TL adventures

[JohnH]

Sweet, that is a great help, thanks McCreed! Will report back after some time with the tolls this weekend

[JohnH]

Good call on the contouring McCreed. It took a little while but it looks and feels great. I'll post pics tomorrow once it's all cleaned up

[McCreed]

Good call on the contouring McCreed. It took a little while but it looks and feels great. I'll post pics tomorrow once it's all cleaned up

That's great! Glad it worked out.
In hindsight, I may have been a little enthusiastic with my "15 minutes" .
I should have clarified 15 minutes with the grinder, then additional time to tidy and finesse. Look forward to seeing the pics!

[JohnH]

Oh, ha ha, that's ok that's what I figured you meant. The grinder was very quick, but I was probably a bit tentative and could have done a bit more with it. I used files and rasps for the last bit - will sand it tomorrow

[McCreed]

Oh, ha ha, that's ok that's what I figured you meant. The grinder was very quick, but I was probably a bit tentative and could have done a bit more with it. I used files and rasps for the last bit - will sand it tomorrow

Better safe than sorry. The grinder is good at taking material off, but they suck at putting it back!

[JohnH]

My thoughts exactly!

[JohnH]

Progress pics - still some cleaning up needed, but it's getting there. I'd definitely do it a bit differently next time, but it's been a good learning experience, and it definitely makes the body more comfortable to hold

[JohnH]

I also seem to have the same issue Tim K had on their TL here (I think it's not uncommon?)

Nut to 12th fret = 323mm

Nut to bridge = 327mm (with saddles as far forward as possible)

I have a tele routing template, so I'll move the whole cavity up a bit. Any suggestions for how much room I should give myself? I'm sure I've read heaps of build diaries solving this problem before, but my search is failing

[McCreed]

I also seem to have the same issue Tim K had on their TL here (I think it's not uncommon?)

Yes, and numerous others. It s**ts me this is still a problem.
At least yours doesn't have the bridge holes pre-drilled like another recent post. And yours is almost right! (As Maxwell Smart used to say: "Missed it by THAT much")

If that intonation screw is flush with the edge of the hole in the barrel, you likely only need a few mil forward (say 646 to the break point for bit of leeway). Presuming the pickup cavity is centred correctly, I don't think you'd really need a template other than to mark neat lines, but if you've got one, might as well use it.

On the upside, nice clean contours!

[JohnH]

Oops. Ignore the pick up route question - I thought I had previously adjusted the neck to sit flush against the cavity, but just realised that I hadn't.

I can get about approx. 2 mm there, and I figure if I route out a bigger cavity (future-proofing for pick-up swaps) I'll move it up a few extra mm and that should give me all the leeway I need