- Aug 15, 2011
- 571
- 171
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier:RoseBud Basses & Guitars LLC
That's a good lookn bird house you got there T.P.. Grate job on your burst, it really brings the bass alive. It's going to look good finished. 
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Roberto-Venn: The Dream Starts...
- Thread starter Thumpin_P
- Start date
^Thank You, Sir!^
I was thinking about drilling for the perch... right in the center of the X-Brace....Whaddya think?
Believe me, folks..., just kidding!
I did not get any photos on Friday, mostly because..., that's right! I was working my butt off! Friday was scraping the binding flush with the sides, and fixing any gaps. Fixing those, for the most part, required a heat gun, and clamps. if you could move the binding, once it was hot, them simply clamp in with some cam clamps. The touchy situation, though, was that...behind the binding, was the kerfing, glue joints for the back and sides, braces, etc..., so you really had to be careful. Thankfully, my birdhouse...I mean guitar, is still in one piece.
The other tricky situation involves closing gaps in the waist area of the acoustic. The tight bends, on either side of the upper and lower bouts, can be tricky. I needed to construct two clamping cauls, which followed the outline perfectly, then, heat the waist up, and then, clamp the binding down to the channel. Whew! Nerve wracking! I still had a couple of small gaps, but, Matt Vestal helped me with those. So, I started level scraping. A 6" cabinet scraper can do wonderful things! I love mine! I would much rather use those, versus sandpaper. They do have to have a really nice burr on them, though. So that takes practice.
With all that said, I will post pics Monday night, of the finished piece.
Now, on to my homework! I started mocking up the wiring harness, for my bass...
The goal of a wiring harness, is to make it easier, during assembly. If you simply installed all your pots and switches, then soldered them, while in the guitar, you could risk hitting the cavity, shielding...FINISH and ruin the instrument. By creating a mock-up, on cardboard, all that will be necessary, is minor lead soldering.
When this mess of wires goes into the control cavity, I will need to solder a few grounds together, connect the pickup leads to the preamp, connect the battery leads, and connect the output jack. Way less risky, than everything else, which I will get to.
To start, I used the template for my control cavity, and traced the outline onto the cardboard. Then, carefully, I used my awl. I took the cardboard out to my newly finished bass, lined up the cardboard with the back of the cavity, and punched four holes, with the knob layout as my guide. I then measured the shafts of the pots, used a circle template, cut out the holes, and mounted the pots.
The alignment might be a smidge off, but, I have a little wiggle room.
Speaking of wiggle room... Do you guys see this bird's nest?
This will simply not do...
You might see, in the photos, that all of the grounds are heading to one location. I like using this method for grounding. Better safe than sorry. I will clip the excess, now that I have a template. All my grounds will be soldered together, in a ring terminal, then, screwed into the side of the cavity, and the shielding.The grounds include: all connections from the pots, the jack and the pickup leads, which lead to ground. The only ground, which I felt uncomfortable messing with, was from the board itself. It is connected to the side of one of the pots. I can live with that one.
I also needed to extend the hot output, leaving the volume pot. It was barely long enough, traveling over the pots. i didn't like that, so I used a new piece of wire, giving myself a fair amount of slack. it will now travel down the side of the cavity, out of the way. In addition to all this, the wires between the pots had too much slack. True, they were wired that way for multiple applications, but, if and when a future employer opens this cavity, I want them to say "Nice"..., not "Hmm". So, after shortening where I felt it necessary, I like the result!
In this picture, you can see, I outlined everything with pen, to show up better. You can see the jack, which is a Neutrik locking jack, and right beside where the ground leads meet the side of the wall, that is where the pickup leads enter the cavity. below that, on the same edge, the preamp board will velcro to the side of the wall. And, the empty space, between the jack and the board, and the pots, will hold a clip, screwed into the bottom, for the single 9v. When it is all said and done, everything will appear to have its own place, with nothing loose and messy. I also plan on using very small (1/8" wide ) wire ties, where I can. When this is all said and done, this will be my best cavity yet!
Thanks for watching,
Thumpin_P
I was thinking about drilling for the perch... right in the center of the X-Brace....Whaddya think?
Believe me, folks..., just kidding!
