What's On Your Workbench?

[ThaCoast]

This is currently on my workbench.

^^^It's my 2nd ever DIY build, & there's quite a few things to correct/tweak. & I'm also giving this to a good friend of mine, I had compiled a list of all my gear (guitars, basses, amps, pedals) & i'm filtering what i don't truly have need for. He also always wanted a thunderbird style bass, & we had spoken a few years back about me building one for him. I figured this would be a nice gift to him & i won't be sad of letting this one go. It has imperfections from me learning how to build, but it turned out good (overall, less the slight lack of playability due to frets/poor setup). In any case, i'm going to make this better than it ever was, & it'll never gather dust under his use vs mine where it's been sat in a closet for a number of years.

 

[JIO]

This is currently on my workbench.

View attachment 4644645
^^^It's my 2nd ever DIY build, & there's quite a few things to correct/tweak. & I'm also giving this to a good friend of mine, I had compiled a list of all my gear (guitars, basses, amps, pedals) & i'm filtering what i don't truly have need for. He also always wanted a thunderbird style bass, & we had spoken a few years back about me building one for him. I figured this would be a nice gift to him & i won't be sad of letting this one go. It has imperfections from me learning how to build, but it turned out good (overall, less the slight lack of playability due to frets/poor setup). In any case, i'm going to make this better than it ever was, & it'll never gather dust under his use vs mine where it's been sat in a closet for a number of years.

This is also the way I feel. I have project guitar/basses that I occasionally loan/give to guitarist friends wanting a good bass or guitar. I'm a big believer in "pass it on". I did a resurrection of a '60s Harmony guitar that the guitarist in my band plays. I was originally going to finish it in something close to (Fender) Capri Orange, but liked the way it looked when I stripped the red/black-burst finish. He has a couple other great sounding vintage 'Frankenstein'/modded Fender Strats, so being that he liked/plays it make me happy! This one began as a '60s body and mid '80s neck only. I lucked-out finding the same vintage whammy bridge and found a RI of the bar on eBay.

 

[tubedude]

This is currently on my workbench.

View attachment 4644645
^^^It's my 2nd ever DIY build, & there's quite a few things to correct/tweak. & I'm also giving this to a good friend of mine, I had compiled a list of all my gear (guitars, basses, amps, pedals) & i'm filtering what i don't truly have need for. He also always wanted a thunderbird style bass, & we had spoken a few years back about me building one for him. I figured this would be a nice gift to him & i won't be sad of letting this one go. It has imperfections from me learning how to build, but it turned out good (overall, less the slight lack of playability due to frets/poor setup). In any case, i'm going to make this better than it ever was, & it'll never gather dust under his use vs mine where it's been sat in a closet for a number of years.

A good opportunity to finetune refinishing skills while you're under the hood.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

This is also the way I feel. I have project guitar/basses that I occasionally loan/give to guitarist friends wanting a good bass or guitar. I'm a big believer in "pass it on". I did a resurrection of a '60s Harmony guitar that the guitarist in my band plays. I was originally going to finish it in something close to (Fender) Capri Orange, but liked the way it looked when I stripped the red/black-burst finish. He has a couple other great sounding vintage 'Frankenstein'/modded Fender Strats, so being that he liked/plays it make me happy! This one began as a '60s body and mid '80s neck only. I lucked-out finding the same vintage whammy bridge and found a RI of the bar on eBay.

View attachment 4644648 View attachment 4644649 View attachment 4644650

That’s funny. I saw the first picture and thought, “That looks like one of those Harmony necks from the 80s.” Then I saw the last picture. I guess that labels me as old…

 

[JIO]

That’s funny. I saw the first picture and thought, “That looks like one of those Harmony necks from the 80s.” Then I saw the last picture. I guess that labels me as old…

It's an '80s Harmony neck and a '60s Harmony body. The Harmony script started in the '60s, but was the same in the '80s. I found a RI decal on eBay, because I stripped-off the original when restoring it.

 

[Flamingo21]

What pickups are those, @JIO ?

 

[ThaCoast]

A good opportunity to finetune refinishing skills while you're under the hood.

