Marze take 2 - TLA-1 Rosewood/maple neck

Replacement kit has just arrived from PitBull (from the previous build that was not so successful) - a nice TLA-1 kit with a maple neck with Rosewood fret board.
Attachment 10692
Attachment 10693

The kit has chrome hardware and the plan is to use the Bondi Blue dingo tone for the body with a black burst using Black Stump dingo tone. Hopefully I will have enough left to do a second build. Actually I will have to drop dingobass a line to see if DT2 is compatible with DT 1.

There are a few corrections needed on close inspection. The bridge pickup route needs to be expanded to fit the Tonerider pick up and clear the cut out in the bridge.
Attachment 10694
Attachment 10695

The neck is also bigger than the pocket so I will need to chisel/file out a fraction on either side after finding the centre line of the guitar.
Attachment 10696

The neck is in good shape though, compared to the last one which ended the previous build. Frets are well seated, fretboard is even and nicely arched.

So here we go, onto the sanding of the body, I've got a couple of days off work so I might get all the way to the first coat of stain.

Hi Marze, replacement kit looks good. You ok with the mods you need to do ?

Neck and body look sweet.

I'd be pretty certain to say DT mark 1 and 2 will be compatible.

Don't think I've seen bondi blue on ash, will be interesting to see how it looks, ash being a much darker yellowish grain

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

Hi Marze, replacement kit looks good. You ok with the mods you need to do ?

Neck and body look sweet.

I'd be pretty certain to say DT mark 1 and 2 will be compatible.

Don;t think I've seen bondi blue on ash, will be interesting to see how it looks, ash being a much darker yellowish grain

---

Hi Wokkaboy,

I am OK with the mods. I have access to a dremel and router, if needed, and I am pretty good with a chisel to do the neck pocket. I have found a few threads about finding the centre line of the guitar to widen the pocket, so I have "instructions".

I am hoping the Bondi Blue kinda comes out looking more of a smokey blue rather than electric blue that you normally see.

Nice looking kit.

May I suggest that it is better to remove a touch off both sides of the neck heel rather than attacking the pocket..
Not only is it easier to do this you have less chance of taking too much off.

And no worries with MI and MII compatability.

good stuff Marze, how much wider is the neck than the pocket ? maybe you can sand if its 1mm of less. Be careful not to take too much off with a chisel or split the timber.
Be worth doing a mock build once you got the neck in the pocket and bridge pup and bridge in place. Majority of the tele kits the bridge pup cavity is about 5mm too far south

Wokka, SNAP! :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dingobass

Nice looking kit.

May I suggest that it is better to remove a touch off both sides of the neck heel rather than attacking the pocket..
Not only is it easier to do this you have less chance of taking too much off.

And no worries with MI and MII compatability.

---

Thank for the suggestion DB, I was thinking of doing this as well. So I will look at this first.The neck looks to be about 1.25 mm too wide. I was a little concerned about buggering up the frets, but it will be OK with sanding I guess.

And, good news about the M-I and M-II compatibility.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

good stuff Marze, how much wider is the neck than the pocket ? maybe you can sand if its 1mm of less. Be careful not to take too much off with a chisel or split the timber.
Be worth doing a mock build once you got the neck in the pocket and bridge pup and bridge in place. Majority of the tele kits the bridge pup cavity is about 5mm too far south

---

As DB said - SNAP.
I will check the position of the bridge pup cavity as well once the neck is in place. Off to start the sanding ...

good stuff Marze, won't take long to take off about 0.6mm of each side of the neck heel. 80 grit paper will rip it off pretty quick.
Good tip is to test the fit in the pocket regularly so you don't take too much off - I good tight neck heel will give you good sustain.

If you are using the PBG bridge the intonation may work out ok. They have pretty long saddle screws.

Anyway good luck with the sanding - think the ash grain should come up really nice on this kit !

Are you going to grain fill it with Timbermate ? for the maximum popping factor we recommend ebony timbermate !

As the fret board sits higher than the body you won't have to touch the frets, just the timber of the neck. I used sand paper, it's slower and less chance of "oops"

OK, marked up the heal of the neck with .5 mm lines to sand to:
Attachment 10697 & Attachment 10698

Then after some 100 grit and then 220 grit sanding and shaping we have a nice tight fit. With the final sanding with 320 and 400 and coats of DingoTone it should stay about the tightness (hoping)!
Attachment 10699 Attachment 10701
Attachment 10700

Now onto a mock build as suggested by Wokka ...

Any recommendations for through body stringing vs bridge stringing? The bridge will allow for both, not sure on the benfits or not of either. Forum posts seem divided on religious grounds more than science.

That is a moot question indeed... To string through or not to string through...

String through will give better sustain as this setup has the effect of marrying the bridge to the body.
Normally the bridge is sitting on the body and you lose some sustain as a result.

So, I guess it is a matter of personal preference and playing style.
If you were to string through, couple that with yor neck fitting nice and firmly in the pocket you could end up with a Guitar that will sustain for ages..