I did not get any photos on Friday, mostly because..., that's right! I was working my butt off! Friday was scraping the binding flush with the sides, and fixing any gaps. Fixing those, for the most part, required a heat gun, and clamps. if you could move the binding, once it was hot, them simply clamp in with some cam clamps. The touchy situation, though, was that...behind the binding, was the kerfing, glue joints for the back and sides, braces, etc..., so you really had to be careful. Thankfully, my birdhouse...I mean guitar, is still in one piece.
The other tricky situation involves closing gaps in the waist area of the acoustic. The tight bends, on either side of the upper and lower bouts, can be tricky. I needed to construct two clamping cauls, which followed the outline perfectly, then, heat the waist up, and then, clamp the binding down to the channel. Whew! Nerve wracking! I still had a couple of small gaps, but, Matt Vestal helped me with those. So, I started level scraping. A 6" cabinet scraper can do wonderful things! I love mine! I would much rather use those, versus sandpaper. They do have to have a really nice burr on them, though. So that takes practice.
With all that said, I will post pics Monday night, of the finished piece.
Now, on to my homework! I started mocking up the wiring harness, for my bass...
The goal of a wiring harness, is to make it easier, during assembly. If you simply installed all your pots and switches, then soldered them, while in the guitar, you could risk hitting the cavity, shielding...FINISH and ruin the instrument. By creating a mock-up, on cardboard, all that will be necessary, is minor lead soldering.
When this mess of wires goes into the control cavity, I will need to solder a few grounds together, connect the pickup leads to the preamp, connect the battery leads, and connect the output jack. Way less risky, than everything else, which I will get to.
To start, I used the template for my control cavity, and traced the outline onto the cardboard. Then, carefully, I used my awl. I took the cardboard out to my newly finished bass, lined up the cardboard with the back of the cavity, and punched four holes, with the knob layout as my guide. I then measured the shafts of the pots, used a circle template, cut out the holes, and mounted the pots.
The alignment might be a smidge off, but, I have a little wiggle room.
Speaking of wiggle room... Do you guys see this bird's nest?
This will simply not do...
You might see, in the photos, that all of the grounds are heading to one location. I like using this method for grounding. Better safe than sorry. I will clip the excess, now that I have a template. All my grounds will be soldered together, in a ring terminal, then, screwed into the side of the cavity, and the shielding.The grounds include: all connections from the pots, the jack and the pickup leads, which lead to ground. The only ground, which I felt uncomfortable messing with, was from the board itself. It is connected to the side of one of the pots. I can live with that one.
I also needed to extend the hot output, leaving the volume pot. It was barely long enough, traveling over the pots. i didn't like that, so I used a new piece of wire, giving myself a fair amount of slack. it will now travel down the side of the cavity, out of the way. In addition to all this, the wires between the pots had too much slack. True, they were wired that way for multiple applications, but, if and when a future employer opens this cavity, I want them to say "Nice"..., not "Hmm". So, after shortening where I felt it necessary, I like the result!
In this picture, you can see, I outlined everything with pen, to show up better. You can see the jack, which is a Neutrik locking jack, and right beside where the ground leads meet the side of the wall, that is where the pickup leads enter the cavity. below that, on the same edge, the preamp board will velcro to the side of the wall. And, the empty space, between the jack and the board, and the pots, will hold a clip, screwed into the bottom, for the single 9v. When it is all said and done, everything will appear to have its own place, with nothing loose and messy. I also plan on using very small (1/8" wide ) wire ties, where I can. When this is all said and done, this will be my best cavity yet!
Thanks for watching,
Thumpin_P
Hopkins
Commercial User
Have yet to solder in the terminal. I will have to wait until the pickup is installed, because the leads from it also get soldered in. My goal, is to solder all the leads together,then crimp them into the terminal, then screw that into the side of the cavity.
Hope that made sense, I have so much coffee in me right now..., Silly Putty makes sense.
Hope that made sense, I have so much coffee in me right now..., Silly Putty makes sense.
- Aug 15, 2011
- 571
- 171
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier:RoseBud Basses & Guitars LLC
LOL... I got so frustrated with my acoustic (AKA bird house) I really thought i was going to comit to the perch.
keep up the good work T.P.
Sorry for the delay folks, I was talking with a repair client.
Anyway,
Here are some pictures from the completed finish of the electric:
Thank you, Mother Nature, for the primo lighting!
