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Hi All,
Having played Fender Jaguars & Teles for 20 years, I wanted to build something along those lines. The JTL-1 kit was the best of both worlds for me, offset shape, and simple tele controls.
The jaguar tremolo was a must though, as I use it in a lot of the songs I write (shoegazey MBV/Ringo Deathstarr etc). So, this is where the challenge for me is going to be.
Box arrived in good shape and thanks to Adam for swapping to a rosewood Fingerboard.
I've upgraded to the gotoh tuners, and got the tele controls upgrade kit from PBG, along with a Tusq nut.
I got a 62 reissue fender jag/jazzmaster tremolo off ebay, and after much deliberation, went with a WD Bigsby Bridge and plate. I went with the vintage style bridge as it gives me the option of making small adjustments in the string spacing like my mij jag 62 reissue(the am pro jaguar, my main guitar, has 55mm string spacing at the bridge and it leaves the two E strings too close to the edge of the fretboard imo). Anywho, hopefully turn out like this pic, when I figure out how to route the tremolo pocket with no router heheh
Hey Curtis5000, welcome aboard mate. A great looking kit and some worthy upgrades there. Sounds like you have thought long and hard about what you want to end up with and you've sourced parts accordingly. I'm looking forward to this build. My JTL-1 gets a lot of love and have just put a P90 in the neck which i am loving. What's your plans for finish, mate? Also where do you hail from? There might be some forumites who are nearby to help you get that trem routed if you don't have a router or laminate trimmer.
Thanks Bakerdozen, the P90 is looking great on your build BTW, the whole guitar came out really nicely, inspiring stuff!
Finish wise I'm thinking ebony Timbermate and angelus blue leather dye like Christodav had. I only just realised he didn't finish it in tru oil but gluboost(?) which I need to read up about. I was hoping to do the tru oil method to avoid spraying & what seems like an easier finishing method. But if using truoil adds yellow, not sure what that blue will end up as... I might do a test with it and see how it comes out.
I'm in Brisbane, still hitting up friends and work colleagues to see who had a router. Worst case, I'll just drill with a forstner bit, and sandpaper from there. I don't mind doing heaps of sanding, I'm enjoying the build heaps.
Over the weekend and yesterday(show day holiday in Brisbane), I got stuck in to cutting the headstock, and a bit of pickguard reshaping to accommodate the bigger bridge plate. Went through a couple of coping saw blades, I think they melted. The blades seemed to get super hot. I was happy to get a reasonable looking headstock shape & taking it super slow on the pickguard, it came out OK too.
I had a 1991 tele neck pickup left over when I had a push pull split humbucker put into my tele years ago, so I thought I'd use that. Seems the pickguards pickup hole and screw holes were about 2mm too short for this pickup, so I lightly sanded till they fitted OK.
Green....It will end up green.Quote:
Originally Posted by curtis5000
Tru Oil has a reputation of being yellow, yellowing with age and turning blue guitars green.
As you rightly predict it is an easy finish method.
I've decided to try the superglue/gluboost like christidav used on his jtl1 as a sealer and sca clear ( phrozin method).
I'm curious now though, I didn't see many YouTube videos or how to guides on Ca glue. Is there any particular reason it's not a more popular finish? (aside from fumes) It looks easy to apply, quick dry time, and give a hard clear smooth finish (after sanding and buffing). Feel like I'm missing something here?
CA is suuuper messy. It takes a bit of practice to do a good job with - and I've only used it for small repairs. Personally I would do whatever stain you want and then use Supercheap clear. It's a reasonable price and can give a really pro looking finish. It will take time to build up enough to cut flat, but so will most finishes. Is it an Ash body? deep grain on that will require several coats, but it's worth it.
Otherwise, I've been having some good results with cabots polyurethane, it certainly drys a lot harder than the acrylic (Although given enough cure time the acrylic is fine). It also gives a much better gloss finish straight out of the can. I'm finding it best to build up 2 or three applications over several weeks (An application is three very light coats with about 2-5 mins drying time between each) then cut that back, then do a final application and then leave it.
