What's On Your Workbench?

[rudy4444]

When I used to use Tru-oil I factored in an additional month to apply enough coats to actually build a finish and give the coats enough drying time. One of the best things I have done is to abandon it's use.

What's that old joke about picking any two product attributes from easy, fast, good?

 

[Lo-E]

When I used to use Tru-oil I factored in an additional month to apply enough coats to actually build a finish and give the coats enough drying time. One of the best things I have done is to abandon it's use.

What's that old joke about picking any two product attributes from easy, fast, good?

I always heard good/fast/cheap but, yeah, point taken.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Yeah, we'll see how it goes. I'm only at coat two right now. But I grain filled like a mad man, so hopefully it builds quicker. Who knows, not me I know that. I'm just using what I have because this is not the time of year to be spending dollars on things I don't really need to be spending dollars on. Add to that the reality that "things that I need to be spending dollars on" doesn't exactly line up with "things my wife agrees we should be spending dollars on". (insert shrugging emoji here)

 

[RichterScale]

What's that old joke about picking any two product attributes from easy, fast, good?

The way I always heard it was,
you can have done fast, cheap and well. Pick 2.
It's funny because it's true. Especially in the trades. You can only ever have a combo of any 2.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

The way I always heard it was,
you can have done fast, cheap and well. Pick 2.
It's funny because it's true. Especially in the trades. You can only ever have a combo of any 2.

But slow, expensive and poorly is achievable!

 

[Jeff Siddall]

The way I always heard it was,
you can have done fast, cheap and well. Pick 2.
It's funny because it's true. Especially in the trades. You can only ever have a combo of any 2.

I dunno. I never find both "cheap" and "well".

 

[RichterScale]

But slow, expensive and poorly is achievable!

Well yes. You can get that all day, every day. I believe that's the business model of government at every level, education, most attorneys and most businesses in general.

 

[RichterScale]

I dunno. I never find both "cheap" and "well".

That's typically my model. But you're not getting it any time soon.

 

[Lo-E]

A sad state of affairs; that’s what’s on my workbench!

When this came to me the unforgivable paint scheme covered the entire body as well as the pickguard and headstock. It’s oil-based house paint. It had also received several unmatched Schaller tuners and a badly corroded Badass II bridge and an EMG p’up.

A dear friend of mine bought it cheap from a friend of his in the late 1980s. He played it, completely as-is, for a few years and then put it in storage for a long time. About 10 years ago he gave it to me because the neck had developed a slight twist, a slight ski jump and the truss rod wasn’t working.

It turns out it’s a’76. Although I’m not 100% certain, I think it was sunburst. It’s become a project I revisit when I don’t have much else going on.

The paint is extremely difficult to remove but, with a combination of chemicals and scrapers I remove a little bit at a time. Eventually I’ll put a clear finish on it, scars and all.

Some shims and a new adjusting nut got the truss rod working, marginally. It’s not great but it works and I really don’t want to try to replace it. The headstock had already been stripped of its logo, sadly. I’ve removed the frets and I’ll sand the board level to remove the ski jump and the twist. I’ll re-decal the headstock and spray a rattle-can finish and re-fret with the biggest-tanged frets I have to give the truss rod a little help in the back-bow department.

Eventually I’ll outfit it with a black guard and hardware and a pickup more befitting it’s vintage and it’ll make a fine player. It’s a work in progress and I’m not really in much of a hurry.

Right now, though, it’s ugly like the back of a bus.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

That's typically my model. But you're not getting it any time soon.

"...come back next Thursday."


(You either know that joke, or not. I suspect the internet does if you don't. Well, I checked, and the internet is polluted with too many serial shows that run on Thursdays to know the joke, so I guess you just have to know the joke.)

 

[Matt Liebenau]

View attachment 4508776
A sad state of affairs; that’s what’s on my workbench!

When this came to me the unforgivable paint scheme covered the entire body as well as the pickguard and headstock. It’s oil-based house paint. It had also received several unmatched Schaller tuners and a badly corroded Badass II bridge and an EMG p’up.

A dear friend of mine bought it cheap from a friend of his in the late 1980s. He played it, completely as-is, for a few years and then put it in storage for a long time. About 10 years ago he gave it to me because the neck had developed a slight twist, a slight ski jump and the truss rod wasn’t working.

It turns out it’s a’76. Although I’m not 100% certain, I think it was sunburst. It’s become a project I revisit when I don’t have much else going on.

The paint is extremely difficult to remove but, with a combination of chemicals and scrapers I remove a little bit at a time. Eventually I’ll put a clear finish on it, scars and all.

Some shims and a new adjusting nut got the truss rod working, marginally. It’s not great but it works and I really don’t want to try to replace it. The headstock had already been stripped of its logo, sadly. I’ve removed the frets and I’ll sand the board level to remove the ski jump and the twist. I’ll re-decal the headstock and spray a rattle-can finish and re-fret with the biggest-tanged frets I have to give the truss rod a little help in the back-bow department.

Eventually I’ll outfit it with a black guard and hardware and a pickup more befitting it’s vintage and it’ll make a fine player. It’s a work in progress and I’m not really in much of a hurry.

Right now, though, it’s ugly like the back of a bus.

I’m sure you can make it live again. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Beej]

View attachment 4508776
A sad state of affairs; that’s what’s on my workbench!