I build most of my customs as neckthrough and string through.
My fave Bass sustains long enough for me to go make a coffee, smoke a ciggie or two, walk the dogs, go down town and do some shopping, come back and have a nanna nap, make another coffee........... OK.... So that might be a slight exaggeration but you get the idea :p

hey Marze, well done.
Have you got another bridge that has string through holes ?

If you are up for it I think a string through will allow more sustain. I love how the 6 ferules look on the back too.

You scored a mighty fine looking body that ash grain is deluxe !

EDIT - damn SNAP DB !! I didn't read your response before I typed mine

We have gotta stop meeting like this, Woks..... SNAP.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wokkaboy

...
If you are up for it I think a string through will allow more sustain. I love how the 6 ferules look on the back too.
...

---

OK, I'm convinced. String through it will be. Now to get some chrome ferules and make a trip to the workshop with the press drill.

good choice Marze, if it is the first string through job, worth getting some scrap wood about 40mm thick, mark up the string through holes with the bridge plate and see how the holes align and are spaced at the back. It takes practice to get it looking good.

Ok. For a really rough mock up ... It looks like the bridge is about 5 mm south as Wokka hinted. In the photo the bridge is sitting centred on the original hole. Strings and neck line up nicely and the saddles have been adjusted to be equidistant to the 12th fret to the nut.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...21fc162bb7.jpg
So, should I move the bridge north towards the pickguard/neck by 4 or 5 mm? This will let the saddles line up as well. The top saddle is screwed all the way out as you can see.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Marze, so you saying as the mock build is the low E string saddle is about 319mm from 12th fret ?

You really need to re-do this mock build with the bridge pup in place to be certain of the bridge location.

There is actually a small gap between bridge and pickguard on the real teles so it is up to you whether you want to move the bridge plate toward the pickguard. If you can get intonation now then it is only aesthetics.

The bridge plates have changed, so looks like it has 3 mounting screws and 6 string through holes ? They never used to have string through holes and had 4 mounting screws

The low E (the fat one) saddle is 325 mm from the centre of the 12th fret. the one on the right in the photo. This is the saddle that is wound right out.

Down the centre line:
Inside of neck nut to centre of 12th fret = 323 mm
Centre of 12th fret to the centre of the middle saddle = 323 mm

Should it be 319 mm?

I will have to do the mock build again tomorrow after I have widened the hole to fit the pickup. Out of time tonight.

Yes the bridge is as you describe - 3 mounting holes and 6 string through holes AND 6 holes at the back of the bridge if you don't want to go through the body.
Attachment 10702

Edit please read my next post i have mixed up gibson and fender scale lengths !!

Hi Marze, please disregard my prior comments, I have been replying Alkays LP build scale length and again have mixed up Fender and Gibson scales !
325mm to the low E string should be around the ballpark so no need to move the bridge plate,

sorry for the confusion, have been going in between scale lengths in your thread and Alkays diary !

Nice looking kit Marze...you gotta love the TLA-1R

I look forward to following this baby.

Welcome back Marze! This one is looking great!

Sent from my 0PJA10 using Tapatalk

Today's effort was sanding and shaping the head stock and an initial go at expanding the bridge pup route.

Pulled out the template from the last build and re-traced it onto the headstock.
Attachment 10735

A bit of handy work with a jigsaw and rasp, then 80, 100 and 220 grit and this is the result:
Attachment 10736

Flipped things over and attacked the back to shape it to match the template. Rasp then 80, 100 and 220 grit to arrive at:
Attachment 10737

Tomorrow will be fixing the bridge pup route, which I butchered a little bit with my hammer and chisel. Stopped short of over cutting, but now I need to get the dremmel out to make it smooth and rounded again. Also going to drill the string through holes and counter sink them for the ferules.

Headstock looks great! Did you get the bridge position sorted? If you want to be in no doubt then Stewmac's fret position calculator is your friend.

cheers,
Gav.

Today's effort was cleaning up my chiseling with better chisels and a dremel. All fixed now, the tonerider bridge pup fits in the route and it is now shaped correctly:
Before -
Attachment 10748Attachment 10749

After -
Attachment 10751Attachment 10752

I have it in the correct place based on basic measurements from before. I will check Stewmac's fret position calculator to make sure it is correct (thanks for the reminder Gav).

The thing that snookered me today was drilling the through body string holes. I got it all lined up and then the drill press was not deep enough to reach where the holes needed to be drilled. Lots of cursing and attempts to gerry rig up an alternative and I gave up. My practice drilling 'freehand' was not as accurate as I would like.

So anyone go any suggestions for how to drill nice straight parallel holes without a drill press?

Find a deeper drill press, or...

Use the drill press to make an accurate guide block (nice and thick) that you can then clamp in place on the body and use a long drill bit that'll reach through the the block and the body.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WeirdBits

Find a deeper drill press, or...

Use the drill press to make an accurate guide block (nice and thick) that you can then clamp in place on the body and use a long drill bit that'll reach through the the block and the body.

---

Thanks Scott - You know that was about the only thing we didn't try today :confused:
Will have a go at making a guide block over the weekend.

Make two guides: one for the string-through and another for the ferrule holes. Then... practice, practice, practice on scrap wood.

