tkcrabby Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) Here we go,,,,, I've bought this Tele body (I'll get it tomorrow) it is made of Walnut and has a Quilted Maple top with white plastic binding on the edge of the top. I was told by the builder that it has a lite coat of sanding sealer on it. Here's a picture: http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/4d90_3.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/53fb_3.jpg I want to finish the top in a trans blue, sort of mix of a regular old blue with a little Turquoise in it and finished in a high gloss, sort of a cross between this (thanks Drak), http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/142.jpg and this, http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/hammer3.jpg And I want the quilt to POP out at you as much as possible on this Quilt top,,,,,,,,,,,, and as far as the rest,,,,,, on the back and edges of the body I want to just finish it in a natural clear gloss. AND of course, I don't want to damage the binding in any way what so ever........................ I've done one refinish BUT it was a natural satin wipe-on poly on a Mahogany body with Flame Koa top rear routed Warmoth Strat, it turned out very nice BUT this is another thing all together. Thanks for any help! Edited December 13, 2006 by Maiden69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 I would recommend you start by making as complete a parts list as you can possibly come up with and maybe post it here so we can see what you have in mind. Parts (hardware list) and supplies. Neck Bridge Saddles Ferrules Strap Buttons Tuners Nut Pickups Pots Knobs Lever Switch Neckplate Pickguard Control Plate Input Jackplate Jack Wire Supplies: Pore Filler Anilyne Dyes Bleach (2-part Klean Strip preferred) Lacquer Lacquer Thinner (gallon) / Retarder (pint) Shielding tape or paint Sanding block sandpaper Buffer System? Polishing Compound Swirl Remover Tru-Oil? Tape Scraper Scrap Pieces of figured maple (to test dye samples) Rattle-can of clear gloss for test scraps Sanding Sealer (optional) Glass jars (for spraying if you're spraying) Tools Soldering Iron Solder Flux Drill Compressor (for blowing off the work, is really nice to have) Spray Gun Line Driers Hoses Stew-Mac Buffing Pads? Abralon Pads? Micromesh sanding pack? If you plan on shooting the finish, where do you live? Will you be shooting outdoors? If so, do you live somewhere where you can do that in the winter? (Hawaii perhaps, Arizona maybe? ) Get this list together for starters, find your chosen supplier and pricing for all the items and see how you're hanging budget wise for starters. It's good to have the list together, it will help you organize yourself for each step and help you prepare for what's coming next, oh tkcrabby-sahn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) Parts (hardware list) and supplies. Neck, Got one, a Mighty Mite birdseye maple Bridge, Got one, it's a 6 saddle ash tray type Fender notched on the 1 string side. saddles: Got them, 6 ,on new bridge Ferrules, need to buy Strap Buttons, Got them, Schaller locking Tuners, Got them: Schaller Locking chrome BUT I do need one washer, anyone have one? Nut: white plastic already on neck, pre-slotted Pickups, Need to buy, thinking about the GFS "Calibrated Telecaster Pickup Set "Modern Vintage" Lil Puncher" Pots Need to buy Knobs, Need to buy, want flat top w/ set screw Lever Switch Need to buy Neckplate Need to buy, I think I want Fender "F" model Pickguard Don't really want one IF I can get away without it BUT if I have to have one it'll be modded from the norm and made as small as possible so as not to hide any more of the Quilt than I have to. Control Plate Got it Supplies: Pore Filler, Need to buy Anilyne Dyes, Need to buy Lacquer, Need to buy Lacquer Thinner (gallon) / Retarder (pint), need to buy Shielding tape or paint, it's in the body already, so I've been told. Sanding block, I have a couple of them sandpaper, I have some but not the correct type, no wet/dry, Need to buy Buffer System?, If you're talking a bench-top model I'll need to buy Polishing Compound, Need to buy Swirl Remover, Need to buy Tru-Oil? I have none, do I need it? Tape, I have masking and painters tape BUT no Pin-stripping tape as of yet Scraper, Nope Scrap Pieces of figured maple, Nope, and I don't have anywhere around here to get any Rattle-can of clear gloss for test scraps, Need to buy Sanding Sealer (optional), Need to buy I guess Glass jars (for spraying if you're spraying), Need to get some together Tools Soldering Iron Check Solder Check Flux Check Drill Check Stew-Mac Buffing Pads? Nope Abralon Pads? Nope Micromesh sanding pack? Nope If you plan on shooting the finish, where do you live? Western Ky. Will you be shooting outdoors? Most likely, so I'll have to wait for a "nice day" if I do this in the Winter, they do happen so it's very possible. If so, do you live somewhere where you can do that in the winter? (Hawaii perhaps, Arizona maybe?) I like where I live BUT that would be nice. Edited December 30, 2006 by tkcrabby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPA or death Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Good looking body for sure. I love teles personally, so I look forward to seeing your finished guitar. Good choice on the walnut finish btw. I think it's such beautiful wood with a clear gloss finish on it. I've got some big slabs of walnut that I'm going to build with in the future (my dad doesn't know this yet, but he'll come around ). Who knows...maybe another tele. Good luck with the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 sounds like you're after the same blue finish as me, look forward to seeing how it comes out. good luck with the build, you're off to a good start already with that body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 If you're not wanting to cover the body with a pickguard you *might* be able to direct mount your neck pickup. Another option would be to use a see-through pickguard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) Pickguard Don't really want one IF I can get away without it BUT if I have to have one it'll be modded from the norm and made as small as possible so as not to hide any more of the Quilt than I have to. I made a pickup ring for single coil on my maple