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Peavey Foundation fretless neck radius?

#2
biguglyman said:
After much digging and searching around I can't seem to find a definitive answer as to what the radius is on a Peavey Foundation fretless neck. I have one I'm using on a project and I need to get a sanding block the right radius so I can resurface the neck. Any help/advice is appreciated.
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It's probably 12" radius. Some years back, Mike Lipe and I used to build some of the specials for the Peavey Custom Shop and, as I recall, the basses were 12". You can make your own quick radius gauges to check, using a ruler, a pencil, and a piece of poster board.

But, in the bigger picture, if you are just cleaning up the surface of the fingerboard, you don't need a radius sanding block. In fact, it's not a good idea. The radius sanding block is used to rough out the radiused shape on a new flat board. Or maybe to change a fingerboard from one radius to another.

To true up a fingerboard, which is already radiused, you should use a fairly long flat block. The point is to make the "string paths" true. These are the narrow stripes of the fingerboard that are directly under the strings. It's very important that these string paths are straight and true, and don't have any lumps or dips.

That's what's critical in making a fretless bass work. After getting the string paths trued up, you sand the areas between them, leaning the flat block side to side, to blend in the radius.

There are many threads here on TB about this subject: Leveling Fretless Fingerboards. Here's a classic one that goes into dizzying detail, and even includes math:

Even fretless fingerboard levelling tips
 
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#4
biguglyman said:
Ummmmm.....guess I'll be looking for a pro to do it. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Truing up a fretless fingerboard isn't really very difficult to do. It's more difficult to describe in writing, than to do the operation! But you need to understand the geometry to understand what you are doing. I encourage you to try it yourself.
 
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#6
bigtone23 said:
What year is your Foundation?
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I believe it's early 90's and 8" radius. What I've got is an early 90's (I think) fury bass. I got it for nothing from somebody who pulled it out of a trash can. Whoever had it before didn't know what they were doing and screwed up the (fretted) neck. I saw a fret-less Peavey foundation neck on CL for cheap and grabbed it. I'm pretty sure I can fix up the fretted neck. Needs a nut replaced, a string tree, and a good cleanup. Already got the parts. I was hoping maybe I could get both necks playable so if the fret-less proves beyond my meager abilities, I can throw the fretted neck back on.
 
#8
Cliff Colton said:
Can the scratches on an ebanol fretboard be polished out with rubbing compound?
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Technically yes, but.......To take out scratches, by any method, you have to remove some material. Buffing out scratches is an easy way to make dips in the fingerboard surface. Rags and buffing wheels are soft, and will take off more material in some spots than others. It may look pretty, but the buzz will be wacky. And we don't like wacky buzz from fretless basses.

To take out scratches, you need to do the whole process: True up the fingerboard, removing the scratches but keeping all the string paths flat. Then bring the whole surface up to a shine.
 
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#9
biguglyman said:
After much digging and searching around I can't seem to find a definitive answer as to what the radius is on a Peavey Foundation fretless neck.
Click to expand...

biguglyman said:
I believe it's early 90's and 8" radius. What I've got is an early 90's (I think) fury bass. I got it for nothing from somebody who pulled it out of a trash can.
Click to expand...
Here's some info for the Foundation and Fury.
  • Serial numbers correlate to shipping dates of US models only. 1978 to 1995. Imports designated by EX, EXP, or BXP are not serialized by year.
  • 8Mxxxxxx ............................................1978
  • 0000xxxx t/m 0030xxxx ........................1978
  • 0031xxxx t/m 0047xxxx ........................1979
  • 0048xxxx t/m 0065xxxx ........................1980
  • 0066xxxx t/m 0099xxxx ........................1981
  • 0100xxxx t/m 0129xxxx ........................1982
  • 0130xxxx t/m 0169xxxx ........................1983
  • 0170xxxx t/m 0199xxxx ........................1984
  • 0200xxxx t/m 0239xxxx ........................1985
  • 0240xxxx t/m 0259xxxx ........................1986
  • 0260xxxx t/m 0339xxxx ........................1987
  • 0340xxxx t/m 0359xxxx ........................1988
  • 0360xxxx t/m 0419xxxx ........................1989
  • 04249338 t/m 0439xxxx ........................1990
  • 0440xxxx t/m 0519xxxx ........................1991
  • 0520xxxx t/m 0599xxxx ........................1992
  • 0600xxxx t/m 0639xxxx ........................1993
  • 0640xxxx t/m 0769xxxx ........................1994
  • 0770xxxx >>........................................1995
https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80300018.pdf 80s Foundation
https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/Foundation5-1992.pdf Early 90s Foundation
https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80300017.pdf Original slanted SF Fury
https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80301554.pdf 90s split coil Fury
 
#10
Bruce Johnson said:
Technically yes, but.......To take out scratches, by any method, you have to remove some material. Buffing out scratches is an easy way to make dips in the fingerboard surface. Rags and buffing wheels are soft, and will take off more material in some spots than others. It may look pretty, but the buzz will be wacky. And we don't like wacky buzz from fretless basses.

To take out scratches, you need to do the whole process: True up the fingerboard, removing the scratches but keeping all the string paths flat. Then bring the whole surface up to a shine.
Click to expand...
Thank you for saving me from an expensive mistake.
 

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