First build - TL-1TH

[FrankenWashie]

Didn't snap a blade

I lacked a bit of confidence so left a bit of a margin for error when cutting, but some elbow grease and one forearm cramp later:
Attachment 32821

A lot more elbow grease, some rasps, and sandpaper later:
Attachment 32822

Pretty happy with the shape and proportions. Only a rough sand up to 100 so far. Ran out of time so I will do the final sanding when I prep the rest of the neck.

Top work mate, that's a fantastic result for your first go at it. You've done well.

[jugglindan]

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement! Given that I haven't done woodwork since school (oh so many decades ago), it's great to have the support of this community.

Next set of questions

First, regarding bridge placement, the build manual says (pg 10):

Mark a centreline on the body and on the bridge and line them up.
Make sure the saddles are in the middle of their movement range.
The bridge is held in place by the screws at the back of the
bridge, mark the positions when you have the centre of the
saddles at the end of your scale length.

My question is about the precise meaning of "the centre of the saddles". Does it mean point A, point B, or something else entirely?


Second, tele bridges are mounted square to the centre line and not slanted right? So all the adjustment for string gauge comes from the intonation adjustment in the saddles?

Also, what's the consensus on when to drill pilot holes for bridge and pickguard screws? The build manual says to do this before finishing, but then I have to take care when wet sanding. Or I could finish the body first and use masking tape to protect the finish when measuring for the bridge and drilling. I have completed a mock build and am confident that no adjustments are needed to the routing.

[jugglindan]

Mock build. Everything seems to line up and fit nicely.



I haven't fitted the E strings to check neck alignment yet (see previous question about bridge placement).

[Simon Barden]

Point A (or very close to). You need to measure from the top E slot to the point on the saddle slot where the string will sit, which is just a touch back from the front edge.

Yes, the bridge plate sits square and the intonation is all done by saddle position. In theory, the top E saddle will sit about 2mm further from the nominal scale length position, and all the other saddles will sit further back than that, with the bottom E closest to the rear of the bridge. Different string gauges and variations in string manufacturer's winding methods will give different results per string, there's no "one size fits all" positioning solution.

So to allow this to happen, without the saddles being set so far back that the tensioning spring on the intonation screw isn't fully compressed preventing further movement (you can see in your bridge photo that the bottom E spring is already fairly compressed, so won't move back more than a couple of mm), first adjust the intonation screws so that the saddles are moved forwards just enough so that none of the end of the intonation screws are showing (in reality you only need to do this for the top E saddle as that's where you'll measure for distance), then measure and mark the position for fore/aft alignment. With the neck bolted on, I'd use string or cotton to check the side to side position and mark that. Then with the bridge plate in the correct position, mark where the mounting holes want to go.

With a clear or translucent finish, you could easily then finish the guitar with the screw position marks showing through, then just drill them once the finish is complete. With a solid colour like you're proposing, then you won't see these marks, so you've either got to drill first then plug/cover the holes when wet sanding, or else do all the measuring afterwards. If the latter, then mask up the bridge area before marking the position of it to avoid marking the finish (so easily done even with the best intentions). It's a personal choice, but I think I'd wait until I'd done the finish before making any holes for the bridge or the pickguard.

Swelling and finish cracking from water ingress into holes normally happens along the line of the grain, and as the pickguard holes are close to the edge of the pickguard, even a small crack could be visible on the front and rear edges of the pickguard.

But it's worth just checking the final bridge position now, just to make sure there aren't any clashes with the pickguard. There shouldn't be, but 'measure twice, cut once' always applies.

[Simon Barden]

I've had a closer look at the kit pictures and it seems to be a string-thru body bridge. In that case, I'd suggest it's probably easier to drill the bridge and string holes before doing the finish.

You really need a pillar drill with a deep throat for this, but you can get away with a drill stand if you lower it so the drill can drill through the hole in the base. You need to keep the drill perpendicular to the body to ensure the holes line up nice and straight, so hand drilling isn't a good idea.

Mark the six hole positions on the top with the bridge in the correct place (take the saddles off so you've got full access to the baseplate). Drill the two end holes all the way through the body, but the 4 middle ones only 3/4 of the way through. Then turn the body over and position the bridge plate using a couple of other drills or cocktail sticks using the two outer holes. You can then use the plate to mark the 4 middle holes in a nice straight line. Then drill through from the rear (using the pillar or press drill again) for the 4 middle holes about 1/2 way through the body. Ideally all the holes line up, though you may want to hand drill the 4 middle holes all the way through to create a straight path. Then use the pillar drill or drill press to drill out the larger diameter holes at the rear for the string ferrules to fit in. Measure the depth so you only drill out as much as you need for the ferrules to fit.

I'd then deliberately spray paint into the holes to minimise water uptake by the wood when wet sanding.

[jugglindan]

Thanks Simon,
That's some fantastically detailed advice. I wish there was a way to tag posts so they can be found easily by search. Right now I am sure there is some great advice buried in this forum where it will never be seen again

I had a look at the bridge. It appears to be drilled with holes for both string-thru and top-load. I don't have access to the equipment I would need for accurate string-thru, so the top-load option seems best. Also, on the first post, second photo here you can just make out the string ball ends.

DC

[Simon Barden]

Ah, yes. That's fine. So difficult to tell these things when you haven't got the bridge in front of you and you have to go by the photos you can find on the PBG site. Plus the supplied kit hardware can change over time, so you can't always rely on a photo that may be two or more years old.

[jugglindan]

Ah, yes. That's fine. So difficult to tell these things when you haven't got the bridge in front of you and you have to go by the photos you can find on the PBG site. Plus the supplied kit hardware can change over time, so you can't always rely on a photo that may be two or more years old.

I couldn't tell even with the actual bridge in my hands! Had to go searching for photos to confirm.

[jugglindan]

Not much progress in the last week. Got the body sanded to 240 grit paper, using a flat sanding block front and back and a flexible pad or just hand-held paper on the sides. Also rigged up a mini spray booth from a large moving box (the kind they use as a wardrobe). I can open the front and the guitar will hang inside, suspended from overhead.

I have also been tinkering with some headstock designs in Inkscape but it's hard to come up with anything I like.

[jugglindan]

OK, so today I lightly wiped the body with a damp cloth and hung to dry. When dry I sanded with 240 at a very slight angle to the grain to remove the stray wood fibres. Then a light single coat of filler-primer. When that was dry it was on to the method of Sonic: sanding back with a flat block to highlight and reduce high spots. The small variations left don't look that significant to me and the whole surface feels smooth and ready to go. So next up: more filler-primer, a light sand and then on with the body colour.