Trev's 1st Build - TLA-1

[FrankenWashie]

Wow thanks for the response guys!

FrankenWashie - Will get those lines established tonight, really appreciate the explanation and picture.
Simon - I tested the scratch plate but that still shows a gap. The chalk idea is great will definitely use that method.

Thanks again!

anytime mate!

[Andy40]

Beautiful grain on that TLA Trevor.

Having done a few Teles I can say that the pickguard covers any gaps at the end of the neck pocket.

Its more important to get the neck aligned as Frankenwashie has said with his picture (very schmancy)

[Trevor Molloy]

Bit of an update.
Managed to get the neck on, and the gap looking better.

Attachment 29730

Attachment 29731


Andy40 I did check the pickguard again after seeing your comment, I think I could have hidden the gap with the pick guard if I modified it slightly.

One thing I failed to check was the alignment of the neck plate before marking the holes in the neck. Looks like ill be stuck with a crooked neck plate, will remove the gasket as it overhangs.



I then noticed that one of the frets was cut short and there was some damage to the fret board near the 2nd fret!

Do you think ill need to replace the fret? It looks like some one else has already had a go as there appears to be some tear out.
hopefully will be able to tidy up the chip near the 2nd with some sand paper but its fairly deep.





Next job is to look at mounting the bridge and seeing if I need to route the pickup cavity at all.

[Trevor Molloy]

Bit of a progress update. Haven't had a lot of time lately.

Finally got the head stock shaped


And my bridge upgrade just arrived!
Got it positioned so the Hi E is 648mm from the nut. There is quite a gap between the bridge and the pick guard, is this normal?
I'm hesitant to move it any further forward as the saddles are all ready sitting further back than what seems to be recommended from the reading I've done. Hoping this will be ok, any advise would be greatly appreciated

[Sonic Mountain]

Yeah, the gap is normal. I've enlarged the bridge pickup cavity on both my TL builds to move it forward about 3mm. It's very common. I haven't had any problems with setup and intonation, there is plenty of adjustment left.

I also had the same neck plate issue, but I noticed soon enough to change the shape a little to accommodate it.

[FrankenWashie]

That neck plate issue is common on the bolt on kits. A strat I am building for a friend had the same issue, as well as the body holes being in a slight rhombus shape rather than a rectangular pattern.
My OCD couldn't deal so the Body end got squared off, and the through holes got filled and re-drilled to match the plate.
I also went up a 1/64" in drill size on the new holes to clear the screws properly when it is tightened together.

[Trevor Molloy]

Yeah, the gap is normal. I've enlarged the bridge pickup cavity on both my TL builds to move it forward about 3mm. It's very common. I haven't had any problems with setup and intonation, there is plenty of adjustment left.

I also had the same neck plate issue, but I noticed soon enough to change the shape a little to accommodate it.

Cheers Sonic Mountain, what sort of space do you look for? This one is sitting at about 7mm between the bridge plate and the pick guard


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[Trevor Molloy]

That neck plate issue is common on the bolt on kits. A strat I am building for a friend had the same issue, as well as the body holes being in a slight rhombus shape rather than a rectangular pattern.
My OCD couldn't deal so the Body end got squared off, and the through holes got filled and re-drilled to match the plate.
I also went up a 1/64" in drill size on the new holes to clear the screws properly when it is tightened together.

FrankenWashie it’s messing with my OCD too, I was thinking some neck ferrules would make it less obvious but on closer inspection it looks like the holes might be too close to the edge to recess them. Looks like I’m in for a plug and redrill too unless I can sand the edge enough to make it appear that it’s straighter

[FrankenWashie]

FrankenWashie it’s messing with my OCD too, I was thinking some neck ferrules would make it less obvious but on closer inspection it looks like the holes might be too close to the edge to recess them. Looks like I’m in for a plug and redrill too unless I can sand the edge enough to make it appear that it’s straighter

I had similar thoughts, and you need to be careful about how much you take off the squared end. Mine was literally about 1.5mm at the high end. I was able to mark a square line and use my disc sander to get to that line.

Once that was squared, I used it as a reference datum on the front edge of the plate to gauge how far out my existing holes were. All four were out to an unacceptable degree. I Drilled the holes out to a 5mm dowel, plugged and let them set and then trimmed and sanded both ends of the plugs. Then I re-drilled, set the neck up in it and verified the centrality of the neck to the pocket and the bridge center line and marked the spots on the neck heel where the pilot holes need to go for the mounting screws.

While it seems like a lot of fiddling, it better to do up front as a whole before you get too far.

[Trevor Molloy]

So with this whole lock down I’ve finally been able to get back into this project!
Here is a bit of an update with the stain finished.




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