JGTay Posted November 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 Got on with sanding up through the grades on the radius this morning. Didn't take any pics at the time, but took some when I finished for the evening. The pics don't really do it justice, sanded up to 10,000 grit and it shines! The grain is fantastic. This afternoon I moved on to the neck profile and thinning out the back to the required thickness. Looking at around 18mm at the nut and 20mm at the heel... thin neck! Marked out and then on with the Shinto. Almost to the line. Just need to level it off and then I can start doing the rounding of the profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted November 25, 2022 Report Share Posted November 25, 2022 love that you did your own pickups here-bravo! coming along nicely too. rawk on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted November 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2022 36 minutes ago, mistermikev said: love that you did your own pickups here-bravo! Thanks Mike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted November 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2022 A lot of updates from the last few days. While levelling off the back of the neck on Thursday, I found a void in the beech towards the heel end, not sure how I missed it when putting together the neck laminates, it may have had filler over it which prevented discovery, but it wasn't a very nice discovery... Didn't take any pics, wasn't in the best of moods at that point. After getting over the initial thoughts of binning it and starting again (which was a serious consideration at first!) I tried doing a mix of wood glue and beech sawdust, which ended up drying an orangey colour, then tried CA glue with sawdust, but again it turned orange, not quite as bad, but not good enough. So final option was to chisel out a section 3mm deep and put in a new piece. Made the new piece very slightly bigger than the chiselled out section so that it had to be squeezed in place with clamps to fit, put a thin coat of wood glue in and then clamped it in place. After giving it time to dry removed the clamps and had a look. I then set to work levelling it off and bringing in the profile so that I could assess the repair. Still needs to be sanded up through the grades, but it has levelled off well. Can still see some glue where it squeezed out around the edges, hopefully when it has been fully sanded it won't be too obvious. Next on the list was the walnut caps on the headstock. Cut the headstock thickness to size and drilled out the tuner holes, then sanded the front to make sure it was level across the face and then after cutting the truss rod access in the walnut, glued and clamped it in place. After the glue had dried, it was out of the clamps, then on with shaping and re-drilling through the tuner holes from the back. Gave it a quick clean with white spirit to give an idea of the finished colour. Then moved onto the back. Did some work on the volute first to get the shape right, then levelled off the back face, cut the shape of the volute into the walnut, then glued and clamped it in place. After it was out of the clamps, it was shaped and the tuner holes re-drilled from the front. Quick clean up with white spirit again. And final pic of the day with the neck profile cleaned. All of it needs plenty of sanding through the grades and the heel transition needs to be sorted out, but overall I am pleased with the progress. Need to decide on final headstock shape yet, think it is close... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted November 27, 2022 Report Share Posted November 27, 2022 Ahh that volute! Every time I see one that has a shape other than that of a spindle sander I decide to make my own design but at the end of the day I find out that I've fenderized the design once again... For those who are new to the term "fenderizing", it simply means to shape the guitar body using the dimensions of the existing power tools. The waist of a Tele matches with the end bobbin of a big belt sander which also can be used for rounding the lower bout, the cutaway is the size of the big bobbin of an oscillating spindle sander... The end bobbins of the Triton spindle/belt sander most likely are close enough to the curves of a headstock and a cutaway... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted November 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 Have been working on the headstock shape and blending in the volute today. The front has a small reveal of the mahogany. Also done fingernail access for the truss rod cover, just need to put some magnets in to hold it in place. Very pleased with how it is coming along. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted November 29, 2022 Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 Nice trusrod cover! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted December 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2022 A few more updates. Went for a job interview on Thursday and 15 minutes after getting home had a phone call offering me the job, so starting on Monday. So over the past couple of days I have been getting as much done as possible on the build, missed a few photos along the way but no big loss as it was just gluing on the wings. Decided to get the poplar wings in position first and then do the walnut top/bottom afterwards. I pre-cut the control cavity in the poplar before gluing and also did the same with the cavity cover in the walnut. This is after taking the clamps off from gluing the first piece of walnut in place and trimming the edges a bit, still lots of shaping to be done. Then did fingernail access for the cover. Next up was the walnut piece on the other wing. After the glue had dried did a bit of trimming. Put an extra piece of walnut on the inside of the cavity cover to give it some extra strength. Have also glued the front piece of walnut on and put an extra piece of walnut in the cavity to give the correct thickness, just need to tidy it up a bit. Haven't taken any pics of the front yet, had to finish up for the night and get something to eat. Will get the other piece glued on tomorrow and take some pics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted December 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2022 Managed to glue up the other piece of walnut last night. A shot of the edge, down to 27mm at the moment, so should be around the 26mm mark after sanding. It was out of the clamps this morning and on with the initial shaping. And after getting some shape to it, gave it a quick clean with white spirit to see how it looks. Then made a quick cover for the pickup, still needs shaping, but gives a general idea. May slim down the wings a bit yet, looks a bit fat in the bottom section. Will have to see how I get on this week and whether I can do any in the evenings. