First Build - TL-1A

[MrEddy]

So a bit more progress.

Before anyone comments, yes, I realise that given it's a screw in neck I didn't need to mask anything. Ah well. Not like it makes any difference.

That aside I applied timber primer followed by a few coats of FW Prooftint (Maple) and I'm pretty happy with how it's looking. Obviously it's just been applied so I'll see how it looks tomorrow afternoon but for the moment I'm quite pleased with the result.

It'll be clear coat time next, depending on how this looks tomorrow.

[MrEddy]

Thank you. Looking forward to seeing the pick guard in place. I'm pretty happy with it. Cost a bloody fortune in shipping cost (there's a lesson for me in there somewhere) but it was worth it.

[MrEddy]

So two coats and some drying time later. I'm really happy with how the colour turned out. The timber primer seems to have done it's job too. One lesson I've learnt here is that you can't predict how a stain will look by testing it on a different type of wood. That's probably fairly obvious to most people but new to me. So far this has generally been a pretty good learning experience.

I'll leave this be for a bit and then move onto clear coat.

Oh, one other thing. Any thoughts or recommendations on soldering equipment? I'd also better do a bit of practice on something first before I let loose on the guitar bits.

[McCreed]

That's a nice colour, and will look great clear coated and all put together!

Any thoughts or recommendations on soldering equipment?

A lot depends on your budget and if you think you will be doing more builds/repairs/mods.
A variable temperature station is at the top, but a soldering stick/pencil can do all you need as well. I would recommend at least a 30w unit as it will be better for soldering the back of pots (more heat).

There are lots of neat little accessories you can buy as well like a solder sucker, tip cleaner pad and so on, but there are cheaper alternatives like desoldering braid and a household sponge for tip cleaning.

Practice is a great idea if you've never done any soldering (I should listen to my own advice there). Buy some jump wire and a couple of cheap pots (Jaycar?) and practice on them.
One key thing to remember is "heat the work, not the solder". For example, soldering a wire to a pot lug: place the soldering tip to the lug > allow the lug to heat up (a few seconds max) then touch the solder wire to the lug (not the tip).

Another tip is to make a template (cardboard will do) to hold the pots in the positions they'll be when mounted in the guitar. Then place and secure the template to your workbench/desk etc so you're not chasing the pieces all across your bench.

I'm not an expert by any means, but it get less daunting and neater the more you do it. Still room for improvement here .

I'm sure there are some good YT tutorials if you do a search there.

[MrEddy]

A few months ago I would have said one guitar build is going to be enough, but now... I'm not so sure. I can see how this could start getting addictive. So many things to try. But never mind that. Have to finish the current one first!

But that's all very helpful. Thank you.

[jonwhitear]

Have to finish the current one first!

Why’s that? ;-)

[MrEddy]

Why’s that? ;-)

Domestic harmony.

[dozymuppet]

I'm currently trying to tell myself only two projects at a time...

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[MrEddy]

Ok. So here we are. The clear coat was an adventure, and the result isn't perfect, but I'm pretty happy with how it looks. As you can imagine, it's got a share of bubbles and the occasional run here and there. But I can try and hide that in any photos I take.

Very happy with the colour and the way it all came out. The rest gets chalked up to learning experience.

I've started applying oil to the neck so that will take up the next week. Hope the sticker arrives at some point soon so I can finish the headstock.

[jonwhitear]

That’s looking good. What did you use for the clear coat? You should be able to sand out the runs, though bubbles might be a bit more challenging.