The neck still has the tape of the fretboard, but, you have seen that before, nothing has changed.
I will, hopefully, wet sand and buff next week! Here's Stephen, that lucky dog, working on his bass...
Now, I have completed scraping the binding, so, here's some photos of that!
Love that combo... koa and rosewood!
I am very happy with the way that this is turning out!
Now that the binding is done, it was time to start carving the neck. I have more detailed pictures this time, but, I did omit a few.
First, we trace some outlines on the heel cap and glue on some scraps of binding (only temporary)
we mark where the 8th and the 10th fret are,
we use these marks as reference. The eighth fret is where we stop with the band saw. The tenth is where we sand out a final thickness.
Once all of these marks are made, we draw two lines on the heel, with a template. you connect the lines between the edge of the binding, and the edges of the heel cap. Once all your lines are drawn, it is time to remove the excess. Using the band saw, you cut straight back, from the edge of the binding, towards the eighth fret. That is all you need to cut, for now. Then, following the heel template, you sand away most of the excess. Here is the result:
Then, using the tenth fret slot as your guide, you sand s divot in the back of the neck. I set mine @ .975" (with fretboard) this time. I will not have a neck that is too thin!
Once you have established those numbers, it is time to work up the heel. at this point, you are striving to shape the heel only. The neck carving will come later.
Sometimes, you have to be a bit aggressive...Josiah( one of our instructors) proved that as Matt ( our shop assistant) looked on in approval.
From there, it was just shaping with a rasp and file. I am not done, but, it does look like a heel now!
I will try to show more progress tomorrow.
Thanks for watching!
Thumpin_P
Anyway,
Here are some pictures from the completed finish of the electric:
Thank you, Mother Nature, for the primo lighting!
The neck still has the tape of the fretboard, but, you have seen that before, nothing has changed.
I will, hopefully, wet sand and buff next week! Here's Stephen, that lucky dog, working on his bass...
Now, I have completed scraping the binding, so, here's some photos of that!
Love that combo... koa and rosewood!
I am very happy with the way that this is turning out!
Now that the binding is done, it was time to start carving the neck. I have more detailed pictures this time, but, I did omit a few.
First, we trace some outlines on the heel cap and glue on some scraps of binding (only temporary)
we mark where the 8th and the 10th fret are,
we use these marks as reference. The eighth fret is where we stop with the band saw. The tenth is where we sand out a final thickness.
Once all of these marks are made, we draw two lines on the heel, with a template. you connect the lines between the edge of the binding, and the edges of the heel cap. Once all your lines are drawn, it is time to remove the excess. Using the band saw, you cut straight back, from the edge of the binding, towards the eighth fret. That is all you need to cut, for now. Then, following the heel template, you sand away most of the excess. Here is the result:
Then, using the tenth fret slot as your guide, you sand s divot in the back of the neck. I set mine @ .975" (with fretboard) this time. I will not have a neck that is too thin!
Once you have established those numbers, it is time to work up the heel. at this point, you are striving to shape the heel only. The neck carving will come later.
Sometimes, you have to be a bit aggressive...Josiah( one of our instructors) proved that as Matt ( our shop assistant) looked on in approval.
From there, it was just shaping with a rasp and file. I am not done, but, it does look like a heel now!
I will try to show more progress tomorrow.
Thanks for watching!
Thumpin_P
The Koa with the rosewood looks amazing! Very clean and elegant in a rustic kinda way.
How are you planning on finishing it? I would suggest a satin finish! It would look soooo nice with a satin finish
How are you planning on finishing it? I would suggest a satin finish! It would look soooo nice with a satin finish
Sick as a dog, guys. I will try to update tomorrow, when I feel better. I did have to start a new acoustic neck. Progress is coming right along on it! I will post the back story tomorrow.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Thumpin_P
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Thumpin_P
Ah man looking at all these pics is making me really miss my time in AZ....and it wasn't even that long ago. I'm also super jealous you guys get to use the new school. I was the first person to ever spray a guitar in that spray booth.....
Any jobs you are applying for?
Any jobs you are applying for?
Okay guys, a brief update of the goings on...
I was contouring the neck heel, smoothing it into the neck binding, when, I filed too much. The instructors told me that it would be ok, but, I sure didn't see it that way. So, I tried something, which had worked before, with maple not mahogany. I routed out a cavity, to be filled with a plug. The problem was, I never could get the wood working my way. It just would not work out.
