Very Different TL Style Guitar Build Diary

I just received my kit and I'm excited.

I own five guitars, but only one is electric, a Fender Strat.

I've been wanting a TL, but I was intrigued when I saw this video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h7mp0c4d64...390PX.mp4?dl=0

The wonderful folks at PittBull were able to create a kit like it.

I plan to do a very light stain to bring out the grain, but I want to keep it very light in colour. Any advice is welcome.

The plan is to do a wood seal, stain and poly coat. I'm a bit worried about the fretboard doing a seal, stain, coat without messing up the frets. I'll have to read more about that...

I have a few questions for the group; which I will post in following messages.

Thanks!

Attachment 27476

I would like advice on my guitar neck.

See this video:

https://youtu.be/IG5e85iBSsA

Hi there, suggest running some string lines from high & low E tuner holes to where bridge may end up to see how that aligns with pickup locations. With neck pushed up hard on the bass non cutaway side, hopefully everything lines up sweet as from that video ut looks like inner cutaway area was cut just a fraction too wide.
Being a bolt on that shouldn't be too big a problem and if the appearance really bothers you a small bit of veneer might be all you need.
Cheers, Waz

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Maybe just tru-oil it. That will give it a slight yellow tinge. It looks like it is probably basswood, so there is less need to grain fill. you made need to stain it if the want the pop the grain.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jgraves

I plan to do a very light stain to bring out the grain, but I want to keep it very light in colour. Any advice is welcome.
The plan is to do a wood seal, stain and poly coat. I'm a bit worried about the fretboard doing a seal, stain, coat without messing up the frets.

---

Tru Oil is probably the easiest way to go as it seals and finishes all in one. I have also used it on maple fret boards too, just need to use 0000 steel wool to polish it off the frets once fret board has been done and final polished with car polish products.

How would you like to finish the neck?

If you're in Australia you can't go wrong with the dingotone. Just applied that to the neck of my current build.

I have made about ten guitars with bolt on necks and agree with Waz that it should not be too much of a problem. The main thing is to make sure that everything lines up, makes it easier when there is a bit of slop (oops, I meant a bit of play :rolleyes:). Tele and Strat pockets are hard to get tight as there is very little 'meat' on the lower side. Small gaps are mostly cosmetic and filling them to perfection can drive you nuts, but then unlimited patience is not part of my nature! I had an American made Strat and the pocket was really baggy to the point where the neck could wobble if you really pushed it, fixed it with a bit of veneer in the bass side and some sandpaper glued in the bottom of the pocket with paper glue - a bit agricultural but worked a treat and solid as. Played like a dream, I hope the turd who stole it liked it. Good luck, hope it all goes well.

Regarding oil. I was wanting to do a polyurethane finish on it and I was told oil would not work well because it doesn't completely dry and gives off gasses; which could bubble up the poly coat. Is that not true with Tru Oil?

Tru Oil dries like varnish with none of the problems you mentioned.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Should mention i have never added poly or anything on top as TO alone was good enough for me.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Old Tooth Hopkins

How would you like to finish the neck?

If you're in Australia you can't go wrong with the dingotone. Just applied that to the neck of my current build.

---

Thanks for that. I want to keep the whole guitar as light colour as possible. I'm just wanting to bring out some grain so it doesn't just look white and make it a high gloss.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Trev56

I have made about ten guitars with bolt on necks and agree with Waz that it should not be too much of a problem. The main thing is to make sure that everything lines up, makes it easier when there is a bit of slop (oops, I meant a bit of play :rolleyes:). Tele and Strat pockets are hard to get tight as there is very little 'meat' on the lower side. Small gaps are mostly cosmetic and filling them to perfection can drive you nuts, but then unlimited patience is not part of my nature! I had an American made Strat and the pocket was really baggy to the point where the neck could wobble if you really pushed it, fixed it with a bit of veneer in the bass side and some sandpaper glued in the bottom of the pocket with paper glue - a bit agricultural but worked a treat and solid as. Played like a dream

---

Thanks for the tip. I think it will be ok.

Quote:

---

I hope the turd who stole it liked it. Good luck, hope it all goes well.

---

How disturbing! I think I'll engrave my name under the coils or switches so it would be easy to prove it was mine if stolen....

try dingotone colourless..

I wanted to test a few ideas on scrap wood, but it seems to be impossible to get scrap basswood here in Australia. What would be the closest alternative? Pine?

The body of the guitar is basswood and the neck is maple. Bit I believe the maple is just on the fretboard, not the rest of the neck. Or is it the whole neck? I assume the basswood, being softer, would take up stain more readily than maple.

Recommendation to PitBull Guitars: Include a few scrap pieces of wood with the kit so people can do some basic testing. :o

I recently did some testing like you did. Good idea.

Basswood apparently behave like Pine. You can get them from any construction site.

Your neck look like maple on maple. Maple is harder to find and expensive. I somehow secured some offcuts to test on but the local timber supplier suggested some meranti for a similar hardness. It’ll be. A different colour though.

Alternatively you can shape the headstock then use the offcuts from the headstock.

Check out build # 6 in my signature which is a basswood body & maple neck but with rosewood fret board.
It has between 30-40 coats of Tru Oil and gives you an idea of the subtle amber tint that the product has.
Basswood can vary in colour but is usually similar to maple as used in necks.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wazkelly

Check out build # 6

---

Very impressive. That's the look I want. Thanks for the long thread that prevented me from doing any real work this afternoon! :cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Old Tooth Hopkins

Alternatively you can shape the headstock then use the offcuts from the headstock.

---

Excellent idea...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jgraves

I wanted to test a few ideas on scrap wood, but it seems to be impossible to get scrap basswood here in Australia. What would be the closest alternative? Pine?

The body of the guitar is basswood and the neck is maple. Bit I believe the maple is just on the fretboard, not the rest of the neck. Or is it the whole neck? I assume the basswood, being softer, would take up stain more readily than maple.

Recommendation to PitBull Guitars: Include a few scrap pieces of wood with the kit so people can do some basic testing. :o

---

no pine is not anything like basswood staining wise think basswood and balsa are from mallow family, been a while since i had to pull out my woods for staining did that stuff 25 years ago lol, try a piece of balsa bunning sell balsa try 1 of them there cheap enough