I've opted for the slightly more expensive tele kit with the ash body
http://images.gear4music.com/media/92425/600/preview.jpgAt the moment I've no plans to do anything unusual with it so it'll probably start off as a straight, follow the instructions build and maybe morph into something else once all the basic stuff has been taken care of. The only things I'm not sure on at the moment are finishing the body and cutting the headstock into a slightly more pleasing shape. Everything else (should be!) fairly straight forward.
The kit has actually arrived today so I'll post pictures of the supplied parts tonight if I get time.
Comments
Basically I've had very little lime to make any progress on this and I'm aware that the deadline is looming so I've scaled back my plans.
I've managed to do a few bits as and when I could and so far I've:
No pictures at the moment I'm afraid but I'll get some when I do the next coat of the wood dye.
Quick question for those with a bit more experience. If I want to add a finish to the dye to help protect it and the wood could I use the tru-oil again? I'm okay with it darkening the finish a bit but I don't want to do it if there's a chance that it'll really spoil it.
Instagram
Body has been dyed. I was surprised how little was required the dye I'm using came in a tiny 15ml bottle and I've still got most of it left. I only did two coats as I was happy with the colour at that point.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5256888/2014-08-10 20.07.37.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5256888/2014-08-10 20.07.51.jpg
There may have been a single coat of tru-oil in these photos - I honestly can't remember when I took them.
Today's task was the one I really wasn't looking forward to - cutting the headstock. I was even tempted to leave it as it was!
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5256888/2014-08-16 19.42.51.jpg
It's not perfect by any means but I'm reasonably happy with it. The template I used wasn't quite the right size so it was a bit freehand in places.
The body has also now had 4 coats of tru-oil and I think it's enough.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5256888/2014-08-16 19.44.19.jpg
(Apologies for the use of the flash but light in the back bedroom isn't great at the moment)
I'm going to go over it with some fine wire wool and give it a good buffing in the morning.
Being slightly impatient I tried putting the neck and body together just to see how it's going to look but what was previously a nice snug fit is now over tight and the neck just won't go in. I'm guessing that I'm better taking a bit of material from the neck socket rather than the neck itself?
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5256888/2014-08-17 12.19.02.jpg
So things I need to sort out:
There are a few other small niggles with it (machine heads not 100% straight, some screws sitting a little proud) but nothing serious. Assuming I can make it playable it should be at least half decent.
Edit - just noticed on the photo that the control panel looks a little skew-whiff. Again not a huge problem but just one more niggle.I've scraped out enough of the sides of the neck pocket so that the neck now sits squarely but I still need to raise the saddles to their maximum height for the strings to clear the frets. Looking at the join it looks to me as if the neck is sitting a little proud - it's approx 5-7mm above the pickguard - but I've no idea if this is normal.
If it's not I'm guessing that I need to deepen the neck pocket but given that I don't have access to a router I'm a little stuck as to how best to go about it. Would it be doable with a Dremel and appropriate bits? I've been considering getting one for a while.
I'll give the shim ago tonight and will return if I have further queries.
On closer inspection the treble side of the neck was a good few mm higher than the bass side. I ordered myself a dremel and have cleared out the neck socket and have a much better fit now. I don't think I'll need a shim at all now.
Just need to sort the wiring out and fit a new nut as the one supplied is pretty bad.