DTL-1SB First build

[DeanCraig]

Hi everyone this is my first build DTL-1SB. My order arrived in Sydney from Perth within 4 business days from ordering at Christmas which is fantastic timing for the break!

The body seems in good condition including the neck sliding in with very little pressure.


My prefered Finish:

Front: Gloss clear, remove pickguard and replace with a silver neck pickup ring and switch cover to reveal most of the spalt

Back: Stain dark with satin finish = see goal image on this post

Upgrades: Pitbull swapped the black hardward out for silver. I have started with locking tuners and bone nut - I will look at better pickups latter.


Issues and questions that I would love to hear suggestions on tackling them please:

1. Small chip where the nut meets the top edge of the headstock - am I best to just round it off and not fill?

2. The pickguard holes drilled in the splat bear no relation to the pickguard holes. Plus I want to ditch the pickguard so what is the best solution - matchstick glued into the holes before lightly sanding the spalt?

3. If I screwed the bridge on using the predrilled holes you would see the end of the pickup cavity. What is the best approach to this - I assume the best approach is measure nut to 12 fret then double that to identify the bridge location and go from there?

4. Front finish - I am not sure I need to pre stain and sand back etc rather as I would really like a light colour finish overall once it's preped hit it with wipe on poly. How much will the colour change/spalt pop when I clear coat it?

5. Rear finish - I am looking to stain to give it some contrast to the front with satin poly finish on that.


Thanks in advance

[Trevor Davies]

Hi Dean,
the spalted top looks great.

I did a similar colour scheme with my LP1-ss build. I used Brown stain on back (which is mahogany) finished with Tru-oil only on the front.

For your questions:
1. I would probably fill it with timbermate - but it is only small so rounding it off should be fine.
2. Match sticks would work, or wood fill (But I would complain to Pitbull about those drill holes and the bridge holes and see what they say. The kit should be better than that!)
3. I would re drill the holes for the bridge (but most folks on this site do not use the 2 x (nut to 12th fret), they use the full scale length measurements.
4. I did not stain the front maple - I just used tru-oil (but the FW wipe on poly has a slight brown tint also!!)
5. Good. I started by taping the body and tru-oiled the front and binding. Then taped the binding and then stained the back. I was paranoid about getting stain on the spalted top. I used Dingo tone stain - but would use FW japan brown if I had my chance again.

What are you doing with the neck front and back?

[DeanCraig]

Hi Trevor

Thanks for your answers

You LPSS looks great - as you said much along the lines I want. You mention CA - as in cyanoacrylate (super glue)? How does that go when you coat it as I asume it does not absorb anything once dry.

Re finish I was aslo considering Tru Oil or Tong Oil for the front. For the neck I have seen a few videos using diluted Tong Oil so was thinking that direction.

Also not had a tele before but is that a top load bridge in pic?

[Trevor Davies]

Hi Trevor

Thanks for your answers

You LPSS looks great - as you said much along the lines I want. You mention CA - as in cyanoacrylate (super glue)? How does that go when you coat it as I asume it does not absorb anything once dry.

Re finish I was aslo considering Tru Oil or Tong Oil for the front. For the neck I have seen a few videos using diluted Tong Oil so was thinking that direction.

Also not had a tele before but is that a top load bridge in pic?

Yes I used superglue to fill a couple of small holes in the spalted top. I sanded the CA flat to the top and tru-oiled over the top. I also used CA glue to fill large knots on my pine wood explorer.

I have not used Tung-oil, but I love tru-oil.

The LP-1SS has a tuneomatic style bridge. My TLA-1 used a top loaded 6 saddle Tele bridge (since the kit was missing a bridge! and that was the replacement they sent) like on your kit. On my kit the pre-drilled holes did not match and I needed to route the bridge pup cavity a bit to get it to fit. But now the bridge is slightly too close to the neck and I'm having trouble intonating the low E string.

[McCreed]

2. Match sticks would work, or wood fill (But I would complain to Pitbull about those drill holes and the bridge holes and see what they say. The kit should be better than that!)

Agreed. There shouldn't even be pre-drilled pickguard holes. Especially on a veneered top that is intended to stained or cleared over.

