DTL-1 Ash body. First build

[Trevor Davies]

I think that should be fine. A good sand should remove it. Possibly some of your timbermate if needed.

[Johnny Bravo]

I think that should be fine. A good sand should remove it. Possibly some of your timbermate if needed.

Thank you, again

[Simon Barden]

Yes, I've put marks like that on my headstocks and they've sanded off nicely (albeit with a little effort).

[Johnny Bravo]

Yes, I've put marks like that on my headstocks and they've sanded off nicely (albeit with a little effort).

Cheers, Simon

[Johnny Bravo]

Days 2 & 3 - 4th and 5th January 2022

Well after the heady excitement(!?) of managing to shape my headstock, I started on the very technical scale length voyage.

I've gotta be honest - I went down some very dark tunnels before (with the ever present assistance from our terrific forum members) finally deciding to "grow a pair" and just crack on. PS Holy crumb crackers there is some stuff to learn about scale length - I thought I had a rough idea but that is a whole world of crazy all on its own. Thanks to everyone who tried to explain.

Whilst I had a heads up in the basic instruction guide (ie that aftermarket pick ups might require some further enlarging of the pick up cavity), I was torn between the extent to which I wanted to use the pre-existing bridge holes balanced against the work I would have to do with routing the pick up cavity in order to do so.

I should say this now - if you have access to a router (you own or have a friend or relative who has one) then use that. I used a drill bit rasp and...let's just say that there was a lot of swearing and some hairy moments. It didn't help that today was 25 degrees and very humid in my garage. The rasp bit is difficult to control and I inevitably had to keep coming back at it with sandpaper and a file. I bought sanding drum bits but I couldn't imagine how that would have gone - I think I would have used up all the sandpaper drums and still been needing more.

All up, I'm pretty happy with how the bridge is sitting but have two problems;

- the pick up is very snug towards the neck end of the cavity and I don't think that I'm going to have enough room for shielding material (I'll ask in the other thread I made);
- the drill holes that I wanted to so slavishly preserve are still not quite right - we're talking less than a mm I reckon but enough for me to have to consider filing with a toothpick and doing another hole. Probably not the most arduous task I'm going to undertake.

Hopefully I'll get to the alignment/neck curvature stage soon.

I'm looking forward to doing the grain filling for the body - I can't wait to see how that looks with the grain really highlighted.

Any my observations at this stage:

- I have to keep reminding myself that this is my first go at a guitar and that I am no handyman. So I'm on a big learning curve and there will be inevitable faff ups
- I am NOT looking forward to the soldering (ie none of the wiring diagrams/videos etc, have the configuration of 3 way selector and pick ups which match mine and I am very confused). But, don't worry because, as Baldrick would say, "I have a very, very cunning plan, my Lord". I am going to draw up all my bits and pieces, I am going to label them "A", "B" and "C" or "1", "2" and "3" (or some other arbitrary labeling system) and I am going to ask the good people here to tell me "insert wire A into tab(s) 1 and 2". If I get more than one conflicting answer, I shall throw myself off the nearest balcony.

Anyhoo, next steps are to affix bridge and string some strings.

Cheers, all

[Johnny Bravo]

Progress up until 10 January 2022

Well, I have to be honest - I'm a bit deflated with the "prepping the body" stage. I feel like more and more effort is producing diminishing results.

There's a lot to it, obviously and perhaps I was a bit naïve in not realising how much would be required.

Thanks again for all those of you who gave me advice on body work up until now (and apologies for missing some of that advice along the way).

I've sanded, applied timbermate, sanded some more, applied more timbermate, sanded some more on top of that and then done more sanding. But the body that I've received has a lot of blemishes and I have spent many hours trying to sand those out. My fear is that I will end up sanding in more disasters than I am fixing and, to be honest, I'm done.

At the very least I think I've brought out the grain in the ash (and perhaps learnt a little along the way).



The photo isn't 100% accurate as it really isn't that dark - but, sigh, I suppose I should sand it back some more, huh?

In the unlikely event that I ever get to actually staining the guitar, I have a few questions:

1. I'm proposing to just start on the back of the guitar, work out the application process, let it dry for 3 days and then see how it looks (if it's disastrous then I suppose I'm back to sanding the crap out of everything again). What do the rest of you do? Do you stain the entire guitar at the one time (back and front) or do it as two (repeatable, if necessary) stages? Is it possible to do one side wait until "touch dry" and then flip it over? If so, what is the "touch dry time"?

2. As I said at the top of this post, I want to do a somewhat tribute to Springsteen's tele. Is Coolangatta gold a fair/ballpark approximation for the body? Or would I need to dilute/alter the colour somehow? Near enough is good enough for me for this build - it doesn't have to be an exact match.

3. Final question - is the neck finishing kit from Dingotones to be used for the (maple) fretboard as well as the back or is the fretboard treated differently? I've watched the videos, read the instructions and still am not quite sure.

Thanks in anticipation.

[dozymuppet]

Personally, I think the grain is looking pretty good as it is right now. Not sure it would go well with a Coolangatta Gold colour, but that may be subjective.

Also worth noting the regularly reported issues with dingo tone finishes. This is a good time to think twice before committing.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[Simon Barden]

Dingo Tone seems to have around a 50% success rate. When it works, it's fine, but by all accounts it seems very sensitive to temperature and humidity (or it maybe that different batches end up with different properties) and if they aren't in just the right window when applied, it can take ages to go hard. Sometimes it just stays tacky for ever.

If you still want to use it I'd definitely test it on some scrap wood first (use all the coats and let dry between each coat) before applying it to the guitar.

And yes, use the same finish on the maple board as on the back of the neck (regardless of what finish you chose to apply).

Your timbermate is pretty dark. The main grain pattern lines are also pretty close together, which is making it look even darker. For a good Springsteen butterscotch finish, you'd really need a different body, ideally swamp ash with a much wider-spaced grain pattern so there's a lot more basic wood and less grain. And maybe have used a lighter colour Timbermate. For more authenticity I'd use an amber tint nitro spray as well for the colour, not stain.

Why not give up on the Springsteen Esquire look for this one and concentrate on making the most of what you have? The next one can always be the Springsteen one.

[McCreed]

The next one can always be the Springsteen one.

Because there will ALWAYS a next one!!!

(I think it's actually a law now )

[Johnny Bravo]

Thanks, Simon and Dozy - all great feedback.

I wish I'd asked earlier on this forum about recommendations for tackling the Springsteen idea - I was simply taking guidance from PBG when I bought the kit.

I agree that I probably have to massively temper my expectations now and will just chalk all the grain filling work up to experience. Lesson learned there...

Can I still achieve the Springsteen Esquire look like this if I decide just to go for a solid colour, then?

Otherwise, with what I'm working with and if I abandon the Springsteen idea, would I perhaps be better off going more along the lines of a burgundy or cherry? And, if I abandon the Dingotone, what finishes might I consider going after?

As for the neck, I saw a nice gentleman on the YouTubes who was using Boiled Linseed Oil. I have fond memories of my dearly departed dad trying to bring an old chair back to life using Linseed Oil, so there is a slight romanticised leaning towards that as a possible option (but I also understand that Tru Oil is all the rage). If I abandon the Springsteen, then I suppose I don't need to worry about the classic orangy-yellow neck, right?

Thanks, as ever and kind regards