Very informative. One thing Dan Erlewine showed in his nut replacement video that sometimes needs to be kept in mind is to not flatten the bottom of the nut to fit it in the slot. In some instances it needs to be shaped to the radius of the fingerboard. He did that by putting adhesive sandpaper over the board - between two frets around the 12th fret and scraped the bottom of the nut over the slope of the fingerboard - from one side of the neck to the other. That gave a slightly concave bottom to the nut to match the radius. Maybe the Wilkinson nut is already cut to the correct radius at the string level so that wouldn't have to be done. A point of confusion here - you had mentioned using turpentine and boiled linseed oil for the second step in making the neck super smooth. Highline recommended BLO and odorless mineral spirits - not turpentine. You did mention the mineral spirits your second time when mixing it but - first and third you stated turpentine. A little confusing. Anyway - very useful presentation - thank you.
Thank you for the input Rocky! The nut fit perfectly. In fact everything with this kit fit perfectly, I was really impressed. Especially with the neck pocket, which in my opinion is one of the more important aspects of the build, along with the bridge placement. And to clarify, I used odorless mineral spirits. I also used Japan Dryer to speed things up. Thanks for watching! Are you thinking about building this kit?
@@StevenParente I did build one recently and have found it to be a magnificent sounding (and playing) instrument. I have four Teles and the Brad Paisley Esquire (also magnifico) but tend to reach for the Wilkinson most often. I finished it in Sonic Blue and put a older light greenish pick guard on it. Man what a great purchase! I also built a Stratocaster - (not Wilkinson) finished the same way with Seymour's California 50's pickups. Twin machines - both sound fantastic.!
Nice Rocky! You've been busy. Are you planning on posting some videos? That would be cool. Seymour Duncan makes awesome pickups, so I imagine your Strat sounds really nice. It's always inspiring to see how other DIY guitars builds turn out.
I am seriously considering building a Wilkinson T Style real soon. I will definitely use your videos. You have done a spectacular job Steve. The only thing that I am planning to do differently is to order a headstock decal online for about $15.00 and apply my own brand to it. I might make a video of my project, but we will see. I use Video Pad Editor. I see that you use Adobe. Since this will be my first time ever trying this, making a video might be awkward as I'm sure that this is going to take all of the concentration I can muster. YOU have motivated me to do one of these projects and what a great thing to do to keep one's mind off of what is going on in the world right now. Thank you very much.
Thank you Brad! I think you'll really enjoy making this tele and playing it. The Wilkinson pickups sound very good. I checked out your channel and subscribed. Shoot a video! You also play very well. Thanks again.
Just bought the kit. Found your video before I jumped in and started. The string through the bridge and tuner holes had me concerned about shimming the neck. But mine also lines up fine when the neck is firmly in the pocket. Thanks for the walk though!
Great work on the frets and neck! I did much less fret work. I need to go back and recheck my frets now after seeing the great job you did. It’s interesting that my Wilkinson 60s T style kit has the truss rod adjustment at the pickguard, and they supplied different tuners. I also used linseed oil for the neck finish. Very silky and fun to play.
Aloha Bob. Spending about an hour with the fretboard makes all the difference. That's what the higher end guitars are all about. I would love to see a photo of how your's turned out. One of the main reasons I opted for the modern kit, was because of the truss rod adjustment was at the head and the larger fret radius. How does yours sound?
Steven Parente Steven, I just realized I have the vintage 60s and you have the modern 60s. I’m a little slow sometimes! It sounds fabulous. I’m anxious to get your feedback on the sound. If I were a gigging musician I could use this guitar. It looks like the pickups and rest of the hardware are the same. I’m not sure how to upload photos on you tube replies. Let me know your email and I can send some pics. I used vintage natural nitrocellulose spray finish from stew Mac and am very happy with the result. By the way my son was in a touring band before he got married and loves this guitar !
I will watch the video in more detail later, so if you said anything about this issue I apologize for wasting your time. I'm waiting on my kit. I'm real anxious to get it. I have a question about the Linseed oil. You said you left it on for about 2 days. I put Linseed oil on an old gunstock, doing several coats. The instructions said the wipe it off after about 10 minues and put on several coats. On one of the coats I left it on for 1-2 days and it was real sticky after that. The instructions said that it will get sticky if left on more than 24 hours, perhaps even less time than that. Two days seems like a long time. The gun stock was made of maple so I don't know if the wood type had anything to do with the stickiness. So, my question is, was the guitar neck sticky from the Linseed oil after leaving it on for 2 days? If so, what did you do about it? If it wasn't sticky, why do you think that was? What kind of wood is the neck made from, aside from the Rosewood? How many coats of oil did you put on it and did you buff it out with a wheel or cloth? I asked more than 1 question but they're all related. Looking forward to learning from your videos. Thanks for sharing!
