First Build - TLA-1F

[Simon Barden]

Great news!

[dbeltrami]

Well I still have some work to do :-)

The neck is pretty much done now and has come up really well. I have completed the finish, levelled and polished the frets and fitted the locking tuners. It does look good and I am happy with the finish. I'm just waiting on a new bone nut to arrive to complete the job. The one I got from PBG was too narrow for the nut slot and I wasn't able to find a small piece of veneer to fill the gap. So a new nut in the right size was the better option.

The body is a different story. I think that as a beginner to this craft, Dingo Tone stains are probably not the best option. I have been having real trouble with it. The natural stain on the back of the body is nice but I have had all manners of grief with the blue stain on the flame maple veneer (some of that being attributed to glue residue). This stuff just does not cure, it stays tacky. I have no doubt a big part of the issue is user error but it is frustrating.

So I gave it a good sand all over with wet and dry sandpaper and this helped remove most of the top layer tackiness. It also took out a lot of colour and i probably went too hard around the edges. But it gave me chance to rethink the finish colour . So I have attempted to blend in a bit of a burst effect around the edges of the guitar with some black stain. I'm actually much happier with this look compared to the Bondi Blue colour which is kind of a light denim colour.

From here I am going to attempt to complete the finish with DT top coat using incredibly thin coats (and a lot of patience), before buffing and polishing. I am still considering whether I do that or just go and buy some tru-oil and use that instead.

Hopefully I am only a few weeks away from completing the build now

[Trevor Davies]

I think the body has turned out well with the black burst.
Just be aware that if you do use tru-oil over the blue stain it tends to go a bit greenish!

[dbeltrami]

Oh, thanks for that tip Trevor. I'll avoid that then!

Would the same thing happen with a wipe-on poly?

As much as I want to finish this with the DT product I am trying to find simpler, more predictable alternatives.

[McCreed]

Both neck and body are looking good. This could be one of those happy accident kinds of things!
FWIW, I would go a bit more with the black on the outside edge and play with the transition a little more.

I would also advise against Tru Oil with any shade of blue. It has been well documented here that it will turn green over time. [Hah!!! Trevor beat me to it!!!]

Personally I would ditch the DT and go with a wipe-on polyurethane. You can mix your own way more economically by just buying regular poly and thinning it 50/50 (or 60/40) with mineral turps. (or you can buy wipe-on at 3 times the price)

I will probably get into trouble for saying this here, but I wouldn't touch the DT stuff with a barge pole. The number of stories I've read with people having issues with it drying has been enough of a deterrent for me.

[dbeltrami]

Sounds like wipe on poly is the way to go. I think that the poly may help out with a bit more shine, which would be nice.

Yes, DT has been problematic for me.

I have watched the videos many times but I just can't seem to replicate what Dingo Bass does. Again, maybe its best left to those with a bit more experience.

[Trevor Davies]

Sounds like wipe on poly is the way to go. I think that the poly may help out with a bit more shine, which would be nice.

Yes, DT has been problematic for me.

I have watched the videos many times but I just can't seem to replicate what Dingo Bass does. Again, maybe its best left to those with a bit more experience.

I had similar DT issues with my FV-4 kit. I do really like tru-oil (but not with blue stain). I have yet to try a wipe on poly (but I want to try a blue stained SSCM kit soon - so may have to).

Good luck - I will watch with interest.

[dbeltrami]

Well that's a wrap for my first build!



I'm pretty happy how it turned out. There are a few niggly things that are annoying, misaligned pre-drilled holes being the biggest issue, but overall I am going to enjoy playing this guitar.

The finish was probably the most challenging part for me. The Flame Maple top didn't turn out the way I envisgaed it but I'm relatively happy with it and may well take to being reliced if i ever get the courage up

Drilling the string ferrule holes also was a challenge but I had a wood working friend assist me with that and with shaping the headstock.

I swapped out a few things from the kit:
- Gotoh Rotomatic machine heads (from PBG)
- Custom-wound 50's Vintage pickup set
- Toneshaper Tele SS3 4-way wiring kit
- Pearloid pickguard, USA style knobs, Gotoh control plate
- Camel bone nut (the bone nut I bought from PBG was too skinny for the nut slot
- Gotoh brass compensated saddles (although I had to use the extra long saddle screws from the kit - it's a weird length bridge)
- Gotoh string ferrules

My first wiring attempt was a failure but after desoldering and taking my time the second attempt worked perfectly. There is no noise whatsoever. I did shield the cavities with copper tape but I'm not sure it was really necessary.

We are back in lockdown here in Melbourne Australia so I guess I will spend some quality time with my new guitar and maybe consider what my next kit should be

[McCreed]

Very nice. Glad to hear it also plays well for you too. Always a bonus!

The finish was probably the most challenging part for me.

You are not alone. This commonly the hardest process of building to get right, and seems only once in a while does it match the "the picture in your head".

We are back in lockdown here in Melbourne Australia so I guess I will spend some quality time with my new guitar and maybe consider what my next kit should be

Guitar building is even more contagious than Covid, but waaaaaay less deadly! And definitely no vaccine for it!
Stay safe, enjoy your guitar.

[Trevor Davies]

The end result looks nice. Great that you are enjoying playing it.

What finish did you end up using?