tele. Its made of 1-side scratch resistant "Acrulite" plexi with a pearlescent paper backing. Edited December 13, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) Thanks for the replies guys,,,,,,,,,, I am really hopeful that I will be able to do this WITHOUT a pickguard OR a pickup ring, only time with tell I guess. Edited December 13, 2006 by tkcrabby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwhiteandthemaple Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Nice list. Ah btw.. I was told by the builder that it has a lite coat of sanding sealer on it. I guess you don't need to buy more sanding sealer; plus, it's optional anyway. Also.. so are you spraying the finish from cans? or from jars? or brush? You won't need lacquer retarders if you're just spraying from cans. An alternative for the benchtop buffer is this polishing pad. Using these for polishing compounds. You might not really need to coarse or medium if you've done your coats right and (water) sanded it before buffing. Micro sandpapers do the job well. For the pickguard, I personally like to have pickguards on flat tops otherwise I'd scratch the finish alot. An alternative for pickguards and still showing the quilt is this. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) "so are you spraying the finish from cans? or from jars? or brush? You won't need lacquer retarders if you're just spraying from cans." I don't know yet how I'm going to do the spraying,,,,,,,,, I do have a 30 gal air compressor and a el' cheapo gun that came with it along with a few other cheaper air tools............... but I've never used it or any air powered spray gun in the past,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the one guitar I've done the finish on in the past was by using a wipe-on ploy which was a satin finish, it turned out really well BUT I wanted a gloss on this one, and the top, well the top I really really want in a high gloss. About a pickguard or trim ring for the neck p-up,,,,,,,,, exactly what is the problem with NOT using a trim ring or pickguard on a Tele neck pickup? Isn't it the same hole as some rear routed strats have? If so, those p-ups are always mounted without a ring or p-guard,,,, right? One other thing to mention,,,,,,,, in answer to a question that was asked before by someone about the shading of the two halves of the quilt top,,,,,,,,,,,,,, NO they are NOT shaded the same, the upper bout side has more "color" than the lower bout side does as it (the lower bout) has more of a white coloration,,,,, what , do I bleach just the upper bout side? See picture below: Edited December 14, 2006 by tkcrabby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 (edited) UPDATE: The body came late this afternoon,,,,,,,,,,,, it's nice but I see a few things I'll have to address,,,, first , the binding is ruff ,,,, looks like a lot of scratches from where it was sawed out of the bigger piece of plastic or something of the like. Then there's the neck joint,,, it's not exactly perfect,,,,,,,,, there are two small bumps just to the inside of the corners toward the center of the pocket where the butt end of the neck fits,, this makes for a small gap between the neck butt and the top of the body,,,,,,,, I think I can take care of it without any real problem by just taking my time with a small piece of sand paper BUT I want to make sure that the neck pocket is what I need to make fit the neck instead of making the neck fit the neck pocket. See picture below: Edited December 14, 2006 by tkcrabby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 you could hide that with a pick guard you could recess the pocket a little more to fit the neck, I had to do that on a strat style body...the problem is that you'd need to move the bridge back to compensate, which also means that it would throw out the pickup position & the string holes. I'm not too familiar with tele's but you might have enough play in the saddles to just move them back to compensate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Holy crap that is going to turn out beautiful, I really like the topper on it. OK, shoot a few pics of the back please, post one and link the rest, the plan is to do this as 2 separate functions, the back first, then we'll address the topper. We're going to start off with some pore filler so you'll need pore filler, some good tape, a grocery bag, and a few old cloths for starters. To be quite honest, I would really like to get you moving on the air compressor and bring you up to speed on how to use it, because once you learn that, man, your whole world will open up, BUT I honestly think that will have to wait until Spring comes, there's no real way you can shoot lacquer in the winter, but I think just addressing the rear may take long enough to stretch us out to early spring. Actually, if you get some warm winter days, that would give you a month or two of practicing with your compressor and gun so by the time it was really warm enough to shoot the guitar, you will have some much needed experience under your belt with using the gun, cleaning the gun, and getting used to the adjustments on it to shoot a sweet coat. So the winter time will be filled with addressing the back and learning to use your gun. There are several ways you can finish the back, we'll talk about them soon, that you can do indoors over the winter, like Tru-Oil or shellac, and you can then spray over these with your lacquer in the spring. My recommendation would be fresh shellac allthe way, probably french polish, as shellac has long been recommended for Walnut to 'warm it up'. So what we're doing is not only building a guitar, but teaching you a few very nifty techniques along the way...french polishing w/ fresh shellac, making your own fresh shellac, applying pore filler properly, and learning to shoot lacquer finishes. This is just the first phase, once we get all that out of the way, we'll do anilyne dyes and shader coats and a lot more cool lacquer-oriented stuff. Sounds great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 "a grocery bag", Paper or plastic? Paper to cover the "topper" I'll take some pictures sometime Saturday and post them, can't till then, I just found out that I'll be here at work for another 24 shift,,,,,, I'm a Firefighter and we work some long hours. The fire station