I'm rebuilding an old French bass that was busted to splinters in a car accident. I removed some large breast patches from the top to find, to my horror...EPOXY! Those things were glued in sloppily with epoxy which was, in some places, thicker than the patch. The only thing that worked for removal was steel scrapers sharpened with a death burr. I spent hours getting this crap out. And the stuff had soaked into the top layer of spruce, rendering it stiff and no longer porous, so there was no alternative but to dig out some of the original wood. I think this was done during a period of lack of respect for basses, and I hope this type of work is not going on any longer...
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass What exactly IS the "Luthier's Prime Directive"?
- Thread starter arnoldschnitzer
- Start date
I'm afraid that is wishfull thinking. I recently had to re-brace a flatback that some DIYer (sorry Damon) used a couple of quarts of the stuff to stop the loose back braces from rattling. It didn't stop the rattle, so they brought it to me. I tried to get them to take it to Martin but...
Jeff Bollbach
Jeff Bollbach Luthier, Inc.
Originally posted by Bob Branstetter
I'm afraid that is wishfull thinking. I recently had to re-brace a flatback that some DIYer (sorry Damon) used a couple of quarts of the stuff to stop the loose back braces from rattling. It didn't stop the rattle, so they brought it to me. I tried to get them to take it to Martin but...
Ya can't stop DIYourselfers. But you can influence the work that comes out of major shops. I know the work that Arnold describes intimately and we are not talking DIY we are talking world famous. Things have changed drastically in the bass luthiery world in the last decade. There are now many smaller bass luthiers motivated more by craft than greed. This forces the bigger guys to either up their quality or become Sam Assh type megashops driven by hype and volume. Believe me, any "big time luthier" with his hand on an epoxy or stupid glue jar is feeling the pressure.
For more on glue[if you haven't read my rant] see
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Arnold, you and I and Jeff know another luthier who did some major repair on that bass on a rush basis just a couple of years ago.
I guess we are lucky here in the Midwest. White glue is about the worst offense I see coming out of the professional shops here. Most of the guys that came before me were trained at the Rodier violin makers school in Kansas City on the GI bill after WWII and Korea. The Rodiers were gone before I got in the business, but their legacy and a lot of their basses (fortunately) remain around here.
The things people do. I'm still slowly scraping bondo and filler off the top of the purple metalflake Kay I bought last fall....
Not to mention the purple metalflake. As Rob Wilson said of it, "It looks like it was painted by a shop that does bass boats, so I guess that's appropriate..."
An interesting update: A part-time helper of mine showed up the other day with a can of "Attack". It's a liquid used for removing hardened epoxy, used by jewelry repair shops. I've yet to try it, and my hesitation is based on it being mostly Methylene Chloride, which stinks to high heaven and has been known to cause brain damage resulting in bass players switching to the banjo...
Seriously, though, anyone have experience with this stuff?
Seriously, though, anyone have experience with this stuff?
No, but if you're thinking of using it, could you please wait until after you've finished my bass?
kurt muroki said:
thanks for bringing this old thread back to life with your unique insight
sorry for the sarcasm, but I think you're lucky I got here first instead of some of the other guys. welcome to TB and keep it relative.
John Sprague
Sam Shen's US Distributor
- Mar 10, 2003
- 998
- 360
- 63
- Disclosures
- Sales Manager, CSC Products Inc.
(going for some relativism)
I had a rather startling conversation yesterday with a luthier I respect. He was relating a story of a neck set that he is in the process of doing right now. The neck was floating in a plastic looking epoxy of some sort, and didn't touch the block at all. The only wood-to-wood was at the ribs. OK, big deal, must have been some cheep factory bso, right? Nope. It was one of the most respected and famous basses made today, with a price tag that buys new cars or college tuitions. No name shall I utter, even if you call, since it's second hand info. But it sure startled me.
I had a rather startling conversation yesterday with a luthier I respect. He was relating a story of a neck set that he is in the process of doing right now. The neck was floating in a plastic looking epoxy of some sort, and didn't touch the block at all. The only wood-to-wood was at the ribs. OK, big deal, must have been some cheep factory bso, right? Nope. It was one of the most respected and famous basses made today, with a price tag that buys new cars or college tuitions. No name shall I utter, even if you call, since it's second hand info.
But it sure startled me.
smokinbass said:
not being rude, just find it interesting and i admire everyone's attention to detail, the wow was an impressed wow
Mike Goodbar said:If I guess it right, will you tell me?
That's how the UK government released Iraq WMD expert David Kelly's name to the world as a source telling the press these things wern't there - can't say I reccomend it. Blair never managed to convince anyone he didn't want the name out. The damage could not and was not undone. If only he was a luthier he wouldn't have been so silly
?BTW - talking of epoxy, I sometimes get a rattle in the stop that prevents my endpin from falling straight out of the bass (wish the stop wire wasn't there at all really but ho hum) and got the luthier tip to poke it with a stick through the F hole with alcohol to clean and then a blob of epoxy to stop the death rattle.
PUFFIN'PANORMO said:
I agree, but I don't think the comment meant any disrespect...it seemed appreciative (though it's hard to tell). Let's make sure we greet newbs with the "welcome" part before explaining the way things work around here.
(And yes, I only mention this because I've been guilty of the same thing many times over 
)CUTE KARAOKE - Welcome to the funhouse!
John Sprague
Sam Shen's US Distributor
- Mar 10, 2003
- 998
- 360
- 63
- Disclosures
- Sales Manager, CSC Products Inc.
Epoxie will hold a lot of things but it wont hold up to heat.
If you have big blobs of epoxie you can use a soldering iron to heat it up and dig it out. Use what's called a spade tip. I am talking the little 25 wat irons from radio junk. go slow so you don't turn your bass into a wood burnning project.
Also, did you know that unmixed epoxie hardner turns explosive over time. BOOM! I have read accounts of several storage sheds exploading when a can of old hardner gets
dropped.
I had an old epoxie kit that I wanted to get rid of so I decided to mix it up and let it harden befor I tossed it. When I mixed the hardner with the resin it started to sizzle and smoke.
Joe
If you have big blobs of epoxie you can use a soldering iron to heat it up and dig it out. Use what's called a spade tip. I am talking the little 25 wat irons from radio junk. go slow so you don't turn your bass into a wood burnning project.
Also, did you know that unmixed epoxie hardner turns explosive over time. BOOM! I have read accounts of several storage sheds exploading when a can of old hardner gets
dropped.
I had an old epoxie kit that I wanted to get rid of so I decided to mix it up and let it harden befor I tossed it. When I mixed the hardner with the resin it started to sizzle and smoke.
Joe
Chris Fitzgerald said:I agree, but I don't think the comment meant any disrespect...it seemed appreciative (though it's hard to tell). Let's make sure we greet newbs with the "welcome" part before explaining the way things work around here.
CUTE KARAOKE - Welcome to the funhouse!
No disrespect intended and judging from Kurt's profile he's definitely a respectable bassist, certainly more than I am. Being quite the newbie myself here, I just couldn't resist the sarcasm. Must exercise self-control.... I also have no business telling anyone to keep it relative so shame on me for that too. I must also admit that I have been "wow"-ed myself, not only by the amount of information available here at TB, but by the generosity of the musicians and the luthiers who share their time, experience and knowledge will everyone. It is truely a beautiful thing (especially here on the dark side but that's another topic) and I think it says a lot about bass players in particular.
Thank You TalkBass!
sorry if I made this thread go off topic again
