jer7440 Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 Lookin' great Erik. I love all the layers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 very nice i love it!! please hurry and put up more pics!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted August 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Making some headway. Got the headstock laminate on (bocote over ebony), trimmed, and tuner holes drilled. Got the nut slot cut using the radial arm saw and a jig to hold the neck perpendicular to the saw path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted August 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Duplicarver in action...I haven't yet made anything worth duplicating, but so far it makes a good over-arm router. Here I pinned the stylus and routed a 7/8" roundover on the back of the neck, using the neck taper template on the fretboard-side of the neck. This is just rough, there's a lot of work left on the back contour, but in 5 minutes I had most of the waste gone (took me longer to clean up the debris....). Today I got the truss rod access cut, installed the rod, and tonight I'll begin routing the pickup cavity and glue the fretboard on. Maybe I'll also get to the truss rod cover tonight. I won't finish the pickup rout depth until I string it up and I know more precisely the string height above the body. I've heard Bartolinis can be sensitive to string height. Monday I leave for northern Wisconsin for 2 weeks vacation, perfect time for all that hand-sanding that will need to be done before hitting it with Tru-Oil. I've got all the hardware, but these are the last pics you'll see until it's finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lietuvis Posted August 21, 2005 Report Share Posted August 21, 2005 That bass is beautiful so far. It would look great in an oil finish or with a satin lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassisgreat Posted August 22, 2005 Report Share Posted August 22, 2005 Now the wait begins to see the finished product! I LOVE it so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 The wonders of Tru-Oil are revealing themselves, I love this stuff! I was sorely tempted to stop after the first 3 coats and go with an open-grained finish. It actually looked very cool that way, no pores at all in the ebony and maple, medium pores in the walnut, and big ol' pores in the bocote and padauk. It was very cool, the bocote is really deep, the flame in the maple (and the walnut...who knew?!) jumped right out! But now I'm 15 coats in and sanding back. All the pores are filled, the whole thing is levelled out. Some more finish coats then it's buffer time, going for a mirror-type finish. If I don't get it, its pretty easy to go back to the open-pore finish, I'd be happy either way. I just want to see if I can get this Tru-Oil really glossy. BTW, anyone know of any good long-scale strings with growl potential? I've heard D'Addario XLs are good, but I need 43 1/2" of length to make it to the tuners (36" scale...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 DR Low Riders! They're bright but stiff, and give a deep, full, growly but still hi-fi sound-- and fit scale lengths up to 37 1/2"! Personally, I'm more a fan of the Hi-Beams and the black coated Black Beauties, but they give a much brighter sound. If you want a slightly mellower but still full and crisp sound, deffo check out the Black Beauties. I swear by them; they sound great, play like a dream, and last forever-- and look really cool too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lietuvis Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Where can I purchase some Tru-Oil? Is it something that I can find at a Home Depot or a hardware store? I've heard great things about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 You'll find it in the Sporting Goods department of any store that carries rifles. It's Called Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil, and it was originally designed for finishing gunstocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Pics!!! I demand pics!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 You'll find it in the Sporting Goods department of any store that carries rifles. ← Do they even have guns in NH? You might have to go over to VT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Pics!!! I demand pics!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 OH MY.... ...just put on one coat of the 50/50 Tru Oil + naptha mix. Holy smokes! The thing is already like glass. If this dries hard, I might be done with the finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Hehehe...30 minutes after the first coat, it was dry to the touch. So I went with a second coat, and the naptha/TO mix seemed to bite into the first coat, it did not go on nearly as smooth. So its not glass anymore, there are some low-level streaks, nothing that won't disappear with 1000 grit Abralon. This morning the finish seemed very hard. When I had sanded back the finish seemed fairly soft, even after a week of curing. This last TO-naptha treatment is nice & hard, after curing overnight it passes the fingernail test no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 DONE! Took me forever just to cut the nut and truss rod cover, life gets in the way don't you know... Sanding down the top and neck got a little tricky, as the maple would dirty up real quick from the ebony-bocote-padauk dust. This was solved by sanding back down to 150 grit, taping off and applying some rattle-can shellac to the maple to seal off the grain, then going to the next-smaller sanding grit. Repeat until satisfied. This one came out just about like I thought it would, no surprises really except from a playability stainpoint. The neck contour is asymmetric, fatter on the bass side and thinner on the treble side, which is really nice for this wide of a neck (3" at #24). But I also love the string spacing of this Hipshot 5-bridge, the spacing is almost exactly like a 4 so the whole slap & pop thing comes much easier than on a standard 5. The 36" scale also makes for nice tight string tension. Man, is it different when I switch back to guitar after playing this thing The Bartolini & SD Basslines combo is blowing me away, I was a bit concerned about a lack of tonal variability with a single MM humbucker (not even coil-split...yet....), but I am quite satisfied. Makes me wish I had a bass amp now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 I also made a conscious hardware choice...bought black and gold Hipshot bridges, and 2 sets of Gotoh tuners black & gold, then swapped some of the hardware. Here's the bridge: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 And the headstock + tuners (black with gold nuts). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 All the way down to the black & gold Straplocs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 very nice i love your choice of woods! i bet the B sounds awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Love the bass, love the woods, love the choice of laminates, gorgeous finish, amazing headstock design, love the black/gold hardware thing (I never would've thought of that) It's just great! If only I could now move to Maryland to test this baby out Your second GOTM is in the sack buddy, probably won't have to share this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted November 24, 2005 Report Share Posted November 24, 2005 Love the bass, love the woods, love the choice of laminates, gorgeous finish, amazing headstock design, love the black/gold hardware thing (I never would've thought of that) It's just great! If only I could now move to Maryland to test this baby out Your second GOTM is in the sack buddy, probably won't have to share this time ← I agree!! go for the gotm this is prob. the most beautiful thing ive seen on here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68 lost souls Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 That is beautiful. I want it. Definately enter into the guitar of the month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokeros Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 ...it is, and is winning by far too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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