TL-1TB Build

This is the first Kit I will building, and as the title suggests it is a TL-1TB.

1. Firstly started off with checking all the parts were present, and checked their initial fit. . You can click on the link above to view what comes with this kit. The basic plan is to only use the stock hardware for this build. Better and fancier gear will be reserved for when I have a better idea of what I'm doing.
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2. I sanded through the grits up to 400. Timbermate Walnut Wood Filler thinned with a bit of water was firstly tested on piece where the scratch plate wood go, and after it was successful I proceeded to paint the rest across the guitar, followed with addtional sanding. - It may have been a better choice to have done this first then sanding but, either way it worked out great in the end.
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Also, The top popped out great whilst the rest of the guitar is only noticeable if water has been introduced to the surface? As far I thought I knew, It was a basswood body so I am assuming to the top is something else? Personally, no idea what it is.

3. I don't have a picture of this, but I put the floating bridge in place, as well as the pickups, and held the neck in place with clamps to see how the strings are sitting along the fretboard from the nut to the bridge.

I discovered that the neck is sitting at a negative angle, and as the next pictures illustrate, the neck pocket is where the problem is. The inner routing of the pocket is about 16.5mm, whilst the back is approx. 18.5 - 19mm.
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//Continued next post//

As far as the fretboard sits, these next two images show the height of the front and back of the fretboard in relevance to the body.
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So this is where I'm at:

Im unsure what to do to the neck pocket? A backwards based shim or progressively take small amounts from the heel?
Fixing the pocket seems like the preferable thing to do - If I had to replace the neck in future for any reason, it would benefit from not having to change the heel.

Also, Before Staining I assume that I should drill all the hole for the pickguard, knob plate, pickups and the bigsby?


Thanks for your help!
Luke.

Hi Luke. This is where a mock up build comes in handy, I haven't built a guitar with a bigsby but a break angle is not necessarily a bad thing. I would do a mock build first and check your string height before taking any timber out of the neck pocket as it may not be needed. The other guys in the forum who have built these may have the exact answer,
Easy to take timber out much harder to put it back in:(

defiantly check with someone who has built one or with DB.

Luke, the neck on this model is angled back (similar to a LP style, but not quite as much). Your pictures look consistent with the neck angle on mine. You should not need to shim or adjust the neck pocket.

Hi Luke. I think the pocket is fine. Using a tune o matic bridge the neck needs a back break angle. Do a full mock build and put the strings on to check the string action

Hey Guys Thanks for the replies!

I did a mock build and the strings were hugging the fretboard to make their way to the bridge, and curved over the end to get to the bridge.
For those who have a similar setup, what height do the strings sit at on the bridge? (The height of the saddle to the body), As well as what is the preferred string action height to the fretboard?

I may be looking at this set up wrong, as i'm only used to non trem guitars. :)

Also, Should I drill ALL holes on the body before staining or afterwards? (I've seen both done, unsure if it matters).

One thing I do with G-style guitars is to place the bridge on some lollipop sticks (to simulate it sitting correctly in the bridge posts). Then with the neck in place I run a long straight rule down the center of the fretboard (ruler on its edge) and over the bridge. You should be on track if the bottom edge of the rule touches the top of the bridge. If there is a large gap between the bottom edge of the rule and the top of the bridge some other factors may need to be considered...

Hey Storm,
I usually set the string action to about 2mm at the 21st fret but that's a personal choice. The lower the string action the more level the frets have to be levelled to avoid fret buzz
Up to you if you drill all the holes now or later. Less chance of messing up the finish if you pre-drill all the holes earlier in the build

I used an after-market roller bridge on mine (which has a fractionally lower profile than the stock bridge), but as the others have said you do need a neck break angle for the TOM bridge on this model. I use fishing line when testing as it's a little easier to manage when you're tweaking things. Don't alter your neck angle unless you are absolutely certain it is necessary. On mine a 2 degree angle in the pocket was about perfect for the roller bridge, allowing a nice string clearance at a low bridge setting.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-body_12.jpg

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-body_18.jpg

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-body_20.jpg

(no Wokks, it's still not finished)

Wokka - Thanks for that, 2mm at the 21st fret helps a lot - Ill do some measuring and math when I get home to establish at what height the bridge should be - I think I expected that this should've been like a normal tele where strings lay parallel to the body which appears to not be the case on this guitar. Also I agree, I think there is value in having predrilled all the holes initially so that I can fix any bump before a stain blocks the wood (A bit of water on small knocks can re-swell them back into shape!). Basically setting the guitar up with playable strings would dispell any concerns I have early on too.

WeirdBits - Provided I just did the maths correctly (I will redo this when I get home), The increase between the back and front of the pocket has a 2mm increase over a 76mm distance, which equals a gradient of 1.5 degrees, So this angle is correct.