I can't believe the bridge location/pickup routing issue is still prevalent in the TL kits. How annoying.
There are some workarounds with some kits, but again with veneer top, the fixes are limited without standing out like the balls on a tall dog. BS

You mention CA - as in cyanoacrylate (super glue)? How does that go when you coat it as I asume it does not absorb anything once dry.

When applied correctly, it will be transparent enough to allow through whatever colour is under it. It will also polish up to a mirror shine if you want. That's why CA is great for doing drop-fill repairs in factory poly finishes.

[DeanCraig]

I can't believe the bridge location/pickup routing issue is still prevalent in the TL kits. How annoying.
There are some workarounds with some kits, but again with veneer top, the fixes are limited without standing out like the balls on a tall dog. BS

Thanks McCreed - clamped the neck today and measured scale lenght to see if either the drill holes or the rount were wrong - or both!

If I position the bridge in the rout so hole is covered (ignoring the screw holes and leaving pickguard off) I can get a 648 scale length with the saddles at the half way position on the low E. So as the bad screw holes are hidden by the bridge I guese I can drill new ones.

Further once I fit the pickguard I can not get scale lenght so will either need to take a bit off it or alternatively go with a neck ring and switch plate to reveal the grain. The only aspect here is thinline control cavities are at an angle to the neck while normal teles have the control rout aligned with the neck. Can anyone see an issue here I am not seeing?

Thanks in advance!

[McCreed]

If I position the bridge in the rout so hole is covered (ignoring the screw holes and leaving pickguard off) I can get a 648 scale length with the saddles at the half way position on the low E. So as the bad screw holes are hidden by the bridge I guese I can drill new ones.

Well that's a good alternative. Did you have the pickup in the bridge when you test fitted? You want to be sure you can get the same bridge position without having to alter the routing.

Further once I fit the pickguard I can not get scale lenght so will either need to take a bit off it or alternatively go with a neck ring and switch plate to reveal the grain. The only aspect here is thinline control cavities are at an angle to the neck while normal teles have the control rout aligned with the neck. Can anyone see an issue here I am not seeing?

When you listed your intentions in your OP, I immediately presumed you would just customise the stock pickguard.
The way the pickup and cavity routing is in that model, you can easily make a standalone control plate out of the pickguard (or any material of your choosing).
If you go that route, we can help you through the methods of cutting, shaping, bevelling the pickguard material.
You could even make your own matching neck pickup ring. But I can see how a premade chrome one could look good on there as well.

I totally agree with trying to minimise the amount of the top that's covered up.

[DeanCraig]

Thanks for the reply.

Well that's a good alternative. Did you have the pickup in the bridge when you test fitted? You want to be sure you can get the same bridge position without having to alter the routing.

Yes the bridge was preloaded so I know that wont be an issue.

When you listed your intentions in your OP, I immediately presumed you would just customise the stock pickguard.
The way the pickup and cavity routing is in that model, you can easily make a standalone control plate out of the pickguard (or any material of your choosing).
If you go that route, we can help you through the methods of cutting, shaping, bevelling the pickguard material.
You could even make your own matching neck pickup ring. But I can see how a premade chrome one could look good on there as well.

I was not thinking of adapting the pickguard TBH but it has me thinking. Also noticed the control panel cavity was 32mm wide so need to get a 34mm control panel if I do go with an off the shelf alternative.

Thanks

[McCreed]

A standard Tele control plate (32.4mm width) will not work on that guitar due to the curved control route and width.
I don’t know I’ve seen an aftermarket control plate suited to that size and shape. That’s why I presumed you’d be making your own.

[DeanCraig]

The checking continues so I have another few questions please before I begin.

1. The pots with 2 x 2 different nuts and washers. I assume the washer goes over the pickguard then the smaller nut then tightens down before adding the control knobs. But where does the bigger loose fitting nut go? Between pickguard and pot?
   
   
2. To attach the 3 way switch should I be using the wood screw in picture - all the after market switches seem to have machine screw?
   
   
3. Finaly should I stick with the pic guard on my first build I can get it aligned with the bridge, neck pup and control cavities with only a small shave off the LHS of where it sits next to the neck circled - any traps with this approach?
   

Thanks again