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First Project (Biting off more than you can chew)

#41
Wow, it's been a while. We were staying with some family while my gf went to school & had no internet since they live out in the sticks. I also didn't have a lot of space to work on the bass. What I did have was access to a Dremel, so the pickgaurd and cavity cover got done (good quality pics soon), and that part was actually a lot of fun.
As far as the finish... After applying and sanding off 5 or 6 times (usually due to build up around frets and streaking), I finally gave up and hired a local professional to handle that part. He has it now and the finish will be done soon, then just a couple more quick & easy steps 'til I'm playing her and being a hobby-refinisher-guy will be a fading memory.
Here's a pic before going to the luthier, just mocking up the pickgaurd. (Apologies for the really bad phone pic)
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We should be seeing higher quality pics of the finished product very soon (finally).
 
#42
Ok, back from the luthier with better pics. It now has a danish oil/wax finish which I was told would darken the body wood, but didn't seem to at all. That's ok though, I'm just glad to be done with this step. Finish is done and I'm also glad to say I didn't have to mess with shielding and wiring that tiny little cavity. He did a great job:
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#44
I figured that would happen. It was the only part of this that I thought was fun & easy. Use a dremel cutting tool around the outside of your traced line, then switch to one of the sanding bits (this part you have to do a little at a time). Once your line is just about gone, switch to sanding by hand to smooth out the edges (I put a bit of a bevel on the edge by hand as well). But most importantly, pick out a badass record!
 
#46
Got parts today, tuners & string tree. The tuners are Wilkinson, which I chose because they were inexpensive, reversable and a retrofit. I ordered the parts from buzzardsbass.com which was the only place I could find singles and order 5. Brian from the site communicates directly with you which is rare and appreciated. These shipped Monday and got to me in the opposite corner of the country today.

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I'm getting exited again, she'll be a bass soon!
 
#47
how did your guy wire the pickup?

running passive like you are, series will likely sound a lot better than the stock parallel, especially on the B string.
 
#49
Well she's all put together. I'm still not 100% happy with the tint on the body but discovered some stained danish oil and will apply some before it gets waxed again. I may also add some star shaped inlay stickers (yep), but otherwise I'm pretty happy with the way it looks.
After speaking with a powder-coater (who is also a guitarist), we determined that it just wouldn't be functionally efficient to powder-coat the parts and he suggested an acrylic paint made for metal. I used this and the parts look good but, the paint sustained some chips during assembly - worst of all the nut/washer for the output jack (I just couldn't find ones in black that fit).
And of course, I had to go with these strings::cool:
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I can't disable the flash on the "good" camera, so the only blacklight photos I could get were bad cell phone pics:
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The signal is clean and noiseless, the tone is way fatter/warmer than I expected (especially with Tone1 rolled off). With both tone knobs up (not even all the way) I dialed in more snappy brightness than I think I'll need (even for the funk/rock band).
This funk machine weighs 9lbs on my bathroom scale and balances surprisingly well considering the weight of the tuning keys.
The neck is nice and thin & I was able to dial in pretty low action, the B is not floppy at all and overall, this thing plays fast and smooth.
I'm really relieved that it's assembled and functional. I still have no problems with minor mods/repairs, but I won't be refinishing again anytime soon.
I will lay down a couple clips at my friend's studio and put them up as soon as I can.
Thanks to everyone for your help, support and suggestions through this ordeal. Now I'm gonna go play it!
 
#52
I skimmed the thread but never saw if you mentioned what it cost to get your hardware powder coated.

Also, do you know if it was chrome plated or did they just do the nickel and call it good?

Oh and BTW...the bass looks very cool. I really like the record pg.
 
#53
I used acrylic paint made for metal instead of having the parts powder coated. But, I got a couple quotes for $20-$30, and some places have a minimum of 1 hour/x amount. The main problem was that powder coating is thick and can clog up the functional parts of your pieces.

In addition to the completion post: I meant to include that, after paying others to help get this done, I'm into it about $400. Compared to my $400 production bass, that seems about right or like you'd expect to pay a bit more (not including my "labor").
 
#54
Elmo, fantastic idea with the pickguard. It is looking great, I have been working on a few projects myself, so I thought I would mention earlier you were talking about application. What ended up working out great for me was these big packs of old t-shirts you can get at home depot or lowes :). It was labeled staining cloths, but was a bunch of old white shirts. I have had no lint issues, nothing sticking in the coats, and they were very CHEAP for a whole lot! Just something maybe you can try on your next project.
 
#57
Elmo Oxygen said:
I used acrylic paint made for metal instead of having the parts powder coated. But, I got a couple quotes for $20-$30, and some places have a minimum of 1 hour/x amount. The main problem was that powder coating is thick and can clog up the functional parts of your pieces.

In addition to the completion post: I meant to include that, after paying others to help get this done, I'm into it about $400. Compared to my $400 production bass, that seems about right or like you'd expect to pay a bit more (not including my "labor").
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, and again very cool bass, at $400 it's a winner in my book. As for your labor, you could have been vegging in front of the tube instead. :D
 

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