Leafenbacker

[Coolhandjjl]

+1 Fleur de lis

 

[josiah goldfish]

OK, here's the last hat I'll throw in the circle : classic flour-de-lis

That could work, but it needs some size tweaks. Also, it would be really cool if it was more asymmetrical, like the rest of the Ric shape.

A few tweaks, and I think this could be a winner. I think you should try and work on the rest of the bass and worry about such things later.

 

[josiah goldfish]

How about a simple leaf? Oval shaped but slightly hooked like the ric swoosh? A swooshified-ric trc

 

[JIO]

That could work, but it needs some size tweaks. Also, it would be really cool if it was more asymmetrical, like the rest of the Ric shape.

A few tweaks, and I think this could be a winner. I think you should try and work on the rest of the bass and worry about such things later.

It could be a bit larger, but not much. I hear you about asymitry (erring on the side of less is more) - how about this :

 

[mellowinman]

Shark fin, tomb stone and a buried surf-board - can't really judge standing on their own and frankly on the bass none of them did much for me. I'm going "out on a limb" to say out of those choices I like the leaf best…

It's pretty funny all this fuss over the cover - it would be like looking at a beautiful woman and focusing on her fingernails!

I agree that it's not really a big deal. Whatever the OP chooses will be fine. I think people are just really invested in this bass because it's such a nice-looking instrument. My wife is a total hot babe, and her fingernails are a total hot mess.

 

[josiah goldfish]

It could be a bit larger, but not much. I hear you about asymitry (erring on the side of less is more) - how about this :

I think it needs to be curvier to match the headstock. I like the idea though.

OP, how about a simple leaf shape (as in an oval shaped leaf) but slightly flicky? Ric + Leaf = ric flick leaf trc?

 

[buldog5151bass]

Heck, she can have all four - maybe one for each day of the week if this keeps up.

 

[Worldeeeter]

Some more options for the truss rod cover. None of them have the oil finish yet, and the last two are actually the same cover, just reversed - maple on one side and mahogany on the other. I have a bevel router bit, but it's a pattern bit, so I'll have to make some kind of jig to bevel the sides to leave a thin edge strip of either maple on mahogany or mahogany on maple.

At this point, I kinda like the the first one - the Ric swoop with the maple center and mahogany wings.

I've been trying to figure out why I don't like any of these, especially the Ric swoop. It's cuz they're too busy and take away from the two-tone headstock. Plus, the original Rics have a much wider headstock that doesn't taper toward the top. The tuners are much further apart, and the swoop is much longer. I think the above swoop without the wings would be best - just the maple center part. Simple, not too flashy, doesn't take away from the headstock.

 

[callofcthulhu]

JIO, please just make your original leaf TRC and send it to Mapleglo.

 

[JIO]

JIO, please just make your original leaf TRC and send it to Mapleglo.

With all due respect to MG, I think it would be best to not make assumptions or jump to conclusions.

 

[thiocyclist]

I think I already said this but I would just put the TRC on the back burner until everything else is done. Whenever I'm in a creative project with this many dissenting voices and a decision finally gets pushed out just so one has been made, it's never ever a good one...

Unless, in this case, it comes wholeheartedly from Mapleglo herself.

I'm going to wildly speculate all the TRC talk is also a result of how many people are hooked on this thread waiting for updates (like me).

 

[mapleglo]

Wow, lots of passion over the truss rod issue. Thanks to everyone for your interest and suggestions. I just finished applying the 3rd, and I hope, final coat of tung oil. Anyone know if this stuff fully cures over night? Or should I wait a few days before I start to reassemble the bass? Regarding the truss rod cover, I'll wait until it's all put together to see how each one looks. I'm not too fond of the "crown" looking cover, but the idea of an all maple shark fin might work. The maple with mahogany wing TRC was starting to look a little busy, I agree, so maybe an all maple shark fin might do the trick. In the mean time, I'm starting to once again like the original idea of using the single leaf, and after looking at it today while applying the second coat, I think it might be thin enough to use. I'll have to check once the strings are on.

