Big Stu's TLA-1Q Build

[Big_Stu]

Looks like I'm going to need to take a significant amount of wood off to fit in my pickup upgrade in the bridge route. I don't have access to a router, I do have access to a dremel...? Is this the best I can do with what I have? I have access to chisels but I've never used them before.

NOTE: I used double sided tape to draw on my measurements, I should have used masking tape, didn't realise how strong the adhesive is and I've done some damage to the veneer!!!! Does anyone know how I can proceed from here?

[pablopepper]

Yeowch, that looks like it might have gone though the veneer in spots. Not really much you can do about that. Timbermate and sand and hope for the best.

Taking that much wood out with a dremel seems like not such a great idea. Chisels will be cleaner and much quicker, or I could help out with a router, if you want.

[FrankenWashie]

Looks like I'm going to need to take a significant amount of wood off to fit in my pickup upgrade in the bridge route. I don't have access to a router, I do have access to a dremel...? Is this the best I can do with what I have? I have access to chisels but I've never used them before.

NOTE: I used double sided tape to draw on my measurements, I should have used masking tape, didn't realise how strong the adhesive is and I've done some damage to the veneer!!!! Does anyone know how I can proceed from here?

Yeah, i made that mistake with some ash and got grain pullout similar to that. You need to get the green or purple low tack 14-20 day tapes, they will allow you to get good adhesion and do what you need to do without risking the finish.

I'd also hesitate about using a dremel for that much routing, you'd really want to use a router and a good template.

If Pablo is nearby you, i'd take him up on the offer of his router and use his experience to get a template sorted.

if you've no other option, make a small template/outline and do some test chiselling out on scrap wood to refine technique, when you feel you have a good technique down switch to your guitar body. Use the chisels to to the bulk of it, a little at a time, and then clean up to your template/outline with the dremel at first and final clean up with sanding sticks.

You can use masking tape around your intended working zone to help stave off minor scratches etc while you work on the cavity. Just take it slow and easy.

[Big_Stu]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advise. I found a mate with a router, I'm going over to his place this weekend. I might have over-reached on getting the veneer for my first guitar, but it was on special Once I've routed the pickup out I'll get some timbermate, coat the cap/veneer and begin sanding. Its all good, its just a learning experience for me, I'll see how it turns out and worst case I'll paint it a solid colour. I'm really after mainly, a playable instrument.

[dave.king1]

The problem I have discovered when fitting an aftermarket bridge is that the Tele kit bridges have much longer adjustment screws so the saddles sit much further forward on the bridge plate, Wilkinson six saddle strung through bridges are worse in this respect.

As for the cavity enlargement, when I did my first Tele I used humbuckers and it was routed for standard pickups.

Being a tight ar5e and not wanting to buy a router I used an Ozito multitool from the Green Shed, I used the narrow blade probably about 10mm from memory and just cut straight down vertically clearing the dust from the cut often.

Simply taped up the areas to be cut out, drew the new cavity shapes on the tape and went around the perimeter with the multitool to the required depth and then chiselled it out with a fine very sharp chisel and then cleaned up using the Dremel with a sanding drum.

I also had to make a small infill for the bridge pickup from pine which is barely visible once everything is mounted up.

I will be doing the same with the Tuff Dog because of the bridge placement issue.

[Big_Stu]

The problem I have discovered when fitting an aftermarket bridge is that the Tele kit bridges have much longer adjustment screws so the saddles sit much further forward on the bridge plate, Wilkinson six saddle strung through bridges are worse in this respect.

As for the cavity enlargement, when I did my first Tele I used humbuckers and it was routed for standard pickups.

Being a tight ar5e and not wanting to buy a router I used an Ozito multitool from the Green Shed, I used the narrow blade probably about 10mm from memory and just cut straight down vertically clearing the dust from the cut often.

Simply taped up the areas to be cut out, drew the new cavity shapes on the tape and went around the perimeter with the multitool to the required depth and then chiselled it out with a fine very sharp chisel and then cleaned up using the Dremel with a sanding drum.

I also had to make a small infill for the bridge pickup from pine which is barely visible once everything is mounted up.

I will be doing the same with the Tuff Dog because of the bridge placement issue.

Thanks for the tips Dave. It does look pretty far forward and the saddles are adjusted to their mid range and are lined up with the scale length. Do you think the cavity under the bridge plate would have an affect on the tone of the guitar?

[wokkaboy]

Hey Big Stu, big lesson about using high tact tape ! I agree with what Pablo and Frankie have suggested.
Get your bridge pickup routed then see if you can fill the tear out of the veneer. Don't do much sanding as the quilted veneers are so thin. Try get a fairly light colour timbermate and the filler may not be as obvious.
The cavity under the bridge plate should have minimal affect on the tone of the guitar.

[Simon Barden]

If you are measuring to the saddles with them in the half-way position, then you can move the bridge back a bit. I'd move the top B/E saddle to about 3mm of thread showing and measure back to that. The other saddles will be further back than that when intonated, so don't worry about those. I'm not saying that you won't have to do any routing, but you shouldn't have to do so much, so a Dremel should be sufficient. Also, I'd stick with the 648mm scale length the kit is supposed to have. That will give you another 2mm of movement back (and you'd have 3mm of thread spare to move the top B/R saddle forward if necessary. That should get the bridge pickup cut-out pretty much over the hole. I know that these routs are pretty tight, so you may have to do a little work to get the bridge pup sitting well and moving freely, but a sander drum on the Dremel is all you should need.