This is a work in progress. Still a bit of grain to fill (and a couple of inclusions and a nice run in this coat) but this is just stain and poly. This is also un buffed, out of the can, so it's pretty shiny as is. I'll cut this back flat and do at least one more application.
These are a great looking kit, look forward to watching your progress.
https://i.imgur.com/sXcc4P3.jpg
Thanks Sonic, great to see the gloss on the poly finish, I wasn't sure if poly would come up that good, but it's looking nice.
I've already got some of the Ca glue on order, wondering if I should maybe skip it now, but for the Ash Body, would it be worth pressing on with the glue to help with the grain fill(I will be using ebony Timbermate as first step in the finishing). I've got time to ponder it anyway.
Over this last weekend I routed the jazzmaster style tremolo pocket without a plunge router, which I thought I would mention in case anyone else tries the same.
Using a routing template I got off ebay for $20 to help with alignment, and a set of forstner drill bits, for around $15 off ebay, I set about drilling 4 holes for the main section using the 35mm forstner bit, and the 15mm forstner bit was perfect for the "bump" at the top of this rectangle.(where the locking switch on the fender trems are)
I taped some painters tape to a depth of 35mm on the forstner bit, to give me a depth guide so I didn't drill right through the body. Then a few smaller holes to catch the corners with a Bradford bit. Tiding up from there, I used a set of chisels, which went a lot better than I was expecting. Little bit of sanding just to smooth it a bit. I'm not too fussed with the perfect hole since it's going to be covered, so just needed to be neat-ish.
When I first started this, I used a drill guide, as I had just drilled the new bridge post holes. I found the drill guide more of a hindrance than a help. As I was going to have to clean up the cavity anyway, I didn't mind if it was perfectly straight, so free hand drilled these.
@Curtis5000 That is a great kit on the way! See you managed the "routing", it's looking neath. Looking forward what you're going to make of it.
Just started on my first build (TL), which is also going to be my first electric guitar, but looking at this kit, I already know my TL is not going to be alone for a long time ;-)
Good luck!
I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. Worst case scenario you give yourself more sanding to do. Almost nothing is irrecoverable.Quote:
Originally Posted by curtis5000
The poly give the best straight out of the can gloss I've found. But its all about prep and sanding it back flat between coats.
On my build of that model, I used ebony wood filler, blue leather dye, a couple of coats of Gluboost glue and then the Supercheap clear. worked well and the glue sealed the dye in well and filled it in well in my opinion.
2nd round of timbermate sanded, first dye going on. didn't get a great shot of the finished dye unfortunately. hopefully get to sand and dye again tomorrow if I'm not too tired after seeing swervedriver tonight at the zoo.
Looks kinda familiar! I love it!
That dye is going to look killer
Christodav, your build was what inspired me to start the project, so thanks :)
I sanded back the initial stain, and I also like the less intense blue. Still another round of stain to put on, so time to decide.
It is a bit blotchy after the sand though, anyone have tips on how to work these out? Sand the dark areas or will that create an uneven surface?
Photos: before and after sanding first stain
Looking great Curtis5000! I had that same moment of inspiration but I first need to finish and enjoy my Tele.
Blotchy as in uneven in colouring? If yes, during the staining process use a damp rag to work them out. If you have been using a water based stain you can still try to do it now it's dry, but it is harder. I am not sure if you use a meth spirit based stain.Quote:
It is a bit blotchy after the sand though, anyone have tips on how to work these out? Sand the dark areas or will that create an uneven surface?
With sanding I would never sand in one place unless it is a very light touch-up sand with 320 + grit.
Good luck! she's looking great!
I agree with Rolf.