When this came to me the unforgivable paint scheme covered the entire body as well as the pickguard and headstock. It’s oil-based house paint. It had also received several unmatched Schaller tuners and a badly corroded Badass II bridge and an EMG p’up.

A dear friend of mine bought it cheap from a friend of his in the late 1980s. He played it, completely as-is, for a few years and then put it in storage for a long time. About 10 years ago he gave it to me because the neck had developed a slight twist, a slight ski jump and the truss rod wasn’t working.

It turns out it’s a’76. Although I’m not 100% certain, I think it was sunburst. It’s become a project I revisit when I don’t have much else going on.

The paint is extremely difficult to remove but, with a combination of chemicals and scrapers I remove a little bit at a time. Eventually I’ll put a clear finish on it, scars and all.

Some shims and a new adjusting nut got the truss rod working, marginally. It’s not great but it works and I really don’t want to try to replace it. The headstock had already been stripped of its logo, sadly. I’ve removed the frets and I’ll sand the board level to remove the ski jump and the twist. I’ll re-decal the headstock and spray a rattle-can finish and re-fret with the biggest-tanged frets I have to give the truss rod a little help in the back-bow department.

Eventually I’ll outfit it with a black guard and hardware and a pickup more befitting it’s vintage and it’ll make a fine player. It’s a work in progress and I’m not really in much of a hurry.

Right now, though, it’s ugly like the back of a bus.

Looks like fun! I have a suggestion... stop right here and don't do anything further. And then join this in the Assembly Build category: Winter Build Off 2022 - Get Ready and start back up on Tuesday!

I'm adding you to my contestant spreadsheet under "maybe". Hopefully we can upgrade that to "yes"!

 

[Lo-E]

Looks like fun! I have a suggestion... stop right here and don't do anything further. And then join this in the Assembly Build category: Winter Build Off 2022 - Get Ready and start back up on Tuesday!

I'm adding you to my contestant spreadsheet under "maybe". Hopefully we can upgrade that to "yes"!

I had hoped, initially, to join the build-off with a scratch build (my first) but scrapped that plan when I ended up embroiled in the rebuilding of my old table saw mentioned earlier in this thread.

Unfortunately, my schedule at work tends to run the gamut between somewhat bananas and completely bonkers so I just don’t think I’ll have enough shop time to complete anything I start for the foreseeable future. As it is, the table saw is still in pieces (with high hopes of starting to reassemble it tomorrow) and that really should have been a 2 or 3 day project. It’s been 3 months.

So as much as I’d love to participate in a build off, I strongly suspect that the “maybe” will turn into a “ain’t no way”, but I’ll see what I can do.

 

[Beej]

I had hoped, initially, to join the build-off with a scratch build (my first) but scrapped that plan when I ended up embroiled in the rebuilding of my old table saw mentioned earlier in this thread.

Unfortunately, my schedule at work tends to run the gamut between somewhat bananas and completely bonkers so I just don’t think I’ll have enough shop time to complete anything I start for the foreseeable future. As it is, the table saw is still in pieces (with high hopes of starting to reassemble it tomorrow) and that really should have been a 2 or 3 day project. It’s been 3 months.

So as much as I’d love to participate in a build off, I strongly suspect that the “maybe” will turn into a “ain’t no way”, but I’ll see what I can do.

I sorta feel like my peer pressure is working a bit. Next I'm going to give you a lit cigarette and say "c'mon, just one drag"

 

[Lo-E]

I sorta feel like my peer pressure is working a bit. Next I'm going to give you a lit cigarette and say "c'mon, just one drag"

All the cool kids are doing it. What, are you afraid?

 

[Beej]

All the cool kids are doing it. What, are you afraid?

Agnetha said she likes guys who smoke.

 

[JIO]

Agnetha said she likes guys who smoke.
View attachment 4509423

 

[dwizum]

Think of it this way - out of the handful of recent buildoffs, there has been focus on half finished projects and partial builds more than once. If you start something during this buildoff and don't finish it, seems like there's a good chance you can finish it in a future buildoff assuming that trend continues.

 

[Lo-E]

Agnetha said she likes guys who smoke.
View attachment 4509423

Lifelong non-smoker here but, for Agnetha, I might make an exception.

 

[RichterScale]

Question about fretboard overhang.
When using fretfind2d, it wants the measurement from the center of the first and last strings, to the outside edge of the board.
For those using fretfind or other printable software for fret spacing, are you bothering to use this feature and if so, are you factoring in the difference in gauge between the first and last string?
Or, are you mostly using this stuff to get fret positions and figure the rest out in real time while building?

For example, I'll have a .095 E string and .040 D string. Since the software wants to know the desired overhang and calculates from the center of the string, I made the overhang 0.1" + half the width of the string. So I typed in 0.12" and 0.147". That should leave me with 0.1" space from the edge of the string and edge of the board on both sides.
Granted, this is all assuming that I'm gluing the printout to my blank and using it for final dimensions.
My assumption is that the printout is good for fret position and as long as you have your final neck width dimensions, string positions and spacing, etc can all be figured out and done on the fly.
I'm mostly curious if anyone bothers to use that feature in FretFind2D.
Also, I'm curious what most people consider a standard space from the outer strings to the edge of the board on most basses.