Bizman62 Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 17 hours ago, RVA said: I put the bridge bushings in before finishing because I did not want to hammer into a fresh finish. However, they took a beating in the final pre-finish sanding and post-finish sanding. Advice on a better approach would be appreciated Foam ear plugs work well for pre-drilled holes during finishing. Using either a suitable bolt or just a wooden block to hammer the bushings in may help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted May 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 15 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: Foam ear plugs work well for pre-drilled holes during finishing. Using either a suitable bolt or just a wooden block to hammer the bushings in may help. Ear plugs. What a great idea. As a lifetime light sleeper, I have plenty of those! OK, next time I hammer after. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Woozle Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 I saw the title of this thread and thought "that sounds like a Cardiacs song!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 22, 2022 Report Share Posted May 22, 2022 I love it! SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted May 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2022 (edited) So about the neck. It had a horrible hump in the middle. I removed the frets and sanded it as flat as I could, but it got to the point where I though the fretboard was getting a bit close to the point where it would not receive a full fret slot. I had account for the rest with the fretwork (fretted pics to come later) During this extensive sanding with a long radius beam, some of the plastic frets melted! I figured that this was a good time to experiment, so I took some saw dust from my collection, added some dye, and sealed it in with CA glue. Unfortunately, small chips around the side made when removing the old inlays made for an uneven circle. Also, there are still 2 semi-melted inlays. I am not too worried about it because it is functional and I will likely replace the neck down the road. The dyed wood Sanded "flat-ish" with inlay replacement The semi-circular wood inlay up close. Still a bit grainy. It is a viable method if I care to work out the kinks. However, I would think epoxy is (almost) always better. *** I would be interested to know what dye and epoxy you all use for inlays for next time please. I am not sure what fretboard wood I have here. Anyone care to ID it? Edited May 29, 2022 by RVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Woozle Posted May 29, 2022 Report Share Posted May 29, 2022 My first thought was that it's ebony, but looking at the grain I'm not so sure - maybe something else that's been dyed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted May 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2022 29 minutes ago, Professor Woozle said: My first thought was that it's ebony, but looking at the grain I'm not so sure - maybe something else that's been dyed? It was much darker before I sanded it. I do think it had been dyed. But I have never worked with wood like this before, especially on a fretboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 29, 2022 Report Share Posted May 29, 2022 kind of a cool fretboard. my thoughts on it are... I've never seen wood with that consistently straight grain... making me think it's some kind of composite of wood or perhaps a synthetic fretboard. this is not necc a negative thing... altho synthetic fretboards are like garlic to the cork sniffers... I think it could look pretty cool. afa straight... well you have to get it straight. there's no way around that. if that means buying a fret saw and cutting them deeper and then sanding some more I suggest you do that. make sure you have a really straight reference - in a pinch you can buy a level with a machined edge... but you want that sucker straight as an arrow else your fretwork is going to be a nightmare. i like your top btw. rawk on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted May 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2022 Back plate fabrication today. I took 2 slices of this alder offcut from the back wood Cut off the round ends to facilitate clamping and glued them up and shaped it with a template on the router table. Look mom, no seam!! Now it will get sealed with Solarez, and if necessary, a coat or 2 of poly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted May 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, mistermikev said: well you have to get it straight. there's no way around that. if that means buying a fret saw and cutting them deeper and then sanding some more I suggest you do that. make sure you have a really straight reference - in a pinch you can buy a level with a machined edge... but you want that sucker straight as an arrow else your fretwork is going to be a nightmare. i like your top btw. rawk on. Thank you. Got it nearly almost all the way flat...and as anticipated, the 8th (or 9th?) fret took a hit! I do have a fret slot saw. I would never have been able to install the frets it without it since the original slots were almost completely eviscerated. In the end, I got them level. I doubt I will keep this neck on here Maybe I can replace it with a scratch built neck one day if I can manage to acquire that skill. Edited May 30, 2022 by RVA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 30, 2022 Report Share Posted May 30, 2022 1 hour ago, RVA said: Thank you. Got it nearly almost all the way flat...and as anticipated, the 8th (or 9th?) fret took a hit! I do have a fret slot saw. I would never have been able to install the frets it without it since the original slots were almost completely eviscerated. In the end, I got them level. I doubt I will keep this neck on here Maybe I can replace it with a scratch built neck one day if I can manage to acquire that skill. right on... well don't be like me and put that off for 20 years and then wish you had (build a scratch neck)! "you can do it"!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted May 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2022 2 minutes ago, mistermikev said: right on... well don't be like me and put that off for 20 years and then wish you had (build a scratch neck)! "you can do it"!! Thank you for the encouragement and advice. Time to wire this baby up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted June 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 I got this guitar assembled and playing tonight. I even got the neck from hell playing well, which is an accomplishment in itself. I need to complete some final details before I take any more pics (truss rod cover, back plate, knobs), but it felt good to put it into action 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted June 11, 2022 Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 9 hours ago, RVA said: I got this guitar assembled and playing tonight. I even got the neck from hell playing well, which is an accomplishment in itself. I need to complete some final details before I take any more pics (truss rod cover, back plate, knobs), but it felt good to put it into action excited for you in this moment... I know for me... I'm literally tingling when I get to this stage!! looking fwd to pics 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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