Mine is "blotchy" in parts, but the best thing about a clear coat is that the light reflects off it and the "blotchiness" isn't that noticeable. Also, if you are using the big scratchguard you'll be surprised how much is actually hidden on the front. Sanding can even things out but also realize that you can be taking too much timbermate off. What stain are you using? The leather dye I used also come in a natural clear that can even things out and lift some of the stain. Watch BigD Guitars on Youtube for some tips.
Thanks for using my guitar as inspiration. It means a lot to me. I still haven't finished mine yet- the old 20/80 rule. The last 20% takes 80% of the time. LOL
Chris
Dang you two & your blue guitars!!!
Now I'm seriously contemplating one of the PBG 2-piece ash ST bodies done up in trans blue...
I've started tru oiling the neck, and done 3 layers of gluboost (superglue) on the body, then sanded back to 600, with a light pass on 800.
Ive got 2 questions on finishing I wanted to bounce off everyone :
1) There are very small spots on the body where the superglue is lower than the surrounds. Most guides advise sanding everything flat, but here I risk sanding through the superglue for only a few small spots. Will these generally be filled by the clear acrylic spray (sca rattlecan) which is my next step, and not be noticeable anyway? (shiny spots in picture 1)
2) Some of the pores must not have been filled with the superglue around the edges, and have collected some of the fine white dust from the superglue when I sanded it back. Are there any tricks to getting this out or colouring it? (white specs in the picture 2),
What do you guys reckon?
Grab a tack cloth from Bunnings to get the white sanding residue out. A tooth brush might help dislodge it as well. Generally that white sanding build-up will dissapear into the clear coat and not be noticable, but worth trying to get rid of as much as possible.
Those little low spots are fine. Just spend time building up a really good coat of acrylic clear over it and there will be enough to knock it back flat without cutting through.
Aaah yes, awesome thanks Sonic!
It looks like you are almost there. Now is the time to take your time and get the guitar as flat as you can. More sanding LOL.
You can refill just those areas with more glue and re-sand just those areas. You'll be amazed how well the Gluboost blends in and fills into itself. I wouldn't rely on the final clear coats for filling. Get it flat with the glueboost. At least that's what I did. I did about 3 coats of glubloost from memory. You can even start sanding at 400 first and then down to 600 for the final sand. If you feel that you are getting too low, do another coat of glue.
You will also be quite amazed at how much glue actually goes on from such a seemingly small application. You can sand it back more than you think without harm. I just made sure that the dust coming off wasn't blue. Just use a tack cloth a microfiber cloth or even just a vacuum cleaner before another coat of Gluboost and when you are finished.
Here is what I wrote in one of my earlier posts on my build:
Sanding and more sanding - this is the step I always rush. If I had have done a better job in the beginning, then the dye would have been a more even colour. getting the sides and corners right is important at this early stage; something I didn't do.
2 x applications of ebony Timbermate - sanding in between and more sanding until you are happy with the grain
2 x applications of blue Angelus Leather dye - light sanding and drying time between (at least 24hrs)
light sanding and/or steel wool and then let completely dry for a week or so. This step all depends on the desired tones of colour etc. Given that it is solid ash, it can always be sanded back and dye re-applied. However, the Timbermate may be sanded out if you sand too much, so you have to balance things out.
Several applications of Gluboost fill n finish and sanding to fill and flatten the body. I used this as a filler and sanding sealer to lock in the dye and fill any of my terrible sanding or lack of especially on the sides of the body. It is easy to also create more trouble at this stage as applications can cause more bumps and imperfections rather like Tru oil does. It's a balance of applying enough not to sand through it, but not too much to cause more pain. The cool thing about this is that you can always re-apply and the dry-time is pretty dam quick. Minutes. You can also stop and polish the Gluboost as a final finish, but the finish is not as strong as an acrylic clear. I sanded it to 600grit. It was mat but a bit washed out. Gloves and mask is really required as this stuff is STRONG. The smell dies down quickly, but without a mask, it can almost knock you out.