I actually built the bass with the intent on doing something different look wise - hence the burn up & down. I'm not disappointed with it, on the contrary, though i am patching up half of the large Dual J route (had built this bass with 3 pickups, which was alright, though honestly forget the sound - was probably too much & not clear enough, hence the move to the EMGs it currently sports which i had pulled from a 1973 pbass i had to "restore".)

Anycase, the work to this bass includes:
- Removing frets, & radius' the board to a proper 10" (currently an off 12")
- Install of new frets, edge, bevel, level, crown, polish
- Plugging half the J pickup route
- Reshaping the neck profile (currently a V esque, aiming towards a C D in between)
- Reburn the fresh bare wood, & sealing with gloss coats overtop the whole bass
- Install new hardware (ditching the chrome, & going with black as per my friend's request)
- Rewire, assemble, string up (with 50-105), set up.

Aiming to have it all done by mid May (which is pretty doable considering i've access to a shop in which i'm employed).

 

[Flamingo21]

Toying with some ideas for an Explorer case.

 

[tubedude]

Prototype KT88 P.P.

 

[Lo-E]

Prototype KT88 P.P.View attachment 4647703

Are those old Tektronix terminal strips?

 

[tubedude]

Are those old Tektronix terminal strips?

No, same ceramic/silver strip but new, from Antique Electronic Supply.

 

[Flying B]

Well, after watching this latest video from Rex -

I tried using his links but he managed to sell out all of Amazon.
I did find a three grit plate set so I ordered them up. Now that the WBO is over I took a few minutes to throw together this cheapy sharpening station -
View attachment 4631652

Its literally some cheap Amazon diamond plates, a scrap piece of plywood, some chisel work and a cheap strop. I screwed a piece to the bottom that i can clamp on my end vice to hold it still. Is it perfect? No, but I think I'm in this rig about $20 and to be honest, it's not bad at all. I'm sure those fancy oil stones would be way better, but you aren't gonna be in that $20 so this isn't horrible. If any of you are looking for a seriously affordable sharpening station for your chisels and plane irons and are currently using the "scary sharp" sandpaper method (like I was) I'd encourage you to take a look at this. It's an affordable step up at the very least.

I've been using a similar system for a few years using the DMT double sided stones. Coarse all the way up to superfine and a leather strop to finish, you can get a chisel to hair-shaving sharp in a couple of minutes, and after a few years of use there's no sign of them wearing out.

 

[Crawforde]

Nothing on my little bench, but I’ve got the house to myself so I moved inside for some air conditioning and light while I glue.

 

[dwizum]

Uke'ing it up

 

[Beej]

Uke'ing it up

View attachment 4656281

View attachment 4656282

View attachment 4656286

Nice! Are those PVC pipes with springs in the ends a form of go-bar?

 

[dwizum]

Nice! Are those PVC pipes with springs in the ends a form of go-bar?

Why yes they are!

There's a screw through the pipe at the spring end to hold the spring in place.

I find that these are infinitely easier to use and more stable than the wood or fiberglass rods most people use on go bar decks.

And here's a gratuitous photo of braces being carved, just because it's probably the most fun part of the whole process...

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Uke'ing it up

View attachment 4656281

View attachment 4656282

View attachment 4656286

The first soundhole picture had me hoping for some crazy triple topped uke.

 

[dwizum]

I follow a couple builders who do double backs and/or double tops. Three tops would be... over the top?

 

[Beej]

Why yes they are!

View attachment 4656294

View attachment 4656296

There's a screw through the pipe at the spring end to hold the spring in place.

I find that these are infinitely easier to use and more stable than the wood or fiberglass rods most people use on go bar decks.

And here's a gratuitous photo of braces being carved, just because it's probably the most fun part of the whole process...

View attachment 4656297

I'm sure you hear this a lot, but that's genius!

 

[dwizum]

This was on my workbench today:

And, today I learned that my Mother-in-law's walker wheels take the same bearings as the guide bearings on my bandsaw. Good old 608's! She told me the wheel was loose and she wanted me to tighten it. I expected the axle nut was just loose, but when I spun the nut off to check, the above parts fell out. The actual balls were nowhere to be found. No wonder the wheel was loose...