First guitar - TLA-1F

[Simon Barden]

At least the rout widening will be hidden by the bridge plate, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. But do put masking tape down and mark out the bridge plate edges. You do need to ensure you stay within the outline. It’s not easy as even on Fenders, the very top and bottom edges of pickup rout are often slightly visible (or at least hinted at where the finish starts to drop away).

[McCreed]

Excellent point by Simon. The margins are pretty tight but doable.
From memory, on my TLA-1 (solid ash) I think I only needed 1.5mm extra width in the control cavity (.75 each side) for the 24mm pots.

I originally fitted mine with a Tonerider Hot Classic bridge pickup and a Wilkinson 3 saddle compensated bridge. I did need to open up the pickup route there as well but had adequate room for everything.

Measure twice, cut once! Slow & steady.

[Phoenix]

Slow progress down here. Awaiting covid results before I grab some tools to expand the routing on my guitar's body.

In the mean time, I had been having trouble with the waterslide decal. Initially I couldn't get it to blend with the wudtone. I worked around this by using rattle can lacquer. This, with much sanding, allowed me to get the decal to embed in the layers of the lacquer. However the lacquer was far too shiny. So once I got to a point in which the decal sat flat, I sanded all the lacquer with 1500 grit, and applied wudtone gloss over it all so that the sheen matched the body. Results are attached below.

The only problem I encountered was the spray lacquer flaked a bit at some of the edges which required sanding, and is difficult to hide on the green bits as it took some stain with it.

Also for those making their own decals, a hint I discovered was to print them backwards so that you could apply them paper side up. This allows you to position them with much more precision, and you can use the paper to massage out any trapped water beneath the decal. Also, in order to make the edges disappear I found it helpful to lacquer over them, and then use steel wool in a polishing motion to cut the edge down before reapplying lacquer. This is a real exercise in patience!

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[McCreed]

So I presume the Wudtone and lacquer were compatible after all?

FWIW, had you used a satin poly instead of lacquer, it would have saved you having to do the sanding thus eliminating the risk of sand-through.

You got there in the end, that's all that matters!

[Phoenix]

So I presume the Wudtone and lacquer were compatible after all?

FWIW, had you used a satin poly instead of lacquer, it would have saved you having to do the sanding thus eliminating the risk of sand-through.

You got there in the end, that's all that matters!

Yeah, I messaged the guy from wudtone and he said they would be fine together, so far so good. Thankfully I used enough coats to not sand through as that was my worry. The problems arose from where the lacquer lifted at the edges when I removed the tape that I was using to protect against overspray. It's like a new law of physics: for every solution, there is an equal and opposite problem!

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[McCreed]

Yeah, I messaged the guy from wudtone and he said they would be fine together, so far so good.

Good to know they are compatible in case others plan to use that combination of products.

[Phoenix]

Hi all,

Slowly but surely all the pieces have slotted together and I have what resembles a guitar. I'll spend the next day or two researching to to set it up correctly, and then hopefully get to playing it.

Wiring went mostly well. Had a short caused by the copper insulation that I had fitted into all the cavities. The short was occurring in the jack, so I fixed that up and it has no humm or buzz coming through, so hopefully it stays that way as I set it up to play.

Once done I'll polish it up and take some more photos. Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out, especially with the degree of modifications I did for my first build

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[Phoenix]

Finished!
Earny ball strings went on today, intonation was checked, neck adjusted, string and pick-up heights regulated, and the first chords were strummed and plucked!

What a pleasure it has been piecing together this project, thanks to everyone for their support and advice along the way. Proud of my first build, which sounds great, even more so in hands that are more capable than my own. She's a real beaut!

What's next? I plan to start on my 335 shortly. But first, my 'Simcaster' is screaming for my attention!

Cheers

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[blinddrew]

Looks really nice!

[McCreed]

You gotta be happy with that! Very nice. Very classy.
If it sounds as good as it looks, that a bonus!

Good on ya.