I think he's using it to scrape the rust off those strings.
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Down the rabbit hole again - Project 4350
- Thread starter ChickWithaRic
- Start date
I think he's using it to scrape the rust off those strings.
Those are relic'd strings.
They cost $160 p/set.
They cost $160 p/set.
You manipulate the file in a vigorous back and forth motion until the strings snap and BAM! The nut is fully intooberated.
Wrong search term. That’s the “You gotta be freakin’ nuts” file.
- Are you a nut?
- Do you have access to (ownership optional, you're a nut) a guitar?
- Have we got the tool for you!
- If you order today, you get a Ginsu knife and a smokeless ashtray!!!
As previously threatened, "infrastructure week" is upon us, and I shall be commencing hostilities this weekend. I aim to have something guitar shaped by Sunday evening.
Ok fine, yes, I know what I said but after weeks and weeks of doing it for THE MAN, when I finally unloaded the truck on my last scheduled work day for 2021, I just figured I wanted to get a couple of things out of the way.
Things that have been bugging me.
Things like, the "Blondes have more fun" Jazz Bass had a neck attached with (genuine 7ender) wood screws. We don't like that. We like machine screws into threaded inserts. So I took care of that. Blondie deserved better.
A2 stainless steel M5 Pozi-2 raised and csk screws into M5 steel inserts. A2 is not a fancy bright stainless steel such as you find in those nasty soft screws supplied with door hinges, it's a more structural grade and is very gray in its appearance. It can take some punishment. It's what you want for this kind of thing. I used a little copper loaded grease on the bolt threads, just in case, and lapped the inserts down flat to the neck with a diamond stone before sanding back to 400 and applying some oil to keep the bad stuff out and the good stuff in.
Does it make a difference to your tone? Yes, I really think it does, as long as your neck pocket is as tight as you can make it. If I were pressed for a single adjective, I'd be choosing between "articulate" and "muscular". It's just a tighter, more focused tone. So maybe I'd say "focused".
Next thing I really wanted to do was to refinish the headstock on my recently acquired Ibanez RS900, which I have christened Babydoll. For some bizarre reason, somebody has, at point in Babydoll's life, replaced the iconic Gotoh sweetheart tuners with regular Gotohs. I guess they thought it was an upgrade.
That's bad enough in itself, but instead of tapping out the ferrules from the back of the headstock with a suitable size SPECIAL TOOL (screwdriver) they attempted to dig them out from the front.
That's just never gonna work. Then, they figured they would apply some kind of poly finish that had sat in an open can for a year, with a credit card instead of a brush, and I mean it was literally trowelled on. Ugly af. I wish I had taken "before" pics of this refin disaster. It looked like Joan Collins' forehead.
I attacked it with a cordless random orbit sander and a 400 grit pad to remove the bulk of the mess. I went all the way to 1500 grit, being very cautious not to "burn through" and damage the original headstock decal.
Then I gave it four light coats of ProXL matte rattle can nitro, let that cure for 24 hours, and Micromeshed it from 1500 to 12000. I think it's pretty good and it has the same semi gloss sheen that I remember from my Ibanez RB620. It's close enough for me.
You can see especially around the A string tuner where somebody has just tried to dig out the ferrule with a screwdriver. I didn't even attempt to fix things like that. Babydoll is nearly 42 years old, she's entitled to a few battle scars.
So, I've not been idle. Just busy in different directions. I think now I can really get going on what I was supposed to be doing.
Things that have been bugging me.
Things like, the "Blondes have more fun" Jazz Bass had a neck attached with (genuine 7ender) wood screws. We don't like that. We like machine screws into threaded inserts. So I took care of that. Blondie deserved better.
A2 stainless steel M5 Pozi-2 raised and csk screws into M5 steel inserts. A2 is not a fancy bright stainless steel such as you find in those nasty soft screws supplied with door hinges, it's a more structural grade and is very gray in its appearance. It can take some punishment. It's what you want for this kind of thing. I used a little copper loaded grease on the bolt threads, just in case, and lapped the inserts down flat to the neck with a diamond stone before sanding back to 400 and applying some oil to keep the bad stuff out and the good stuff in.
