Recent content by rudy4444

Dave Weir of Weir Guitars does his basses and guitars that way, so you were partially correct in your thought. ;) From Dave's website: "The truss rod is installed into a hole drilled from the heel up the center of the neck to the zero fret. The hole is drilled using a lath and modified gun...

I've used Osmo Poly-X #3054 Satin European hard oil on my last several projects so I've got some under-belt experience. See THIS post on using it on a walnut bass body and neck. I'd advise following the manufacturer's directions. It works differently than your typical oil finishes, so it's...

Re: Nut slotting. I used a few flat strips of various thickness hobby stock with a couple layers of 220 wrapped around the edge for years. I treated myself to the Musicnomad diamond coated files when they came out. Expensive, but insanely fun to use. ;) Truly a "buy once, cry once" purchase...

If you have EVO you should use it. I love it for bass as well as any other fretted instrument. You don't need much besides a few files for finishing ends and a nice small hammer. I used to press frets but I feel that you get a much better feel when you use a hammer properly.

If your pocket depth is such that the board is above the surface level (it should be...) then you can form a lip in the neck heel end so the curved portion projects over the body. Alternatively you can match the pocket to the neck profile by careful use of a small sanding drum or square off the...

"So, any suggestions? Something I may have missed or overlooked? What say you?" Get a winder and wind your own set of pickups. When you get done "perception bias" will convince you that your finished muse sounds much better than all the rest of the herd. ;)

I watched an interview a while back with Dennis Fano (of Fano and Novo Guitars) and they were pulling the painted bodies out of a deep freezer to create the signature crackle finish. It sounds like you're looking for a wider "crack", so that technique might not get you there.

I'd put LaBella black tapes on, but that's just me. ;)

You might consider making up a copy of my dedicated slotting saw. The slotting blade is available from McMaster Carr and is relatively inexpensive, although a blade will cut thousands of slots before needing replacement. I have a buddy that borrows my saw when he wants to do a batch of...

I'd probably try that with a 120 volt plug on it. Ninety Watts is still a LOT of heat! That iron looks like the type used for leaded glass work where the bent end is meant to solder the joints of the lead came channels holding the glass panels.

Here's a quick pictorial of creating P bass pickup routes using a drill bit for corners, hogging waste out with a Forstner, and pattern routing the straight portions. This leaves a tiny area between the straight routes and drilled corners to pare away with a chisel. It's the easiest method for...

Full P plans in PDF form have been posted in the past, so a search should turn up what you want.

Mallets can be used for a wide variety of purposes, as shown in my "Candy Hammer" post. Normally you'll see them used for striking chisels in a controlled manner. They just have a much nicer organic feel than a metal hammer. If you want a good "How to construct a mallet" guide then check out my...

Thanks. I've used the beeswax finish on a few guitar-related projects as detailed HERE. Mallet-related, I made my wife a 3/4 sized version of my standard mallet for her home barista station. She usually smashes a soft peppermint to add to the top of her morning mocha, and the mallet is much...

I agree that router planes r' cool! Here's an article I published on making your own "dogbone" router plane inexpensively. Constructing A "Dogbone" Router Plane