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Cut Horn Bass


MiKro

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  • 3 weeks later...

Damn found a spot that the top did not glue properly. Temp must have gotten me while getting it in the vac bag and the glue set before bonding. Now to remove it, scrape and re-glue. Ugh!!! what a PITA.

Shit happens. Been a very long time ago since I had this happen though.

mk

 

update:

Still working on removal of the top. slow work, using 0.004" to 0.020" shim stock with heat to the shim stock using a heat gun and slowly working around. Still have about 1/4 of the edge and half of the center to go. Need to mill some location holes in the neck pocket area before moving on for re-alignment when I re-glue.

Update:

I made it around no problem, now to get what is left of the center ( only about 50% of it left). LOL!! It set nicely though. So I will most likely use a damp towel and an iron to soften this area. I need to get to 185*f for the glue to relax, any farther and I will burn the maple top. Will wait until tomorrow, it is now drink thirty!! :)

 

topremoval.jpg

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So if you have been following my Cut Horn Bass build. You know I had a problem with the top glue up. Yep me being to slow getting it in the vacu-bag caused some areas to set up before it got clamped down. This resulted in me removing the top. It went very well until at the heel of the guitar about 2 inches in.
 
When I put this top on I made a point of arranging it because I knew there was a stress crack/check crack in that area. Unfortunately even though I cut it out with the profile cut it was still in the wood waiting. LOL!! Now this top will be relegated to being used as face plate material.
 
I was not concerned about the book match joint as I was sure I would need to re-do that anyway after applying some heat. I will just put a new top on and move forward.
It happens guys, Mistakes are part of this game no matter how many or how long you do it. At least I salvaged the wood for other uses. :)
mk

checkcrack1.jpg

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I may take that top and do something totally outside of my standard. :)

I'm thinking maybe lam it to another backer type ( very dark wood ) and then do a book matched voronoi inlay pattern into it so I cut out the check/crack. :) May be an interesting look or some other design. I mapped out the crack in the now removed top and will go from there.

MK

crack.jpg

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it were mine... given such a beauty top... I'd probably try to replace the wood  in that area and cover it with an inlay of some sort.  Esp if you did something there that matched the headstock and tied it all together... but what do I know.

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1 hour ago, mistermikev said:

it were mine... given such a beauty top... I'd probably try to replace the wood  in that area and cover it with an inlay of some sort.  Esp if you did something there that matched the headstock and tied it all together... but what do I know.

That is what I am working on. Not worried about replacing the wood just make an inlay that will take up that space of the crack. I hope that makes since?

 

Edited to update:

After laying out the bridge placement over the crack from my previous drawings, It seems most will be covered by the bridge. I think a repair is in order and then do a burst. Seems like the best choice at this time.

mk

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Seeing it is so close to the seam a bookmatched wedge type replacement would do the trick nicely. Unlike @mistermikev I wouldn't do any extra inlay to cover the it as the piece itself can be chosen decorative. And... Having seen the accuracy of your CNC skills, could it be possible to make a more challenging shape for the insert?

If the crack were longer cutting a slice off the entire length both sides of the seam would create a narrower bookmatched top suitable for e.g. a lap steel. On a neck-through the halves could be used for bookmatched wings - something I've done on a couple of my builds when the top material was too narrow for a full top.

 

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15 hours ago, MiKro said:

After laying out the bridge placement over the crack from my previous drawings, It seems most will be covered by the bridge. I think a repair is in order and then do a burst. Seems like the best choice at this time.

mk

I think that is the route I'd take as well.

SR

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After some steam to get some cupping in the split area, I managed to get the split to close up to a point so I could glue it back up. Then I put it in the vac bag to flatten. The process did allow the center joint to relax and start to release. So it will need to be separated then re-glued. First I need to allow the moisture content to lower. This will take about a week. Then I will use a 1/16" endmill and cut the the center line. This will allow me to rejoin it before gluing it back to the body. At that point I will determine if a burst is needed or just move forward as planned. :)

MK

crack2.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sitting around today debating on the top repair.

After removing it and all, the center glue line is a real problem. So I put it on the back burner for a while.

Today I was going through my small item wood stash and found some super nice snake wood scraps.

I think it will make a very nice center line between the two top sections. 🙂

Be safe all.

MK

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9 hours ago, MiKro said:

Sitting around today debating on the top repair.

After removing it and all, the center glue line is a real problem. So I put it on the back burner for a while.

Today I was going through my small item wood stash and found some super nice snake wood scraps.

I think it will make a very nice center line between the two top sections. 🙂

Be safe all.

MK

Snakewood would be an excellent feature line.  It would absolutely look like it was always meant to be there.  🙂

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  • 4 weeks later...

Finally had a few minutes today to get the to the messed up top. LOL.

I know it looks like hell right now but it is glued down. I ain't gonna toss a good top just because it didn't glue right the first time. As you can see the center glue line is totally messed up now. I have a plan.

Once I do some inlay magic and some other things it will be fine. :)

MK

redo2.jpg

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So I have just removed 0.020" off the top to see how it glued up for the second time. So far, so good, the book match still looks good as well. :)

Now to decide on the center line fix. I at first was thinking an intricate inlay, but now maybe just a frigging stripe down the middle and move on.

This one has been fighting me from the beginning and I need to get it done and move on to the next one.  LOL!!

MK

topagain_minus020.jpg

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I added a curly maple center strip. about 0.8" wide. Not sure if I want to add contrasting stripes along side of it? Thinking about just keeping it simple and highlight this with more toner application during the finishing stage.

MK

newcenterstrip1.jpg

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10 hours ago, MiKro said:

Not sure if I want to add contrasting stripes along side of it? Thinking about just keeping it simple

You may be right as there's a lot going on already with the different figuration. Also any sort of finish, be it coloured or clear, most likely will make the difference even more visible.

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