TL-1TB Build

[Pendragon]

After wanting a baritone guitar for so long and can no longer find the one that inspired me to leaner to play I decided to make my own. Base is the TL-1TB, it has the body I want but didn't have the scale length, so sourced a 28 inch neck from eBay and paired them together. I decided against the JZ-6 kit as after a few reviews found it to be too problematic for my skill level to fix so I went this route.

I have mainly been focused on the headstock to get my head around some of the techniques needed before tackling the body but have also started on it.



Received the Kit yesterday and proceeded with sanding and fitting the different neck, making sure to adjust the neck alignment before I started painting.



After sealing the body I started work on the neck to stain the wood, unfortunately I believe my stain was off as the end result is not what I expected.



I used Feast Watson Maple Prooftint Stain as I have seen it used in a video tutorial but the result was far from expectation, as this is something I can't change this late in the build I will have to come to terms with it or consider painting over it.

[Trevor Davies]

"I used Feast Watson Maple Prooftint Stain as I have seen it used in a video tutorial but the result was far from expectation, as this is something I can't change this late in the build I will have to come to terms with it or consider painting over it."

I have used the FW Golden Teak on the maple neck for my TB-4 bass - and even that came out a tad orange. See the link at https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post210834.
Quite a few of their stains are darker than advertised - mahogany especially!

You may be able to sand it back and reapply a diluted coat. Painful, but possible.

How does the neck look next to the blue body?

[Pendragon]

The colour has grown on me since last I looked at it, the body of the guitar will done in the same stain and then poly coated to finish, once the gold coloured hardware is installed I think I'll be happy with how it looks.

[Simon Barden]

Have you checked the scale length properly yet? It's a 22-fret neck (from counting the ridges under the masking tape) but then I noticed it's got a fretboard overhang to add the extra fret on, which indicates that it may well not be a 'conversion' neck.

There are a couple of areas on the top with very obvious dips in. I'd suggest filling those, sanding it flat, and then spraying over those areas again.

[Pendragon]

Have you checked the scale length properly yet?

There are a couple of areas on the top with very obvious dips in. I'd suggest filling those, sanding it flat, and then spraying over those areas again.

By the looks of it its sitting at 27.5 inch from nut to middle of bridge position, so it looks like I'll have to fill and re drill the posts . As for the spots the top part I can fix while re finishing the body for the post holes.

[Pendragon]

I have used the FW Golden Teak on the maple neck for my TB-4 bass - and even that came out a tad orange. See the link at https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post210834.
Quite a few of their stains are darker than advertised - mahogany especially!

Love that look, want to try a burst like that with a hollow body build some day.

[Simon Barden]

What's the nut to 12th fret distance? Just worth double-checking it is a true 14" and not say 13.75" .

[Pendragon]

What's the nut to 12th fret distance? Just worth double-checking it is a true 14" and not say 13.75" .

Yeah 14 inch to the 12th.

[Simon Barden]

It was worth checking.

I’d put masking tape on the top; above, below and a bit behind where the current post holes are and mark the current post hole centres vertically and horizontally, so that it becomes easy to plug and redrill new holes 1/2” back from the old ones. Though you might prefer to use the plugs themselves as a guide. Or do both.

Don’t forget you’ll need to drill a new ground wire hole as well.

[Pendragon]

Can I use any wood for to fill the holes or is it best to source the same type?
Does the binding need to be covered before I stain, does it colour it?