I'll be at today does have a computer that's online BUT the body is at home in the basement in it's shipping box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 No problem. Yes, paper. You'll cut out the shape of the guitar and tape the sides and the paper bag goes on top to protect the top wood while working with the pore filler on the bottom and sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Then there's the neck joint,,, it's not exactly perfect,,,,,,,,, there are two small bumps just to the inside of the corners toward the center of the pocket where the butt end of the neck fits,, this makes for a small gap between the neck butt and the top of the body,,,,,,,, I think I can take care of it without any real problem by just taking my time with a small piece of sand paper BUT I want to make sure that the neck pocket is what I need to make fit the neck instead of making the neck fit the neck pocket. See picture below: The neck joint isn't a big deal. You should clean it up with a router and a neck pocket template. If that sounds too complicated, get the sandpaper out with a piece of wood as backing. Make sure the neck pocket stays nice and straight along its depth. The binding can be cleaned up as well so its no biggie. The glue line on the top kinda sucks but if you stain it using proper techniques, it could dissappear. I'm sure Drak would have some tips and pointers for that. Thanks for the replies guys,,,,,,,,,, I am really hopeful that I will be able to do this WITHOUT a pickguard OR a pickup ring, only time with tell I guess. No need for a pickup ring. I've installed a single coil pickup in my Custom Korina Jem directly mounted on the body with springs under the pickups. Works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Nice work man! What colour are you going to paint it? green or pink it's a nice option IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Nice work man! Thanks but I didn't build the body. What colour are you going to paint it? green or pink it's a nice option IMO. I'm doing the back in a clear finish without any color and the Top is going to be trans blue,,,,,, there's a couple of links to pictures of guitars that are blue in the first post , I want something between the two blues. Sounds great! Yes, sir Drak,,,, I can hardly wait! Do you think this el' cheapo paint gun will work OR do I have to buy a better one right off the bat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 When you take a few pics of the back and post one, link to the rest, include a shot or two of your gun closeup, and your overall compressor/gun assembly just so I can see what we're dealing with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 When you take a few pics of the back and post one, link to the rest, include a shot or two of your gun closeup, and your overall compressor/gun assembly just so I can see what we're dealing with. Drak, I was just thinking,,,,,,,, and realized, I already posted a picture of the back,,,,,,,,,,,,,, so, what other pictures of the back do I need to take? Straight on like the original back shot OR from some other angle OR angles? I did notice when this body got here that as the builder said in the add, it's made of 4 pieces of Walnut,,,,, You could only see 2 in the picture of the back , meaning that I could only see 1 seam or joint,,,,,,so I thought that the other 2 seams or joints were done extra well,,,,, well , wrong, the body is made of 4 pieces like the builder said , problem is it's made of 4 thin pieces, 2 sandwiched on the upper bout side and 2 on the lower bout side. The lower bout seam looks very nearly like a single thickness of wood BUT on the upper bout side you can very easily see the seam or joint. I don't know what this will look like when the clear finish is on and the player (me) is looking down at the bodies edge , I think it won't bug me too much (I still wish it wasn't there though) BUT it may make to a little hard to sell IF I was to ever sell my very first build,,,,,,, you know what, I don't see me EVER selling it now that I think about it and when I die,,,,, and it's my son's , I really don't believe he'll ever sell it either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 I wanted to see a pic of it because that original pic I thought may have been photoshopped, Walnut is never that bland or white, which it appeared to be in the sale pic, and your pics of the front are nice, good detail, so you throwing up your own pics of the back/sides will help me view the piece a bit better than the original pic did I think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 (edited) Here you go Drak, First is the back and as you requested, links to more pictures of the back . http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2354.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2357.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2346.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2347.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2344.jpg Here's a picture of my compresser and paint gun,,,,,,, the other links are orther shoots of them. http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2370.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2366.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2369.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2368.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2365.jpg http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/tkc58/100_2364.jpg Edited December 16, 2006 by Maiden69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 (edited) Would this be a better gun for me than what I already have? http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/catalo...products_id=131 Edited December 18, 2006 by tkcrabby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkcrabby Posted December 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 One thing I forgot to mention,, I really want to do a "belly cut" on this,, the guy who did the body seemed to think I would be able to do it ,,, just needed to be sure to have it clamped down very securely and he said I needed to use a big wood rasp or file instead of a belt sander like I was thinking,,,, what do y'all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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