Aloha Jug Head. I brushed on a medium coat of boiled linseed oil, which dries faster then regular linseed oil, but I brushed on Japan drier over the entire neck first. That's the "magic trick". I sanded with 1200 grit and mineral sprits and then with 000 steel wool, being careful not to get anywhere near any pickups in the room. This is the slipperiest necks of all my guitars! The neck is maple. Thanks for watching and best wishes for your build!
@@StevenParente I've never heard of Japanese drier. So I got my kit today and I'm going to use Stew Macs sunburst paint. The neck is maple with a rosewood fret board. If you were me would you use boiled linseed oil on the neck? It's raw wood now. No finish. Right now I'm trying to install the tuners which have pins to keep them from turning. It's very hard to keep them lined up to get the drill spots, while they're fairly loose in the headstock holes. But I can do it if I take my time. I'm in no hurry on the build because I want it to look and sound good.
@@Voartist That's the same neck I have! I was considering raw maple, but decided on the boiled linseed oil with the Japanese dryer for a little protection. You're tuner holes weren't drilled? Mine were. Japan dryer link: www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/chemicals-and-cleaners/paint-thinners-and-solvents/1211150?store=11718&gclid=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxOtLL1bOXYJ83kZ9fl8YKLpxEnUAndwsJWufAnDOyKRYo_jDF26Uo4aAipgEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
@@StevenParente Thanks for the link to the Japanese Dryer. I'll do some studying to learn how to use it. I put on Fender, staggered, locking tuners. They have 2 pins on the part that's against the headstock on the back. It took me about 2 hours to install them. I had to make a tools out of some steel bar stock that was thick enough to cover the side the back, flat side of the tuner. I tried a steel ruler but it kept slipping under the tuner. Then I had to put the screw collar on to tighten them enough, while keeping the in line, to put marks in the wood to drill the holes. I finally got them done and they're pretty straight. I'm having problems with StewMac to get my paint kit. They keep telling me it's in my cart at the 50% off price ($73.14) but it's never in there. Their office is closed so I can't talk to anyone. I really can't go much further until I get it painted. But the kit looks really nice and everything fits tight. Again, thanks for your advice.
Steven, I went to a hardware store today and asked for Japan Drier. They said they were made to pull it off the shelves for some reason. One of the clerks went to the stockroom and found a new can and brought it out. I asked "can you sell it to me?" The boss lady said, "you can have it. I don't care." So I got it free. Looking forward to trying it on some scrap wood first. Should I put linseed oil on the rosewood fret board? Did you put a finishing coat on top of the linseed oil like poly? I guess it would have to be oil-based poly. I've edited this since I said I got the Japan Drie. It's amazing how fast it causes the linseed oil to dry, and very smooth.
The neck was already very well sanded out of the box. I used 1200 grit before applying the oil. I also did work on the fretboard and fretwires. When everything was dry, I rubbed everything down with 000 steel wool. The neck came out beautiful and super smooth and slick. Steel wool is great for finishing wood, but I do not use it when the neck is attached to the guitar with magnetic pickups. I also make sure my other electrics aren't near where I'm working. I have seen a few videos by pickup manufactures and luthiers, showing how the steel wool dust gets into the pickups, no matter how careful you are and eventually ruining the pickups. Thanks for watching Drew!
Thanks Drew. I was just playing it yesterday. Tuned it to open A and jamming to Eric Clapton's version of Motherless Children. Slide works well with it also. This tele sounds so good! Best wishes on your build.
@@luisattano2377 I don't know if they do. If you go to their contact page, they get back within a day. I had questions about sending to Hawaii, which only took 4 days.
@@luisattano2377 I know they can't ship paint kits out of the U.S. I guess the law prohibits shipping flammable liquids over the border. And yes they ship worldwide.
