nice original headstock. Yes be cautious about sanding more away from the thin part of the headstock though the maple is quite strong. Looks like you should have enough meat on there for strength. The real test is when you string it up!

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Great headstock Zeus, it does look a little like the Ormsby signature shape. Very cool. Hopefully it will stand up to the string tension. The rock maple is pretty damn hard so I'm pretty confident you'll be ok.

cheers,
Gav.

Thanks guys, I'm sure it will be alright.
I was sanding the body till just after midnight last night, its really starting to rub up smooth. 240 grit this afternoon, and then ill try the Timbermate, (thanks Wokka for the ''how to'')
Any recommendations on a good thin or satin finish clear lacquer to put over the top?
Ive had some experience with timber stains and varnishes when finishing drum kits, but I've never found a natural finish that I have liked the look and feel of, so perhaps just a clear lacquer over the top of the natural grain.

Welcome Zeus, nice to see another lefty on board.
You could try a satin wipe on poly, a satin acrylic, or even an oil based finish.
A wax type finish might work very well also, contact DB and see if his Dingowax will give the result you are after

Yesterday afternoon I used the timbermate on the body of the guitar.
today I started the sanding. Unfortunately the grain has not taken the timbermate well. and looks really muddy and gross.
the timber has gone fluffy and im pulling my hair out just trying to get it back the way it looked. what a catastrophe.
will keep sanding as I really want a natural finished tele, it may end up being solid colour for this one.

Another picture of the body.

The fluff might be from the water mixed with your timber mate, the water will raise the wood fibre and they will need to be sanded

Hey guys, Been a while Since Ive posted an update on my build.
After sanding the body back to bare timber, I decided on a different approach. Feast Watson choc walnut stain and varnish. I found it really tacky and hard to spread, and I was a bit heavy handed. but Alas after sanding back the first coat, I was presented with a blotchy, uneven colour that I quite liked. tossed up weather or not I should just put a top coat over it, Then decided another coat would be worth the trouble.
I also had the idea to sand back the edges of the body to bare timber to give a of a clear ''imitation binding'' effect.

opinions?

I think that colour looks pretty cool man but I'm into the burnished look.

Pictures of the second coat.
the body has 2 funny bits of grain on the bottom right and top left. I'm not to worried about either, with the top to be covered up by the pick guard. And the bottom I think will look good

It looks like it's been relic'd... I think it looks cool!

Very Antique looking already and looks pretty good.

Thanks guys. Really positive it will work out well. Ill either leave it at 2 coats, or add a coat of clear Poly, or 3 coats and leave it at that.
the next step is the wiring. Lucky for me I work in a music store and my co workers are well versed in pickup wiring, Ill ask then for help when the finish is done.

Finished my first build last night. I was very very very happy with how it turned out. 3 coats of stain and varnish, a light sand down, soldering done up and then the final assembly. The action was east to set up, and the intonation isn't out by much. will work on that later.
One trivial thing, Correct me if I'm wrong here guys, but when my pickup selector is facing towards the neck, it activates the bridge pickup, and vice versa. I was thinking it could be a right handed/left handed thing. doesn't matter either way.
Thanks everyone for your advice and support.
Already planning my next build. looking at a JM-1L In trans purple.
peace
-Zeus

looks good Zeus, that was a very quick build, so no clear coats ?
How does the narrow headstock stand up to the string tension ?
All you have to do is reverse the switch lugs for bridge and neck pups. It shouldn't make any difference being a lefty.

You might as well enter into March GOTM

You can now update your avatar from a raw mock build to the finished axe !

Thanks Wokka. after 3 coats it looks and feels fine enough I think.
Ill leave the pick up selectors where they are, doesn't really matter now i think about it.
I'm going to throw in a white pearloid pick guard soon, have already equipped some strap locks.
always room for improvement.

no worries Zeus, you might have enough loose wire to remove the control plate and unscrew and reverse the switch will avoid re-soldering, but don't over stretch any wires or they may come loose from the solder join.
See if you can get a better photo for your avatar - in daylight !

I like the headstock shape, kinda reminds me of the Parker Fly.

Nice work Zeus. Plenty of time to mod it later. I dig that headstock shape

Love to see some photos of taken in sunlight so we can get a real good look at the final result.

Good work Zeus, I like the finished axe.

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