H's TL-1Q, first build.

[stan]

Hey H, before you play truss rod games, check the neck itself, here is a quick way:

Capo or similar on the first fret. Fret the neck also at the position where the neck meets the body (around the 16th fret depending on type).
Now at the half way point between these , tap the string onto the fret with your finger, there should be just a little movement before the string hits the fret, like just under half a mm.
Just under half a mm is about right, depending on the feel you want.
Too big a gap means the neck has too much relief and you need to tighten the truss rod (for a headstock adjustable one like you have then clockwise looking from the headstock top the bridge)
If there is no gap, not enough, etc, adjust the opposite way.
If these are all good and the action is still too high you may need to adjust bridge height (lower)

[UpperCaseH]

I was lucky enough to be free this arvo, and since the wife's out I got to pick up some tools and get a bit more stuff done.

Hey H, before you play truss rod games, check the neck itself, here is a quick way:

Capo or similar on the first fret. Fret the neck also at the position where the neck meets the body (around the 16th fret depending on type).
Now at the half way point between these , tap the string onto the fret with your finger, there should be just a little movement before the string hits the fret, like just under half a mm.
Just under half a mm is about right, depending on the feel you want.
Too big a gap means the neck has too much relief and you need to tighten the truss rod (for a headstock adjustable one like you have then clockwise looking from the headstock top the bridge)
If there is no gap, not enough, etc, adjust the opposite way.
If these are all good and the action is still too high you may need to adjust bridge height (lower)

Did this. There seemed to be slightly too much of a gap, tightened the rod an eighth turn and it now works how you said - about half a mm of play between the string and fret crown halfway between 1st and 17th fret.

I've adjusted the bridge saddles all the way down now. Without capoing or fretting anything, here's what it looks like at 1st and 12th fret. It still feels a little high, but I can probably live with it. I'm not sure a shim would help, because I reckon if it were any lower below ~5th it'd buzz like mad. Here's some pics, do you guys reckon it looks ok? (Got a decent ruler today too!)

1st fret:


12th fret:


Saddles right down:


After that, I got all the drilling done too. If the neck looks OK, next step is disassemble everything and get to sanding (and sanding, and sanding, and sanding, right?) Also picked up a coping saw for the headstock, but since I've never used one before I reckon I'm gonna practice on scrap wood a lot before touching the guitar with it.

EDIT: I should be measuring from the fret crown to the string, right? Not the fretboard to the string like I've been doing!