TL-1 (Factory second)

[DrNomis_44]

Okay I SWEAR I checked it twice before I soldered it, but I guess the trick is to check 3 times or else don't do it at midnight
There it was, laughing at me, once I finished my coffee......backwards, you idiot.
On the plus side it sounds so quiet now
Attachment 10779
(yes, that's all black dog hair in the background - time to vacuum I guess)
Intonation is pretty decent after adjusting the saddles but the low E is still a bit sharp on 12th fret.
Now it's time to strip it all down and do the pickguard holes and put the final coats of TO on then polish it up.
Just in time too - new puppy coming on Friday so I may not have much free time for a while.

Don't worry, I've been there and done that too, i.e. wired up the socket backwards, it's an easy enough mistake to make, at least you know that everything works as it should now.

[peterh]

Doc, I picked up a new set of feeler gauges today. Turns out my dad's old set WERE in thousands of an inch - could have saved the $10 but at least I know for sure now.
The end result is that, surprisingly, the bone nut is actually just about the right height so the factory nut must have been way too tall. I got .020 on the low E and A strings, about .018 on the D and G strings, .019 on the B and .021 on the high E. I may try and shim a nut up just a bit (I got a package of 5 of them) to try see what difference it makes but I think this one's pretty close. I may try to dress the slots a bit - they should have a bit of a downward angle on the backside of the nut I believe so that they make the most contact right at the fretboard side of the nut.
More holes to drill today (tuners, trees, pickguard, control plate) and then some final coats of TO and polishing. Got a bottle of Meguiars Ultimate compound on Friday. Hopefully that helps finish off the TO.

[DrNomis_44]

Doc, I picked up a new set of feeler gauges today. Turns out my dad's old set WERE in thousands of an inch - could have saved the $10 but at least I know for sure now.
The end result is that, surprisingly, the bone nut is actually just about the right height so the factory nut must have been way too tall. I got .020 on the low E and A strings, about .018 on the D and G strings, .019 on the B and .021 on the high E. I may try and shim a nut up just a bit (I got a package of 5 of them) to try see what difference it makes but I think this one's pretty close. I may try to dress the slots a bit - they should have a bit of a downward angle on the backside of the nut I believe so that they make the most contact right at the fretboard side of the nut.
More holes to drill today (tuners, trees, pickguard, control plate) and then some final coats of TO and polishing. Got a bottle of Meguiars Ultimate compound on Friday. Hopefully that helps finish off the TO.

Those figures indicate that you've got your 1st-fret action right in the ballpark, Fender give a tolerance of about +/- .002 inch for the 1st-fret action spec of .020 inch, so it can range from about .018 to .022 inch.

[Andy40]

Hi Peter,

If the nut is at the right height, once you string her up and intonate her, she will play open chords in tune. If the nut is not at the right height, an open chord will not play in tune. If its too low the action will be bad and you'll have fretting issues. Before doing further modifications, I would probably have a play once set up.

By the way, can you get your hands on a circlip? I use these to hold the Bourns pots at the right height to the control plate.

Good luck mate. That Tele is looking very sweet.

[peterh]

I think the nut is sorted out now.
Did a minor fret levelling on 3 frets that were a bit high. Could use a fret crowning file but that's a bit pricey at the moment.
The last thing to do is apply the Dr. Ducks and wax. How many coats should a new neck require? It seemed to soak on pretty quickly like the tru oil did.

[gavinturner]

Let the Dr Duks soak in and then polish it off to remove the excess. Not sure how the wax will go over the top of the dr ducks though if that was your plan. Personally I would use one or the other.

cheers,
Gav.

[peterh]

No wax - that was an autocorrect typo. I did Polish off the one coat I put on but it doesn't really feel like there's much of anything on the fretboard which is why I wondered how many coats I should put on.

[peterh]

I gave it a play today and for the most part it plays pretty well. Still might need to fine tune the nut - there's still just a hint of a sitar-y buzz on the B string. One thing I've noticed though - and maybe it's because I haven't played electric guitar before - is that I have to be really light when pressing on frets when playing chords or they tend to play sharp because the height of the frets causes a 'bending' of the note the harder you press on the fret.
Is this typical of electric guitars in general? My acoustic doesn't do this but the frets do seem lower. Should i do a fret levelling/lowering to reduce this effect?

[Fretworn]

I gave it a play today and for the most part it plays pretty well. Still might need to fine tune the nut - there's still just a hint of a sitar-y buzz on the B string. One thing I've noticed though - and maybe it's because I haven't played electric guitar before - is that I have to be really light when pressing on frets when playing chords or they tend to play sharp because the height of the frets causes a 'bending' of the note the harder you press on the fret.
Is this typical of electric guitars in general? My acoustic doesn't do this but the frets do seem lower. Should i do a fret levelling/lowering to reduce this effect?

Peter, if you have been playing acoustic guitar for a while, it can take a while to adjust to the lighter touch needed on an electric guitar's light strings. You could sand the frets lower, but I'd suggest maybe change the strings to a heavier gauge. The kits usually come with 0.009s maybe go up to a 0.011 set that will fight back a bit more like an acoustic does. Alternatively persevere with the lighter strings and allow your technique to adjust. I play 0.009s on electric and 0.013s on acoustic, but I've been doing it long enough that I can easily adjust my playing to either.

[wokkaboy]

Hi Peter, as Fretty suggested spend some time getting used to the electric doesn't need any where near as much string pressure on the fingerboard.
Sounds like the nut may be a little too high so this could be causing some sharp notes. Have a think about a bone nut cut with the correct string slots should eliminate any sitar sounds.

Also a new neck needs a while to set in.

Don't lower the frets - the more meat means they will last longer before you need a re-fret

Good luck