First time build - Baritone Tele

[Haro311]

Hello everyone,

Have been looking forward to get started on this. So I ordered the TLN-27M 27” maple tele neck along with a GTL-body Ash tele body and brass nut.

Here are the photos of the dry build




The neck pocket has a lot more clearance than I had expected, to get a tight fit I shimmed it with the two plectrums that came in the box.

neck pocket is 57.5mm wide and the neck is 56mm wide

Ideally I didn’t want to fit a scratch plate on this guitar that would usually hide this a little.

My first question is, is this normal?
And the second is, how do I fix it? I’ve read about veneers being used to pack out pockets, should they be made from ash to match the body?

I plan to paint the body if that’s at all useful to know.

Thanks

[fender3x]

I have in the past used s table saw to cut a very thin piece of hard wood, and then sanded it to fit. This is probably a little dangerous, hard to sand, and a pain to shape.

It's not nearly as good as Simon B's technique of laminating three or four pieces of veneer to the inside of the pocket. The veneer I have is between .4 and .5 I'd start with three. If still not tight enough ad a fourth and sand to the desired tightness. Sand the top edge flush with the body. After painting you won't even see that it's there.

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[Mosrite Slab]

I have in the past used s table saw to cut a very thin piece of hard wood, and then sanded it to fit. This is probably a little dangerous, hard to sand, and a pain to shape.

It's not nearly as good as Simon B's technique of laminating three or four pieces of veneer to the inside of the pocket. The veneer I have is between .4 and .5 I'd start with three. If still not tight enough ad a fourth and sand to the desired tightness. Sand the top edge flush with the body. After painting you won't even see that it's there.

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I can second that method as I did the same on my MKA-2. I soaked the veneer to make it flexible first. Then built it up in thin layers.


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[WeirdBits]

Matching the 27" necks to kit bodies may not always give quite as good fit as the standard 'made for body #XX' paired necks. How long since you received the kit? If you've only just got it (and you're not in Perth) give it some time to acclimatise before cutting shims, as the gap may change a bit. It'll still need some filling, but better to let it settle before cutting and gluing anything in place.

[Haro311]

Thanks for the advice. Just got it on Friday, I’m in the UK so quite a climate difference. I’ll give it a couple of days before I start.