5 string buckeye burl/mahogany neck through

[lbridenstine]

Two of the builds, I just bent the tabs in and wrapped the jack in electrical tape. It wasn't pretty but it worked. The axe bass I just left out the shielding. I figure it's only a $100 bass - a little noise is expected Eventually, I'll have to come up with a more elegant solution - perhaps some kind of oversized jack plate and oversized hole.

This build looks amazing, by the way

I've never shielded anything so far, so I think you'll be fine without it for the axe bass. I was thinking about an oversized hole and plugging just the end that the cup goes in or the plate goes over with an appropriate sized dowel so there's not a hole around the edges, but then I realized I wouldn't have room to do a hole any bigger on mine unless I stop doing big roundovers. Maybe that could work on yours?

I haven't tried bending the tabs in, so I'll try that and I'm thinking I might route that ledge between the magnets too to make extra room. I'll have to try to remember to try to come up with a solution next time so I don't have to do this at the end of the build again. I think I may have to re-solder it too, the wires are sticking out to the sides which isn't helping me at all.

Thank you! It looked completely different to me seeing it in front of a mirror rather than sitting 1 foot in front of me on a table, if that makes any sense. In a good way.

 

[Smilodon]

I had the same problem on my last build (Using one of those Electrosocket jack holders). I ended up bending in the tabs slightly. There is lots of room in the space opposite of the spring tabs on the connector. I also used a Dremel with a sanding drum to widen just the inner parts of the hole a bit. I left about the depth of the electrosocket cup and just sanded further in. Just be careful to leave enough of the shank of the sanding drum out of the chuck to keep the chuck from hitting the visible wood on the outside. It's also a good idea to cover up the area on the outside of the hole just in case the sanding drum catches and jump out of the hole. Use a coarse sanding drum and constantly rotate the Dremel against the rotational direction of the drum. (Same rule as when you are using a router) This is to get an even hole and to prevent the sanding drum to catch.

Did that make sense?

 

[lbridenstine]

I had the same problem on my last build (Using one of those Electrosocket jack holders). I ended up bending in the tabs slightly. There is lots of room in the space opposite of the spring tabs on the connector. I also used a Dremel with a sanding drum to widen just the inner parts of the hole a bit. I left about the depth of the electrosocket cup and just sanded further in. Just be careful to leave enough of the shank of the sanding drum out of the chuck to keep the chuck from hitting the visible wood on the outside. It's also a good idea to cover up the area on the outside of the hole just in case the sanding drum catches and jump out of the hole. Use a coarse sanding drum and constantly rotate the Dremel against the rotational direction of the drum. (Same rule as when you are using a router) This is to get an even hole and to prevent the sanding drum to catch.

Did that make sense?

A Dremel! Why do I always forget I have a Dremel and that it can do things? Thank you!

 

[gsnad2000]

I think the type of jack your using isn't really designed for the application. they are intended just to stick thru a hole in thin sheet metal or plastic. Maybe one of the cylindrical type ones would work better? Obviously too late now, but maybe if the jack hole was up near where youve got that switch mounted, there is less wood to clear and it would fit.


Edit: or Smilodons excellent advice

Dremels are great arent they?

 

[lbridenstine]

Well, yesterday I got the whole bass sanded smooth, vacuumed, wiped down, and hung up on my "finishing stands" (A.K.A. mic stands with wire, hooks, and duct tape). I put the decals on and let the water dry out from the surfaces overnight.

I sprayed 3 coats of finish today. These pictures were at random times... I think the back was after 1 or 2 coats and the front was after the third and the covers I have done almost twice as many coats on because I'm not flipping them yet, but I don't remember how many were on there when I took the pictures.

This one is kind of blending in with the cover for some reason, maybe because of the cover being so dark. Still better than the faded black ink I had on there before. Any ideas/suggestions for future reference? One thing I'm thinking is that I probably should have sprayed lacquer on top of the epoxy before the decal because the finish (epoxy) looks dull under the clear parts of the decals and it may end up staying that way, but maybe I'm wrong and it's just not buried yet? As far as the color goes, I'm sure it'd turn out a lot better on a lighter colored wood.

 

[BassHappy]

Well, yesterday I got the whole bass sanded smooth, vacuumed, wiped down, and hung up on my "finishing stands" (A.K.A. mic stands with wire, hooks, and duct tape). I put the decals on and let the water dry out from the surfaces overnight.

I sprayed 3 coats of finish today. These pictures were at random times... I think the back was after 1 or 2 coats and the front was after the third and the covers I have done almost twice as many coats on because I'm not flipping them yet, but I don't remember how many were on there when I took the pictures.

