TL-1TB Build

[Simon Barden]

Yes, a common modification, though sometimes you may have to extend the neck pickup lead length with some after-market pickups, as annoyingly some can be just a few mm too short to reach the reversed switch position.

Personally, I always stick the grounds on the volume pot, not the tone pot. Grounding of the pickup signal and it's connection to the output ground is the most important ground connection you make.

The back of the tone pot doesn’t have to be grounded (though it’s nice to have) if you aren’t wiring the tone circuit ground to the back of the tone pot.

You've done what I like to do and use the cap leg to connect to the volume pot ground tag and the back of the pot. But you are currently reliant on the control plate providing the ground connection. All it takes is for the volume pot nut to come loose, or for corrosion to build-up on the surfaces of the nuts, and you get a higher resistance connection, with a drop off in signal quality and increased noise pickup. Too loose and the signal becomes intermittent.

So I always ensure there's a soldered ground connection to the volume pot. If you use that as the main ground point, you can't go wrong, especially wiring the tone control the way you have. The tone pot casing then only acts as a shield for the track and wiper inside and shielding still works with high resistances to ground, so if the tone pot is a little loose it doesn't matter.

Of course it all works fine as long as everything's tight, but I do prefer to prepare for the worst case.

I've now taken to soldering tinned copper wire to the back of the volume pot and wrapping that around the ends of the pickup and output grounds before soldering those ends to the wire. It's easier to solder one fairly thin bit of wire to a pot and then the wire to the ground leads than it is to solder three or four ground wires to the back of the volume pot with attendant risk of heat damage. There are many ways to solder up these harnesses, and any way that works is perfectly valid, but some ways are a bit easier to do and maintain than others.

[Pendragon]

Can anyone point in the direction of a satin finish the FW poly I'm using is not giving the desired finish? I'm after a strong finish that has a hard finish, the body I'm going to use the gloss coat I already have.

[Pendragon]

Another part has shown up, a common issue with bigsby style trem is tuning stability so has sourced a roll-a-matic bridge. Fortunately with the relocation of the bridge back to suit the scale length new holes have to be drill as the new bridge has smaller posts.

[fender3x]

I've now taken to soldering tinned copper wire to the back of the volume pot and wrapping that around the ends of the pickup and output grounds before soldering those ends to the wire. It's easier to solder one fairly thin bit of wire to a pot and then the wire to the ground leads than it is to solder three or four ground wires to the back of the volume pot with attendant risk of heat damage. There are many ways to solder up these harnesses, and any way that works is perfectly valid, but some ways are a bit easier to do and maintain than others.

I literally just did this on a build for my daughter. I had not thought it through the way Simon has, but I run the thin tinned wire from the leg of the V pot to the back, and then hand the other connections off the tinned wire. It's a very good tip. Feels almost like cheating.

[Simon Barden]

Another part has shown up, a common issue with bigsby style trem is tuning stability so has sourced a roll-a-matic bridge. Fortunately with the relocation of the bridge back to suit the scale length new holes have to be drill as the new bridge has smaller posts.

It’s easier to find the correct bridge position if you can string it up first, and run the strings over the bridge to check the alignment fown the neck. With a Bigsby instead of a stop tailpiece, that’s not so easy, but to hold the strings behind the bridge, I’ve seen people use a cheap trapeze tailpiece simply fixed to the rear strap button position, with the bridge raised up to a fretboard-clearing height on a suitable thickness of cardboard. You still need to get the bridge angle correct, but you can certainly mark the side-to-side position with ease, rather than try and work out a centreline.

[Pendragon]

So my dowel showed up this week and it's just a little too big for a straight fit by 0.5mm, have to carefully drill it out then cut plugs to fit. Flatting the top didn't work out as planned, the filler keeps scrapping out and not remaining behind. I then tried to fill the entire top to flatten it out but decide against this as I still have a lot of work to do on the top.

[Trevor Davies]

So my dowel showed up this week and it's just a little too big for a straight fit by 0.5mm, have to carefully drill it out then cut plugs to fit.

FWIW, I think I would sand the edges of the dowel down to fit the holes. If the dowel fits into a drill chuck, you could place a small section into a drill and spin that around some sand paper.

[Pendragon]

FWIW, I think I would sand the edges of the dowel down to fit the holes. If the dowel fits into a drill chuck, you could place a small section into a drill and spin that around some sand paper.

Thanks for the tip, that is what I did to fit the dowel into the body and used a proper wood glue to set, sanded them down to size then took to the whole top to finish it. Tried setting up the tail and bridge using the provided strings in the kit but having no luck getting it to stay in position, will have to clamp it down in rough position then adjust before making any drill holes.

[fender3x]

...Flatting the top didn't work out as planned, the filler keeps scrapping out and not remaining behind. I then tried to fill the entire top to flatten it out but decide against this as I still have a lot of work to do on the top.

It's not cheap, but in similar circumstances I have had decent luck using AquaCoat Clear. I have pretty much only used it with shellac and water based finishes...but it has suck well to bare wood, two different water based clear coats and acrylic spray paint.

You had also asked about clear coats. I like General Finishes High Performance Satin. I have used it on all my necks. I apply with a brush, which requires a fair amount of sanding...but I am told it's better if you have spray equipment. It's pretty hard, and often used for musical instruments.

I have used Crystalac Brite Tone, which is advertised as an "instrument finish" and as "the hardest." It may be a tad harder than the GFHP, but I did not notice a great deal of difference. I used the gloss rather than the satin, but they make one...

These are the two that I have used that produce the hardest finish.

I know that there are epoxy and and solvent based finishes that are harder...but these are the hardest water based finishes I have used.

[Pendragon]

Attempt number 2 has been more successful after realising that the strings go under the front roller of the bigsby, it's my first one but believe I have everything just about right. The bridge pickup is just a little off and there is no more room to adjust it so the bridge has to moved hopefully it will be good enough. Taped of the control plate so I can see how wide I go to fit the new pots and not over space it.