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What's On Your Workbench?

#6,001
Question to the mass, I'm currently fixing up my 1975 Gibson Grabber bass, which i bought almost a year back now. Had a broken truss rod, & i repaired it with the Stewmac truss rod saver tool (good investment, but man it's expensive for specialty bit & long allen wrench). Anyway, it needs a refret also cause they are seriously worn down to almost the fretboard, & i figured i'd straighten out the neck before pulling the frets, & have a level/even fretboard to work on. However, i'm left with a gap mid way travel of about 1/8", & i'm not going to crank the truss rod nut more than i have (I even backed it off completely). I bought this bass used from a guy i knew, who i had met 7 years back while working at a local music store. & he's had it since the 90's when he bought it in a pawn shop. So who knows how long the bass hasn't had a functioning truss rod prior to him (most likely, he's a soft spoken & sweet man).

Anyway, i'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions how i can go about getting the neck straighter, or if i should pull the frets & level the board itself to have "flat action". I'm replacing the frets with vintage correct size ones which are tall jumbos (on a 34.5" scale neck bass, they won't feel like the ones i've got on my 79 Gibby LP standard xD).

Thanks y'all!
 
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#6,002
if the truss rod functions now, I'd get the neck as straight as you can and then level sand it prior to re-fretting, but I doubt you can sand out 1/8" relief. Lot's of videos on heat-treating a neck to remove various kinks, but it's not always a permanent fix. Warpedneck.com is getting a pretty good reputation on TB for fixing necks, and it's relatively cheap.
FIX AN INSTRUMENT'S WARPED NECK
 
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#6,003
Gilmourisgod said:
if the truss rod functions now, I'd get the neck as straight as you can and then level sand it prior to re-fretting, but I doubt you can sand out 1/8" relief. Lot's of videos on heat-treating a neck to remove various kinks, but it's not always a permanent fix. Warpedneck.com is getting a pretty good reputation on TB for fixing necks, and it's relatively cheap.
FIX AN INSTRUMENT'S WARPED NECK
Click to expand...
I “fixed” a bowed neck with clamps and a heating pad. It took me a couple of times, but it’s much better now.
 
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#6,004
TerribleTim68 said:
So I decided I should put together a Word doc with a list of my current projects, or projects that are in the waiting on the rack. Good lord, what have I done? :eek:

Setting aside the Hellcaster project, which is the main focus and what we'll call #1....
The list looks like this -
  1. Ibanez Gio 6-String (Refinish project, probably do a glitter on this one)
  2. Ibanez 6-String Clone (Refinish project, I plan on keeping this one for me, planning a purple/blue cellophane finish)
  3. Ibanez RG220b 6-String (Refinish project, planning a blue/green cellophane finish)
  4. Glarry Burning Fire 6-String (Refinish project, planning a "lava" swirl, red/orange)
  5. Samic 6-String (Refinish project, planning glitter for this one too)
  6. My Ironbird Build (custom 4-string bass BC Rich Ironbird shape)
  7. ESP LTD F-105 (This one is for me, I need to build a neck for this one since I just have a body. Planning a black crackle over neon green base)
  8. Jackson JS2 Concert Bass (This one is for me, Refinish project, planning black crackle over neon rainbow base)
So 9 projects currently on the list. Of those 9, 6 are 6-string guitars, 1 of which I plan on keeping. 3 of them are bass guitars, all of which I plan on keeping. :D
Man, I need to get to work. :meh:
Click to expand...
That's another unfinished project for me, making a listing of my unfinished projects.
I have 7 or 8 amps in various stages of assembly, 2 guitars, and 4 oil paintings due.
No, I feel better not remembering how many I have. I'll just happily plod along until I run out...of projects or lifespan.
 
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#6,005
ThaCoast said:
Question to the mass, I'm currently fixing up my 1975 Gibson Grabber bass, which i bought almost a year back now. Had a broken truss rod, & i repaired it with the Stewmac truss rod saver tool (good investment, but man it's expensive for specialty bit & long allen wrench). Anyway, it needs a refret also cause they are seriously worn down to almost the fretboard, & i figured i'd straighten out the neck before pulling the frets, & have a level/even fretboard to work on. However, i'm left with a gap mid way travel of about 1/8", & i'm not going to crank the truss rod nut more than i have (I even backed it off completely). I bought this bass used from a guy i knew, who i had met 7 years back while working at a local music store. & he's had it since the 90's when he bought it in a pawn shop. So who knows how long the bass hasn't had a functioning truss rod prior to him (most likely, he's a soft spoken & sweet man).

