Trying to fix a worthless Bass

[byacey]

I put the scraper in the vice, hit it with the file then turn the burr. Try both ways though. Whichever works better for you is the right way.

To turn a sharp burr, the scraper should first be sharpened and finely honed so it has a fine, smooth edge. To turn the burr, it doesn't take much pressure at all. If you apply too much pressure, you'll roll the burr over too much and end up with a blunt edge. A drill bit shank is usually hard enough to turn a nice burr.

 

[sissy kathy]

Don't you have a knife steel in your kitchen? That is what they are made for, except for a knife. There's no reason you can't use it on a scraper though.

 

[Markshan]

Don't you have a knife steel in your kitchen? That is what they are made for, except for a knife. There's no reason you can't use it on a scraper though.

I tried the knife steel and I was getting ripples in my edge. I didn't expect it but that's what happened. I do feel like I'm doing much better with the screwdriver though.

 

[Markshan]

I'm pretty sure most of the problem has been the loose nut behind the burnisher.

 

[sissy kathy]

I'm pretty sure most of the problem has been the loose nut behind the burnisher.

Well, get the wench to tighten it up. Oops,... did I say that out loud?

 

[byacey]

Don't you have a knife steel in your kitchen? That is what they are made for, except for a knife. There's no reason you can't use it on a scraper though.

A knife steel usually has fine serrations in it. The best burnisher for fine wood working scrapers is a smoothly polished, hard piece of steel, usually round or oval in cross section. These can be bought or made from a piece of drill stock, or other smooth steel rods like screwdriver shanks, drill bit shanks, a pin punch, or any other hard steel rod around 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter. I usually use light pressure to turn the burr, and then try the edge by scraping. If it doesn't cut the way I expect by turning fine, curled shavings, I'll re-burnish it again with slightly more pressure. As I mentioned, if you go too far, you need to re-hone the steel and re-burnish all over again.
How to sharpen a Scraper

 

[Markshan]

Well, I'm not super excited about this product. It's wood putty. When I opened it, it was hard and chalky. I dug about halfway down to get some that still had a little bit of moisture to it and worked with that. While I was working it not feeling very happy about the results I looked at the jar for thinning instructions.

I didn't find any but I did find line 4 of the instructions to be problematic...

It says "will not dry to a sandable hard". I presume the rest of that was supposed to say finish or surface or something along those lines. I'm also hoping that since it reads like English as a foreign language that perhaps maybe it's not supposed to say not and it's supposed to say it will dry to a sandable hard surface. Or maybe I'm totally mistaken. I was always under the impression that wood filler was supposed to dry to a sandable hard surface so that you could then work with it. Am I wrong? I've been wrong before.

 

[sissy kathy]

Well, I'm not super excited about this product. It's wood putty. When I opened it, it was hard and chalky. I dug about halfway down to get some that still had a little bit of moisture to it and worked with that. While I was working it not feeling very happy about the results I looked at the jar for thinning instructions.
I didn't find any but I did find line 4 of the instructions to be problematic...
It says "will not dry to a sandable hard". I presume the rest of that was supposed to say finish or surface or something along those lines. I'm also hoping that since it reads like English as a foreign language that perhaps maybe it's not supposed to say not and it's supposed to say it will dry to a sandable hard surface. Or maybe I'm totally mistaken. I was always under the impression that wood filler was supposed to dry to a sandable hard surface so that you could then work with it. Am I wrong? I've been wrong before.

Perhaps, but I wouldn't chance it. Just put the old control plate back on. I've still got that vintage perloid pickguard material if you want it.

 

[Markshan]

Perhaps, but I wouldn't chance it. Just put the old control plate back on. I've still got that vintage perloid pickguard material if you want it.

Thank you. Since I already put it on I'm going to give it a day and see what it does. If it stays soft like that then I'm just going to clean it up and get a different product.

 

[Markshan]

24 hours later and it's still soft. Am I missing something? What is the purpose of a filler that hardens in the jar but not on wood?

 

[sissy kathy]

24 hours later and it's still soft. Am I missing something? What is the purpose of a filler that hardens in the jar but not on wood?

The object is to get your money, not to perform as expected.

 

[Deathblade Eric]

24 hours later and it's still soft. Am I missing something? What is the purpose of a filler that hardens in the jar but not on wood?

That sounds like glaziers putty - does it smell of Linseed Oil?

You'd be better served with an epoxy putty like this stuff

Milliput - The epoxy putty with a thousand uses in modelling, DIY and industry

Sets solid in around four hours & can be filed, sanded & even thread tapped. Sticks to just about anything & can also be finessed whilst soft with a wet finger/rag.

 

[Markshan]

That sounds like glaziers putty - does it smell of Linseed Oil?

You'd be better served with an epoxy putty like this stuff

Milliput - The epoxy putty with a thousand uses in modelling, DIY and industry

Sets solid in around four hours & can be filed, sanded & even thread tapped. Sticks to just about anything & can also be finessed whilst soft with a wet finger/rag.

Cool. So what is the purpose of glazers putty? I already ordered the JB Weld wood putty but I appreciate the recommendation. I know almost nothing but I am learning quickly.

 

[Markshan]

That sounds like glaziers putty - does it smell of Linseed Oil?

You'd be better served with an epoxy putty like this stuff

Milliput - The epoxy putty with a thousand uses in modelling, DIY and industry

Sets solid in around four hours & can be filed, sanded & even thread tapped. Sticks to just about anything & can also be finessed whilst soft with a wet finger/rag.

First, I have to be honest until you that I am so new at this that I do not know what linseed oil smells like.
This is what the description on the Amazon listing says...
An oil-based wood putty. Used to fill nail holes and imperfections in wood.
Based on that, should I ask Amazon for a refund? Did I order the wrong thing or did they list it as the wrong thing?

 

[sissy kathy]

Cool. So what is the purpose of glazers putty? I already ordered the JB Weld wood putty but I appreciate the recommendation. I know almost nothing but I am learning quickly.

Glazer putty is used to set window panes into the surrounding wood frame.

 

[Deathblade Eric]

Cool. So what is the purpose of glazers putty? I already ordered the JB Weld wood putty but I appreciate the recommendation. I know almost nothing but I am learning quickly.

It stays soft so you can bed your window frame in & create a weatherproof seal that can move with the seasons. It can be overpainted with an oil-based paint & will stay flexible for years. Eventually (decades) it'll set solid, crack up & fall out.

It can also be used as 'soft stopping' for e.g nail holes & other manky bits that are going to be painted over. You might get a return from Amazon based on it being set nearly solid - that suggests to me that it's been sat around for a long while - usually the oil separates out & rises to the top. I'd say their description is fair though.

 

[Markshan]

The JB weld putty arrived yesterday. I removed the old putty but then I couldn't find my cheaters and I didn't want to put in the new putty out of focus. Hopefully I'll get a chance to stop at Dollar tree tonight. Probably time for me to go to an optometrist but I don't see that happening real soon.

 

[Markshan]

I've had more than my share of beginners luck so far, but my first attempt at capping a headstock is a major fail.

I cut the clamping scrap too short so instead of cutting a new one I clamped another small piece above it. Evidently I tore the laminate as I clamped the other piece. Live and learn.

 

[Markshan]

I am capping it to paint it black like a Hofner. I guess I could just fill in the crack with some putty since I will be sealing and lacquering anyway. Thoughts?

 

[Markshan]

Actually I think I can work with this. Since I'm lacquering it Black rather than staining it, I think it will be okay if I put a little filler in to the crack. There's also a little bit of ripple across from the crack but I think I can fix that with filler and sanding as well.