Ill work out the projected height of the bridge saddle and post it here again later so you guys can reassure me if that is the expected height.
Once again, Thank you very much!!! :)

no worries Storm, there is a fair bit of adjustment in the tune o matic bridge heights so you should be fine.
The 2mm string height is a personal preference. Some players like low action and some prefer a higher action.

I found this nice little graphic which for future builders if they look at this thread which would be a good visual explanation of whats going on here
Attachment 11783

Your Build is Looking great! Yeah, I didnt know that the bridge should sit so relatively high with a tune o matic. I think 2mm sounds like a good goal to aim for initially then I can adjust the saddle from there! :)

great diagram Storm, you can see in figure 2 what the string action would be like with no neck break angle !

Yeah Diagram 2 would be awful / Unplayable. Initially I thought that all guitars are like is displayed in diagram 1, so I've already learnt something new!.

So I got home and started checking out the relation of the neck angle to bridge. At the same time I also realised I should inspect the neck and I adjusted the truss rod in the end noticing that the neck was bowing slightly in the centre.
I put the bridge up way higher than earlier and with a bit of eyeballing everything is actually OK!. :
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So for a 2mm play height I've ended up with the low E string sitting in the saddle at around 19mm ish.
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The bridge wobbles in place currently, mostly from the threads on the posts. I think later on adding a little plumbers tape will help keep this from twisting around when playing.

So next steps I plan on doing will be :

1. Identify the centre of the guitar.
2. Install the bigsby tremolo arm (And work out how that spring assembly works which I'm sure everyone is confused by when first receiving one of these). - I can use the bridge saddle and the centre line for positioning of this.
3. Work on the neck / Shape the headstock (THIS is a tough decision, I'm open to suggestions) / properly install the tuners.
4. String the E strings and find the holes for the neck.
5. Locate where the pickup screws, input, strap lugs, pickguard and knob plate screws go.

From here is disassembly and moving onto staining. I should mention my plans for staining. I've already done the walnut grain filler and sanded back, the plan for the color win be Minwax Red Sedona stain followed with Minwax handwipe gloss polyurethane. At this stage I will be keep the neck its natural color - I haven't researched what to use for this yet but i've got over a month at least until I will be doing this.

Made some progress this week!

Cut the headstock shape out with a coping saw, and spent a few hours shaping it and cleaning it with a file and sandpaper. Pretty stoked with how its turned out!
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Tidy work, Storm.

headstock shape looks spot on Storm, well done, keen to see what stain colours you will be using ?

Thanks Pablo and Wokka! :)

I've got Minwax Sedona Red for the body. Will be keeping the neck natural so ill just be coating it with Minwax wipe on poly.
Red should look something like this : http://s144.photobucket.com/user/Dre...uxeII.jpg.html

I've read that i can cover the wood of the frets with wipe on poly along with the neck itself - Would I have to cover the metal frets themselves when doing this?
Or is there a better method I should do for taking care of the neck?

No finish on rosewood! Rosewood needs an occasional oil so it doesn't dry out, but otherwise leave it alone.

Hi Storm, as Pablo said get some DingoWax for the fretboard or some oils like Dr Ducks AxeWax, or lemon or orange oil.

Stain plans sound good

I shouldnt need to use timbermate on the Maple should I first?

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll be going with the dingowax for the fretboard now (Is this capable of spontaneous combustion? Just wondering, as when I'm doing my staining i'll be doing it out in the country at my parents so that I can burn all minwax oil rags on the spot to avoid any accident - Overkill but I prefer to do it safely)

Hi Storm, as in the maple neck you mean ? no need for timbermate on maple is a pretty tight grain. Sand the neck to about 400 grit maximum but if going a clear neck which I think you said you can go to a higher grit paper. Once the clear/final coats are on and cured you can sand the neck up to 1200 grit for super slick action !
The Dingowax is a very safe product so pretty well no chance of that self combusting, Dingobass only uses natural products.
You better read what the miniwax says about discarding rags. Should be pretty safe but a good tip used to put used wudtone (another stain) rags into the used glove and discard them

Not on maple, no. It's got a very tight grain to begin with.

Pretty sure Dingowax is non volatile, so nothing to worry about there. I guess burning the rags is one way to deal with them, I put old rags in a ziplock bag with some water and all the air squeezed out.

Minwax on the can says to put rags into water filled air tight metal tin for disposal. A common consensus on wood working forums is that its easiest to throw the rags into a fire to deal with the problem there and then.

And yeah it will be a clear on the maple part of the neck - Minwax Hand Wipe Poly coat only.

sounds good Storm, do either method for peace of mind. It's only a precaution but limiting chances of a fire is a good thing

Made more progress on the guitar.