So, I started with a brand new neck. I had the existing fretboard, so, I did not have to repeat that step. I did re-square it, re-join it, surface the fretboard area, on the neck,re-create the crown point, route for the truss rod, and pin everything into place. I wanted to get more done on it today, but, I left my handouts at home. Everyone had the day off today, but, if you wanted to, Kris was coming in, to catch up on some work. We could not ask him questions, just a day of work.
So, I wet-sanded my bass. I started with 600 grit, by way of a 1/4 sheet orbital sander. Got all of the flat areas done, then, finished up the neck by hand. When I started to get back to the body, I noticed something around the ferrule holes...water had seeped into the grain. I had filled those hole(and all the other ones) with lacquer, to prevent this from happening, but, obviously, not enough. I called it a day, hung up the bass, hoping it would dry out some, then, on Monday, I will continue.
I will get caught up with pictures, I just haven't been feeling myself lately, with this cold and all.
Hope you guys understand. Thanks for all the support and thanks again for watching!
Thumpin_P
I was contouring the neck heel, smoothing it into the neck binding, when, I filed too much. The instructors told me that it would be ok, but, I sure didn't see it that way. So, I tried something, which had worked before, with maple not mahogany. I routed out a cavity, to be filled with a plug. The problem was, I never could get the wood working my way. It just would not work out.
So, I started with a brand new neck. I had the existing fretboard, so, I did not have to repeat that step. I did re-square it, re-join it, surface the fretboard area, on the neck,re-create the crown point, route for the truss rod, and pin everything into place. I wanted to get more done on it today, but, I left my handouts at home. Everyone had the day off today, but, if you wanted to, Kris was coming in, to catch up on some work. We could not ask him questions, just a day of work.
So, I wet-sanded my bass. I started with 600 grit, by way of a 1/4 sheet orbital sander. Got all of the flat areas done, then, finished up the neck by hand. When I started to get back to the body, I noticed something around the ferrule holes...water had seeped into the grain. I had filled those hole(and all the other ones) with lacquer, to prevent this from happening, but, obviously, not enough. I called it a day, hung up the bass, hoping it would dry out some, then, on Monday, I will continue.
I will get caught up with pictures, I just haven't been feeling myself lately, with this cold and all.
Hope you guys understand. Thanks for all the support and thanks again for watching!
Thumpin_P
Guys,
I am so sorry for keeping you out of the loop. I have had one tragedy after another. First, the acoustic neck you knew about. I started a new neck, and, with my previous experience, it only took me four days to get caught up with everyone else. Thankfully, everyone else was worrying with finishes and buffing...which brings me to my next tragedy.
Ain't she a beauty... here she is, wet sanded to 1000 grit, ready for the buffer. I had already buffed the body, after using 600 grit, and the shine just was not there. I took this picture, right before going out to the wheel, for buffing.
And this is what happened, right after I started to get the mirror shine...
The buffing wheel grabbed my pickup cavity, pulling the body out of my hands, and smashing it to the floor...in an instant. I took about five seconds to look at the result,picked up the pieces, took them inside, and waited for an instructor. The previous mistakes did indeed prepare me for this one. I never once showed emotion, never screamed, never cried, even though, the guitar had to be turned in in less than a week...wow.
After consulting with Kris (who was surprisingly supportive) he showed me how to repair the body. I had to piece it together, one piece at a time, and hand clamp it, using Titebond.
Hopefully, I could get close to this...
I took the body home that night, and here are a few pics of the repairs that night.
Here was step 1...glue the crack that ran along the top/core wood seam...done. On to step 2
Glue in the first of three chunks, lining them up as best I could.
here are a couple more of the same piece, to give you an idea..
That particular glue joint actually contained two pieces, I must have failed to photograph the first one.
Finally, I had to glue in the last one. This was the largest, and had many things to line up with. My control cavity lip needed to line up; as well as the output jack. I think that I got it pretty well...
After it was inspected the next day...I received some nice compliments, and guidance for the next step. I would not be graded on my repair or the finish cracks (thank God!!!!), but everything else would be considered. Okay... time to go to work!
I installed the bridge ferrules, and installed my Hipshot UltraLites on the headstock.
