First Build: TL-1 - Let the fun begin

[juanitasanch]

So what got me started on building my first TL-1. Well, I enjoy woodwork and tinkering on the guitar so a good friend suggested..Why not build a guitar!! After some scouring on the web and recommendations, I elected PitBull was the place to be and ordered my first guitar kit! Being a beginner decided to not overspend as I want to practice techniques and build and finish of guitar is something totally new to me. In anticipation I awaited for my new kit to arrive and can say I had a big smile after finishing work and my new project was delivered and ready for the unpack. Oh, must say Adam has been great with assistance and my friend (so big thanks too). Package is unwrapped, making a list of various items I need (fillers, sandpaper blah blah) as I'm keen to get start sanding this weekend. In parallel I do need to read the guides (hmmmm not big on lost of detail but it must be done). I'm not 100% sure on the final finish but being a 'woodwork geek' a term a friend offers refers to me as, I'm thinking grain enhance with stain. I'm going to do some sample wood pieces to get a feel on what will work best before any final decision. Really hoping I can get the grain to 'pop' as i love the natural beauty wood has and hope to be able to highlight that. Anyway I'll keep all posted with progress and be up for ideas and hints as its all a learning process for me

[JohnH]

Cool! Enjoy the build. The forum is a great place for asking questions - everyone's very helpful.

What colour were you thinking for the stain?

[juanitasanch]

that I'm not exactly sure, was thinking something with warm hues maybe something in the 'brown jarrah' tone or even a swing to a Gold oak, just not sure how the woods natural pigment will work with each so going to do some swatch trials. The kit if correct is basswood and although a soft wood, understand grain is quite tight so stains sink in and can affect end result with being too heavy. any thoughts or sites you suggest I check out on technique and learnings here?

[JohnH]

sounds like you’ve got some nice ideas about colour options. Would definitely recommend doing swatch tests on scrap wood. As you say, the scrap will behave differently to the wood of the kit - when I’ve previously stained wood that I wasn’t sure about I have just built up the stain in thin layers until I get the tone or darkness that I’m aiming for

[juanitasanch]

thanks heaps...will do nice thin layers. Practicing some grain filling..never done this before..a tad messy but hey got to give a go. Have you grain filled? If yes, do you stain pre or post grain fill as I get mixed views.

[juanitasanch]

Ok...first sand of body with 240 - long, even strokes...wipe with soft cloth to avoid natural oils staining body..noticed a tiny knick in the wood..otherwise the surface seems pretty uniform. Very soft wood to sand so slow, even sand strokes and light dust as sanding to avoid clogging and dust everywhere. started with top, then base and then sides. With sides used sponge block for sandpaper however also applied a slight angle sand stroke to keep curve smooth and buff out any flat line between where top and sides meet. will do another sand tomorrow as working on another woodwork project and got a bit of mess to tidy up Attachment 24849

[Marcel]

Hi Juanita, welcome to the forum.

It's pretty typical to 1/ sand, 2/ grain fill, 3/ sand, 4/ colour (stains or dye) and then 5/ clear coat.

Each wood treatment step is way more involved but it's indicative of the basic outline of steps that many on the forum take. There is also all the hardware fitting issues to consider that only crop up on a guitar build. How the pick guard you have or the metal of the tuners and bridge will sit against your chosen finish.

You have said you enjoy woodwork so I'm guessing you are familiar with the cabinet makers stains often found at most local hardware stores. The Wattyl brand sprang to my mind when you said Golden Oak. Wattyl is a wonderful but very strong wood stain that typically needs only one application and does not darken up much with a 2nd or 3rd coat. There are many other alternatives to colour your axe build such as the Australian Ubeaut wood dyes or those from the USA such as colortone or Keda which do very well with a single colour coat or can be thinned to allow multiple light colour coats to achieve a huge variety of awesome effects... Just a something for you to bear in mind...

I have done a Ash guitar using Wattyl Golden Oak... and a basswood Bass using Wattyl Rosewood stain... very solid and deep colours that do allow visibility of the grain but did not allow for variation of colour across the body of the guitar. If you are wanting any kind of burst or shading across the body then I'd suggest looking at the UBeaut or colortone range of dyes... I'm sure others can suggest other brands and/or techniques such as tea leaves ....

[juanitasanch]

Thanks heaps for the info shared...really helpful!

[wazkelly]

Hi Juanita, Suggest taking it nice and easy sanding Basswood as 240 grit is probably as far as you need to go and allow the timber to absorb some stain. Not a good timber for grain filling as it usually fairly smooth and tightly grained.

Feast Watson is another common brand found at large hardware stores and have some nice brown through to gold shades to pick from.

[Brendan]

Yep - should be no need / limited benefit from grain filling basswood. I generally sand to 240 - then rub it over with a damp cloth - you'll get a lot of fibres sticking up after it dries - hit with a very light 240 and it'll feel even smoother.