Very informative. One thing Dan Erlewine showed in his nut replacement video that sometimes needs to be kept in mind is to not flatten the bottom of the nut to fit it in the slot. In some instances it needs to be shaped to the radius of the fingerboard. He did that by putting adhesive sandpaper over the board - between two frets around the 12th fret and scraped the bottom of the nut over the slope of the fingerboard - from one side of the neck to the other. That gave a slightly concave bottom to the nut to match the radius. Maybe the Wilkinson nut is already cut to the correct radius at the string level so that wouldn't have to be done. A point of confusion here - you had mentioned using turpentine and boiled linseed oil for the second step in making the neck super smooth. Highline recommended BLO and odorless mineral spirits - not turpentine. You did mention the mineral spirits your second time when mixing it but - first and third you stated turpentine. A little confusing. Anyway - very useful presentation - thank you.
Thank you for the input Rocky! The nut fit perfectly. In fact everything with this kit fit perfectly, I was really impressed. Especially with the neck pocket, which in my opinion is one of the more important aspects of the build, along with the bridge placement. And to clarify, I used odorless mineral spirits. I also used Japan Dryer to speed things up. Thanks for watching! Are you thinking about building this kit?
@@StevenParente I did build one recently and have found it to be a magnificent sounding (and playing) instrument. I have four Teles and the Brad Paisley Esquire (also magnifico) but tend to reach for the Wilkinson most often. I finished it in Sonic Blue and put a older light greenish pick guard on it. Man what a great purchase! I also built a Stratocaster - (not Wilkinson) finished the same way with Seymour's California 50's pickups. Twin machines - both sound fantastic.!
Nice Rocky! You've been busy. Are you planning on posting some videos? That would be cool. Seymour Duncan makes awesome pickups, so I imagine your Strat sounds really nice. It's always inspiring to see how other DIY guitars builds turn out.
I am seriously considering building a Wilkinson T Style real soon. I will definitely use your videos. You have done a spectacular job Steve. The only thing that I am planning to do differently is to order a headstock decal online for about $15.00 and apply my own brand to it. I might make a video of my project, but we will see. I use Video Pad Editor. I see that you use Adobe. Since this will be my first time ever trying this, making a video might be awkward as I'm sure that this is going to take all of the concentration I can muster. YOU have motivated me to do one of these projects and what a great thing to do to keep one's mind off of what is going on in the world right now. Thank you very much.
Thank you Brad! I think you'll really enjoy making this tele and playing it. The Wilkinson pickups sound very good. I checked out your channel and subscribed. Shoot a video! You also play very well. Thanks again.
Just bought the kit. Found your video before I jumped in and started. The string through the bridge and tuner holes had me concerned about shimming the neck. But mine also lines up fine when the neck is firmly in the pocket. Thanks for the walk though!
It's amazing how well they milled the neck pocket for the neck. It fits perfectly. Thanks for watching and let us know how your tele turns out Mark!
@@StevenParente Will send pics when complete. The pots came pre soldered on my Wilkinson. Only have solder pickups and jack.
Great work on the frets and neck! I did much less fret work. I need to go back and recheck my frets now after seeing the great job you did. It’s interesting that my Wilkinson 60s T style kit has the truss rod adjustment at the pickguard, and they supplied different tuners. I also used linseed oil for the neck finish. Very silky and fun to play.
Aloha Bob. Spending about an hour with the fretboard makes all the difference. That's what the higher end guitars are all about. I would love to see a photo of how your's turned out. One of the main reasons I opted for the modern kit, was because of the truss rod adjustment was at the head and the larger fret radius. How does yours sound?
Steven Parente Steven, I just realized I have the vintage 60s and you have the modern 60s. I’m a little slow sometimes!
It sounds fabulous. I’m anxious to get your feedback on the sound. If I were a gigging musician I could use this guitar. It looks like the pickups and rest of the hardware are the same. I’m not sure how to upload photos on you tube replies. Let me know your email and I can send some pics. I used vintage natural nitrocellulose spray finish from stew Mac and am very happy with the result. By the way my son was in a touring band before he got married and loves this guitar !
Thanks for the photos and input Bob. Your Tele looks fantastic! It sounds like you have great tone with it. That's really cool.
I will watch the video in more detail later, so if you said anything about this issue I apologize for wasting your time. I'm waiting on my kit. I'm real anxious to get it. I have a question about the Linseed oil. You said you left it on for about 2 days. I put Linseed oil on an old gunstock, doing several coats. The instructions said the wipe it off after about 10 minues and put on several coats. On one of the coats I left it on for 1-2 days and it was real sticky after that. The instructions said that it will get sticky if left on more than 24 hours, perhaps even less time than that. Two days seems like a long time. The gun stock was made of maple so I don't know if the wood type had anything to do with the stickiness. So, my question is, was the guitar neck sticky from the Linseed oil after leaving it on for 2 days? If so, what did you do about it? If it wasn't sticky, why do you think that was? What kind of wood is the neck made from, aside from the Rosewood? How many coats of oil did you put on it and did you buff it out with a wheel or cloth? I asked more than 1 question but they're all related. Looking forward to learning from your videos. Thanks for sharing!