Believe me, this is one tiny headstock...if there were anything that I would change, that would be it...
That evening, I had nothing else to do, but, to start my shielding and wiring. I took the body home, and shielded my cavity and cover....
The cover turned out pretty good, but, if I had more time, I would have done a second one...and... I thought I would insert this one glamor shot... even after the cracks, I was able to finally get back to buffing...and got it checked off!
Next was installing the pickup and wiring...my favorite part!!!!
No, really, it is my favorite part... I live for soldering!
I want to take all of this... and put it in my bass...
(the cell phone would be handy...I never know where that thing is..)
I needed to Dremel a little of the finish from around the pickup cavity, fit the pickup, so that I could trim the wire. When I got it to fit...I just had to share...
Beautiful!!!
Next, was the control cavity. I had a lot to do in a short amount of time...every day, we were under the gun, trying to meet our deadline.
I am so glad that I did some prep work, before the stuff hit the fan... I already had my grounds handled, wired the 9v lead to the preamp, wired a ground to my output jack, the only thing that I had left, was, connecting all the grounds ( star grounding system) wiring the hot from the pickup to the preamp, wiring the hot output, and connecting the switch lead for the battery...not much at all. I also tidied up the wiring with some zip ties and shrink wrap, where I needed to...
and here is what the instructors saw, when they graded my electronics setup ( minus the flux on the bass control pot, and the missing screw for the star grounding...I fixed that before even plugging it in.).
After the wiring, it was time to get the setup going... I'm going to need... a bridge!
Next, I need to do...the frets!
Yes, that was also homework...level, crown and polish my frets.
After that, it was time to get ready for strings...
Oh, and did you notice that the cracks are not showing...?
Kris approached me, suggesting that I touch up the finish with some Mahogany red.The intention was not to fill the cracks, just to match the color...
Here is one, with neck...
This concludes the photos of the electric. I was graded, I do not know the grade, but...I placed the bridge too far back, so intonation is currently impossible. I will fix that, The electronics are stellar. This has so much output that my amp distorts, when I turn the bass up...lotsa output! The action is good, the weight is awesome, and, once I fix the bridge issue... this thing will rawk!!!
For now, the remaining photos will only be of the acoustic, unless there are updates on the repair of the electric.
We continue, where I left off, when I butchered the first neck...heel carving.
Yesterday, once the electric was turned in, I turned my attention to the acoustic. I felt like I had a lot to get caught up on... Here was the status of the heel, before carving...
At this point, the new neck had been rebuilt, joined, truss rod slot routed, headcap glued on, fretboard re-registered, pitch set, side -to- side adjusted, neck inserts installed, along with bolting it to the body. Then, I sanded away the excess, after tracing the outline of the new heel, along with the outline of the heel cap. Now, on to carving!
Last time, I carved too much away from the area, where the neck meets up with the binding. I felt that it was too much to simply blend in, so, I thought that I could patch the hole with a piece of mahogany...I failed. This time, I was very focused, careful, and, when I started getting anywhere near the binding, I went to a file. The result...
That looks like a carved heel! I still have more to carve away, to make a steeper curve, but, not near the binding... nailed it! Josiah was amazed at how quickly I carved... second time a round's a charm... The next process ( and I stumble again, I did not get pictures) is the process of final fitting of the neck to the body. We scallop out 1/16" from inside the heel, where the neck meets the body, and leave 1/16" around the edges. This makes it easier to sand the final pitch and side to side, along with the general fit of the heel to the body. When fitting, you tape some sandpaper to the body, where the heel meets the body. With a small amount of pressure, you sand, until it truly fits. Once this was accomplished, I was, again, caught up with everyone else. At this point, I had run out of things to do, so, I asked Jim Prater if I could start sanding with 150 grit, to begin finish sanding on the body. He said "Just the top and back", so away I went!
Which brings us to today. before you ask, No, I did not screw up...
When I showed up, I was late. I had a doctor's appointment and some personal business to take care of, which caused me to miss the demonstration of the day's events. Luckily, I planned ahead. The subject was cutting out our headstock and drilling for the tuner holes. It's a good thing that I already had a template...
After everything was marked out, I cut where I needed to, and sanded the top edge and side edges smooth. The throat would be worked over later.
