New here but with what might be an odd question.

Hello Everyone,

Ive been lurking around for a while and going through a lot of the build diaries. Im interested in building a few of the models here at PitBull. Specifically the Tele with the trem and 175 hollow body. Now the question or at least the lead up to the question. Im legally blind (not blonde). If that term is unknown it means I have about 10% of vision. I an read regular print and have access to magnifiers. In my day job Im a Network Engineer so Im used to working with server builds, router builds and mods ect. Do you think a person such as myself would be able to build one of these kits? I have some basic wood working skills. Im a novice when it comes to soldiering (and really thats the only part that has me questioning my confidence) I should also mention Im color blind so that may make for some interesting finishes :). Whats your thoughts? And by all means Im open to questions and have a sense of humor so Im not easily offended. I often dont know my limitations tho and am sometimes overly ambitious.

I reckon you might impress yourself.
As for Colour Blindness, as long as it looks good to you.....
Attachment 21980

Welcome and go for it if you are doing server builds you should be ok with the build process but some of the very small screws could be a challenge.

As for the soldering, I imagine you have cablers / electricians doing associated work for you so throw them a beer or two to do the soldering for you until you gain the confidence to try it yourself.

Hi and welcome. There are a few colour blind people here and they seem to get on OK. Your only real issues would be if attempting a sunburst finish and you were unable to differentiate the colours in the burst, which would make it very difficult to get a smooth transition. But chose the right colours and you'll be fine.

Most of the real effort goes into getting the finish looking good. On some of the kits, like the Tele, the soldering is minimal, so not too much to worry about. Shaping the headstock is normally the most involved bit of woodworking you'll need to do, followed by a lot of sanding. The ES-3, 175-style kit is a lot more complicated than the Tele in both wiring and construction so I'd certainly start with a Tele.

Welcome ofarrell, I reckon you might surprise yourself as well. Finishing a guitar quite often comes down to feel. I constantly pick up faults with feel that my eyes cant see. As for colour just go with what you think is good, after all you're the one who will look at it the most, or feel it! Just go for it. As they say nothing ventured. JB

Go the tele...no one ever regretted building a tele

Thank you all for the welcome and great encouragement and advice. Ive been a player for nearly 20 years but have never explored the finer workings of the instrument other than basic stuff. Ive always paid someone to take care of it for me. But after my last purchase (Gibson 335 Trini Lopez) the wife has intervened on my addiction :) but is totally down with the idea of building something. I think she simply wants me to stop digitizing the entire house and be distracted by something that wont interrupt her Bachelor show nights LOL. My build may be a bit challenging as winter is coming (insert Game of Thrones theme) here in Ontario Canada making it a bit hard to work outside with finishes.

Temperature (and rain) is certainly a big influence if you plan to work outside (it's another lousy UK summer here so the chances to work outside without it threatening to rain, if not actually raining, have been very few). And Ontario winters generally get a lot colder than here. Spray finishes need warm conditions otherwise condensing moisture fogs the finish.

But there are finishes that you can apply inside, so you can stain, rather than paint the body, and use clear wipe-on poly rather than a polyurethane spray for protection, or use Tru-Oil or Tung-Oil, which take a lot of coats to build up a thick enough protective layer, but at least it gives you something to do if the weather's bad.

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

Temperature (and rain) is certainly a big influence if you plan to work outside (it's another lousy UK summer here so the chances to work outside without it threatening to rain, if not actually raining, have been very few). And Ontario winters generally get a lot colder than here. Spray finishes need warm conditions otherwise condensing moisture fogs the finish.

But there are finishes that you can apply inside, so you can stain, rather than paint the body, and use clear wipe-on poly rather than a polyurethane spray for protection, or use Tru-Oil or Tung-Oil, which take a lot of coats to build up a thick enough protective layer, but at least it gives you something to do if the weather's bad.

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Some Excellent advice. Thank you sir. I do plan to stain rather than paint. Most of my guitars are solid colors (minus the acoustics) so a little veneration never hurts. When I first started to play I was using a knock off tele and later traded it in for a Epipohone Emperor. Thats partially why Ive got my eye on those two kits. Nostalgia tends to get the better of me as a I age :)

Welcome. As mentioned above the TL guitar you mentioned only has a few solder joints required. The least soldering is on ST models as the pickguard comes pre-loaded. Sanding won't be a problem, because even for fully sighted people it is really based on feel. Regarding the finish, you could use the winter to get all your sanding and prep work done and practice soldering if you decide you want to do that yourself. Then start the staining process as soon as the seasons turn. Unfortunately guitar building requires patience.

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Originally Posted by Fretworn

Welcome. As mentioned above the TL guitar you mentioned only has a few solder joints required. The least soldering is on ST models as the pickguard comes pre-loaded. Sanding won't be a problem, because even for fully sighted people it is really based on feel. Regarding the finish, you could use the winter to get all your sanding and prep work done and practice soldering if you decide you want to do that yourself. Then start the staining process as soon as the seasons turn. Unfortunately guitar building requires patience.

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Thanks Fretworn, that is likely the plan. I have to share my work area with not only the laundry facilities but also two cats that seem to think the litter box is some kind of Olympic sport to see how much they can get on the outside of the box (the litter.... not the other stuff :)). So yeah no harmful chemicals can be used inside really. I may use the downstairs bathroom as technically thats what my wife calls "my bathroom" :) but even then I wouldnt want to use anything that could be breathed in my the furry critters or the humans. Its been a weird summer hear in Ontario so we may get a nice long fall season.

Welcome O'Farrell, making guitars is much more fun than buying them, glad to see you've made the plunge

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Welcome ofarrel!