This one is kind of blending in with the cover for some reason, maybe because of the cover being so dark. Still better than the faded black ink I had on there before. Any ideas/suggestions for future reference? One thing I'm thinking is that I probably should have sprayed lacquer on top of the epoxy before the decal because the finish (epoxy) looks dull under the clear parts of the decals and it may end up staying that way, but maybe I'm wrong and it's just not buried yet? As far as the color goes, I'm sure it'd turn out a lot better on a lighter colored wood.

Hey Lisa

The bass looks really really nice. I am totally amazed at how that turquoise brings the whole design together.

Sorry the decal didn't pop the way we were hoping. I think that is why a lot of folks kind of stick with the standard gold and silver foils and leafs on the headstocks. They usually stand out pretty well against most anything. The white background on the decals can be deceiving as well. When you see the decal against white it's so different to see it against another backdrop. I wish this decal paper came with clear backing but it doesn't. Makes me wonder about how the white pearl would look?

Anyways, nice job the bass is extraordinarily beautiful!

 

[eightyearsapril]

I couldn't get labels to easily stand out on dark backgrounds. Even when I used a very light sky blue on the rosewood fingerboard, it came out very dark and almost indistinguishable.

 

[lbridenstine]

Hey Lisa

The bass looks really really nice. I am totally amazed at how that turquoise brings the whole design together.

Sorry the decal didn't pop the way we were hoping. I think that is why a lot of folks kind of stick with the standard gold and silver foils and leafs on the headstocks. They usually stand out pretty well against most anything. The white background on the decals can be deceiving as well. When you see the decal against white it's so different to see it against another backdrop. I wish this decal paper came with clear backing but it doesn't. Makes me wonder about how the white pearl would look?

Anyways, nice job the bass is extraordinarily beautiful!

Thank you!

Hey, no big deal. Yeah, the white background was a bit deceiving, I actually put a gold signature on the mahogany at first, and when I put it on I couldn't see it, so I just took it off and put a black one on there instead. The black shows up good! I'll have to try the white pearl on a scrap sometime and see what happens. Does your printer print white at all? Just wondering because I know a lot of printers won't print white because they assume the paper will be white. I think if it does print white, then the white pearl should be fine. Also, I wonder if they would work if you print all white logos first, then run it through again with the color over it? Not for me, but just like as an experiment to see if that gives them the white background just on the logo so the wood color doesn't show through.

Thank you again for making me the amazing decals! I'll do some experiments with some other color decals and woods and see what happens.

I couldn't get labels to easily stand out on dark backgrounds. Even when I used a very light sky blue on the rosewood fingerboard, it came out very dark and almost indistinguishable.

That's a bummer. I guess I'll just use them on lighter colored woods from now on unless we can figure out a solution. Luckily most of the builds I have planned right now will have lighter colored headstocks, or at least some sapwood that I could position in the right place.

 

[BassHappy]

Thank you!

Hey, no big deal. Yeah, the white background was a bit deceiving, I actually put a gold signature on the mahogany at first, and when I put it on I couldn't see it, so I just took it off and put a black one on there instead. The black shows up good! I'll have to try the white pearl on a scrap sometime and see what happens. Does your printer print white at all? Just wondering because I know a lot of printers won't print white because they assume the paper will be white. I think if it does print white, then the white pearl should be fine. Also, I wonder if they would work if you print all white logos first, then run it through again with the color over it? Not for me, but just like as an experiment to see if that gives them the white background just on the logo so the wood color doesn't show through.

Thank you again for making me the amazing decals! I'll do some experiments with some other color decals and woods and see what happens.

That's a bummer. I guess I'll just use them on lighter colored woods from now on unless we can figure out a solution. Luckily most of the builds I have planned right now will have lighter colored headstocks, or at least some sapwood that I could position in the right place.

Hey Lisa

My printer does not print white white - but anything with some shade or figure with the white seems to work fine. I think the mother of pearl decals should be OK - but I have not tried them on anything as of yet. They do have a choice of "Clear" or "White" decal paper, but with the white it looks very strange unless you put it over white. Problem is they use a white background on the clear decal sheets. I wish the decal sheets were clear as well.

I am just using a run of the mill HP color laser printer and you can't put the sheets through twice. I wish you could. Actually, you have to turn the printer on and QUICKLY hit print - once the printer warms up it will smear the decals. Printer has to be cold.

Most decals were originally based on the gold and silver Gibson and Fender standards - and were made to go over pale or at least light colored maple. I don't think gold or silver work very well on darker woods either. although Gibson has had very good luck putting gold and silver over solid black, like the LP headstocks. You are part of my beta testing and I appreciate you letting me learn from you as I go.