Then the SCA clear just like Phrozin applies it. I used a mask, but it isn't a strong toxic smell like the glue or other finishes. I went thick with this stuff and it went on pretty well.
The next step will be 2000grit and polish and hope for the best. LOL
I hope that helps?
For the final clear, read what phrozin suggests and you can't go wrong. If you need me to find his post on spraying the SCA clear, please let me know.
Chris
Thanks for sharing your tips Christodav, I've been following those pretty much and going well so far.
I worked out most of the sanded gluboost dust that had collected in some wood grain I had missed filling, with a toothbrush as Sonic had suggested. Few small ones left but hardly noticeable.
I've done the decal (used a laser decal paper from Dr decal and Mr Hyde). Decal came out a lot thinner than I thought it might, which is great.
I've started on the sca acrylic clear coats, progress pics attached.
Looking tremendous mate!!
I have 2 finish questions I'd love some advice on:
1)I have applied a bit too much clear coat spray in one section and have a small run now. That was the 7th coat(also rained right after that so only got one coat on). Is it better to sand it now and try work it out, or keep building up to the 15th coat and try to work it out then?
2) I'm using truoil on the neck, I vaguely recall someone mentioning mixing with meths for final coat/s, does this improve the gloss, or have some other benefit? if so what is a good mix? I'm up to coat 24,decal went on at coat 15,the layers I'm doing are on the thinner side.
1) Either will work. If that's seven layers of clear, then I'd be tempted to do a sand now. Either way, I'd just leave it a couple of days now for the thicker layer of finish in the run to dry properly. I don't think you'll really need fifteen coats of clear. Phrozin does 15 coats overall including primer, colour coat and clear coat. Certainly do enough layers to allow you to sand back flat, but you don't want too thick a finish.
2) I used gum turpentine (artist's turpentine) for thinning TruOil. It lowers the surface tension so it fills in any dips better. TruOil has a high surface tension so tends to follow the surface undulations. The more of the dips you fill, the less sanding flat you have to do before polishing.
Aaaah, I thought it was 15 coats all up, thanks for the heads up!
Thanks for the tips!!
Phrozin normally sands back flat after each separate layer, so the overall result is a lot less than 15 layers thick. If you put on 15 layers and just sand back at the end, you'll end a up with a lot thicker coat. You want enough on to be able to sand back flat (no 'orange peel' effect) and have enough finish remaining to protect the body, but too thick so that the finish stops the body wood from resonating.
On a more guitar with more humps on the body (like the top of a 335 kit), I'd probably add a few more layers as it's easy to sand through on the top of the humps. But on a basically flat-bodied guitar, then you can get away with a few less, as long as you use a sanding block to even out the pressure. Don't use anything coarse on the edges and only sand them directly with the finer grades of grit, say 1500 and above, unless you've got a run or other roughness than needs dealing with. Even then be very careful.
On dealing with runs, I've seen a video where the run and an area around it is covered in Timbermate up to the thickness of the run. Then when you sand down, you sand down the run and the Timbermate, rather than catch the finish around the run. Get it as flat as you can with a dry coarser grit (say P240) until the Timbermate and the run has just about all been removed, then use a wet rag to remove the Timbermate (it's water-based so comes off easily from a gloss surface when wet) then you can wet sand the body as normal. This should work on curved surfaces as well, though it's always going to be that bit more tricky.
You are probably finished on the clear. I'd also follow what Simon suggested and wait a while for the clear to dry and then sand it back with 1200 and get it all flat after dealing with the runs. Once it's flat without any dips etc, you are ready to cut and polish.
Don't forget, you have a layer of Gluboost on there too! The clearcoat doesn't need to be super thick. I would think that you have plenty to work with to sand back flat now.
