H's TL-1Q, first build.

[wazkelly]

Go to a hardware store and buy some Goof Off, it really does take most of the glue spots off however some may be a bit more stubborn and only then do you need to encourage them to ping off with the help of a small toothbrush sized wire brush used lightly so that you don't create a weird pattern that was not part of your original plans.

For the headstock cutting down the rear curve is required on most otherwise you will have a big bit hanging down at the nut end. If using a coping saw stay about 3mm or so away from the line and sand in from there to finish it off as sometimes the saw alignment may be out of whack or accidently take off more than what was intended. Around the tight curves on my Tele I actually drilled small holes to then bring the coping saw into and cut between each individual hole. Being rock maple it does require a lot of effort and patience with the sanding.

[pablopepper]

For the neck issue, you might need a simple shim. A small piece of thin material (veneer [optimal], cardboard, plastic) under the heel of the neck to bump the neck angle up a bit. Quick, easy fix.

[FrankenWashie]

Not too sure what to do about them. I've read "sanding probably won't work, use a wire brush". I'm 100% sure that doesn't mean "scrub it with the brush you last used to get rust off an old trailer", but apart from that I've got no idea and I can't seem to find an explanation anywhere - probably I'm not using the right search terms.

LOL! Yeah, might need to go a new one for this kind of work eh? I think its been pointed out earlier, toothbrush sized ones are best and use a glue remover type product like Goof Off or Goo off (Stew-Mac).

[UpperCaseH]

Started sanding the back and sides today, hopefully I'll be able to pick up some goof off and a wire brush tonight or tomorrow.

45 minutes of light-ish pressure with 180 grit produced this result:





Needs more, right, especially on the sides? Or are the horizontal (sanding?) marks visible in the second picture going to come out at 240?

Supervisor Karl is not impressed with my lack of knowledge.



EDIT: I just read that basswood fibres can "stand up" or "stick out" after being wiped down with a damp cloth, is that what's causing those lines to look so prominent?

[stan]

the lines look prominent because you are sanding along the edge of the guitar - the direction of the marks - left to right in the bottom pic
the grain, however is more circular and really more vertical in this case.
for the heal of the guitar pictured, you would probably get a better result sanding up and down, across the thickness of the guitar - up and down in the bottom pic..
you can continue the way you are going, but may get a better result going the other way here.
what you have is sanding scratches and yes they will reduce with successive grades of paper.

raised fibres when wet will look and feel "fuzzy" , and easily dealt with the next sand

you are making great progress, sand on!

[WeirdBits]

Yep, definitely try to follow the grain lines with your sanding motion for those end grain pieces. It's a little awkward when you've different slabs and grain going in different directions, but the cross grain scratches will soon start to disappear when follow the grain lines. Repeat with finer and finer grits of paper (the scratches will tend to reappear when you first switch to a finer grit then fade again) and eventually you'll be able to finish off with a more consistent motion across the pieces.

[UpperCaseH]

Did a lot more sanding, it's smoothing out pretty well. Following the grain is tricky on the heel, but I'm getting the hang of it I think.

Since I've not used a coping saw before (and my old inherited jig saw is beyond stuffed), I thought I'd practice cutting out a headstock-ish shape on a few bits of scrap. Cutting about 3mm out from the line was a good idea, and filing it back to the line was easy, and pretty easily got the wood into the shape of the curves I freehanded on to practice with. I'm guessing it's going to go a fair bit slower on the maple than it does on soft pine, but I'm no longer nervous about messing it up.

[wazkelly]

Pine is much softer than maple but good to practice on.

Everyone before me has already mentioned the end grain sanding where there are usually factory machine marks going in a direction different to the grain. Best to ignore the direction of machine marks to begin with and always sand in the direction of any grain until that method has eliminated all machine marks and scratches. This may take you up to 180 or 240 and once all smoothed out you can then start sanding along the edges or across the end grain to bring it home. At this point 240 is good if you plan on staining as that still allows colour to soak in, 320 is smoother but maybe not as much colour penetration, 400 is probably too far gone unless going for a solid colour. Maple necks are usually quite smooth straight out of the box and don't need much sanding if planning to stain that too.

[UpperCaseH]

Everything's proceeding according to plan! Sanded for a couple of hours this morning, got up to 240 but probably needs more going over at that grit. Thanks for the advice about sanding the heel, the horizontal lines are disappearing nicely. Gonna get some Goof Off and stuff and try to remove glue spots before doing anything else.

It's looking/feeling pretty good. My fingers are killing me though - feels like starting jiu jitsu all over again

[wazkelly]

I know how you must be feeling as I did two headstocks a while back and my fingers ached for a few days but all worth it in the end.