Even with guide blocks it is still difficult to get nicely lined up precise holes, so the scrap wood will tell you if you're going to get a result you'll be happy with. Good luck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gavinturner

Headstock looks great! Did you get the bridge position sorted? If you want to be in no doubt then Stewmac's fret position calculator is your friend.

cheers,
Gav.

---

Hi Gav,
Double Checked with Stewmac's Fret Calculator and now I am little more confused as I am not sure what he means with the measurement?

Quote:

---

Bridge placement for 645.800mm scale length

Distance indicated is from the fretboard edge of the nut to center of forward-most mounting screw or pivot post.

Telecaster® style bridges = 652.131mm (± 0.5mm)

---

What is the centre of the forward-most mounting screw?? Is that half way up the middle screw of the three saddle screws? The measurement would make sense if this is the case.

Hi Marze

Here is what you might do. Measure from the middle of the rounded peak (the crown) of the 12th fret to the edge of the fretboard at the nut. Usually a full telecaster scale length would be 648mm (647.77mm). At the 12th fret, you would have a distance half of the scale length, namely 324mm (323.885mm).

However you would need to allow compensation of 3-5 mm from high to low 'E' when the guitar is intonated correctly.

So, wind the saddles as far forward as they will go without falling off the screw, then measure from the 'crown' of the 12th fret 324mm to the high 'E' saddle. Also consider and be mindful that the low 'E' saddle would need to be capable of winding back 6mm from this point to be as far as 330mm from the saddle to the crown of the 12th fret. If it can do this then that is the best place to fix your bridge. If it cannot go that far back then consider moving the bridge back that 1 or 2 mm that will allow it to achieve the 330mm from the 12th fret crown.

The Stew Mac measurements are great but i use the above method everytime on my guitars and since I build a number of acoustics you dont have the forgiveness of movable saddles to fix up a misplaced bridge so you have to already allow for the exact compensation amounts before gluing!.

Gav,
I'm sure the Stewmac calculator is a very handy tool, especially if putting your own frets on a fingerboard, but you description is much clearer and more concise. You've given us newbies just the info we need without confusing us (me, at least) with extra bits that would only confuse us. Cheers!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by peterh

Gav,
I'm sure the Stewmac calculator is a very handy tool, especially if putting your own frets on a fingerboard, but you description is much clearer and more concise. You've given us newbies just the info we need without confusing us (me, at least) with extra bits that would only confuse us. Cheers!

---

You are most welcome peterh, getting the bridge in the right position can be a source of great stress for so many so I'm grateful to you for confirming it was easy to understand.

Not much progress. I have sanded the neck back to 400g and taped off the headstock to apply the first base coat of DT.
Attachment 11019 Attachment 11020

The blue didn't soak in much so I will have to do several layers of base stain to get the colour up to where I want it.

Rest of the time has been spent sourcing a way to drill the through body holes.

Also looking at the bridge the through string holes are not in line with the bottom of the bridge, so I may replace it with a modern bridge or get a different one. All other bridges I can find also have 4 mounting screws. Fender must be onto something with this as they have not changed theirs, so this is also quietly bugging me.

Thats a cool headstock shape Marze.

You may need to sand the headstock face a bit with a bit of 320 (or 240) to get the stain to take a bit better on the maple, as you suggested a number of stain coats will be needed.

Getting there Marze, another vote for a cool headstock

It's been a while since the last update on the build. I have had to figure out how to drill the through body holes. The drill press I had access to was not deep enough to reach the position for the holes, and the other equipment a friend had to drill mounting holes in cabinets would not be acurate enough. So I ended up solving the problem using a router. We purchases a 1/4" to 1/8" reducer for the router mount, which worked well since the through body holes are meant to be 1/8". I also bought a new bridge since the holes on the one that came with the kit were not straight.
So after finding the centre line of the guitar and marking up the holes ...
Attachment 11466
I lined up the router and gave myself a clamped down straight edge to ensure the holes would be drilled in a nice straight line ...
Attachment 11467
Attachment 11468
Attachment 11469
Block of wood clamped underneath to stop splintering and after several practice rounds on a spare piece of timber, off I went.

Good option Marze, and great idea to do a practice run first. How did it all turn out?

The result for the holes was good.
Front & Back
Attachment 11470 Attachment 11471

Next was to counter sink the holes at the rear for the ferrules. An 8 mm drill was proving to make the holes a little too big on the test run so, went with a 7.5 mm drill bit. Interesting point was that I could not find a wood drill bit at any of the hardware stores nearby (the big green shed was out too) so I went with a hybrid drill bit for steel, plastic and wood. Now this bit bit hard and tore out plugs very quickly so I ended up with a bit of splintering around the edges of the holes. The drill bit was sharp all the way up, recommend you don't buy one of these.
Attachment 11472

However the holes were sunk to the right depth thanks to masking tape on the drill bit and were still pretty much in line ...
Attachment 11473

So after counter sinking the edges to clean them up I got a pretty decent result. The ferrules will need a slight tap to get them into place once the sanding, grain filler, more sanding and DT has been applied, but then they will be nice and tightly in place.
Attachment 11474

Onto the sanding ...