Spent a few hours carefully finding and drilling all the holes. Basically, find the hole, re check it a few times, drill it, then re check alignments of strings. I used so sewing thread as that was the closest thing to twine I had laying around.

So a checklist of what I did :
Neck Screws, Tuner screws, Pickguard, Pickups, Knob/slider plate, Tremolo.

Once everything was screwed on I installed the E strings to have a quick play (Limited play) for a bit of a reward. Its sounding good! The only holes left to drill are for the input jack, and the strap leads. Input jack will be done after I've removed everything (The cables are forced out of the hole at the moment so they wouldnt interfere with the internals whilst drilling the other parts).

Now I get to remove everything, finalize the sanding and then it is ready for Staining.

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looks great Storm, how was the string action ?
Some pretty nice grain on the top, should look sweet stained

I adjusted the truss rod a while ago, and with the current bridge height the action is pretty good - Although a bit of a buzz is present. I need to find a good bang for buck fret leveling set, or alternatively just hand the guitar to a luthier to level the frets (Would prefer to do it myself though, just need to do more research on doing it myself before I attempt it)

no worries Storm, you won't know the real string action till the 6 strings go on and tuned up. Looks like there's some movement to lower the bridge which is good

Hi Storm, Gavin has a great thread on levelling frets here: http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=1775. As for tools, I have used suggestions from others on the forum to make some myself. A notched straight edge can be made from a long cheap metal ruler with notches cut where the frets are on your guitar. A radiussed sanding block would be great, but I just used a level with sandpaper stuck on the straight edge, its good enough for brand new frets.

Thansk for the link AndewA ! I had a look through and there seems to many ways to get this job done!

I've been looking around on ebay and I found this kit, which seems like would be good bang for buck solution for fret leveling : Frater Music Fret Leveling Kit

Fret levelling file, Fret crowing tool, Fret protector, and a standard file (I'll probably use my scale model files instead).

Oh, I'll also need to buy a fret rocker separately too.

On the weekend just gone I managed to get the Color stain layers down, as well as 5 coats of Minwax Satin Hand Wipe Poly onto the back of the neck. Did this at my parents place in the country.

The body is fully drying at this time until in a few weeks I'll return to do the gloss layers onto the body. Stoked as with how the color has turned out!

For the frets I went with Dr. Ducks Axe Wax which Ill apply once ive installed everything once the gloss layer dries.

I should make a rig next time for staining a body so I can do back and front at a time. Not bothered either way as I had lots to do inbetween doing this at my parents.

Here are pics :

1. Set up the work space to start doing the back of the body. I masked off the binding to avoid having too much oil stain to clean off it later.
Attachment 12960

2. Applied the prestain. This prevents the stain itself from looking streaky or blotchy (Evident that it works in the post stain pictures)
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3. First coat of the Minwax Sedona Red on the back.
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4. Second coat:
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Thats looking great!.

I had to notice the "next time" .......no one stops at one :)

5. Flipped it over and removed the painters tape:
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6. This was the end result, To wood on top actually took 3 coats in total (Didnt take pictures inbetween because?)
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7. Front on view
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Excited to do the gloss coats now.

Also I didnt take many pictures of the neck as it was hung up in a non lit pre 1900's farm shed/barn. There was adequate light for working, but pictures didnt really work in there. After I buff it out it should go from being Satin to a slight almost semi gloss (It already feels smooth with good movement though, where I think the gloss may have been a bit sticky due to that I get quite clammy hands when playing)

doing a nice job there, it's looking good

colour looks great Storm well done. Easy fix for staining/clearing the whole body at once drill a scrap piece of wood (about 300-400mm long, up to 50mm wide) into two of the neck screw holes of the body and drill a hole in the other end and it can be hung up to cure. If you have a vice you can clamp the hanger in the vice and stain/clear each side of the body

Built a stand to hold the body so I could finish staining both sides at once. Was just a simple cut a basic sized neck piece, and attach it to a base.
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I used Minwax Satin hand wipe poly x 8 coats on the body. These pictures are from when I started doing the work, I didnt take later shots (Sorry ><)

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This photo I took with the flash to show the satin a bit more (In person, its a very subtle coating that does not look glossy unless you get on an angle with the light in right condition)
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I wet sanded with 1200 grit after each couple of layers to clear up any crappy spots. The body is now airing for a week or more then I'll move onto a final wet sanding/steel wool, then I may use minwax paste finishing wax or dingotone wax (Will test areas that will be under the scratchplate in the end to see which i like better).

looking great Storm and love the staining rack/stand you built. You should be able to use it for your next bolt on neck build !

nice work, love the satin, looks good