Tanglewood Blackbird: Fretwork

In this episode of Ted Talks Guitars & Life, we’re taking a deep dive into the Tanglewood Blackbird TWWB SD (Smoke Stack Black). This $99 woot.com find is heading over to Jeremy at @StringsnPucks but before it goes, it needs a little love at the workbench. I searched the Zon this morning and these guitars are available on Amazon for $99 - https://amzn.to/4trErtA for anyone looking for a solid guitar acoustic. Despite the budget price, this mahogany/techwood acoustic has a lot of potential. We’re going through a full fret assessment—identifying high frets, crowning, and polishing—to get this bird singing without the "buzzalicious" interference. Plus, we’re rounding the fingerboard for that silky-smooth feel and tackling a truss rod adjustment to dial in the playability. Grab a Diet Coke, get your popcorn ready, and let’s get to work! In This Episode: Initial impressions of the Tanglewood "Smokestack Black" finish. Techwood fingerboard and open-pore neck discussion. Identifying and fixing high frets with "Amazon" files. The "flapping" the fingerboard and rounding fingerboard edges. Truss rod tweaks and nut lubrication for better action. Check out Jeremy at Strings and Pucks: @StringsnPucks Mentioned Project (The "Frankie" Prototype): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMhTW3lOIKQ3s3hYSRqhpRsLbP5Xa8H3r Fender USA Telecaster: Workshop Journal - Troubleshooting & Setup (with Bonus footage) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEccYaUILt0&t=22s Timestamps 0:11 Meeting Jeremy's Tanglewood Blackbird 0:51 Specs: Smoke Stack Black & Techwood 1:51 The "Open Pore" Neck Feel 3:17 Electronics & Preamp Overview 3:54 Fret & Nut Assessment 4:24 Adjusting the Truss Rod 6:05 Checking the String Action 7:24 String Removal & Workshop "Magic" 9:04 Cleaning the Techwood Board 10:07 Why we didn't "Red Wing" this guitar (Stickers & Pores) 12:06 Finding the High Frets 13:15 Spot Leveling & Crowning 15:51 Polishing the Frets (1500 to 3000 Grit) 17:19 Flapping the Board: Rounding the Edges 20:51 Final Polishing with Lizard Spit 22:42 Lubing the Nut with Big Ben’s 23:04 Final Thoughts & Shoutouts ____ Shoutouts: @2Yards (Yard) @AOsAreaofOperations (Aaron) @sparkyguitars971 (Sparky) Checkout our playlist page for more series and journeys https://www.youtube.com/@TedTalksGuitars/playlists Special Thanks to our channel members "The Jacks" Want to support the channel? Feel free to explore Channel membership options: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBr6kaWeOvldTHvntB3tnMg/join Ted Talks Guitars & Life Merch Store: https://tedtalksguitars-shop.fourthwall.com/ Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3W3PZox *If you click on this link to shop at Amazon the channel will receive a modest financial commission from your purchases. Guyker Referral Link: https://www.guyker.com/?ref=tedtalksguitars If you use the link you will save 15% at Guyker Use the coupon code: TEDSMITH #GuitarsAndLife #TanglewoodGuitars #GuitarRepair #Fretwork #AcousticGuitar #WorkshopJournal #GuitarSetup #Techwood #GuitarMaintenance