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First Full Build: Drop in a pond ripple effect

#141
Lonnybass said:
Bruce knows his stuff! If you have time to practice on some scrap, you might want to try to do an entire finish schedule and buffing process so you can get the hang of your techniques and such before putting it on your bass.

In answer to your question about wait time, I am generally able do three to four coats a day. The varnish blends I use are typically dry enough to touch after about six hours or so, though not hard- that's what takes a few weeks.

Forgot to mention - when I do my in-between sanding, I wet down the sandpaper with some mineral spirits to help it glide. The further along you go, you'll find that the surface film starts to build really smooth, and the wetsanding will help you pull out any surface imperfections without leaving scuffs underneath your next coat.
Click to expand...

Hey Lonny, thanks for the additional advice and details. I wish I had like $200 to stock up on both the Behlen and West Systems and just do a bunch of testing to see what works best :). Maybe I need to do just that. I do very much appreciate your help :)
 
#142
Made a bit of progress over the last few weeks. Pics tell all...

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I like both covers but the Wenge will be more forgiving on the edge preciseness (to the eye). The swamp ash is close to match but not perfect. Which one do you all like better?

Thanks for looking :)
 
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#143
chinjazz said:
Made a bit of progress over the last few weeks. Pics tell all...

View attachment 2922146
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View attachment 2922150 View attachment 2922151 View attachment 2922153 View attachment 2922152

I like both covers but the Wenge will be more forgiving on the edge preciseness (to the eye). The swamp ash is close to match but not perfect. Which one do you all like better?

Thanks for looking :)
Click to expand...
I dig the wenge but it doesn't really seem to relate to the rest of the bass.
 
#154
Gilmourisgod said:
Can you post some photos on how you pull that off, what magnets you use, etc? I'd like to try that on my walnut Ric clone build, haven't cut the cavity or made a cover yet.
Click to expand...

Hey Gilmourisgod,

I gave it a go after work today.

Due to the thickness of my covers I needed to get thinner magnets and got 4mm diameter x 2mm thick neo magnets off of EBay.

It was hard to find center locating dowels of this size (not combing from China), then a light bulb went off “McMaster-Carr”! They had exactly what I needed for a great price!

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The posts of the center dowel pins are 6mm in length so I’ll drop 3 neo mags in each hole. That fretboard dot trick :)

So the rest was simple by lining up the cover and pressing down. I learned that I needed to make a deeper shelf, but I was committed by the thickness of the covers so I could line up the covers better (letting them fit all the way in the cavity). Hope that makes sense.

I’ll epoxy the magnets in, and do the covers tomorrow.

By the way, while I was getting stuff from McMasters, I picked up one of these thanks to the suggestion of @Keith Guitars

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#156
Keith Guitars said:
Looking good! Will you have a thumbnail cutout or something for removing the rear plate? A quick swipe with the round face of a 1/2 round file makes a really nice little "finger scoop" shape.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Actually, I’m going to lower the shelf on one section so there’s give to push it in. 3 inches in length of the bottom portion should do it.

Attribution goes to @lbridenstine and Drake Custom
 
#157
For what it's worth - for a "pivot"-style magnetic plate release like you're describing, I'd suggest having the fulcrum of the pivot be perpendicular to the grain of the cover plate.
If you lower the shelf at the bottom edge, then you'd applying pressure across the grain when removing. Any dimensional change in the body or plate could make it a too-tight fit, and then
the plate might snap if you put too much pressure.

Better, IMO, to put the lowered section on one side or another of the cavity. My natural inclination would be to ramp/lower the area surrounding the batteries, and use the dividing "wall"
in the cavity as a continuous fulcrum. Benefits:

-A shorter lever on one side means it will loft the other side further up during removal.
-The battery enclosure does not have to be shielded, so there is no "upper/lower lip" transition to interfere with proper foil shielding
-A continuous fulcrum will counteract the plate's inclination to flex in complex ways when you apply single-point pressure. It will probably
just feel/work better than having two small pivot points defining your fulcrum, especially if they're far away from each other.
-Addresses grain direction concerns as above

Details, details.

PS: Yes, those Wera "Hex Plus" wrenches are fantastic. A full set of metric and Imperial T-handle Weras is high on my wish list.

Cheers,
Martin
 
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#160
Keith Guitars said:
For what it's worth - for a "pivot"-style magnetic plate release like you're describing, I'd suggest having the fulcrum of the pivot be perpendicular to the grain of the cover plate.
If you lower the shelf at the bottom edge, then you'd applying pressure across the grain when removing. Any dimensional change in the body or plate could make it a too-tight fit, and then
the plate might snap if you put too much pressure.

Better, IMO, to put the lowered section on one side or another of the cavity. My natural inclination would be to ramp/lower the area surrounding the batteries, and use the dividing "wall"
in the cavity as a continuous fulcrum. Benefits:

-A shorter lever on one side means it will loft the other side further up during removal.
-The battery enclosure does not have to be shielded, so there is no "upper/lower lip" transition to interfere with proper foil shielding
-A continuous fulcrum will counteract the plate's inclination to flex in complex ways when you apply single-point pressure. It will probably
just feel/work better than having two small pivot points defining your fulcrum, especially if they're far away from each other.
-Addresses grain direction concerns as above

Details, details.

PS: Yes, those Wera "Hex Plus" wrenches are fantastic. A full set of metric and Imperial T-handle Weras is high on my wish list.

Cheers,
Martin
Click to expand...

Hey Martin,

Thanks for the great feedback, and insight. I really like that idea of lowering a section on the battery side and using the that wall as the fulcrum. I can just fill the two already drilled holes on that side (if I need to). Time to get out my router :)

Thanks again!
 

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