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Fill Pickup Route?

#21
Matthew_84 said:
Thank you... Do you recall if the seams of the piece of wood became visible?
Click to expand...

I don't remember, unfortunately. I'm not even sure if I painted that body.

I can say that my buddy did something similar with a guitar of his (converted a SSS strat to a single H), and his was just barely noticeable from the right angles with a satin finish. Here's a picture. If you look really closely, you can kind of see the filled areas are slightly sunken in.

hkPc23t.jpg
 
#22
FunkMetalBass said:
I don't remember, unfortunately. I'm not even sure if I painted that body.

I can say that my buddy did something similar with a guitar of his (converted a SSS strat to a single H), and his was just barely noticeable from the right angles with a satin finish. Here's a picture. If you look really closely, you can kind of see the filled areas are slightly sunken in.

hkPc23t.jpg
Click to expand...

That's great - thank you. Unfortunately, I was hoping to apply a gloss or even metallic finish to mine so those dips would be easier to notice. Do you know by chance if he used any sort of filler/bondo, or just wood and glue?

If you don't know, no worries and I appreciate your help so far.
 
#23
Matthew_84 said:
That's great - thank you. Unfortunately, I was hoping to apply a gloss or even metallic finish to mine so those dips would be easier to notice. Do you know by chance if he used any sort of filler/bondo, or just wood and glue?

If you don't know, no worries and I appreciate your help so far.
Click to expand...

If you're going for a glittery metallic finish, it probably wouldn't be noticeable in the slightest. I believe he had used some bondo, but I'm not sure as this was also a while ago; I just happened to remember that a picture of it existed.
 
#26
Is there any benefit waiting for it to acclimate / dry for longer period of time, like thru a change of seasons, to allow and for potential shrinkage / movement to occur before sanding level and finishing?

I have a Tele body that I would love to fill the bridge and string thru holes, then re-route for a short scale bass body, but I have been afraid of this very thing ruining my hard work down the line.
 
#27
Anthonyfranklin9000 said:
Is there any benefit waiting for it to acclimate / dry for longer period of time, like thru a change of seasons, to allow and for potential shrinkage / movement to occur before sanding level and finishing?
Click to expand...

That's a very good idea. I'm curious about this question as well.

I wouldn't mind taping on a temporary pickguard until the piece acclimates, if it would help ensure better results.
 
#28
If you want the repair to stay flat and be invisible under a gloss finish for decades, the best method I know of is to fit in a wood block of the same species wood, matching the grain direction, and glue it in with a hard marine epoxy like West Systems. Fill the seams with West Systems, and sand them down flush. It won't shrink or crack, even under extreme conditions.
 
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#29
Bruce Johnson said:
If you want the repair to stay flat and be invisible under a gloss finish for decades, the best method I know of is to fit in a wood block of the same species wood, matching the grain direction, and glue it in with a hard marine epoxy like West Systems. Fill the seams with West Systems, and sand them down flush. It won't shrink or crack, even under extreme conditions.
Click to expand...

That's very helpful Bruce. Thank you.
 
#30
I bought an Ibanez body to put my electronics and neck of my Ibanez DB700 (destroyer shape) in. Had a P route, and my pickups are rectangles. Glued in some hard wood with wood glue and clamps, but left the surface of the wood below the finish of the body. Hard thick Ibanez finish. Filled the top of the wood block with superglue. Let it dry and sanded. Filled low spots with more superglue and sanded. Painted it after routing. Can't tell it, but it hasn't been long enough for the seams to show up yet.
 
#31
skot71 said:
I bought an Ibanez body to put my electronics and neck of my Ibanez DB700 (destroyer shape) in. Had a P route, and my pickups are rectangles. Glued in some hard wood with wood glue and clamps, but left the surface of the wood below the finish of the body. Hard thick Ibanez finish. Filled the top of the wood block with superglue. Let it dry and sanded. Filled low spots with more superglue and sanded. Painted it after routing. Can't tell it, but it hasn't been long enough for the seams to show up yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks! How long ago did you do this?
 

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