Tl1

[BenWA]

Thanks to prompt delivery service the tele i bought in the sale arrived this morning. Not really sure what im gonna do with this yet, besides the fact that i wanna upgrade the pups and electrics this time.

I also want to slim the neck profile down a bit so it feels more like a strat neck, but finish wise ive no idea

Anyway heres some pics out the box



Neck fit is nice and tight, way better than my thinline was which is great. pickguard fit is terrible lol, i selected a black one when i ordered the kit but tbh i havent even decided what colour to go with so ill order that later on



Theres a slight ding in the fretboard, i guess wet rag and a soldering iron is the way to sort that out? Also some odd lines on there too, not sure whether i should look into staining it darker to hide those or make a feature



Body looks good besides a few little dark spots just behind the bridge, again i havent decided on the finish yet anyway so not an issue

Im planning to get the frets dressed and the neck and bridge fitted before i do any finishing. I also wanted to do through body stringing so ill have to look into getting a different bridge too

[gavinturner]

Looks like a great kit Ben! Some nice figure in the fretboard. Great to see your purchase there already! One of the benefits of being in WA. I'm trying to wait patiently for my kits to get here, but it's a hard ask! Will be watching your progress. Any notes you can give on reducing the neck profile greatly appreciated. I will be doing the same to my next Tele build.

cheers,
Gav.

[BenWA]

Cheers, i figure its a case of some graft with a rasp and then sandpaper, but yeah will check out some how to's on trusty ol youtube!

[wokkaboy]

Hi Ben,
kit looks good. That grain in the neck is really cool I'd not worry about trying to cover it up. I've seen similar grain in some of my maple necks.Also those dark marks south of the bridge would be grain as well, they should look great stained.
Thought you said you ordered a black pickguard ? The white one may need a bit of re-shaping by the looks.
Check the intonation when you get the string through bridge. It seems the factory route the bridge pup cavity too far south.
I'd try and remove the ding in the neck with an iron and wet cloth. Be careful not to damage the frets either side

[Fretworn]

Any notes you can give on reducing the neck profile greatly appreciated. I will be doing the same to my next Tele build.

80grit. You will be surprised how effect it is. That's all I used to change the neck on my TL-1TLB from Tele D profile to a shallower C profile. And you are less likely to go too far with it.

[BenWA]

Yeah i ordered a black one but i guess choice of colours maybe wasnt part of the sale deal or it was overlooked? not a problem, can get em cheap as on ebay anyway or from PB HQ.

Cheers for the heads up on intonation, I figured the pickup route looked a bit off from the gap between the pickguard and the bridge plate (even though the pickguard is wonky theres still a sizeable gap). Ill be extra careful making sure its right

80grit. You will be surprised how effect it is. That's all I used to change the neck on my TL-1TLB from Tele D profile to a shallower C profile. And you are less likely to go too far with it.

Sweet, thats really useful to know. Depending on how this one goes, i may go back and do similar to the neck on my other tele (although i stained it so i dunno, cos itll end up looking really manky)

[BenWA]

not massive progress, but this is something i wish id bothered to do on my first build, recessed input jack (still needs cleaning up a bit)

[gavinturner]

Nice fit there Ben!

Cheers,
Gav.

[BenWA]

so i got one of the cheap vintage looking bridges off ebay with the brass saddles, but wanted to check what the deal was with the cavity for the bridge pup too far down wokka was talking about?


From what my trusty steel ruler is telling me, if i move the saddles a couple of mm away from the pup, the intonation should be good-the screws on them are mega long and theres loads of space for adjustment.

it should be the same distance from the 12th fret to the saddles as from the 12th fret to the nut right? thats what i can remember from my last build



pic ^^^

ive got some cheap vintage style tuners on the way too, and gonna get some tonerider pups when i get paid next

[Gavin1393]

not massive progress, but this is something i wish id bothered to do on my first build, recessed input jack (still needs cleaning up a bit)

That looks fantastic - great job.