What materials are usually used for these? Ie. when dividing the top and back pieces... I gather that its usually a veneer of some sort. I was in the hardware store recently and I saw 'iron on' veneers, and some that were made of 'melamine' (sp?). I want a black accent line between the top and back of the bass that I'm building. Will this iron on black 'melamine' do the trick, or is there something more specific of higher grade that I need?

Don't touch the iron-on stuff! You need regular plain-jane wood veneer. Nothing else but plain old wood.

For a black accent line you'll have to find either a veneer of a blackish wood or coloured/dyed veneer.

For mine i used fiber veneer sheets that LMII offers. Ive heard it makes a cleaner black line than other veneer, i dont have anything to compare it to, but it looks pretty good.

Linas, when you used the LMI veneers did you have to cut one in half and join it at the center? Almost like a top? Because last I remember the sizes were 6" x 36" or something.

Linas, when you used the LMI veneers did you have to cut one in half and join it at the center? Almost like a top? Because last I remember the sizes were 6" x 36" or something.

The bass that i am building is a neck thru so the width of the veneer was just wide enough for each body wing. I glued up one side at a time useing pieces of mdf on each side (with wax paper in between) and clamped the hell out of it. I got good results.

I had to join the veneer on the last bass I did. I used plain masking tape to tape the pieces together, the glued one side to the body, vacuum clamped. Remove tape after glue dries, then glue the top and vacuum clamp. Without the vacuum clamp, I had too much of a hard time with it moving while getting it clamped. You could probably use contact cement and save yourself a WHOLE lot of pain. Ultimately came out nice, used a walnut veneer, and after finishing, came out nicely.

I usually purchase veneer off Ebay, there are so many sellers that the prices are quite reasonable. Of course, one of those sellers, who is 60 miles from my house, is the same place I go to purchase a lot of the woods I use, so I can buy it while I am there.

Some good reputable veneer sellers on ebay are:
Veneer From Afar.........Exotic Veneers plus......and Hobbithouse. You can do an Ebay Stores search to find them.
I have used all 3, and have always received good product, and service from them.

If you have a woodcraft near you they have it too...t

I used 1/8" of holly and got great results. When you use a accent layer from 1/8"-1/4" or so, it allows you to do very deep body carving, and it's really show off the accent.

However, doing the thicker accents is of course more expensive (but well worth it IMO)

Greg

Im glad this thread came up actually, I was going to ask a question about it sooner or later, I was wondering if it is safe to use the .6mm veneer for accents? if theres any risks of it pulling apart from being so thin when laminated? Its a pritty n00b question but one I didnt have an answer for.
Cheers Rayle XoX

Im glad this thread came up actually, I was going to ask a question about it sooner or later, I was wondering if it is safe to use the .6mm veneer for accents? if theres any risks of it pulling apart from being so thin when laminated? Its a pritty n00b question but one I didnt have an answer for.
Cheers Rayle XoX


When Properly glued, between well prepped surfaces, the chances of it pulling apart are "almost" nil. Anything "can" happen, but the chances are minimal at best. I have been using veneers in necks and odies for 20+ years now, and have yet to have one seperate.