Finally revisiting a fretless project

[Lo-E]

And after the first coat…..

 

[spoonman69]

First coat of Osmo Polyx applied. How long are you guys waiting before applying a second coat ? ( @Beej )


When I´ve used osmo polyx for a neck finish, it was ready for the next coat after about 24 hours.

 

[Dark Horse]

Thanks !

 

[Beej]

Yep, next day has worked for me. It dries really quickly.

 

[Dark Horse]

Second coat of Osmo applied to the body…

 

[Dark Horse]

Set the frets…. Still need to rough file before carving the neck… but the games are on, so that’s enough for now

 

[Dark Horse]

If you aren’t aware already….. you should be going to garage sales and buying older American made hand tools. They are so superior to todays current Chinese made tools that it’s ridiculous. These older hand tools were made to last a lifetime…. As opposed to ones made today that you're lucky to get a useful year out of. They stay sharper, are less likely to bend or break, and typically feel better in the hand. A little cleanup with a scotchbrite pad and perhaps some acetone and then a drop of 3in1 Oil is typically all they need. And the most shocking thing is that you RARELY pay more than a dollar or two for them !

I just wiped these down lightly, and im going to go to Home Depot to get some Plasti Dip and dip two of the handles for extra comfort.

Anyway, trust me…. Buy older USA made screwdrivers, pliers, cutters, files, etc…. You'll be glad you did !

 

[Dark Horse]

After two coats of osmo polyx, some #0000 steel will, and a light buffing…

 

[Beej]

How do you like the feel of the osmo finished wood?

 

[Dark Horse]

How do you like the feel of the osmo finished wood?

once its had some steel wool (or white scotchbrite) smoothing its excellent !

 

[Water buffalo]

once its had some steel wool (or white scotchbrite) smoothing its excellent !

It looks beautiful.

How many more coats?

 

[Water buffalo]

Didn’t get any guitar/bass work done over the weekend, but I cleaned up (somewhat) and reorganized the shop. It ain’t much, but it’s mine and I love it !


View attachment 5243199 View attachment 5243200 View attachment 5243201 View attachment 5243202 View attachment 5243203 View attachment 5243205

Man, that is so nice!

I'm in the middle of a major remodel of my shop. I'm taking notes.

 

[Dark Horse]

It looks beautiful.

How many more coats?

Two is plenty of the osmo

 

[T_Bone_TL]

you should be going to garage sales ...
... Plasti Dip and dip two of the handles for extra comfort.

Other than I, from experience, despise plasti-dip (but suit yourself) pretty much a yup if you can find the sales with tools (at least where they haven't overpriced them all.)

And I'm prepared to deal with the ones I need to throw in the electrolysis tank to get the rust out of them. Perhaps that's less of an issue in Austin.

 

[Dark Horse]

Back to this one…

got the frets rough sized and filed

Drilled the tuners …

the back side gets a 9/16” hole

Front gets a 1/2”

Yeah, i know …. Thats only a 1/16” difference in the front/back, and i could've gone the easy route and just drilled 9/16” straight through, but i just wanted a little more precision.

Perfect fit !!!

 

[Dark Horse]

Time to start carving the neck!

marked out some basic lines….

Took it to the random orbital sander and got the transitions roughed in. This gives a good basic starting point and helps keep you from going too deep/far in the next step….

Next i hogged out some material with the grinder/flap disc. I just do this to save a bit of time.

Next up is the trusty Shinto rasp. I love this thing, everyone thats carving necks or body contours should have one.

A quick sanding so i can give the neck a feel and make any adjustments

I decided the treble side needed some more rough carving to get the basic shape i wanted, so back to the Shinto !

And then i sanded the bulk of the neck back to shape
Ok
Time to work on the contour/transitions…. My new Iwasaki files are amazing for this ! Yep !!!

 

[Dark Horse]

Yeah, this is going to look great !

 

[Dark Horse]

Next was cutting a nut. Of course i can only cut it roughly to size, but the bench sander works great for this. Mark it with a flat pencil as shown, grind to a bit below that pencil line, round the upper corners, and thats good for now…

 

[Dark Horse]

I needed to drill the mounting holes in the heel of the neck. Believe it or not, an icepick really makes the process easy.

Clamp the neck into place….

Use the icepick to mark where you need to drill…

Take that and use a nail set/punch to make the marks more prominent…

Take it to the drill press and drill !

 

[Dark Horse]

Wiped down the neck with naptha….

and added the Dark Horse logo….

now I’m just waiting for that to drop, then I’ll put the first coat of Osmo Polyx on the neck !