Andyjr1515 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 Well, the main overdue domestic duties are caught up a bit and we've got back from our couple of days in beautiful and very, very wet Florence and I've met @curtisa and his delightful wife for a pint in a pub in the middle of rural England. I was very touched that they would travel all the way from Tasmania just to meet little old me.... So back to business! Glued in the swifts with z-epoxy mixed with fine ebony dust and cut out the plate with (difficulty and) a fretsaw. It isn't glued on yet but I think it will do the business: It certainly makes it start looking like a bass: I'm going to re-read @Prostheta 's great info on routing pickup chambers and get those done this afternoon and should be able to verify the intended colour with Pete this evening to be able to order the appropriate red ink for starting the staining and finishing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 That rearward bridge placement is going to make upper fret access a pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 You must have a lot of patience to cut the headstock with a fret saw. Perhaps that's more because mine is infuriating at best and I couldn't imagine using it for anything without launching it with prejudice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 31 minutes ago, Prostheta said: That rearward bridge placement is going to make upper fret access a pain! But it's a bass guitar - you only use the first 5! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 Strings? Certainly. Maybe it's too late to suggest this crucial modification.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 1 hour ago, Prostheta said: That rearward bridge placement is going to make upper fret access a pain! It's OK - 'bin there, done that, bar-b-q'd the result' in the past . While you are right in terms of getting to the 22nd fret (although the 21st is fairly easily reachable even with my diddy and arthritic hands) the original Jack Bruce version of the EB-3 was 20 frets. The reason I've put the extra two frets there are so that the position of the neck pickup to the end of the fretboard visually looks right while maintaining the proportionate gap between the bridge pickup and the neck pickup with that rearward bridge. In reality, it probably will make no difference to the sound, but I thought I may as well do at least one small thing per original. By no means a generalisation, but Pete rarely gets to the dizzy and dusty heights of the 22nd fret.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: I've met @curtisa and his delightful wife for a pint in a pub in the middle of rural England. I was very touched that they would travel all the way from Tasmania just to meet little old me.... Very nice. SR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 As there are generous pickup rings on both p/ups, I decided to use my new-found skills of (sharpening and) using chisels rather than router. I roughed out with a forstner bit: Note the control wire chamber routed before I put the top on. And to my great, great surprise, it's in the right place! Then a tidy up with some stubby chisels and a mallet: ...and done: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 All above board and correct! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 I'm pleased that I checked last night that Pete's concept of cherry-red is the same as my concept of cherry-red because it isn't quite the same. The mix I'd originally come up with is, along with the toning effect of the dark mahogany, pretty close to the modern Gibson colour but Pete is after a stronger purple tint to it. I've got some decent offcuts of the top and back and LOADS of tones of ink. I've got some thoughts of what will do the trick and will do a bit of experimenting this evening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 10 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: I'm pleased that I checked last night that Pete's concept of cherry-red is the same as my concept of cherry-red because it isn't quite the same. The mix I'd originally come up with is, along with the toning effect of the dark mahogany, pretty close to the modern Gibson colour but Pete is after a stronger purple tint to it. I've got some decent offcuts of the top and back and LOADS of tones of ink. I've got some thoughts of what will do the trick and will do a bit of experimenting this evening Now there's a bit of luck.... Just before going out for the day, I decided to lay down a couple of base stains to work on this evening. I came across a raspberry calligraphy ink (usually very very good for colour fastness - think Lindisfarne Gospels) at the back of my stash of bottles. I won't know until I've put some varnish on top of it, but I think it's going to be absolutely perfect by itself. I'll post a shot in the morning assuming I can get my camera to reproduce something at least vaguely similar to what I have in front of me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 Nah - no good trying to photo the sample - but it's fine. This time it's a calligraphy ink so there shouldn't be any concerns about fade (I know, @Prostheta - I STILL haven't contacted Diamine. I will! I will!). Besides, it will see Pete out whatever...especially if he carries on looking as peaky as he did the other practice The ink is the one on the right. It looks NOTHING like this when it's on the wood but adds a touch of blue/purple to the deep cherry-red. The one on the left is the ink I used for my double cut LP Junior. I glued the faceplate to the headstock and did the final shaping. All of a sudden, it's ready for the finishing to start : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 Looking good Andy! Are you going to ink the whole thing or just the top? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 41 minutes ago, ScottR said: Looking good Andy! Are you going to ink the whole thing or just the top? SR Thanks, Scott. Yup - inking the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 No grain filling first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 2 hours ago, Prostheta said: No grain filling first? Yes. Mixed some stainable Timbermate quite thin with water and a few drops of ink, wiped on, let dry and then sanded off. I've done that just now and applied the main stain coat. I'll see what it looks like in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 Sweet! Did you buy the Timbermate in the UK? I haven't found it over here yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 9 hours ago, Prostheta said: Sweet! Did you buy the Timbermate in the UK? I haven't found it over here yet. Yes - it's sold under the Metolux name here (although the Timbermate name is on the carton). I found it in the Johnstones Paint decorators supplies branches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Great tip! I'm going to expand my search and see if I can locate that domestically....is it available in the same range of colours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 On 21 September 2016 at 5:42 PM, ScottR said: Looking good Andy! Are you going to ink the whole thing or just the top? SR On 21 September 2016 at 6:24 PM, Andyjr1515 said: Thanks, Scott. Yup - inking the whole thing. Which - having done the first pass - probably isn't the right thing to do. The colour is spot-on to Pete's spec. The trouble is, it is such a saturated colour, it pretty much hides all the features and is almost worse than just a solid colour spray job. So I think the answer is going to be stained top and natural back and neck. My bigger concern is that the same issue loses almost all of the figuring on the top, which just looks like badly applied stain. I will sand down the high spots and see if I can lighten them without losing the base colour Pete is after. None of this is a major issue as I will just treat it as an extra fill and sand stage. I'll take some shots later today to illustrate the comments Oh....and I've found contact name at Diamine inks - fade resistance info request email has been sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 16 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Great tip! I'm going to expand my search and see if I can locate that domestically....is it available in the same range of colours? Yes - it's been ages since I got some (because a tub lasts for ages!) but they stocked the full pre-coloured and stainable ranges when I last visited. Shout if you want me to get you some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 If I can't find it locally, I'll likely take you up on that Andy. It'd be rude to say no. Funnily enough, domestic shipping tends to be on the high side meaning that ordering from the EU (and the UK ) is almost the same price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Here's the conundrum. The back - fully stained - is, I think, pretty much the colour Pete is after (cautioning that it may look different on your screens anyway). However, as you can see, it hides all of the contrasts of the different mahogany, the walnut and the wenge On the other hand, the top - lightened to expose the figuring - then turns distinctly more red and away from the purple tinge, even though it's the same stain: But to get the purple tinge risks losing that figuring.... I'm inclined to stick to my guns with the top, but the back...how about just strip the neck and neck thru back to mahogany rather than the whole of the back and sides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 What happens when clear hits it....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 46 minutes ago, Prostheta said: What happens when clear hits it....? This - they both have enough clear on to fully normalise the shade. All that will happen is that the figuring will enhance further with the more clear. I could tint the final coats of clear a touch on the top.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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