At this point, it was time to drill out the tuner holes. Using a brad point bit and the drill press ( I don't see how some people live without one of these), I drilled out the holes.
Those Grovers sure look nice in there...
But, they don't look too shabby there, either.
Don't worry, this was just a mock up...
The next thing was to trim the last bit of excess away from the fretboard. We took the proper measurements, and...
I believe that this thing is actually starting to look like a guitar...
After this, it is sanding. I have made some awesome progress and again, I apologize for not staying in contact. These past days have been murder... I think the help that I needed came in the form of my "brain trust"...
The seated one is Brendan, he's my neighbor. Steven, is behind him, and Zach is leaning on the desk. These guys are a hoot sometimes! I will still say that this class has a great group of individuals, and I am lucky to be in the middle of it all!
I will post more often, now that my head is removed from a place that only your proctologist knows about...
Thanks for Watching!
Thumpin_P
I am so sorry for keeping you out of the loop. I have had one tragedy after another. First, the acoustic neck you knew about. I started a new neck, and, with my previous experience, it only took me four days to get caught up with everyone else. Thankfully, everyone else was worrying with finishes and buffing...which brings me to my next tragedy.
Ain't she a beauty... here she is, wet sanded to 1000 grit, ready for the buffer. I had already buffed the body, after using 600 grit, and the shine just was not there. I took this picture, right before going out to the wheel, for buffing.
And this is what happened, right after I started to get the mirror shine...
The buffing wheel grabbed my pickup cavity, pulling the body out of my hands, and smashing it to the floor...in an instant. I took about five seconds to look at the result,picked up the pieces, took them inside, and waited for an instructor. The previous mistakes did indeed prepare me for this one. I never once showed emotion, never screamed, never cried, even though, the guitar had to be turned in in less than a week...wow.
After consulting with Kris (who was surprisingly supportive) he showed me how to repair the body. I had to piece it together, one piece at a time, and hand clamp it, using Titebond.
Hopefully, I could get close to this...
I took the body home that night, and here are a few pics of the repairs that night.
Here was step 1...glue the crack that ran along the top/core wood seam...done. On to step 2
Glue in the first of three chunks, lining them up as best I could.
here are a couple more of the same piece, to give you an idea..
That particular glue joint actually contained two pieces, I must have failed to photograph the first one.
Finally, I had to glue in the last one. This was the largest, and had many things to line up with. My control cavity lip needed to line up; as well as the output jack. I think that I got it pretty well...
After it was inspected the next day...I received some nice compliments, and guidance for the next step. I would not be graded on my repair or the finish cracks (thank God!!!!), but everything else would be considered. Okay... time to go to work!
I installed the bridge ferrules, and installed my Hipshot UltraLites on the headstock.
Believe me, this is one tiny headstock...if there were anything that I would change, that would be it...
That evening, I had nothing else to do, but, to start my shielding and wiring. I took the body home, and shielded my cavity and cover....
The cover turned out pretty good, but, if I had more time, I would have done a second one...and... I thought I would insert this one glamor shot... even after the cracks, I was able to finally get back to buffing...and got it checked off!
Next was installing the pickup and wiring...my favorite part!!!!
No, really, it is my favorite part... I live for soldering!
I want to take all of this... and put it in my bass...
(the cell phone would be handy...I never know where that thing is..)
I needed to Dremel a little of the finish from around the pickup cavity, fit the pickup, so that I could trim the wire. When I got it to fit...I just had to share...
Beautiful!!!
Next, was the control cavity. I had a lot to do in a short amount of time...every day, we were under the gun, trying to meet our deadline.
I am so glad that I did some prep work, before the stuff hit the fan... I already had my grounds handled, wired the 9v lead to the preamp, wired a ground to my output jack, the only thing that I had left, was, connecting all the grounds ( star grounding system) wiring the hot from the pickup to the preamp, wiring the hot output, and connecting the switch lead for the battery...not much at all. I also tidied up the wiring with some zip ties and shrink wrap, where I needed to...
and here is what the instructors saw, when they graded my electronics setup ( minus the flux on the bass control pot, and the missing screw for the star grounding...I fixed that before even plugging it in.).
After the wiring, it was time to get the setup going... I'm going to need... a bridge!
Next, I need to do...the frets!
Yes, that was also homework...level, crown and polish my frets.
