The Mermaid Bass: First Progress Report

[BassUrges]

I just realized I hadn't posted my plans for shell inlay on the fingerboard!

 

[TerribleTim68]

I just realized I hadn't posted my plans for shell inlay on the fingerboard!
View attachment 3748885

Okay, that's pretty interesting and I'll be watching to see how you go about that.

 

[BassUrges]

Okay, that's pretty interesting and I'll be watching to see how you go about that.

With a jeweler’s saw, Dremel, quarantine time, and limited sanity?

 

[Fat Freddy]

With a jeweler’s saw, Dremel, quarantine time, and limited sanity?

Perfek!....I'm in...

 

[BassUrges]

Here we are more than a year after my first post, and I’ve finally gotten the shell for the ball done. Next week I hope to paint the back.

 

[BassUrges]

This is the neck...I haven’t just been wasting time with work and kids.

 

[BassUrges]

For those interested in the fingerboard inlays, I got started last night. I print my designs to scale (with a box of known size on the printout so I can check), then glue them to my blanks with Titebond’s fake hide glue.

 

[BassUrges]

Control cavity and cover done...I THINK I’m ready to paint?

 

[BassUrges]

Ready or not...

 

[BassUrges]

As usual, the line between “flows out smoothly” and “gigantic sags” proves elusive. Especially with thick latex stuffed into a spray can by the paint store. (White cap for color contrast)

 

[Beej]

I just realized I hadn't posted my plans for shell inlay on the fingerboard!
View attachment 3748885

So it's the phases of the moon, and then a bullet hole?

 

[BassUrges]

So it's the phases of the moon, and then a bullet hole?

No, it’s a bunch of yellow MOP and abalone.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

C'mon Beej...

 

[BassUrges]

Seafoam pearl: a Glidden paint sample and Testors Color Shift.

 

[BassUrges]

I thought I had smoothed the sags, but the gloss reveals them. .

 

[Beej]

I'm 100% sure you'll get this, everything else has come to fruition

 

[BassUrges]

I'm 100% sure you'll get this, everything else has come to fruition

Absent sanding it all off—I have to live with the dubious finish.

At least it’s not for a customer!

Next step is decals, then clear.

 

[BassUrges]

This is coming together, but...I am not thrilled by the workmanship. I feel kind of amateurish.

 

[PWRL]

This is coming together, but...I am not thrilled by the workmanship. I feel kind of amateurish.
View attachment 4002434 View attachment 4002435

I'm not sure how much experience you have in this line of creativity, but as a person who spent nearly 20 years in a craft/trade, you're probably being too hard on yourself. This is a pretty complex piece with a lot of form to refine, both in terms of positive and negative space. I think that what you've come up with is actually pretty interesting. I have a BA in Studio Art and I mean this sincerely. Plus, I'm sure you've probably learned a great deal in the process.
Besides, I've never seen a mermaid bass before, anyway. In that sense, the bar kind of starts anywhere.

 

[BassUrges]

I'm not sure how much experience you have in this line of creativity, but as a person who spent nearly 20 years in a craft/trade, you're probably being too hard on yourself. This is a pretty complex piece with a lot of form to refine, both in terms of positive and negative space. I think that what you've come up with is actually pretty interesting. I have a BA in Studio Art and I mean this sincerely. Plus, I'm sure you've probably learned a great deal in the process.
Besides, I've never seen a mermaid bass before, anyway. In that sense, the bar kind of starts anywhere.

I appreciate your kind words! My complaint with my work is mostly in the details; some sags in the green on the back, uneven coverage with the colorshift, plus some surface defects that show up much more than I would like.

It just feels like it could be amazing, but it's only coming up to "OK." And I'm not sure I want to risk sanding it all off and starting over, because the risk of damage is ever-present.