Telecaster Two - 19 - Grain Filler and Sanding Sealer

As well as working on the Stratocaster and my original Telecaster build I am also progressing with 'Luke' - my latest Telecaster copy.  Today I want to apply grain filler.  The grain is very pronounced on the Oak laminate and I would like to fill it because excessive sanding is not really an option.

On my first Telecaster build I did not fill the grain and I think that was a mistake.  So last night I mixed some grain filler with white spirits and rubbed the paste across the grain forcing it into all the nooks and crannies.  I left this to dry overnight and then rubbed it smooth this morning with 400 grit sandpaper.

There was still a few obvious bits I mixed first time so I mixed another batch of grain filler but this time I mixed in some dark wood stain just to give a little subtle variation.

My garage is such a mess!  I also covered the fingerboard on the neck with masking tape So I could fine sand the headstock and the back of the neck.  I worked through the grades of wet and dry paper from 400 to 600, then 800 and 1200 and finally 1500 grit wet and dry.

I put quite a thick coat of grain filler on so once it dried I used a scraper to remove the excess then sanded the surface smooth ready for a couple of coats of sanding sealer.

Hopefully this will give me a great surface to finish off later.  I managed to also apply a coat of sanding sealer to the neck as well which has already made the mahogany grain pop out.   The body front is also starting to develop some character as well!

Telecaster Project - 23 - Final Finishing Touches

I want to completely finish off the 'Scrapcaster' so today I looked at what is left to do.  It goes something like this... I want to put a 'Tru-Oil' finish on the body, I'm not all that happy with the finish as it stands.  I also need to polish the frets and ensure the neck is level, set up the intonation, string height and fine tune the nut.

There is probably more but I have started with the body finish.  I have lightly sanded the front back and sides and then added a thick wet coat of Tru-Oil with a soft cloth all over.  After a couple of hours that had dried so I lightly buffed it with 0000 wire wool and then methodically rubbed in another coat with a small clean piece of rag and added a couple of drops of lemon oil just to keep things moving easily.

I will keep repeating the process until I'm happy with the build up.  The grain is not filled so I will never be able to give this a high gloss finish so my final step will be to cut the shine back a little with wire wool and then add a coat of beeswax furniture polish.

The sides have a really high gloss shine, but they are smooth unlike the front and back of the Telecaster.

I have taken the time to match screws for all the fittings, also to connect the bridge ground wire and I was not happy with the way the neck pickup was sitting in its pocket so I adjusted the mounting holes and now the pickup sits better and lines up neatly with the scratch guard. 

Stratocaster Project - 6 - Personalising the Headstock - Preparation

I haven't looked at the Stratocaster build for a little while, I want to finish the polishing and also clean the frets, rub off the 'Chord' name and graphics from the headstock so I can add my own.  Then I will set the guitar up and finally have a completed red Strat!

I started today by rubbing off the headstock logo with 400 grit wet and dry sand paper.  It didn't take too much effort, I then smoothed the surface off with 800 and then 1200 grit wet and dry sandpaper.

Finally I added a couple of layers of sanding sealer to the face of the headstock, I will let this dry overnight and then sand it smooth ready for my own custom decal.

While I was there I polished the frets and cleaned the fingerboard with some lighter fuel and rubbed in some lemon oil to condition the wood.

Telecaster Two - 18 - Trimming the Top

Between today's rain showers I managed to trim the newly glued top flush with the body.  I used a straight bit with a bearing which rides round the profile of the Telecaster body shape and trims everything nice and flush.

I then used a drum sander (actually mounted into my drill stand) to go round the perimeter and take out most of the unevenness I had round the edge leaving it ready for sanding and scraping.  Then I applied a coat of grain filler to the top to level the oak laminate.  On the previous Telecaster I made I didn't follow this stage and although the texture is nice I prefer the smoothness of a grain filled surface.

Telecaster Two - 17 - Finishing Fret Levelling and Polishing

Continuing with the fret levelling and polishing I continued to use my triangular file to put an even shape on each fret.  I'm looking to file the sides of each fret leaving just a thin flat spot on top.

I started using masking tape last night but found that electrical insulation tape was more robust and protected the fingerboard better, hence the garish red neck!

Once each fret had a thin flat spot on the top of each fret I improvised a grooved sanding block (The little grey triangle of plastic in the picture above).  I then folder a piece of 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper in between the grooves in the block and went over each fret smoothing out the rough sides and gradually rounding each one over at the same time.

I advanced through 800 and 1200 grit wet and dry on each fret and then 0000 wire wool bringing each fret to a nice shine.

Finally I polished each fret to a high gloss shine with 'Nevr-Dull' metal polish wadding.  I then removed the tape and buffed the frets up with a soft cloth.

I think the frets look stunning and they all feel smooth and I know they are now level with each other.  I think It was a good idea to use jumbo frets on this build for a couple of reasons, firstly the were easy to level because they allowed me to take of quite a lot material where required.  Secondly they compliment the 'fatback' profile of the neck.

Telecaster Two - 16 - Fret Leveling

Tonight I decided to start to level and dress the frets on the neck.  I started by adjusting the truss rod to remove the slight bow in the neck.  Next I used double sided tape to stick 240 grit sandpaper to an old aluminium spirit level. 

Next I drew a line on the top of each fret with a red marker, this gave me a visual indication of where I was removing material.

It looks like the first fret is quite high compared to the rest up to the 18th fret where the last couple of frets also stand higher than the rest of the frets.

I have to keep the spirit level running parallel up and down the neck as I was to preserve the profile of the frets to follow the profile of the fingerboard.

It's quite obvious above as to where the bulk of the material is been removed.  I stop periodically to hoover up the debris and remark the frets with the red pen.

Gradually more material is removed as I keep steadily sanding up and down the neck.  I'm in no rush and keep the strokes even and parallel moving across the neck after a couple of strokes.

After I have hit the top of every fret I move to my smaller radius block with 800 grit sand paper to even out the profile of the frets.  I then hoovered up the mess and started dressing the frets.

I took a triangular file and used my grinder to smooth one edge of the file.  I then protected the fingerboard with some masking tape and start returning the thin profile to the top of the frets.  It is a slow job without a proper set of fret files but they are just too expensive so I will have to stick to the triangular file for now.

I have started work on the last 4 frets, the difference is easy to spot.  I will continue tomorrow as it is well past midnight here and I have work in the morning!

Telecaster Two - 15 - Clamps And More Clamps Please!

It's time to clamp the body together, I have drilled the jack socket hole (22mm) and drilled a couple of holes into what will become the pickup cavities.  I then applied a serial number and sprayed a thin coat of lacquer over the top to preserve it.  Then one last check and it's on with the wood glue!

Then I use the two templates on the top and bottom of the body to protect the surfaces.  Then it's out with the clamps... I never have enough clamps! There are 14 on the body and I could still do with more!

I will leave the glue to set overnight and remove the clamps tomorrow after work.  Then I can smooth over the edges and decide if I need to bind the front edge and round over the back edges.