After that, it was time to get ready for strings...
Oh, and did you notice that the cracks are not showing...?
Kris approached me, suggesting that I touch up the finish with some Mahogany red.The intention was not to fill the cracks, just to match the color...
Here is one, with neck...
This concludes the photos of the electric. I was graded, I do not know the grade, but...I placed the bridge too far back, so intonation is currently impossible. I will fix that, The electronics are stellar. This has so much output that my amp distorts, when I turn the bass up...lotsa output! The action is good, the weight is awesome, and, once I fix the bridge issue... this thing will rawk!!!
For now, the remaining photos will only be of the acoustic, unless there are updates on the repair of the electric.
We continue, where I left off, when I butchered the first neck...heel carving.
Yesterday, once the electric was turned in, I turned my attention to the acoustic. I felt like I had a lot to get caught up on... Here was the status of the heel, before carving...
At this point, the new neck had been rebuilt, joined, truss rod slot routed, headcap glued on, fretboard re-registered, pitch set, side -to- side adjusted, neck inserts installed, along with bolting it to the body. Then, I sanded away the excess, after tracing the outline of the new heel, along with the outline of the heel cap. Now, on to carving!
Last time, I carved too much away from the area, where the neck meets up with the binding. I felt that it was too much to simply blend in, so, I thought that I could patch the hole with a piece of mahogany...I failed. This time, I was very focused, careful, and, when I started getting anywhere near the binding, I went to a file. The result...
That looks like a carved heel! I still have more to carve away, to make a steeper curve, but, not near the binding... nailed it! Josiah was amazed at how quickly I carved... second time a round's a charm... The next process ( and I stumble again, I did not get pictures) is the process of final fitting of the neck to the body. We scallop out 1/16" from inside the heel, where the neck meets the body, and leave 1/16" around the edges. This makes it easier to sand the final pitch and side to side, along with the general fit of the heel to the body. When fitting, you tape some sandpaper to the body, where the heel meets the body. With a small amount of pressure, you sand, until it truly fits. Once this was accomplished, I was, again, caught up with everyone else. At this point, I had run out of things to do, so, I asked Jim Prater if I could start sanding with 150 grit, to begin finish sanding on the body. He said "Just the top and back", so away I went!
Which brings us to today. before you ask, No, I did not screw up...
When I showed up, I was late. I had a doctor's appointment and some personal business to take care of, which caused me to miss the demonstration of the day's events. Luckily, I planned ahead. The subject was cutting out our headstock and drilling for the tuner holes. It's a good thing that I already had a template...
After everything was marked out, I cut where I needed to, and sanded the top edge and side edges smooth. The throat would be worked over later.
At this point, it was time to drill out the tuner holes. Using a brad point bit and the drill press ( I don't see how some people live without one of these), I drilled out the holes.
Those Grovers sure look nice in there...
But, they don't look too shabby there, either.
Don't worry, this was just a mock up...
The next thing was to trim the last bit of excess away from the fretboard. We took the proper measurements, and...
I believe that this thing is actually starting to look like a guitar...
After this, it is sanding. I have made some awesome progress and again, I apologize for not staying in contact. These past days have been murder... I think the help that I needed came in the form of my "brain trust"...
The seated one is Brendan, he's my neighbor. Steven, is behind him, and Zach is leaning on the desk. These guys are a hoot sometimes! I will still say that this class has a great group of individuals, and I am lucky to be in the middle of it all!
I will post more often, now that my head is removed from a place that only your proctologist knows about...
Thanks for Watching!
Thumpin_P
I've fondled this thing myself, and let me add that the cracks post-touch up look much worse in the photos than in person. In standard living room lighting conditions, they almost go away.
Still trying to find a way to talk him into shell pink when its time to do a proper refin..
Still trying to find a way to talk him into shell pink when its time to do a proper refin..
Thanks guys! I cannot post sound clips...no interface, but, believe me I am happy with the tone of the bass (even if the intonation is horrible)!
WOW... I'm really impressed with how you handled the damage. That acoustic is pretty durn'd stunning too! My wife has asked me if this is something that I want to pursue! Again she's proven why I love her! Not sure that I WILL go this route, but I am seriously inspired that's for sure. Keep up the great work, and THANK YOU for making us a part of this!
