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Andyjr1515

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Everything posted by Andyjr1515

  1. Andyjr1515
    That finish is unbelievable, Scott. Outstanding isn't anywhere near a good enough word for it!!!
  2. Andyjr1515
    Like the necks, by the way. Looking forward to see how these builds pan out
  3. Andyjr1515
    I thought it was just me! It's the part of a build I dislike the most, even though it is far from the hardest or lenghtiest...
  4. Andyjr1515
    It is indeed Still, it does actually a couple of mm for the really sensitive spot and feels quite comfortable now I've rough-carved it: Progress will slow down dramatically now for a couple of weeks. We have the first pre-Christmas visitors arriving tomorrow, followed by Christmas visitors followed by post-Christmas visitors.. Don't they know there's a bass to be finished????? In case I don't post for a while, have a Very Happy Christmas y'all
  5. Andyjr1515
    Talking of unconventional - anyone notice that the volute isn't actually anywhere near the neck angle break? Been racking my brains for some credible sounding reason for doing that but I think it's a bit simpler than that...just plain got it in the wrong place
  6. Andyjr1515
    Actually, I normally do the headstock's a little more conventionally. I've done it this way round for the simply reason that my coping saw is rubbish and the MoP swifts are so close to the sides of the cutaway and machine heads, I was less likely to screw something up this way round by getting the faceplate accurate, using a jewellers saw and then filing the mahogany up to it. On a bigger headstock where the inlays were not so close to the edge, and a better blade choice on my coping saw I would normally glue the plate, coping-saw the whole assembly to shape, file to finish and the cutaway then do the inlay. Bit unadventurous, though
  7. Andyjr1515
    Rough-cut the headstock shape with a coping saw (back indoors because of the returning rain): Then did a trial fit of the plate, including confirming enough space for the truss rod allen key: Then back to the 'you can never have have too many clamps....'
  8. Andyjr1515
    I've already seen some of them...stunning!
  9. Andyjr1515
    Mind you, there's a bit of a difference in temperature of a patio in UK in a most unseasonably mild December, to one in Finland, I suspect! WOD?
  10. Andyjr1515
    That one's looking positively angelic....and I bet the other one is wicked! Lovely job...
  11. Andyjr1515
    It was a bit drier outside this afternoon so I did the first carve on the neck profile. I had got the guy I'm building the bass for to take the profiles and depths of his favourite bass using a carpenters profile gauge. From these drawings, I cut some plasticard templates of the 1st, 7th and 12th fret positions: I then used a microplane rasp to file down to those shapes: Ditto for the 7th fret position: Then spoke-shaved between the two: The same again from the heel to the 7th position and a bit of sanding to get rid of the facets and I now have the rough shape: I will now take my time with cabinet scrapers to get it feeling 'just right' and finish the heel before a finish sand. Thanks for looking, folks
  12. Andyjr1515
    It's looking great, Norris That's a LOT of sanding, but the results show how worthwhile that is. One of my weaknesses - I tend to get impatient no matter how much coffee or wine I drink I'm fascinated by your colour-fastness test - it would be nice to do the same test with the same nitro on top of a 'commercial' stain. I haven't done my samples yet, but this has given me a thought that it my own test probably will be unvarnished. Thinking about it all my final finishes have yellowed up to some degree...
  13. Andyjr1515
    I think you can probably tell by their evenness that the answer is 'no' If I ever need any more, I promise I'll make them myself
  14. Andyjr1515
    So what to do with the over-wide neck pocket. As there was a distinct cocobolo theme to the incidentals of the build, I shaped the pocket sides and rough carved a fillet to pop in: I chose a square-ended fretboard, to take out as much of the visuals of the crack as I could, but wanted to take away the squareness. I did this with a curved scallop from fretboard height to body level. You can see the curved pencilled in on the fretboard. By now I physically had the EMG pickup. There would be no room whatsover for electrics - almost all suitable pots were deeper than the body, so the pickup would be direct wired to the jack. Now I had the fretboard in place, I could workout the very highest the pickup could go, and therefore workout just how thin the bottom of the pickup chamber was going to be. From memory, I think it was 3-4 mm! Here is the rout and the finished curve feature at the fretboard end: Next challenge was the jack socket...and an interesting discussion of options with Tom
  15. Andyjr1515
    A bit of judgement and a bit of luck. When I positioned the wood, I was hoping that I could keep this one and I have a customer who is broadly on the same wavelength as me which helps things along enormously Today, got the fretboard slimmed to final width and glued and clamped. The incessant rain has meant bringing everything indoors (plus the gig stuff from last night still not put away ) Note the pack of printing paper preventing the cheapo indoor 'workmate' from tipping over and ruining everybody's day. Note also the stain from dropping a full bottle of threadlock on the rug that pleased MrsAndyjr1515 enormously at the time. The little Vox practice amp is hiding an even bigger and much brighter stain from dropping permanent red ink on it also, that actually didn't spoil MrsAndyjr1515's day, mainly because I haven't told her...