Paul Slagle - one of the kings of the nitro finish world, had me make some decals for him and they worked fine against the standard Fender style maple neck as below... These are just the decals without any spray at all on them yet - although I must say - am not wild about his logo:

More on Paul here. Pretty famous dude in the finish world and the audio world. Mixed FOH for a number of acts like Edgar Winter and Tower of Power.

Invalid Link Removed

I am really curious to know what the white WOULD look like over dark wood with lots of figure like yours. Even silver too - this is all one big grand experiment and thanks for being part of it!

Your bass looks so great....

 

[Hopkins]

Just a bit of advice as far as the decals go.

If you print it in reverse (mirror image) with a slightly thicker out line, you can fill it in with a silver, gold or even white paint pen and install the logo upside down. It will adhere just fine either way, and you will get a nice opaque image that will stand out perfectly on dark woods.

Sorry for the awful photo, but you get the idea

 

[Jon Clegg]

That's a very sweet 3D effect, Hopkins!

 

[Hopkins]

That's a very sweet 3D effect, Hopkins!

Its not a 3D effect actually, just a terrible quality picture.

 

[gsnad2000]

Hopkins, are you filling that in with paint after applying the decal?

 

[Marcury]

Looking ever so good!

 

[Hopkins]

Hopkins, are you filling that in with paint after applying the decal?

No, print the logo as a white image with a black outline in reverse, then spray your ink bonder, when its dry fill in the outline with white or whatever color you want, I usually use silver or gold, just make sure its an oil based paint pen. Then you just apply the logo face down.

 

[lbridenstine]

Hey Lisa

My printer does not print white white - but anything with some shade or figure with the white seems to work fine. I think the mother of pearl decals should be OK - but I have not tried them on anything as of yet. They do have a choice of "Clear" or "White" decal paper, but with the white it looks very strange unless you put it over white. Problem is they use a white background on the clear decal sheets. I wish the decal sheets were clear as well.

...
I am really curious to know what the white WOULD look like over dark wood with lots of figure like yours. Even silver too - this is all one big grand experiment and thanks for being part of it!

Your bass looks so great....

I found some buckeye burl that I am completely enamored with, I love the blood red in there - but I don't have any projects to use it on right now. Wondering if I should just spring for it so that when I do I have it. Like my Fender hollows, they are very southwestern looking, but I would fill the voids as you did, only use the dark red.



I am really kind of smitten with these black ones too, but they need a dose of red like above IMHO:

I'll do some experimenting and post results.

That buckeye looks awesome. I like the red too.

Just a bit of advice as far as the decals go.

If you print it in reverse (mirror image) with a slightly thicker out line, you can fill it in with a silver, gold or even white paint pen and install the logo upside down. It will adhere just fine either way, and you will get a nice opaque image that will stand out perfectly on dark woods.

Sorry for the awful photo, but you get the idea

No, print the logo as a white image with a black outline in reverse, then spray your ink bonder, when its dry fill in the outline with white or whatever color you want, I usually use silver or gold, just make sure its an oil based paint pen. Then you just apply the logo face down.

Ah, I saw your first post, went downstairs with my markers and filled in some decal outlines, then came back up and saw the second post, so... I didn't use ink bonder (don't even know what it is, but I assume some kind of spray?), the white marker was water based ink, and the silver was Sharpie. I was wondering about the ink washing off when I go to soak it. I'm assuming the white will. We'll see about the Sharpie.

Since it's just a test, I'll just put the logos on backwards.

I had a hard time coloring those in without a fine-tip marker. If this works out, I might get a pack of fine-tips.

Spraying the wood with finish BEFORE the decals this time...

I haven't sanded the wood, but it's all relatively close to flat, so... hopefully it's good enough for a test.

If the white marker holds up, I'll put that one on wenge, along with some other decals, I'll try silver on both wenge and walnut. The black limba will get a nice variety. I can probably squeeze a couple on the mahogany.

 

[lbridenstine]

Also, a small update.

This one's after 3 coats:

These are after 6:

Serial number/model number. I just realized while looking at this that the model number is right where the pre-amp box is going to block it. Oh well.

 

[Jonny5bass]

What kind of finish are you using? Are you still using the Preval sprayers?

 

[lbridenstine]

What kind of finish are you using? Are you still using the Preval sprayers?

Yes, sir. I need to get a spray setup at some point...

I'm using EM6000.

 

[scottyd]

Looks good, have you checked out the HVLP systems like this? Invalid Link Removed

No compressor needed... Also kudos for masking off your flip flops.. safety first.