I am reminded of a story an old friend of mine told about his parents. The Dad worked in a machine shop, and came home one day with a letter opener he made during one of his breaks. It was a quickly made, and a somewhat crude letter opener, but he though that it would make for a nice little gift. Unfortunately, she was not impressed, and let the Dad know. From that day forward, he would come home weekly with a new, and more finely crafted letter opener. By the time he retired, they had hundreds of letter openers in the house. My friend would occasionally bring in a few for us to look at, and they were works of art, each one more beautiful and finely crafted than the previous one. Many of them had sheaths, which fit perfectly and exactly over the blade, some with jeweled inlays and other decorative elements. And now that he was retired, he spent some time each day, yes, making more letter openers.

I hope I don't become obsessed with truss rod covers

 

[JIO]

Wow, lots of passion over the truss rod issue. Thanks to everyone for your interest and suggestions. I just finished applying the 3rd, and I hope, final coat of tung oil. Anyone know if this stuff fully cures over night? Or should I wait a few days before I start to reassemble the bass? Regarding the truss rod cover, I'll wait until it's all put together to see how each one looks. I'm not too fond of the "crown" looking cover, but the idea of an all maple shark fin might work. The maple with mahogany wing TRC was starting to look a little busy, I agree, so maybe an all maple shark fin might do the trick. In the mean time, I'm starting to once again like the original idea of using the single leaf, and after looking at it today while applying the second coat, I think it might be thin enough to use. I'll have to check once the strings are on.

I am reminded of a story an old friend of mine told about his parents. The Dad worked in a machine shop, and came home one day with a letter opener he made during one of his breaks. It was a quickly made, and a somewhat crude letter opener, but he though that it would make for a nice little gift. Unfortunately, she was not impressed, and let the Dad know. From that day forward, he would come home weekly with a new, and more finely crafted letter opener. By the time he retired, they had hundreds of letter openers in the house. My friend would occasionally bring in a few for us to look at, and they were works of art, each one more beautiful and finely crafted than the previous one. Many of them had sheaths, which fit perfectly and exactly over the blade, some with jeweled inlays and other decorative elements. And now that he was retired, he spent some time each day, yes, making more letter openers.

I hope I don't become obsessed with truss rod covers

good story - it would seem the quest for a better and better letter opener was the part he really loved!

 

[joelns]

I'm going out on a limb here. I don't see the need for the cover at all. I prefer it left with the hole. It's there for a purpose. There's not need to cover it up.

 

[lavmonga]

I say you burn the bass, then pick a TRC and build a new bass around the TRC design as a focal point.

 

[Skarsoul]

simple solution to a not very simple problem

I say you burn the bass, then pick a TRC and build a new bass around the TRC design as a focal point.

 

[mapleglo]

I say you burn the bass, then pick a TRC and build a new bass around the TRC design as a focal point.

Ha! This post wins the thread!

And speaking of truss rod covers, I put another coat of tung oil on the family, and made one more out of the maple/mahogany "sandwich" scrape I had.

And since I had the tung oil out, and my gloves on, I figured I'd put one more coat on the bass.

I pulled off the fretboard tape yesterday, thinking I had put on the last coat, so I was trying to be careful not to get any on it.

I'll let that dry for a couple of days and start putting it together. I can't believe it's almost done

 

[mellowinman]

Ha! This post wins the thread!

And speaking of truss rod covers, I put another coat of tung oil on the family, and made one more out of the maple/mahogany "sandwich" scrape I had.

And since I had the tung oil out, and my gloves on, I figured I'd put one more coat on the bass.

I pulled off the fretboard tape yesterday, thinking I had put on the last coat, so I was trying to be careful not to get any on it.

I'll let that dry for a couple of days and start putting it together. I can't believe it's almost done

I was the first to like this post.

 

[mapleglo]

I was the first to like this post.

And I was the first to like your like

 

[mellowinman]

And I was the first to like your like

Look, we're both already married, and your state is too hot.