DustinTMoney

Clearcoat it like anything else but you need to be VERY careful of smudges.

If you use oil paints you have to let it dry for several months before clearcoating or putting anything over it. Oils may look dry but in reality it is still drying and expanding over a period of several months maybe longer depending on humidity and if you paint over it it will crack the clearcoat or whatever is covering it. I suggest using acrylic paints but be careful as they are easy to peel off until you coat them with a protective finish.

Didn't even think of that. Will have to find a nearby butcher.

Well the ribs were mostly marrow so I am working on a scrap piece of laminate alder that I think just meets the slots for the strings. If that doesn't work I may try looking in some pets stores for a hambone to use other than that I got some logs outside I think are oak I mak try to get a piece out of if all else fails though I think this alder feels more durable than the plastic.

ok, so i haven't used wet or dry sandpaper for other than just dry, and read something about wet working better on sandpaper that is designated wet or dry, but better at what, sanding down or buffing smooth? I've got 500 grit wet dry, and 2000 grit (was randomly given to me by my dad haha, seems a bit overkill lol) just wondering if i can get a smoother surface using it wet or using it dry? also, do you just basically dip it in a bucket of water then sand, or will it work sanding on something that the paint is still a little wet? (i know this last one seems dumb to me as i assume in any condition messing around with wet paint and sand paper will be a clumpy mess unless you have that kind thats got that special soap stuff in it that breaks down build up.) anyways, thanks for hearing out my n00b question

Well I got a few coats of primer on the body and neck, minus the face of the headstock which i'm doing tomorrow. I'm gonna sand the body smooth tomorrow and put another coat of primer, and sand it smooth as well, then start spraying the color on. Same deal once the neck is completely primed. I started spraying the color on at first without primer and the grain was showing through way too much and didn't look good at all so i had to sand it back down and start with the primer, so the color you see in the neck pocket on the masking tape is the color i'm using. I meant to get a grey color but i accidently got a metallic silver color, but i think it will end up looking good either way. I sprayed the fretboard black the other day, put vasoline on the inlays so the paint didnt stick to them and it worked pretty well, just had to wipe off the vasoline and it came clean perfectly! gonna wash the neck with a damp rag with soap on it to remove the oil from the vasoline and then I'm gonna coat it in 2 part 2 ton epoxy to protect the wood and the paint. Here's some picks of the body and neck primed (forgot to take pics of the fretboard after i sprayed it and it's masked off at the moment so will post those as soon as i get done spraying the neck, but by then may be re assembling heres a few pics tho: Also, here's what i've cut out of the scrap laminate alder to use as the nut that was broke on the bass. Figure it's better than the plastic thats on there, and if it breaks i'm not out any cash, just gotta go try and make another out of some harder wood or just buy one if all else fails. was alot of fine cutting with the dremel, a little rasping, A LOT of filing, and a little evening it out on my random orbital sander flipped upside down between my legs lol, its about the right size, isn't perfect in shape, but i think it will work, just gotta measure out using the old nut for the spacings. Besides, i hear that using a wood nut gives a fretless that mwah tone on open notes anyways so i figured it was worth a shot to try and make one anyways, any questions, comments, or concerns are welcome, this is my first real project so it's a learning expierience so all critisisms are welcome!

well, i cleaned off some pork rib bones, letting them dry after boiling them now, but i cut into one this morning to see that most of the bone is marrow, just wondering if the marrow will stay put to the bone, or will it just come off, and also if it will be strong enough for a nut? if not, i'm gonna find a dried oak branch to try and whittle into a nut.

