Andyjr1515

8 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

The plaster would contaminate the epoxy (or vice versa) too much. Try it out, however it won't be a clean finish.

Yes - I think you're right.  Just as well I've got too many other things on the go at the moment 

9 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Epoxy will stick to that like hell!

  True - but I was thinking sacrificial like an cast metal resinated sand mould...hence only for small batch stuff.  

I can see the plaster being a beggar to chip off the relatively soft epoxy, mind you 

2 hours ago, Prostheta said:

I was talking to @curtisa about machining inlay moulds into HDPE or other plastic. Corner radii are always an issue with that of course. Other options are to make a master inlay, create a negative mould with Sugru, Formcard or whatever and then mould inlays as described.

Interesting stuff.  For small batches of intricate shapes, maybe also good-old-fashioned plaster of paris.?

2 hours ago, Prostheta said:

I only published it yesterday. Yeah, Luminlay is somewhat expensive. Making your own costs more than what buying one set does, however the materials produce something like (I guess) ten times as much. Sourcing a good price on the luminescent powder is the key. You'll probably have more luck finding a good local price in the UK. I bought from elsewhere in the EU. Equally, you've got a better choice of epoxies and casting resins on your doorstep.

Great article, @Prostheta 

Too late for this build but I'll certainly experiment with future builds.  I wonder if I can get my logo 'swifts' to glow in the dark 

In the meantime, the final finishing phases are ongoing with the bass.  I'm wiping on thinned polyurethane varnish.  A bit slower with a thru-neck than a bolt-on as I am doing one side at a time (with wipe-on, it's a lot more consistent if you apply it flat) but lets me do other stuff while each coat is drying...and the other stuff at the moment is a dreadnought acoustic  

11 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Funny that you used Luminlay dots when I published an article on how to make your own today. 

Missed this!  I'll track it down straightaway...Luminlay is great but VERY expensive for what it is...

16 hours ago, madhattr88 said:

thanks!!!!   believe or not, the more i look at this thing i don't like the finish.  Tru-oil brings out the grain depth, but since i polished it with Finesse-It, its too shiny.  Almost like its wrapped in plastic wrap.  Not what i want.  So i'm gonna scotchbrite the whole thing and use Birchwood Casey Sheen and Conditioner and then their wax.

I find that Tru-oil tends to settle down to a slight sheen over time in any case...although that sometimes takes a while.  I tried the BC Sheen and Conditioner once but it is quite high grit...for mine it resulted in matte rather than satin.  Some of the auto polishes are a bit more gentle.   I haven't tried following the BC with wax and that might make the difference.  I'll follow the progress on this with great interest

Welcome from over the pond.  Those are nice looking acoustics 

On 9/4/2015 at 9:56 AM, Prostheta said:

PS. Do I win points for spotting that the Westone has been refinished in what looks like rotary-cut Karelian ("Masur") Birch veneer? That's a particularly unusual piece and the ink sets it off perfectly. If you hadn't posted the in-progress photo I'd have been happy to tell you that the Matsumoku factory where that was made didn't use such high-loss exotic (well, "local" here) veneers. :-D

I'm only 4 months late on spotting and replying to this, @Prostheta !!!!  Yes - full points awarded with distinction.  Birch Burl it is indeed... 

Wow!  That's amazing....   I've mainly used reds so maybe they have greater staining power.  

Funnily enough, I've had this one back over Christmas for a weight-reduction mod (got it down from 9lb to 8.5lb by adding a dummy control chamber):

It's been played regularly for over two years and - I am assured by its owner - is kept out of its case most of the time.  It is absolutely still this colour.  

This one (my own) has been gigged or wall-hung for nearly two years and, again, no sign of fade:

Clearly I've been lucky with my choices of those particular colours!!!!

I'll contact the owner of the Westone bass done in green and see how that's faring...

What I find particularly interesting is that (think Gibson Sunburst) it always used to be the reds in guitars that did fade....it's fascinating that on your sample, @Norris , it's the red one that HASN'T faded! 

That's a lovely finish and great looking guitar 

Bit more progress 

With enough coatings of varnish to protect the body during the handling involved, I have turned my attention to the fretting.  There will be quite a few more coats of varnish before it's finished, but this is it after just 3-4, wiped on in my slightly unconventional style.  :

I then re-sanded the fretboard, checked and cleared the fret slots, opened the tops of the fret slots a touch with a triangular needle file and then installed the frets using a touch of titebond along the tang and the time honoured method of hammer one side, hammer the other side, hammer the middle, pop the radius block over the seated fret and hammer the c**p out of it a bit more for luck.  Here they are, clipped but not yet fret-ended:

I've since dressed the fret-ends, so next stages are to insert the luminlay side dots, level, recrown and polish the frets and then finish off the varnishing

So to the headstock.  Here Tom had an aspiration.  He wanted longish, a cutout, angled tuners, capped top and bottom, non-symmetrical.

We had a happy week of emailing thoughts, tweaks, different thoughts, more tweaks, until we agreed on this:

Beyond that, I was free to do what I liked 

I needed to widen the headstock which I did with a couple of strips of cocobolo, and then firstly plated it on the top - also with cocobolo.  Rather than just a plain cutout, I went for an angled and filed cutout:

At the back, before I added the second plate, I carved Tom's next requirement - a thumb rest built into the volute, positioned where Tom preferred for a 34.5" scale fretless (he told me where, so I didn't have to guess or make it up...phew!):

Then carved and fitted the backplate:

Finally, added my MoP 'swifts':

Add a few tuners, the brass adjustable nut and maple trussrod cover (also with swift routed into it) and the headstock was done:

So here was the dilemma.....this now didn't look quite so 'primitive'...in fact, it was starting to look almost 'elegant'...in parts

Well THAT wasn't in the plan! 