Aloha Jug Head. I brushed on a medium coat of boiled linseed oil, which dries faster then regular linseed oil, but I brushed on Japan drier over the entire neck first. That's the "magic trick". I sanded with 1200 grit and mineral sprits and then with 000 steel wool, being careful not to get anywhere near any pickups in the room. This is the slipperiest necks of all my guitars! The neck is maple. Thanks for watching and best wishes for your build!
@@StevenParente I've never heard of Japanese drier. So I got my kit today and I'm going to use Stew Macs sunburst paint. The neck is maple with a rosewood fret board. If you were me would you use boiled linseed oil on the neck? It's raw wood now. No finish. Right now I'm trying to install the tuners which have pins to keep them from turning. It's very hard to keep them lined up to get the drill spots, while they're fairly loose in the headstock holes. But I can do it if I take my time. I'm in no hurry on the build because I want it to look and sound good.
@@Voartist That's the same neck I have! I was considering raw maple, but decided on the boiled linseed oil with the Japanese dryer for a little protection. You're tuner holes weren't drilled? Mine were. Japan dryer link: www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/chemicals-and-cleaners/paint-thinners-and-solvents/1211150?store=11718&gclid=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxOtLL1bOXYJ83kZ9fl8YKLpxEnUAndwsJWufAnDOyKRYo_jDF26Uo4aAipgEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
@@StevenParente Thanks for the link to the Japanese Dryer. I'll do some studying to learn how to use it. I put on Fender, staggered, locking tuners. They have 2 pins on the part that's against the headstock on the back. It took me about 2 hours to install them. I had to make a tools out of some steel bar stock that was thick enough to cover the side the back, flat side of the tuner. I tried a steel ruler but it kept slipping under the tuner. Then I had to put the screw collar on to tighten them enough, while keeping the in line, to put marks in the wood to drill the holes. I finally got them done and they're pretty straight. I'm having problems with StewMac to get my paint kit. They keep telling me it's in my cart at the 50% off price ($73.14) but it's never in there. Their office is closed so I can't talk to anyone. I really can't go much further until I get it painted. But the kit looks really nice and everything fits tight. Again, thanks for your advice.
Steven, I went to a hardware store today and asked for Japan Drier. They said they were made to pull it off the shelves for some reason. One of the clerks went to the stockroom and found a new can and brought it out. I asked "can you sell it to me?" The boss lady said, "you can have it. I don't care." So I got it free. Looking forward to trying it on some scrap wood first. Should I put linseed oil on the rosewood fret board? Did you put a finishing coat on top of the linseed oil like poly? I guess it would have to be oil-based poly. I've edited this since I said I got the Japan Drie. It's amazing how fast it causes the linseed oil to dry, and very smooth.
What grit did you sand the neck down to before applying the oil?
The neck was already very well sanded out of the box. I used 1200 grit before applying the oil. I also did work on the fretboard and fretwires. When everything was dry, I rubbed everything down with 000 steel wool. The neck came out beautiful and super smooth and slick. Steel wool is great for finishing wood, but I do not use it when the neck is attached to the guitar with magnetic pickups. I also make sure my other electrics aren't near where I'm working. I have seen a few videos by pickup manufactures and luthiers, showing how the steel wool dust gets into the pickups, no matter how careful you are and eventually ruining the pickups. Thanks for watching Drew!
@@StevenParente Thanks! I just got one of these kits and your videos are so helpful!
Thanks Drew. I was just playing it yesterday. Tuned it to open A and jamming to Eric Clapton's version of Motherless Children. Slide works well with it also. This tele sounds so good! Best wishes on your build.
Nice video!
:3
Thank you Luis... and for watching!
@@StevenParente you're welcome! by the way, does Stewmac ship to Mexico?
@@luisattano2377 I don't know if they do. If you go to their contact page, they get back within a day. I had questions about sending to Hawaii, which only took 4 days.
@@luisattano2377 I know they can't ship paint kits out of the U.S. I guess the law prohibits shipping flammable liquids over the border. And yes they ship worldwide.