Tony L Posted October 1 Report Share Posted October 1 Hello Everyone Building a telecaster with my guitar bonkers son. Overall going well - BUT - now that we have the neck, bridge, pickguard etc all perfectly aligned to the correct dimensions we’ve discovered that the control plate isn't straddling the routed hole centrally. As you can see in the picture the hole closest to the neck is straddling the routed opening. We can’t shift it across any further without modifying the pickguard which doesn’t seem a smart play. I’m convinced the control plate opening has been cut about 6mm too close to the neck. Kit manufacturer short on suggestions - how would a seasoned builder set about putting something substantial behind the hole so we can get a secure and durable fixing? Any help greatly appreciated Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 1 Report Share Posted October 1 Hi and welcome onboard! A mismatching pickguard is a common problem. For what I've heard even official spare parts may require some tinkering before they fit to a brand name guitar. Kits are even worse, but for what I see you're lucky not to have predrilled screw holes on the body! So if the control plate can be securely fastened without adding any supporting material to the end of the cavity it's totally acceptable to file the plastic to match. Actually the gap on the pickguard looks a bit too snug for the control plate anyway which is a good thing as it allows for trimming it just at the right spots. If however the cavity really is too long, there's a couple of options. One is to carve a fitting piece of wood and glue it in. The quick and dirty fix is to use epoxy putty, it's sold as dual layer lengths from where you cut a piece and mix the layers in your fingers and tug it where needed. It hardens to a plastic that's soft enough to work with wood tools. Neither of those fixes will show, nor will they affect the tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asdrael Posted October 1 Report Share Posted October 1 It looks like it is time to introduce you to the most well guarded secret of all guitar tinkerers. Toothpicks. Stick a toothpick in the hole with a bit of wood glue, cut flush, redrill the hole where you need it. If it's too big for a toothpick, upgrade to a match. It will be plenty strong for your application, will cost close to nothing and be invisible. For the pickguard, some adjustments with a file are always required. No big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted October 1 Report Share Posted October 1 31 minutes ago, Asdrael said: It looks like it is time to introduce you to the most well guarded secret of all guitar tinkerers. Toothpicks. Stick a toothpick in the hole with a bit of wood glue, cut flush, redrill the hole where you need it. If it's too big for a toothpick, upgrade to a match. It will be plenty strong for your application, will cost close to nothing and be invisible. For the pickguard, some adjustments with a file are always required. No big deal. Can't see how a toothpick would work here. 41 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: One is to carve a fitting piece of wood and glue it in. This does. Anyway, I'd still modify the pickguard to match the radius on the control plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asdrael Posted October 1 Report Share Posted October 1 1 hour ago, henrim said: Can't see how a toothpick would work here. Me neither - you are right. Serves me right for trying to answer posts while still half asleep. But yeah, I'd just focus on the pickguard. They are also really cheap in case something goes wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted October 1 Report Share Posted October 1 Option 1 spin it 180... it's a cool alignment w the vol closer anyway, lots of folks do it.l Option 2 take a pencil, trace the edge of ct,rl cav transfer to scrap, sand till it fits, glue in. Fing android spaces something with this site and my android... doesn't happen on mlp nor tdpri... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 2 Report Share Posted October 2 11 hours ago, mistermikev said: Fing android spaces I strongly suggest that you'd edit that with your computer for future readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted October 2 Report Share Posted October 2 20 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: I strongly suggest that you'd edit that with your computer for future readers. Agreed. I was going to say that it may not be possible, but apparently editing is not as it used to be. You can actually edit older post too nowadays. Cool. It used to be only allowed like 10 minutes or so after posting. I wonder when did that change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony L Posted October 3 Author Report Share Posted October 3 Many thanks for your considered replies to our dilemma. On the basis of sheer simplicity we’ll try the epoxy wood trick first. If I can get a good key this should allow us to reconstruct the missing 6mm - then we’ll cross our finger/s as we drill half on/ half off the original body. I see a product by the name of JB Kwikwood on Amazon which I’m starting to think may be a standard in the guitar builders armoury - together with a generous supply of toothpicks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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