Hi Bassplr19

This is looking good

Walnut is a lovely wood for using tru-oil with.  It can be applied to a standard semi-gloss in the normal way or, you can use a 'slurry' method - where you use wet and dry sandpaper with the tru-oil to create a grain-filling slurry, which is then buffed off.  It can even be done on the kitchen table ("what's that?  No, dear, I NEVER do that....not even when you're away at your sisters..." ) with just a bottle of tru-oil, a sanding block and a couple of cheap microfibre cloths.

 If you progressively repeat the process, buffing off the slurry after around 15 mins and then letting it dry each time, you can get a superb  'real wood' feel and look that is nevertheless silky smooth.  I think I remember that this how many gunmakers and owners treat their wooden stocks (which is what tru-oil was designed and marketed for).  This Peavey EVH was rebodied in North American Black Walnut and finished using that method.  It's gorgeous to the touch:

OK - so yes - I tend to use a wipe on varnish approach for gloss finish.  Reasons are the same - I don't have a shed, or a garage, or a workshop so I have to do things either on the back patio (and in the UK, that can be VERY restricting) or inside in a small spare bedroom/study.

I use standard polyurethane varnish, but thinned down by 30-50% with white spirits (not sure what the US name for this is, but it's the clear spirit used for cleaning brushes after using oil-based decorators gloss paints).  I wipe it on with a cheap microfibre cloth...MUCH better than using brushes (I think I read somewhere that 80% of dust bunnies come from the brush itself...).  Happy to do a thread if it is of any interest.  Results are never quite as good as a very well executed spray, flattened and buffed professional spray job, but they are not bad and can be done in any reasonably ventilated indoor space:

Ref the Solarez, I can see a few issues - working away from natural daylight until you want it to cure, talk of 'pinholes', the statement that 'it goes extremely hard and takes considerable sanding'.  For that kind of challenge, 2-pack solutions probably offer as good without the added issue of having to do it by candlelight....

Let me know if you want a full thread on my wipe-on approach - there are some tips and tricks and some significant differences to the normal post-spray approach...

Hi

Just did a long reply, then lost it!  

I'll repost this evening with some thoughts...

Hi and welcome 

I'm no expert with paint spray (no - let me be more specific.  I'm no expert, period), but if it was me, I would use 2000 grit used wet, or alternatively a very fine scotchbrite, again used wet.  The alternative is a VERY light wipe with a cloth moistened with thinners

Other views, anyone?

Andy

That's really good!  I love the overall look and am really pleased it sounds good too .

 There's nothing quite like playing a guitar you've built yourself....

Can't wait to see the next one 

So (nonchalantly pretending it hasn't been weeks since I last posted on this thread) to the jack socket....

When the project started out, we both thought it might be a right dog's dinner and the challenge was simply to get a bass that:

• didn't fall to pieces
• sounded at least as good (or, as a minimum, nearly as good) as a rubber band stretched over a baked bean can
• we both knew that some bits would look a bit odd, chunky and rough but that if we stuck with (using the artistic definition) a 'primitive' rough-carved, hand- carved look, those bits would not look entirely out of place 

Tom had some particular wants with some aspects, and was very open to suggestion on others:

•  We had already decided there simply was not enough depth of body to fit pots of any sort, so the pickup would be direct wired to the jack socket
• We had both twigged that the average jack prong was at least 50% longer than the body was deep...
• ...and Tom specifically wanted to use a neutrik locking socket.   Man, those are big suckers...
• Tom also wanted a top entry jack (a la ES335, Jazz bass, etc) 
• Tom wanted to have a major input into the shape of the headstock.

The two paragraphs in italics above are linked, causing an interesting dilemma later in the story, but for now, back to the jack socket.  So at the moment we were still in the primitive but functional 

So - easy.  Rough-carve a great big lump of cocobolo, tall enough to stop the jack and socket poking though the back of the bass and put the neutrik into it:

So - in terms of looking like a dogs dinner, looking primitive but functional, we certainly had achieved one of our objectives 

Happy New Year everyone!!!! 

The over-staying overstaying seasonal visitors are gone at last (lovely to see them...but not for THAT long!!!  ) so started to head towards finishing this build.

These shots make it look further along than it actually is, but I have started using a bit of Tru-oil as a sand-mark highlighter and sealer (it will eventually be wipe-on poly varnished).

I have also inset a couple of slivers of ebony into the camphor pickup covers - trying just camphor actually detracted from the top rather than enhanced it, just ebony would have been a bit 'normal' so thought I'd try a half and half...

I have to say, I really pleased how this is panning out - single-cut basses can be downright ugly, but this one is starting to gain a degree of elegance I was not entirely expecting 

6 hours ago, ScottR said:

That is very clean work......all along the build actually. You are going to end up with a very nice instrument if you keep up with this quality of work.

SR

I agree with Scott, Norris.  Very clean work indeed.

As a matter of interest, was the Florida blue one of the colours that the pen man you found also said was a 'fader'?

Outstandingly good for a first build.   I'll be really interested how this progresses 

That finish is unbelievable, Scott.  Outstanding isn't anywhere near a good enough word for it!!!

Like the necks, by the way.  Looking forward to see how these builds pan out 

On 12/20/2015 at 1:53 AM, XBIGJIMX said:

Then on to the most hellacious part of guitar building... radiusing the fretboard. It is a grulling tast that you feel in your shoulders . I tend to do it for a few minutes move on to something else. then come back do some more.

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...

20 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Yeah, it's a bit...off....

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