I never mixed the Truoil with anything personally. I just experiment with different rags to apply it and sand back with 1200 and re-apply etc. Do lots of thin coats and a few coats with 3-4 hours between each coat and then sand after a full day and do it all over again until it is flat and polish like mad. Micromesh pads work really well as well. The first few coats can go on a littler thicker and you'll start thinning it out as it stays shiny on application. I sand back the back of the neck with 0000 steel wool when it's all done to get a satin finish. I did the maple fingerboard with very thin coats of Truoil. Apply too much at a time and you'll regret it! It's the headstock that I apply a fair bit to.
Chris
the clear coats in the seemed to trap small bubbles in some layers,i managed to sand most out, and buff out the balance with meguires compound, after having done the 2000 grit wet sand. Came out not too badly for a non spray booth clear coat.
I wanted similar spec electronics to my other guitars,so ordered a loaded control plate from atlantic custom guitars on ebay. If i remember this correctly it has: 4 way oak grigsby switch, cts pots, orange drop capacitor, 22 awg cloth push back wiring, switchcraft jack, reverse wired.
The loaded control plate was not too much more than buying each of the components separately. Unfortunately though, the distance to the jack on a std tele must be shorter, so i had to cut into the neatly wrapped, heat shrink tubbed, wiring and extend it with some of my ham handed soldering efforts.
Pickup wise i reused a 1991 us tele neck pickup i had,and got a second hand '51 fender custom shop nocaster pickup. Wired it up today, sure was great to hear it working! Something wrong with the switch though, same sound on all 4 settings, bridge and neck combined.Sounds great all the same.
ive got an audio clip, ill post soon
What a stunning clean Jtl @curtis5000!
Love the translucency of that blue!
Sweet pick up choice! Was it hard to get your hand on the no caster?
Good luck with the wiring, in my case in the middle position the neck didn't work. After resoldering the hot wire it did, must've been a weak signal.
Looks mint! Looking forward to a sound demo
Awesome job mate! It looks really nice. I trust that it plays really well too! Well Done! What's next? LOL
Beautiful guitar, looking forward to hearing the clip!
That came up very nicely curtis. Good work.
Quote:
If i remember this correctly it has: 4 way oak grigsby switch, cts pots, orange drop capacitor, 22 awg cloth push back wiring, switchcraft jack, reverse wired.
If you mean reversed control plate by "reverse wired", that may account for the shorter wires.Quote:
Unfortunately though, the distance to the jack on a std tele must be shorter...
The reversed control plate, the switch would be at the bridge end of the cavity. putting the volume pot further back and slightly closer to the output jack.
Also, the distance from the control cavity to the jack position on the lower bout, looks longer than a true tele shaped body.
This is a reversed control plate: (from left to right - switch, tone, volume)
Attachment 33516
Best I could do on my phone, recorded on the phone mic, and video edited just so I could attach the audio to something.
little bit of reverb, otherwise clean through a 1977 Marshall jmp, 12 inch speakers in cab. I tried 3 things, 1 was basic chords, 2 was noodling around the 12th fret to hear the chimney fendery sounds, and 3 was a bit more arpegiated around the 7th/3rd/5th frets.
https://youtu.be/l9IDyFu6TYs
McCreed- the reverse co trol plate was wired to be reversed, but for. STD tele, and the output jack dista ce is further than a STD tele.
Thanks everyone for the support here, and sharing and support in other threads, it sure did help make this dream become a reality for me.
The nocaster bridge pickup I found on ebay. I had an alert set up for tele caster pickups, and happened to come across that one. It was new but had been boxed for years. Unfortunately though, it didn't work when it arrived. Long story short, I got a refund, and used the refund to repair the broken pickup.
there is still something odd about it though, when connecting it to my multimeter, it returns no reading for resistance, yet does actually produce a sound.
the guitar tech said the reading he got was 8.2 vs stock 7.3,and came in at 3.5 henries vs 3.7 stock (whatever that means hehe). Sounds alright though!
D'oh!!! I didn't notice the switch plate in the photos before. I should look closer before putting fingers to keyboard...Quote:
McCreed- the reverse co trol plate was wired to be reversed...
Nice work all together though. Congrats!
Sounds fantastic!