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Joiner "Serenade" Build Progress

Walnut, birdseye maple and ebony body w/ matching neck: What kind of top?

  • Birdseye Maple

    Votes: 22 47.8%

  • Oregon Myrtle

    Votes: 20 43.5%

  • Other (Specify)

    Votes: 4 8.7%
  • Total voters
    46
#61
Started a new job, so $$$ isn't much of an issue anymore. To celebrate, I put in an order at Gallery for just about all of the wood I would need, sans maple purfling for fretlines and some thin (.025" - .060") maple, walnut, and wenge veneer. Actually, it's not a confirmed order... yet... but he's got my MasterCard and shipping information, along with the materials list, so it's as good as ordered. Still haven't found a suitable workplace yet, so until then, I'll just have to work on the front porch until someone asks me to stop.

Here's the final wood specs:
- Claro walnut body with burl maple top
- Laminated center section for that neck-thru look
- Wenge accent (1/8" was as small as I could get it)
- Birdseye maple/wenge/claro/wenge/birdseye maple neck
- Madagascar ebony fingerboard
- Ebony bridge

Does anyone know where I can get really thin (<1/8") maple and walnut veneer for the accent layer?
 
#62
I recently purchased a nice lot of wenge veneer from eBay seller inventorswife. The price was quite a deal, and the veneer was excellent. I know they have quite an assortment of different woods and figures constantly rotating thru their inventory. based on the correspondence, speedy shipping, and quality of product on this transaction, I'd give them five stars and do business again any time.

all the best,

R

p.s. I'll be using the wenge as a transition between an ash body and highly figured sapwood maple top (top was from Larry at GH) - it'll be just the ticket for this bass that'll be finished in clear gloss nitro
 
#65
#66
Thanks a bunch on that source. I checked that seller about 10 minutes ago, after I read the new replies, and found some 1pc. curly walnut and a few sets of 1pc birdseye maple, which will work great! :hyper:


UPDATE:
Just bought myself some birdseye maple and burl walnut veneer, but it's a shame that the figure will hardly be seen, since it will be sandwiched between a big slab of claro walnut and [hopefully] a burl maple top. :smug: Got an e-mail from Larry saying all of his burl tops are drying and/or already spoken for. A birdseye maple top is my 2nd choice, but I love burl figure more than any other. I think I can wait.
 
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#67
Started my new job this past Friday, cashiering at Foodland. I hate the job with a bloody passion, though my shift does go by rather quickly - that's a plus. So I figured that, before Cingular and State Farm rob me of my paycheck, I would spend it on the rest of the materials (from Warmoth and LMI). The order forms are in the mail.
 
#68
I got the veneer last week. I thought I had ordered burl walnut, but I got fancy walnut. The birdseye maple looks pretty good. The figure is mostly at one end of the sheet, but looks wont matter at all since they'll be sandwiched between the body core and top.

The Warmoth order shipped out the other day. UPS says it will be here on my birthday (the 26th)!

And the LMI order went out the same day as the Warmoth one, and it was scheduled for a 27th delivery, but in the latest shipping notice, it was rescheduled for the 28th.

No progress on the Gallery order. We're at a stand-still until I let Larry know what to do about the top since he doesn't have any maple burl. I suppose I could put the top on backorder. What about spruce? I'm stuck with a light wood like maple or spruce since I've already got an ebony fingerboard and other ebony pieces on the way. With me, it's all about contrast.

EDIT: That stuff from LMI, is really stuff from Larry! :hyper:

I didn't notice the sender's name in the UPS e-mail until just now. That makes me both happy, but a little unnerved because now I don't know what's become of the LMI order (if they recieved it, shipped it, etc.).
 
#69
Got the Warmoth order yesterday - a day ahead of schedule. You get points, UPS, but FedEx is still better! HA! All of the Gallery order, with the exception of a top since I never decided on that, should be here Friday, as will the LMI order. So, all that's left are some black neck mounting ferrules and a top. I'm thinking spruce or cypress? Maybe birdseye, if I wanted to stick with maple. Eucalyptus, even!

