Another man's treasure

bigolbassguy · #1 11-16-2010, 06:46 AM

My Ebay bass/winter project

I noticed while removing the top, that the purfling,being in plywood, severely weakens the edges. It was pretty hard to keep from damaging them even more.

I welcome any ideas about where to begin - aside from throwing it in a dumpster :}

Jake deVilliers · #2 11-16-2010, 11:05 AM

Lots of learning potential there - are you counting on a long winter!

bigolbassguy · #3 11-16-2010, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

Lots of learning potential there - are you counting on a long winter!

Obviously, huh? It's Montana, so I can count on it, eh?

**Matthew Tucker** · #4 11-16-2010, 05:46 PM

I'd start with the hardest job which looks like that neck break. If you can fix that well, the rest of the bass may be worth doing. If you can't, then any work on the rest of the bass is a waste of time.

You could try to repair that break with a strong maple spline and a CF insert. It's probably not worth doing a scroll graft unless you want the practice. Or you could buy a new neck and scroll and fit that.

Maxvla · #5 11-16-2010, 07:32 PM

I'll second Mr. Tucker's entire post. Was my idea before I started reading your post.

@ OP

The reason you are having problems with the purfling is because the top is laminated. The thin sheets of wood, once exposed, have virtually no anchor to the rest of the wood. The best thing you could do before working on any of those areas would be to glue down any loose sections before you do anything else, unless you intend to graft a new piece in it's place. Laminated instruments are great bang for the buck, but once something starts to go wrong it's like a house of cards tumbling down.

bigolbassguy · #6 11-16-2010, 07:43 PM

That's where I decided to dig in. The scroll is off, but quite a few chips are missing - just gooped up with hhg. The original repair was done with 2 tiny 1/4" x 1" spruce dowels :/ I was wrong about the nail. It was a dowel that had been stained black. It didn't take much to wiggle the whole thing apart. I'll start cleaning the old glue tomorrow, but I'm not too hopeful. The scroll is worth preserving, though. Very nice-looking - and I'd love to do a scroll graft, just for the experience.

james condino · #7 11-16-2010, 10:20 PM

That looks like a pretty nice restoration candidate compared to a few old Kays that folks have brought to me in multiple pieces, all stuffed inside a big hockey dufflebag....

If the heel is in good shape, I'd go for the extra effort and keep that neck.

Get yourself a copy of Chuck Traeger's book and about a pound of hide glue and you'll be in good shape by the spring thaw.

j.

bigolbassguy · #8 11-17-2010, 06:28 AM

I've got Traeger's book, but it doesn't cover this kind of neck repair. The heel is in great shape, and the neck is still glued firmly into the block. I removed the FB last night, which didn't go as badly as I thought it would. Worked it loose from the break first to prevent further damage.

I'm a little uncertain about how to clamp it, but there's plenty of time to think about it while I remove the old glue and drill out the dowels. I'd like to use carbon fiber, but what diameter/length? I've never worked with it before.

Jake deVilliers · #9 11-17-2010, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigolbassguy

I've got Traeger's book, but it doesn't cover this kind of neck repair. The heel is in great shape, and the neck is still glued firmly into the block. I removed the FB last night, which didn't go as badly as I thought it would. Worked it loose from the break first to prevent further damage.

I'm a little uncertain about how to clamp it, but there's plenty of time to think about it while I remove the old glue and drill out the dowels. I'd like to use carbon fiber, but what diameter/length? I've never worked with it before.

Hey Mark, there are pix etc of a CF bar installation on my site at www.thebassspa.com

**Matthew Tucker** · #10 11-17-2010, 04:03 PM

If the existing repair is correctly positioned, I would probably re-glue the break first then then clamp/tack-glue the neck at several points very firmly and solidly to a stable mount, then rout as deep and long a groove as i dare into the top surface of the neck without breaking through the back - probably about 12mm deep and 20mm wide. there'll be much less original wood thickness left so you have to stabilise the thing really well so that the weight of the scroll or router doesn't pull it all out of shape. Then fill that slot with a maple spline+HHG. Tricky job but will end up with new wood all the way into the pegbox. Then the CF insert is simply a matter of routing a 1/4" slot into the centre of the neck and a gob of epoxy.

bigolbassguy · #11 11-17-2010, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

If the existing repair is correctly positioned, I would probably re-glue the break first then then clamp/tack-glue the neck at several points very firmly and solidly to a stable mount, then rout as deep and long a groove as i dare into the top surface of the neck without breaking through the back - probably about 12mm deep and 20mm wide. there'll be much less original wood thickness left so you have to stabilise the thing really well so that the weight of the scroll or router doesn't pull it all out of shape. Then fill that slot with a maple spline+HHG. Tricky job but will end up with new wood all the way into the pegbox. Then the CF insert is simply a matter of routing a 1/4" slot into the centre of the neck and a gob of epoxy.

I like it.

bigolbassguy · #12 11-17-2010, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

Hey Mark, there are pix etc of a CF bar installation on my site at www.thebassspa.com

Thanks Jake... maybe I should route a more shallow channel for the maple spline than Matt suggested, then route a 2nd channel for the CF rod - install the CF rod in the bottom of the channel, then fill with maple? Seems like it would yield a better gluing surface + the CF would carry more load at the point where the joint is going to want to separate. ??

**Matthew Tucker** · #13 11-18-2010, 12:52 AM

I think the CF rod is good for stiffening but i wouldn't count on it to hold it all together.

It's not a really easy repair. There may be other (and better) ways to do it.

bigolbassguy · #14 11-18-2010, 06:10 AM

I've decided to do things the way you originally suggested, Matt. I'm also thinking about making a plaster mold of the back of the neck after gluing it together to support it while routing.

basskababble · #15 11-18-2010, 06:21 AM

Just thought I'd share because of your thread title... I just made these stickers for my band after finding my batshart crazy almost baby mamma girlfriend cheating on me with her "best friend" named Ernie...

**Matthew Tucker** · #16 11-18-2010, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigolbassguy

I've decided to do things the way you originally suggested, Matt. I'm also thinking about making a plaster mold of the back of the neck after gluing it together to support it while routing.

yep i think that'd be a sensible solution. if you're clever you can make a box around it to hold the plaster and use the sides of the box as a router fence. It's trickier to do while the neck is still attached to the body though

bigolbassguy · #17 11-23-2010, 09:08 AM

So, after cleaning all of the glue from the original break, the two surfaces won't mate well. I'm considering cutting the break out and splicing it with some matching maple, then continuing with the original repair plan. ???

Jake deVilliers · #18 11-23-2010, 10:05 AM

Why not just plane the mating surfaces true and glue them back together? The neck might end up what, a sixteenth of an inch shorter?

bigolbassguy · #19 11-23-2010, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

Why not just plane the mating surfaces true and glue them back together? The neck might end up what, a sixteenth of an inch shorter?

That's essentially what I've done, but I lose about 1 1/4" due to the shape of the break. I've made a spacer that should be a pretty close match. Just heading down to the shop to glue it up. I'll start carving/sanding/scraping it into shape either tomorrow or next week, after the holiday.

**Matthew Tucker** · #20 11-23-2010, 07:47 PM

Worth measuring the scale length to make extra sure that's what you want to end up with. First time I did a neck break I mended it beautifully but then realised I'd mended a 44" scale neck. So I had to re-do it to bring it back to a more playable 42". Just saying. Now's the time to make sure!