1st build

[nic1981]

TL -1A is officialy under way. I drew my head stock design and took to it with the jig saw today. Was a bit worried about it at first that I might stuff it, but I think it came out pretty good. I have been sanding like mad all afternoon and starting to see some good results. I will order my wudtone finishing kit this week and hopefully have some more photos to put up next week

[Brendan]

Great start! Hoping to see more!

[lawry]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like an excellent start Nic. Looking forward to seeing the rest of it come to life.

[nic1981]

Hi all, sorry for the lack of updates about how the TLA-1 is going. Have been too busy working on it and forgot to post updates along the way. Progress is coming along nicely, but not without overcoming a few little hiccups along the way.
After hours of sanding and sanding I was finally happy with how the neck looked and felt and on the arrival of my wudtone vintage amber neck kit I started applying colour. Over all I am pretty happy with how it came up though there are some spots slightly lighter than others. More due to my heavy handed steel wool work between coats rather than my application of colour. I went with 3 coats of colour on the neck and headstock and only 1 coat on the fret board as with the top coat. A friend of mine painted my logo on the headstock free hand with a automotive base coat before I applied top coat. All in all I am happy with my first neck finish.

[nic1981]

Next I was on to the body.
Hours of sanding, drilling holes and a little more sanding it was time to start applying the next of my wudtone kits I ordered. I chose carmine gypsy which comes with the deep and base coat and I chose the extra gloss with no ageing. After watching the instructional video about 3 times, more so that I was abit nervous about applying it rather than not understanding the procedure, I applied the deep colour coat. I was really happy with how it went on and wondered why I was so nervous about applying it in the first place. Once dry and a light steel wool later, about 4 coats of base coat went on, followed by 4 coats of top coat. (So far) still might put a couple more on. I am happy with the colour but the clear I found a little more tricky to apply evenly on the body. I now also understand what DB talks about when he says when you think you have finished sanding, sand some more. Since I put the colour on I have noticed a few marks that I may have overlooked when sanding but hey, it's a good thing I'm not selling it.

[nic1981]

In between finishing the body i mounted the neck and fitted out the guitar with everything to make sure it all fit. Wow........ Was a lot harder than I expected. Well, didn't really no what to expect I suppose. Making sure the neck was straight along with the tail piece was the most tricky thing I found as you only get one chance with it. I think I nailed it but won't really no until it's strung up for the first time. I followed the instructions to the tee and also used the net for additional info so I should be right. It all looks straight when mounted so........
I have replaced all the hardware as I did not like the quality of the gear which was supplied (Don't get me wrong, I was not expecting good quality hardware and am very happy with what was supplied in the kit for the price) but it was my plan all along to replace it. new tuners, scratch plate, tail piece, jack plate, wiring kit, 4 way switch, pots and control plate are all being replaced, along with some Seymore Duncan quarter pound STR-3 and STL-3 pups. Probably not the pickups traditional tele players would choose but will suit me better for the things I like to play. I don't have all my bits yet but am expecting them in the next couple of days. Once I receive everything I will post some picks.
Next post should reveal something looking more like a guitar

[gavinturner]

Looking good Nic! Really digging your colour choices and the pearl scratchplate. Also interested in how your pickup choices will sound!! I'm very interested to see your Tele come together!

cheers,
Gav.

[jarrod]

Love the colour Nic! great looking build and the head stock looks great too...

[dingobass]

Coming along beautifully Nic

Next time remember DB's mantra.. Sand, sand, sand and sand some more. When you think you have sanded enough, sand again. When you are tired of sanding, give it to your wife to sand!

[robin]

Welcome Nic, and your guitar is looking great.

I think all of us can relate to your Thread, as at one atage we all took our first nervous steps at building our first guitar. But as we pick up our new skills each one gets a little easier, and believe me, there will be others.

Don't worry about the little blemished that you have found. They are called "character", and are proof that your guitar has been hand made. And if you plan on playing your guitar there will be lots more soon enough. You've just got a head start is all.

Looking forward to see how it turns out.

Cheers
rob