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted January 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2023 Been very busy since starting the new job, have settled in nicely and it is going very well. Not had much time to do anything on this, but a couple of weekends ago I managed to get started on the carving/shaping and then got a few hours today to do some sanding, not much progress really. Very happy with the shape now and the rounded edges make a huge difference. Hopefully I can get a bit more done tomorrow, will see how it goes. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 28, 2023 Report Share Posted January 28, 2023 That's starting to look very comfortable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted January 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 On 1/28/2023 at 7:12 PM, Bizman62 said: That's starting to look very comfortable! It is surprisingly comfortable, the shape works really well and although I haven't weighed it yet, I know it is a lot lighter than the majority of my guitars. Have done a lot of sanding up through the grades today on the whole thing, managed to get up to 5000 grit, so only a couple of grades to go. No pics yet, but it is nice and shiny all over. Will see if I can do anything in the evenings this week, otherwise it'll have to wait until next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted February 12, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Progress from last weekend and this weekend. Sanded up through the grades all over. Drilled for the controls and tested in place. And then got started on the first coats of varnish. The neck will be oiled once the varnishing is all finished. Not sure whether to do a finish on the fretboard to give it some protection? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Nice sheen on the wood after sanding! Oiling the fretboard is most likely enough for protection, easy to clean and redo when needed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted February 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 20 hours ago, Bizman62 said: Oiling the fretboard is most likely enough for protection, easy to clean and redo when needed Thanks Bizman. Having never done a fretless before was a bit unsure of the best way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 13, 2023 Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 2 hours ago, JGTay said: Having never done a fretless before Heh, I didn't even think about that being fretless. Frets or not, the fingerboard is made of hard and dark hardwood for which oil is one of the best protectants. Just to clarify for those who may not know: Fretboard oils are often sold as "moisturizers" - but why would you want to moisten wood that has carefully been dried to the max? The moisture of dry instrument wood is something between 5 and 15% or thereabouts which is way below healthy room humidity. So... But oil penetrates a bit and prevents dirt from getting deep into the pores and when the surface gets dirty it's easy enough to flush the outermost oil off and replace it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted February 18, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2023 Before getting on with the varnishing today, I decided it was time to do the first weigh in... Obviously hardware still needs to go on, but very happy at 4.023lbs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 I'd say so! SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted March 12, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2023 Have done all the varnishing, also oiled the neck and fretboard over the past couple of weekends. Still needs a final buffing, but happy with how it is coming together. Back view first, with test fit of the tuners. And the front. Hardware roughly positioned. Next up for today was securing the pickup, no pics as it was a bit of a pain and just got on with it, went with magnets and a couple of panel pins with the heads snipped off to push it onto and keep it in place, didn't want screws showing but will have to see how it is when it is strung up. Next was positioning the individual bridge saddles, out with the string and marked it up. And then did a strip of copper underneath the saddles, attached to the earth wire and passed into the control cavity. Then screwed the saddles in place. It is great having a job again, but makes build progress very slow. Not getting any time in the evenings, so just weekends at the moment. Hopefully can get on with the controls next weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JGTay Posted March 30, 2023 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 30, 2023 It is 'bass'ically finished... Need to do some final minor tweaks and give it a bit of a polish, but had a play with it on Rocksmith tonight. Very happy with it. The final steps from weekend and a couple of evenings this week - Shielding of pickup cavity And the control cavity Cover, which I had to cut a square out of in order for the jack to have enough room. Hadn't really accounted for it, so quite lucky in the end. In with the hardware and soldering done. Then a copy of @Andyjr1515 no neck dive pics. The final weigh in... 5.771 lbs. or 2.618 kg if it's easier. And finally a full frontal pic... Will take some glamour shots once the final bits are done. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 31, 2023 Report Share Posted March 31, 2023 Absolutely splendid build and result. Well done @JGTay Bravo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 31, 2023 Report Share Posted March 31, 2023 Gotta agree with Andy there @JGTay. Bravo! SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 31, 2023 Report Share Posted March 31, 2023 nice job. very light - that's never easy for me. love the pickup cover and overall style. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 1, 2023 Report Share Posted April 1, 2023 Note to self: Build a bass!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGTay Posted April 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2023 16 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Absolutely splendid build and result. Well done @JGTay Bravo! 13 hours ago, ScottR said: Gotta agree with Andy there @JGTay. Bravo! SR Thank you both, it really means a lot to me, you have both been the biggest inspirations on my builds and the reason I push myself further each time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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