New Telecaster body arrived!

[BCrete603]

Very, very happy with how this turned out. Flame maple top w/ turquoise dye finish. Body is chambered walnut. Pickguard going on will be a standard W/B/W. I cannot wait to have this thing put together!

Unfortunately, I have already hit my first snare. When trying to fit my Warmoth tele neck, making sure I went TOP DOWN and very very slowly, I got about halfway when a chip of the finish came flying off. The fit was extremely tight but I have read that's the norm with Warmoth products and it helps with the final results. Any recommendations on how I can "re-finish" this spot to prevent further chipping? Not as worried about appearance since the chip is on the bottom side of the neck.

Thanks is advance,
B

 

[Cagey]

That's not a "chip". That's a section of finish that never adhered to the wood. Unless you're in a serious time crunch, I'd call that a warranty repair claim. If you don't have time for Warmoth to make it right, you're best bet might be to either leave it alone, or get some wipe-on poly. I think if it were me, since it won't be visible after assembly, I'd leave it alone. What I'd worry about, though, is the quality of finish adhesion on the balance of the neck. Some mechanical stress or temperature changes where the wood and finish expand/contract at different rates could cause similar detachments elsewhere.

What is that wood? Looks kinda like Rosewood. If it is, extra attention needs to be paid to surface prep due to the wood's innate oil content. It needs to be aggressively degreased and sealed before finishing, or you get problems like that.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

That's a beautiful Tele body, looking forward to seeing it come together!

Sorry to hear about the issue with the neck. While it won't help you any here, I'd advise refraining from fitting the neck to the body until the neck pocket has been cleaned up of finish accumulation. Finish on the floor of the neck pocket can wreak havoc with the geometry and finish on the walls/shoulders can make for an over tight fit and a possibility of chipping the finish. I use self-adhesive sand paper on a machinists rule to clean up the floor and walls and sand paper on a dowel rod to get the back and shoulders. Inward strokes only as outward strokes can grab the finish and create a chip, and remember you're not trying to remove wood just finish accumulation.

That said, chips from an over tight neck fit are more likely to manifest themselves on the body than the neck. As Cagey said, yours seems less like a chip and more like a flaw. I too would recommend contacting Warmoth.

 

[BCrete603]

Thank you for the responses, guys. Will Warmoth still consider taking the neck back even though the "chip" happened when I was attempting to assemble the guitar?

I guess I will give them a call on Monday and see what they say. Like I mentioned before, my main concern is the exposed edges of the finish to start chipping away.

Finishing the neck pocket sounds like a good idea. It looked so pretty I was scared to touch it. I have no idea how I'm going to work up the courage to drill the pickguard/control plate screws, but that's for another day.

Thanks again,
B

 

[EddieDavis]

I have no idea how I'm going to work up the courage to drill the pickguard/control plate screws, but that's for another day.

I had the same fear and took my Warmoth body to the most highly recommended guitar tech I could find for drilling the pickguard screw holes etc.  If you were into the idea of going that direction, you might end up just having your tech assemble the whole guitar also like I did, but it's an option if you are nervous about drilling your body.

I really wanted to assemble my body at first but having it done correctly was more important to me - so I found a guy who does very nice work, and I won't have to worry about dinging my body with a drill or some other unforeseen screwup. 

Also, have you considered finding a cheapo body like a Squire or something to practice drilling on first?  Some guitar shops will have parts bins with necks and bodies in the $20 - 40 range.  You could get a few parts like that and practice drilling until you're confident enough to do it on a nice body.  That's how I'm going about the learning curve on a Squire my friend gave me. 

 

[Cagey]

Or, you could do like Gibson, Fender, PRS, et al  do and just not worry about screw holes nobody can see. A 1/16" twist drill doesn't do a great deal of damage to the finish to begin with, and since the holes are going to be covered by pickguards/covers/trim rings/etc., who cares? I mean, there's practical, there's anal retentive, and then there's just plain ol' batshit insane :laughing7:

 

[BigSteve22]

....and then there's just plain ol' batshit insane :laughing7:

Hey, I resemble that!  :tard:

 

[fdesalvo]

Agree with KG about the finish.  W is usually very amicable.

And damn!  What a knockout body!

 

[rgand]

And damn!  What a knockout body!

I had a date with her when I was single. :icon_biggrin:

 

[BCrete603]

Thanks again for all the responses! The kiddos have kept me quite busy the past couple of weeks and haven't had much time to deal with this. I sent Warmoth an email this morning regarding the neck issue and will see what they come back with. I really don't want to have to send it back to them so I am considering attempting to re-finish that small area myself.

What is that wood? Looks kinda like Rosewood.

It's actually walnut!

Thanks again,
B

 

[fdesalvo]

And damn!  What a knockout body!

I had a date with her when I was single. :icon_biggrin:

GnuckGnuckGnuck  :laughing7:

 

[Tipperman]

Oh man. OH MAN. That tele body. Yes please. Gorgeous body and neck, dude. Absolutely killer top.  :icon_thumright:

 

[bagman67]