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Janus Bifrons (Bass commission) Finished!

#42
Gilmourisgod said:
The dark patch I didn't see until you pointed it out just ruins the bass. I'll take it off you hands for free to relieve the woe and embarrassment you must be feeling at producing such an inferior bass. No, don't thank me, just "pay it forward".
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Wow... :) what a guy! Truely selfless & kind of you!
And here I thought I was going to have to go to all the trouble of mounting a bridge & pickups...to hide that patch......
But if you would do that for me.... all I need to do is remake the entire bass, and eat all the associated cost??
You sir, are a prince! .....(amonst thieves).... :thumbsup:
 
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#43
First off I would like to say that your builds are truly stunning! I look forward to your posts more than anything else on TB.

I was wondering if you had any adverse reactions to the cocobolo? I have two beautiful chunks of it waiting to become basses.
 
#44
KOOL BREEZE said:
First off I would like to say that your builds are truly stunning! I look forward to your posts more than anything else on TB.

I was wondering if you had any adverse reactions to the cocobolo? I have two beautiful chunks of it waiting to become basses.
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Thank you very much! Very kind of you.

Yes I suffer a bit of respiratory distress if I neglect to wear a mask whilst sanding.
It stings my nasal passages pretty bad.
Other than that, I find it an extremely lovely wood to work with!
This particular batch is 8 years air dried... so it is very stable also.
 
#46
Did my happy little wooden jack cup again....
This one in purple heart to match the accent stripes on either side.
Also planned this one so that the jack hole is sits flush (instead of resessed)
...That way a 90° cable end can also be used.
Clean look....safe- no chance of pullout...don't have to wrap cord around strap !!
It's all about the happy little details :D
20170330_134709.jpg
 
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#47
Got the "continuous wood" (an Alembic term)... cavity cover drilled & mounted.
Finished blending & sanding the neck at the heel area as it flows into the wings....
& did a small mod to this design by adding a bit more pointyness to the tail area.
20170330_170053.jpg

This is shaping up to be the best one of this design I have done.
(It would be bad if it was worse that its predecessors....duh....:cautious:...)
 
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#52
Hey now .....just a minute here ....
I'm more excited about my new Shinto than anything I've done on a computer. :hyper:
I pride myself in the fact that I'm still carving things up the "old fashioned way"...:angel: (but with sharp tools):D

Shucks...my style of builds doesn't lend itself well to CNC work anyway.
Well...I mean...maybe it would IF I didn't suck so bad at programming one....
But THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!:facepalm::oops:

Little details like inlay & etched logos don't count!:rolleyes:
I still cut out my bodies & cavity covers with a thin piece of steel with teeth on it!:banghead:

And Nexy, you're one to talk. Your last build had more CNC laser time than my last 5 builds combined! So there...ha ha ha :laugh:;)
 
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#53
Actually, I was quoting you when you saw the print out of my 4004 headstock, complete with tuners. Yes, I love my tech. But hand filling and sanding is very Zen. There's nothing like a few hours of sanding to bring one closer to the universe. I am digging the etched logo, though. Very classy.
 
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#55
I just spent around three hours sanding my bass yesterday, is sneezing and sore hands part of the Zen experience? I must be doing it wrong. Speaking of sanding, is there a good method for revealing any tiny scratches that will otherwise show up later? Naptha Bath? I damp ragged the wood to raise the grain a little, then sanded with 220, then 320. What are you guys doing to get these perfect surfaces?
 
#56
Gilmourisgod said:
I just spent around three hours sanding my bass yesterday, is sneezing and sore hands part of the Zen experience? I must be doing it wrong. Speaking of sanding, is there a good method for revealing any tiny scratches that will otherwise show up later? Naptha Bath? I damp ragged the wood to raise the grain a little, then sanded with 220, then 320. What are you guys doing to get these perfect surfaces?
Click to expand...

I don't do anything after sanding to reveal the tiny scratches. What I do is just finish it, and then lament the fact that I didn't do anything after sanding to reveal the tiny scratches left by sanding and the gouges left by not sanding thoroughly.

It's only after you stop sneezing, and the muscles in your hands recover, that you finally reach the zenith of the Zen experience :p
 
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#57
I usually do the first coat of finish (typically commercial tung oil - not real tung oil) assuming that it will reveal scratches. Then I go back and sand again. The last step before finishing for me is to take the instrument into bright light and dim light with a distant light source and mark the bad spots with a pencil, then I go back with sandpaper to fix those issues. On the stubby I spent a lot of time looking at it, due to my current lack of workshop space and I seemed to have found all the scratches before finishing, literally the first time that's happened.
 
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#59
The end grain is the tough part on maple, its almost glassy hard, and difficult to get fine scratches out of, and it gets a tiny bit of "fur" where the grain turns on edges and corners. Its tedious, but I guess you just keep working it until its as close to perfect as you can manage prior to finish.
 
#60
Yeah, I take it out into the sunlight also.
I hate to sand...hate...hate ...hate .:spit:
 So I rarely will do it all at one sitting.
I typically will do all the easy stuff that can be done with my pneumatic orbital. Then take on one hard area at a time, like the heel to body transition, then do something else. Then all the inside radiums of the edge.Then do something else... then the endgrain at the tail...etc... Sometimes might use alcohol to wet...& find scratches. The 70% stuff has a bit of water so it will raise the grain a bit. Then sand some more. Yuck boo piss poo waaah... :thumbsdown:
 

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