By the way, today is my birthday! I'm 20, now. I work the night shift at Foodland this evening. My birthday dinner will probably consist of the usual (2) pepperoni pizza Hot Pockets and some Pringles. As for the cake, I'll probably buy myself a Little Debbie cake. This is shaping up to be a very lonely, sad, miserable birthday. :scowl:
 
#70
Happy 20th, Trevor! I'd buy you a drink, but that'll have to wait til next year...

As far as lonely and miserable, don't be lonely- you got all of us sweaty TBers to keep you company! :smug: Feel free to wallow in your misery, though. :p :D

Foodland isn't the worst job for a 20-yr old, look at it this way- it's better than working at the wastewater treatment plant, or cleaning Porta-Potties for a living! Boy, talk about crappy jobs! :D
 
#71
A drink? Bah! I don't touch the stuff... unless, by drink, you mean a Sprite, with some cherries in it. To add to things, I almost wrecked on the way home. I had just crossed the bridge into town, and some lady looked right at me and proceeded to pull out of a gas station, so I hit the brakes, then swerved because at this point, she had stopped right in the middle of the lane. You crazy Alabama drivers! Nah, it's not a miserable day. I've got materials on the way, I'm two decades young, I've got health, a job. No car (of my own), though, and my Cingular bill is due today. Coincidentally enough, it's also payday, but that's what's paying Cingular, so...

I did finish the refinish of the jazz bass I built a while back, though. I reshaped the headstock, and painted it to match the body. This is the Joiner Serenade thread, though. Not the Joiner Fusion one. I think I deleted that. I'd take a picture and post it, but 1) I haven't wired in the controls yet... 2) I only have one extra set of bass strings (tapewounds), but I want to use flats this time, only Counts Brothers is completely out of flatwounds... and 3) I think I'll use a pearloid white pickguard instead of the plain white one.

So here's to [at least] another 60 years!
[insert photo of refinished "Fusion" here]
 
#72
It was the strangest thing. UPS (with my Gallery order) and FedEx (with my LMII order) both pulled in at the same time, and both were at my door at the same time. I seriously thought that they were going to spontaneously burst into fistfight. OK, so not seriously, but it would have been great if they did.

What all did I get, you ask? Well, there's the claro/wenge/birdseye maple/wenge/claro body blank. The neck blank is the same thing. You can tell by the 2nd photo that I'm going for that neck-thru look, while still having a bolt-on. Those white things are the corian nuts and saddles. Below are the ebony knobs, to the left is the truss rod, and above are the ebony bridge blanks. To the left of the neck blank is the madagascar ebony fingerboard and maple purfling. When I first saw the purfling, I thoght "LMII sent me a strip of plywood!" but I didn't notice the maple taped to it. And then WAY in the back are the Gotoh tuners. All that's missing is the top, neck ferrules, and electronics.

And go ahead... laugh at my quilt. With this crazy Alabama weather, the comforter is too warm, and no covers at all is too cold. That quilt is just right. Let's see... what else is in that photo? The stack of newspapers is for when I paint. I have to mask off most of the front porch so I don't get paint on the building. Then there's my white PS2 (painted it myself) and the GameCube atop the box containing my chainmail, beside the rest of my ren. faire attire. Directly above that, but not pictured, hangs my P-bass. At first, I didn't like the wall hangers, but now, it's kind of grown on me. Plus, it's freed up a good bit of space! My room is only 10' x 10', so the additional space seems like a lot!
 
#76
I only thought that they sent a strip of plywood because I sniffed it and instantly recognized it as pine. But then I flipped it over and noticed the maple purfling. And it's to be semi-hollow, so I've got to put a top on. By the way, if you guys think it looks good now, just wait until I rub on some mineral spirits, or hit with a coat of sanding sealer.

So, does anyone else do that? You know... sniff the wood? :rollno:
 
#80
This wenge I've got for the body and neck laminates just isn't dark enough for me. I spent about 15 minutes last night analyzing and scrutenizing and a whole lot of other -izings, and came to the conclusion that it MUST be black.

So, my question is this: :help:
The wenge pieces are fairly thin (3/16"). How can I dye the wenge so that the dye penetrates the wood so that when I cut and sand, it's going to be black all the way through? I thought about soaking the pieces in a "bath" of dye, but I imagine it would cause the wood to warp.

I'd like to start gluing the laminates together, but I can't until the wenge has been dyed.
 

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