Berry Oakley Tractor Build Progress

[VegasCustom]

Progress on tractor build… have a neck waiting for frets and a pickguard routed. Just need to make sure this all fits. Also have a blank pickguard coming because I’m not 100% in the measurements lining up without gaps. Unless Mr. Oakley had gaps on his… very hard to tell. Covered in grain fill to shore up a small crack in wood… then covered the whole thing because why not. Still not sure about natural or sunburst finish. Never done a sunburst. Don’t want to mess it up there.

 

[g-dude]

Progress on tractor build… have a neck waiting for frets and a pickguard routed. Just need to make sure this all fits. Also have a blank pickguard coming because I’m not 100% in the measurements lining up without gaps. Unless Mr. Oakley had gaps on his… very hard to tell. Covered in grain fill to shore up a small crack in wood… then covered the whole thing because why not. Still not sure about natural or sunburst finish. Never done a sunburst. Don’t want to mess it up there. View attachment 5413426

I’m sure you’ve seen this, but just in case…

 

[VegasCustom]

I’m sure you’ve seen this, but just in case…

Oh yea, saw that when I was a kid after discovering the Allmans Best of and Filmore East that I 100% stole from my dad’s CD collection. But to be fair, I think he had an iPod at the time.
For some reason I was never sure if that was the real thing. Anyway, good info.. gonna move the neck pickup back slightly from where I have it now to better match and begin the search for oval tuners

 

[Water buffalo]

Progress on tractor build… have a neck waiting for frets and a pickguard routed. Just need to make sure this all fits. Also have a blank pickguard coming because I’m not 100% in the measurements lining up without gaps. Unless Mr. Oakley had gaps on his… very hard to tell. Covered in grain fill to shore up a small crack in wood… then covered the whole thing because why not. Still not sure about natural or sunburst finish. Never done a sunburst. Don’t want to mess it up there. View attachment 5413426

That's some serious grain filling.

 

[VegasCustom]

That's some serious grain filling.

Yea, I had a feeling I was overdoing it…

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Yeah, you are supposed to put on a thin coat and then scrape 99% of it off, perpendicular to the grain. You are gonna be doing some sanding. Great in theory, but a lot of the grain filler comes back up out of the grain scraping it off. I have yet to find a grain filler that works really well. I have some red oak cabinets in my kitchen I wanted to paint, so I bought some Aquacoat water based grain filler, supposed to be the shizzle. Nope. Took me 3 coats to get the grain about 95% filled. It looked smooth after each coat, but then it shrank back as it dried. Sigh. I tried epoxy as a gain filler, which works, but's its a godawful mess.

 

[jTrolt]

I tried oil based grain filler once.
Once.
Nothing but crystal-lac grain filler since.
Yep, still takes 2-3 coats , but way friendlier, and can be used to "touch-up" in between clear coats.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Yeah, you are supposed to put on a thin coat and then scrape 99% of it off, perpendicular to the grain. You are gonna be doing some sanding. Great in theory, but a lot of the grain filler comes back up out of the grain scraping it off. I have yet to find a grain filler that works really well. I have some red oak cabinets in my kitchen I wanted to paint, so I bought some Aquacoat water based grain filler, supposed to be the shizzle. Nope. Took me 3 coats to get the grain about 95% filled. It looked smooth after each coat, but then it shrank back as it dried. Sigh. I tried epoxy as a gain filler, which works, but's its a godawful mess.

Best grain filler for a painted finish is autobody filler (Bondo). I've been refinishing guitars and basses for over 20 years and that is what I use followed by a catalyzed primer.