Stupid hack n00b lacquer question - Page 2

curbowkid · #21 11-09-2012, 09:18 AM

^^^^ thats awesome!

fretlessman71 · #22 11-09-2012, 09:58 AM

So my local art shop directed me to a local plastics shop here in town. I found black styrene in sheets, .030" thick, and a sheet 6"x14" cost me $0.71.

SurferJoe46 · #23 11-09-2012, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

So my local art shop directed me to a local plastics shop here in town. I found black styrene in sheets, .030" thick, and a sheet 6"x14" cost me $0.71.

Good on ya. Buy yourself a Smash Burger as a reward. Get the fries too.

fretlessman71 · #24 11-09-2012, 11:02 AM

I'll have to get the chicken sammich. :P

SurferJoe46 · #25 11-09-2012, 11:05 AM

Ugh. Chicken!

Not enough grease in it for my satisfaction. I'm only happy if the grease is dripping off my elbows when I'm eating.

If you go there, my sis-in-law will likely be there too. She has a brass plaque on her seat.

fretlessman71 · #26 11-09-2012, 11:12 AM

Red meat and I haven't been friends for nearly two decades. I miss it; my colon doesn't.

OKAY! Back to the topic...

I keep wondering if I got something thick enough for the fret slots. It's really .034", but since I'm new to this, I'm hesitant by nature...

SurferJoe46 · #27 11-09-2012, 11:18 AM

I used a hacksaw blade to open the slots to the correct width. To make it clearer, I used a belt sander to remove the upset from the blade before I used it.

fretlessman71 · #28 11-09-2012, 11:26 AM

The "upset"?

curbowkid · #29 11-09-2012, 11:28 AM

The saw teeth are set staggered. They make a wider cut than the blade itself

fretlessman71 · #30 11-09-2012, 11:36 AM

Ah, so you sand the sides flat?

curbowkid · #31 11-09-2012, 11:38 AM

Prescicely

Pilgrim · #32 11-09-2012, 12:28 PM

I love the black plastic idea. Joe's right - the teeth on a hacksaw blade are offset and cut wider than the blade.

I used a craft saw to open my fret lines - it was set for a cut .020 wide. You can always use a micrometer to check the width of the tooth set on the hacksaw blade...or you could use a file to remove the tooth offset.

fretlessman71 · #33 11-09-2012, 12:55 PM

Where's the best place HERE IN TOWN to get a good craft saw, Pilgrim?

walterw · #34 11-09-2012, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlungerModerno

File them flat, and refin the entire surface. Just take 1 belt sander and 5 minutes.
Hi I'm Johnny Knoxville and this is 5 minute defret!!! Ouch.

i've seen that done and it can come out OK (no worries about fret slot compression changing the neck's stiffness) but it would indeed have to be thickly finished over; otherwise, the normal wear of the wood between the metal fret "lines" would gradually reveal them, turning the bass back to fretted again.

at least with plastic or wood fill strips, they should wear the same as the surrounding wood.

SurferJoe46 · #35 11-09-2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

i've seen that done and it can come out OK (no worries about fret slot compression changing the neck's stiffness) but it would indeed have to be thickly finished over; otherwise, the normal wear of the wood between the metal fret "lines" would gradually reveal them, turning the bass back to fretted again.

at least with plastic or wood fill strips, they should wear the same as the surrounding wood.

I don't see wear-n-tear being all that much on a fretboard.

I imagine it could be bad from extreme - and I mean: E X T R E M E string bending - but I'd hesitate to say that having steel (or nickel) fret wires still embedded in the neck would cause them rise proud in a couple of generations of bass players using the same bass.

Could be -- but I don't want to meet the guy who plays like that.

Me? I'd take any and all vestiges of metal out of the grooves.

walterw · #36 11-09-2012, 03:54 PM

the one bass i saw that had this method done to it had noticeable ridges at each "fret" in certain spots, you could feel them when you played it. the frets hadn't been filed off that many years before, and it wasn't even the guy's main player.

again, it wasn't finished; with a solid clear-coat over everything i don't imagine it would be as much of an issue.

SurferJoe46 · #37 11-09-2012, 04:22 PM

Yeah - maybe you're right. The vast difference in the hardness and then no clear coat would prolly make for rapid fretboard wear.

Pilgrim · #38 11-09-2012, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

Where's the best place HERE IN TOWN to get a good craft saw, Pilgrim?

Hobby Lobby, in the shopping center with TJ Maxx on South College. That's a very nice craft shop with a good inventory.

PlungerModerno · #39 11-10-2012, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

Yeah - maybe you're right. The vast difference in the hardness and then no clear coat would prolly make for rapid fretboard wear.

Perhaps - as I understand it fretless basses need the whole fingerboard 'dressed' in the manner of a fret crown on a regular fret - of course with an unfinished board you'll be touching up the board fairly regularly (at least checking regularly)- or get spots of wear that will get worse and need even more wood removed to get back to an even board.

Perhaps when coping with unusual inlays, or fret lines like nickel or SS tangs, the maintenance of an unfinished board would be too much work to be feasible, but as I understand it you have to use a block or other sanding aid to avoid unevenness anyway, as the woods grain will wear inconsistently with a casual hand sanding (without pre shaped block).
It's outside my level of experience.

If you finish a board you of course have to make sure any inlays or lines are flush, but the hardness of the wood vs. the inlay/line may come to bear with some finishes.
The boundary may dry stressed and be weaker as a result or the strings may impart a point load at the boundaries during play as the finish and wood may flex differently to the inlay/line.
Of course the type, application of, and thickness etc. of finish may cause or alleviate these concerns (if they are valid?

).