Does it make a difference to your tone? Yes, I really think it does, as long as your neck pocket is as tight as you can make it. If I were pressed for a single adjective, I'd be choosing between "articulate" and "muscular". It's just a tighter, more focused tone. So maybe I'd say "focused".
Next thing I really wanted to do was to refinish the headstock on my recently acquired Ibanez RS900, which I have christened Babydoll. For some bizarre reason, somebody has, at point in Babydoll's life, replaced the iconic Gotoh sweetheart tuners with regular Gotohs. I guess they thought it was an upgrade.
That's bad enough in itself, but instead of tapping out the ferrules from the back of the headstock with a suitable size SPECIAL TOOL (screwdriver) they attempted to dig them out from the front.
That's just never gonna work. Then, they figured they would apply some kind of poly finish that had sat in an open can for a year, with a credit card instead of a brush, and I mean it was literally trowelled on. Ugly af. I wish I had taken "before" pics of this refin disaster. It looked like Joan Collins' forehead.
I attacked it with a cordless random orbit sander and a 400 grit pad to remove the bulk of the mess. I went all the way to 1500 grit, being very cautious not to "burn through" and damage the original headstock decal.
Then I gave it four light coats of ProXL matte rattle can nitro, let that cure for 24 hours, and Micromeshed it from 1500 to 12000. I think it's pretty good and it has the same semi gloss sheen that I remember from my Ibanez RB620. It's close enough for me.
You can see especially around the A string tuner where somebody has just tried to dig out the ferrule with a screwdriver. I didn't even attempt to fix things like that. Babydoll is nearly 42 years old, she's entitled to a few battle scars.
So, I've not been idle. Just busy in different directions. I think now I can really get going on what I was supposed to be doing.
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I've also been having too much fun with super budget pedals.
I need a more catholic work ethic.
(Reader's note: That Plexion pedal is actually really cool. You can get just the tiniest hint of grit and drive [a la JPJ] from that thing. I like it a lot).
I need a more catholic work ethic.
(Reader's note: That Plexion pedal is actually really cool. You can get just the tiniest hint of grit and drive [a la JPJ] from that thing. I like it a lot).
What's wrong with your present work ethic? Stuff gets done, doesn't it? Job, old bass, new bass, ...
It gets done, just not always in the order I had intended because I'm easily distrac... oh hey look everybody, it's a cat. Hi, cat.
Seriously if I behaved this way professionally I wouldn't have a business at all, so I suppose it's nice to just drift off target little when one is able to do so.
Exactly! So keep it this way. It's healthy for the mind to have different approaches going on.
I agree, I have to meet time sensitive goals in my actual paid job all the time, so I probably do take liberties when I only have myself to answer to. I understand if you're trying to follow the progress on a build it can become frustrating but the whole idea is that it should be enjoyable. I'm not going to force myself into things just because of TalkBass. I don't mean that to sound arrogant, it's just that I won't do my best work if I'm not in the groove.
It needn't be said I trust but you know you're allowed to deviate off the stated path when you can come up with lines like " looked like Joan Collins forehead " off the cuff . Absolutely no apologies necessary .... Kelly
Ive seen some truly wretched horror inflicted on basses, makes me a little weepy, but even worse results can be had when a screwdriver is used as a chisel. Usually to "route" pickup cavities.These people should be shot! Shot I say! I forget, what is it you are supposed to be doing? I just enjoy the reparte and digressions, which distracts from my glacial progress on my own build. Carry on.
In short, you already have a job. In your case (as well as mine), a more-than-full-time job. You don’t need a bass project to become another one.
I get it. I think I can safely say we all get it. I have instrument projects that have been back-burnered for years. I’ll get to them, but not in the middle of my busiest season where workdays are very often 14-16 hours. I’m still busy restoring my grandfather’s table saw - a project I started months ago and estimated would take two weeks.
Things outside of work go at the pace they can. Perhaps that’s the pace at which they’re meant to go.