  16. Andyjr1515
    I had a discussion with Kert, the future owner of this, in terms of figuring vs number of frets. Based on a 'normal' PJ being 20 frets, the fretboard would actually have allowed 24! Trouble is, one of the nicer figurings would then be fully covered up. As Kert wasn't needing many more frets, we have gone for 20 on the bass side and 21 on the treble: This bit of figuring will look lovely once the final finishing is on: I've got a bit more planing to do to narrow down to the nut, but the fretboard and headstock plate should be on in the next few days which means I can get on with the neck carving : As always - thanks for the feedback and encouraging comments
  17. Andyjr1515
    I cut out my moniker 'swifts' and routed the ebony headstock plate, then fitted them with epoxy mixed with ebony dust. Couple of small gaps to retro-fill but it's come out OK: I also like to pop in just the routing of a swift into the truss rod cover: Last thing I did today was to finish sand, then tru-oil slurry the rest of the body...not only does it help seal it, I find it easier to spot the odd sandpaper marks and bobbles. It's also a good way of seeing what the final colour will be (haven't decided on the finish yet). I'm really liking the colour the alder has turned and how it contrasts / compliments with the camphor:
  18. Andyjr1515
    Hi, Norris Yes - to my relief, I think I had envisaged it OK The bend isn't quite as steep as I had at first feared, although, depending on the maple, it might still be a challenge. I still think it would be a lot easier to glue the plate on, scrape clean / sand fine-fit the rebate then glue the binding on...
  19. Andyjr1515
    I don't ever tire of it because I always find bits of light poking through which I know will amuse me for hours
  20. Andyjr1515
    Love the finish you are achieving, KnightroExpress It's going to look top-drawer when the finishing's been applied...
  21. Andyjr1515
    Ref Scott's experience with shrinking z-poxy (or maybe it's the flexing of the wood around it?), I've plumped for the slurry method of tru-oil for filling - particularly for the camphor that has the quite severe end-grain in places. I'm quite a way from the finishing process, so have started early on the camphor to allow the slurry plenty of time to fill and harden. I did the first slurry coat this morning...couldn't resist posting this. It is one very special piece of wood and I'm delighted it's going on this project...
  22. Andyjr1515
    Ah....instructors....good luck just a thought - if it won't bend the 90 degrees, could you reduce the angle and just lose a little bit of the fretboard overhang?
  23. Andyjr1515
    Hi, Norris I think I have what you are planning now. A few thoughts: Are you sure the veneer is going to bend to that degree? The curve from the plane of the top of the headstock to the face where the truss-rod hole is, looks to be tight radius and almost 90 degrees. I'm not at all sure maple will bend that tightly. I would strongly recommend that you apply your binding after putting the veneer on. The chances of it staying on while you are steaming and bending are slim and, even if you can achieve that, the 'wiggle room' when you are fitting it to the headstock is pretty much zero. Pre-test the binding with stain to see if it scrapes off easily. If so, sand everything down so there is no surface glue, check with a damp cloth (the glue will show up white as the veneer darkens with the dampness). Then stain, then carefully scrape the stain off the binding. Normal protocol - that is, completely ignore all of the above if I've got the wrong end of the stick
  24. Andyjr1515
    ...so, yes - the neck has been curved the same shape as the top ( in the shot above, I was just starting to 'floss' fit the two using some abrasive cloth to even up the join before gluing. There was, of course, no need to actually fit it - the top could have been cut straight except at the two sides -because the rest of it would be under the fretboard, but this is easy enough...and nicer
  25. Andyjr1515
    Oooh - that's interesting, Scott. If that's the case, I may stick with the tru-oil or varnish slurry approach - even though that sinks, at least you're expecting it! Ref the top - yes, it's an optical illusion. The neck is notched by around o.4 inch, the thickness of the top & wenge, so when joined the top of the neck is flush with the top of the top This shot from when I was trial-fitting the joint probably illustrates better:
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