Build - TL-1

[vivek_rc]

Nice work. The guard fits the neck very well. Did it come like that, or did you have to work on it?

I bought this pickguard from eBay. Actually it doesn’t fit very well, the humbucker cutout on the guard isn’t aligned with the pickup route, I need to sand down the top of the guard where it meets the neck, so that the humbucker will mount flat. have a black guard that’s on the way which I will be using for this guitar, so will work on that when it arrives.

[Simon Barden]

I suppose that whilst the single coil neck position on a Tele is pretty standard, there is no real standard for neck humbucker positions on them, and the rout position may vary slightly depending on whether it's a 21 or 22 fret neck that the guitar is supposed to have.

[vivek_rc]

Hi All,

Back at it again, left the body and neck to cure after truoil and happy with the outcome.

I’ve mounted the bridge, and happy with the alignment of the high and low e-strings on the fretboard.

Next I want to screw in the neck, but before I did it, want to get some advice. So how I’ve measured the points to drill on the back of the neck is by putting in a nail to indent the drill points on the back of the neck. Measured again with a caliper and the points seem ok. Any second opinions on a more precise way?

[McCreed]

Your basic principle for transferring is good, however, in pic #1 the neck heel looks to be a bit skew-whiff with the neck pocket.
Did you have the neck clamped when you punched the nail?

Also, I'd be concerned about the difference in diameter of the hole vs. the nail. Looks like it would be easy to get the nail accidentally off-centre. This is why I have a set of graduated (diameter) transfer punches. That said, I'm ridiculously pedantic about these things .

If you haven't already, be sure the neck screws are able to pass through the body holes with very little to no resistance. ie: you have to turn the screws to get them through the body. You only want the screws to be gripping the hole in the neck heel. This will make for a much tighter mating of heel face and pocket floor.

[Trevor Davies]

Hi Vivek,
You could try pushing the screws through the body holes to mark the neck. I have been told to ensure the body holes are just large enough to allow the screws through without having to be screwed through the body (so that the screws only pull the neck back onto the body).

I'm not normally very careful and just drill though the body holes into the neck when it is in place. Maybe I need to take more care!!

[vivek_rc]

Your basic principle for transferring is good, however, in pic #1 the neck heel looks to be a bit skew-whiff with the neck pocket.
Did you have the neck clamped when you punched the nail?

Also, I'd be concerned about the difference in diameter of the hole vs. the nail. Looks like it would be easy to get the nail accidentally off-centre. This is why I have a set of graduated (diameter) transfer punches. That said, I'm ridiculously pedantic about these things .

If you haven't already, be sure the neck screws are able to pass through the body holes with very little to no resistance. ie: you have to turn the screws to get them through the body. You only want the screws to be gripping the hole in the neck heel. This will make for a much tighter mating of heel face and pocket floor.

Hi Mcreed, Trevor

Thanks for the advice and guidance. These are the 4 screws I got in the kit and they definitely don’t slot into the holes easily unless I drive them in with a screwdriver, should I get smaller wood screws?



Also Mcreed, the photo with the neck at a slight angle was just for the photo, I ensured the neck was aligned before marking the spots with the nail

[Simon Barden]

No. The screws are fine, but I'd drill the holes out as Trevor says to the width of the screws and use them to mark the neck screw hole positions.

When you want two bits of wood to be held together tightly, it is good 'quality woodworking' practice to not have the screws biting into the piece the screws are passing through, just into the piece they pass into. If you screw through both bits, it is possible for the screw to reach its full travel into the first bit of wood before it's turned enough to pull the second bit of wood hard against it. If the screw can turn freely in the first bit of wood, then this can't occur. If you are knocking together say a basic studwork frame from softwood this is less important, as the screw will simply pull into the softwood until the two pieces are tight. But on the guitar you have a metal neck plate to stop the screws pulling into the wood and to help spread the load, so this won't happen.

It's generally best to use a clamp to secure the neck to the body when marking out the screw hole positions. This allows you to get the neck alignment within the pocket correct first, so the hole markings then end up in the right position.

[vivek_rc]

Hi Simon

Thank you for the detailed explanation, I understand now and what I have to do, will work on the neck this week and report on progress, thanks again for all the help !!

[McCreed]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep, what Simon said.

I'll just add that when you enlarge the the holes in the body, do two things:
1) drill from the back side (finished side) of the body
2) presuming you have a variable speed drill with forward and reverse, SLOWLY and lightly run the drill bit in reverse at the top of the hole.

Running the drill in reverse will minimise the risk of tear-out or finish chipping. You'll probably only need to go about .5mm larger than the holes are already, but it can be enough to bugger up the hard work you've put into your finish.

Oh, if you don't have a variable speed drill with forward and reverse (and you don't happen to have a tapered reamer) you can twist the drill bit with your fingers to achieve the same thing. Just remember to twist anti-clockwise.

[vivek_rc]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep, what Simon said.

I'll just add that when you enlarge the the holes in the body, do two things:
1) drill from the back side (finished side) of the body
2) presuming you have a variable speed drill with forward and reverse, SLOWLY and lightly run the drill bit in reverse at the top of the hole.

Running the drill in reverse will minimise the risk of tear-out or finish chipping. You'll probably only need to go about .5mm larger than the holes are already, but it can be enough to bugger up the hard work you've put into your finish.

Oh, if you don't have a variable speed drill with forward and reverse (and you don't happen to have a tapered reamer) you can twist the drill bit with your fingers to achieve the same thing. Just remember to twist anti-clockwise.

Thanks Mcreed, I got a good cordless drill, and will follow the steps!

Thanks guys for the advice, really appreciated!


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