TL-1HA first build

[McCreed]

Yes, looking good.

Curious how you're finding the home-brew "tru-oil".
How many coats per day have you been able to get on?
What's your drying time between coats?
And lastly, how many coats total do you have on that last photo?

I only ask because I tried a different "recipe" (equal parts all) and I got nowhere near the performance of genuine Tru Oil.
I mucked around with ratios and still wasn't happy. I even tried adding a little naptha as a drying agent.

Cheers,
Mick

[RagingBull]

Hi Mick,

I did 3 coats with the same ratios - one per day then left it for a week. The weather got cold so it put me back a bit but I think the extra time is a good thing for this stuff.
Then I gave it a really light rub back with 1200 grit. As light as it was, I still exposed the edges which didn't really surprise me as the coats are really thin.
So the next 3 coats I did were more a 50/50 mix of turps and poly. Just a few drops of Boiled Linseed Oil for colour, since I was happy with the darkness as it was.
These coats were thicker and went off faster so I had to work quickly. Also the weather wasn't the best so it took me another week to get them on.
That's it, only 6 coats. I'm happy with the finish (although I'm sure a good polish would snooth it out more) but I just want to get on and build so I can play. I figure I can always pull it apart and do more body work later if I want.
I've not used tru-oil so can't make a comparison. But the good thing about DIY recipe is you can just make enough to use on the day. (I was only making around 20ml once I figured it out)

Scott

[dozymuppet]

That's looking so nice. I've been looking at my KO tele the last few days thinking I want to strip it back and add a new finish. Something like this is very tempting.

[RagingBull]

Yeah it's kind of that American Pro Shawbucker look... I dig it too. And having faffed about with this enough I'd be happy to strip it back later and re-finish or even paint it.

[OliSam]

Yeah it's kind of that American Pro Shawbucker look... I dig it too. And having faffed about with this enough I'd be happy to strip it back later and re-finish or even paint it.

Know what you mean about pulling them apart.
I have refinished a few of mine multiple times after plying them for a year or so. Great fun!!


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[RagingBull]

More photos required!
Bridge and tuning machines fitted. I forgot to take a photo of the fishing line I ran from the tuner holes down through the nut slots and taped to the end of the body. I used that to align my bridge position, and measured the 12th fret then again to the leading edge of saddles.

[RagingBull]

Next I prepped for the soldering. Quickly realised my 20W soldering iron was just not hot enough, so pulled the pin after this stage and bought an 80W the next day!









...and just as well I stopped there as I realised (as you may have) that I'd neglected to shield my cavities!

[Simon Barden]

Missing the shielding is not the end of the world with humbuckers, but if you are going to do it, it never does any harm and it can help in a really electrically noisy environment. Just beware of signal connections accidentally grounding on the shielding, so its always best to stick some insulation tape over the top under pots and switches.

[RagingBull]

OK so last night I soldered like a badada (Bad News anyone?) and then tonight I managed to finish it off and plug it in to my headphone amp and test it. Pickups working in unison and in isolation as per the 3-way switch. No hum. No tick. I have to say I was very surprised considering I broke one wire off when fitting the pots to the pickguard.

Anyway, found some old strings and put a few on. It even plays OK! Very happy so far. Hopefully this weekend I can screw everything into place and then setup neck, saddles and intonation.

Oh one question for those still reading. The pots have a little lug on them that seems to prevent them mounting flush up under the pickguard. Did I miss something? Do these have to be bent out of the way, or are they meant to fit into a little hole somewhere so they keep the pot from turning around? (the latter would make more sense)

[OliSam]

Thats beautiful man


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