Well, yeah, the shape hadn't turned out 100% what i wanted but it's growing on me, was going for a mix between a spector and a warwick. i mean, the tools from harbor freight I'm getting are things like sanders and dremels, i plan on getting a porter cable router and a decent belt sander sometime soon, so i'm not too terrified of these tools breaking as later on i will get better tools if i continue with this (expensive) hobby. i didnt' get a new piece of wood because i didnt have access to a router and plus this is my first time really messing with a guitar like this, and also been a long time since i've used any power tools, so this was just to get my feet wet before i buy some wood and start from scratch, which was my intention all along. I'm refinishing a squier strat, and i really just hated this bass so thats why i modded its body. and it's laminate alder, so yes, it's a polished turd. Buit i'd rather eff up a turd first to learn my way around than spend more money on wood that i'm gonna screw up on my first time. It has definately been a learning expierience and it's not over yet, I'm sure I'll have a few more issues i'll learn from. And i got a spokeshave from harbor freight and with that thing i really do see the bad quality on some products, but the sander has fared me well with a beating put on it already. the spokeshave is dull as hell, and does nightmares to the wood when it does decide to cut into it. maybe i can just sharpen the blade or something though.... but anyways, we had some ribs today and i saved the bones, was wondering if anyone thought it would be a good idea to file the ribs down and make a nut out of them (i'm sure im gonna use up several ribs before i get it right anyways). only problem i'm seeing is the ribs are curved, but i may be able to get a good straight length out of them somehow.

What are the spacings and measurements of making a p bass nut? Also what is an affordable material to use for the nut on a fretless? I hear wood gives more of that mwah tone and I'm wondering if I could use some scrap laminate alder? Or if I should file down some metal off an screwdriver and use it? Also wondering if I can use like bone from pork ribs or from a steak and file them down?

What about using a hand planer to fix it if your afraid the router will eff it up more?

Almost finished just gotta tweak up some curves and replace the stupid plastic nut that broke. Would the scrap laminate alder be strong enough to turn Into a nut? Or maybe cut an file down a screwdriver to use a metal nut? If wood is usable I'd rather do that as it seem easier and I'd think it would still be stronger than the plastic one that came with it stock. Anyways here's the pic

Ok well maybe this simpler question can be answered here Can I use a decently bigger magnet from an old speaker as the pole for the pickup and will the stronger magnet allow me to coil less wire and be able to have the bass string farther away from the pickup?

well, if they last me through my mod and through my first build from scratch so that i know that i can do this whole guitar making thing, then i will buy the more expensive stuff, but as of now its a beginning hobby and i'm just trying to be minimalist on budget and the tools i'm using, so just getting the basics, and the router i may just go ahead and get the porter cable straight away if possible

well i went to the local harbor freight and got the random orbital sander for 20 bucks, it seems to work good, but bogs down sometimes, but i think thats my fault for trying to rush it and use it as my main tool to eat away wood on the bass i am modding. oh well, if it breaks its only 20 bucks, but its withstood my beating for a few days at least. once i get the money I'll go for a porter cable. but until i move out of beginner status of guitar building i think most my purchases for tools will be at harbor freight as i'm not too set back if i don't succeed. Actually, I may start a thread for all of the tools i get there to review them for anyone else who wants to know about their tools after i use the tool for a while just to see how it works, should come in handy for anyone else on a tight budget like i am. Next 2 things i'm planning on getting at Harbor freight are a rotary tool (dremel) for $25, the 250 piece accesory kit for it thats $20, and a plunge router that is $60. Also gonna grab a spoke shave and another rasp, i got one last time, but it was a bit too small for me after i tried using it, but hey, 2 bucks for it and i can still use it for tight to get to spots or small areas. speaking of spoke shave, i think they had two kinds, a flat and a roundpiece, which one should i get and what are the specialties of each as i may just get both to use in any situation.

ok, I've looked around and can't find any good in depth tutorials on building from scratch a bass pickup. I'm looking specifically for a p bass style pickup. my project isnt exactly what it seems though. I want to build a pickup that is ONLY for one bass string. I plan on making two of these and making a kind of electric washtub bass, which will basically be a neck with 2 strings spaced widely apart, a bridge, and below the bridge i will have a hinge. I'm gonna fix it up somehow, but don't know my specifics yet, to limit the range of the hinge so it won't fold in half or pull too far back., and then have this whole set up on a base stand with a small flat peice of wood to rest your foot on to keep the bass from lifting off the ground when playing and moving the hinge. Oh, and it's gonna be played with a drum stick