Anyway, i'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions how i can go about getting the neck straighter, or if i should pull the frets & level the board itself to have "flat action". I'm replacing the frets with vintage correct size ones which are tall jumbos (on a 34.5" scale neck bass, they won't feel like the ones i've got on my 79 Gibby LP standard xD).

Thanks y'all!
Click to expand...


Does the neck straighten more if you manually bend it back then snug the truss rod nut?
 
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#6,006
Gilmourisgod said:
if the truss rod functions now, I'd get the neck as straight as you can and then level sand it prior to re-fretting, but I doubt you can sand out 1/8" relief. Lot's of videos on heat-treating a neck to remove various kinks, but it's not always a permanent fix. Warpedneck.com is getting a pretty good reputation on TB for fixing necks, and it's relatively cheap.
FIX AN INSTRUMENT'S WARPED NECK
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, i'll have a look at their site!

Matt Liebenau said:
Does the neck straighten more if you manually bend it back then snug the truss rod nut?
Click to expand...

I can bend the neck back manually & get it straight, however i;'ve reached truss rod limit (it is afterall Gibson's truss rod which is basically a one way rod in a sense). I'll see what i can do, i don't really want to break the fix i've just done xD
 
#6,007
Still practicing this fret saw thing. I feel like I'm getting better, more confident. I'm starting to anticipate what the blade is going to do, but its still has a mind of its own. Anyways, we'raking progress think....
20230904_132112.jpg 20230904_134138.jpg
That first one I just freehanded some letters to practice on. The second one is with my actual font to correct size printed and glued on a scrap piece of rosewood.
 
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#6,008
I see a trip to the freight harbor in my future to find some needle files. I can see some issues getting in between some of these areas, such as in between the horizontal parts of the "E". It's easy to cut close to one line, but when the cut needs to basically be 1.5 times as wide as the blade kerf, I need a file that can get in there, there's no way to do it with the saw.

If you guys who do this stuff have a set of files you really like, please link below. I'm looking at these, but there's literally no way to tell what sizes they are on the website -
Invalid Link Removed
 
#6,009
TerribleTim68 said:
If you guys who do this stuff have a set of files you really like, please link below. I'm looking at these, but there's literally no way to tell what sizes they are on the website -
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
I don’t want to be the snobby guy who slags cheap tools (I occasionally buy stuff from HF) but it’s been my experience that files are the kind of tool that don’t translate well to El Cheapo. The cheap files I’ve bought over the years turned out to be pretty poor investments. The cheap diamond files I’ve bought were coated unevenly and not well bonded.

The best cost/performance ratio I’ve found is at jewelers’ supply places. Good, Swiss files for reasonable prices. I got mine from a local place called Metalliferous, sadly out of business, but I’m sure there are plenty on line now.
 
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#6,010
Lo-E said:
I don’t want to be the snobby guy who slags cheap tools (I occasionally buy stuff from HF) but it’s been my experience that files are the kind of tool that don’t translate well to El Cheapo. The cheap files I’ve bought over the years turned out to be pretty poor investments. The cheap diamond files I’ve bought were coated unevenly and not well bonded.

The best cost/performance ratio I’ve found is at jewelers’ supply places. Good, Swiss files for reasonable prices. I got mine from a local place called Metalliferous, sadly out of business, but I’m sure there are plenty on line now.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm certainly not discounting that opinion. Thus the reason I asked "what are you guys using?"
Oddly enough, this set seems to have really favorable reviews and a few mention that they tend to cut slower, which honestly is probably good for me. I feel like I could mess this up pretty quickly. :roflmao:
 
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#6,011
TerribleTim68 said:
Yeah, I'm certainly not discounting that opinion. Thus the reason I asked "what are you guys using?"
Oddly enough, this set seems to have really favorable reviews and a few mention that they tend to cut slower, which honestly is probably good for me. I feel like I could mess this up pretty quickly. :roflmao:
Click to expand...

"Cut slower" usually means less sharp or less efficient, leading to using more force, leading to trouble. Sharper tools allow more finesse. To cut slower, just move slower.
 
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#6,016
Heh. I actually have a set of HF wood rasps, and as I should have expected, they kinda... suck. They cut wood OK, but get clogged easily, and I suspect they will dull fast. My usual rule with HF is "Nothing with a Cord", but if you only need a Sawzall knockoff for one job.... The needle files they sell look like exactly the same stuff you'd find for sale in any hardware store, probably because they ARE the same, just endlessly re-branded. Almost everything I have ever bought there has been a disappointment to one degree or another, but that's true of the entire state of manufactured goods available in the US anyway. If you want really good quality tools, look for used 1950's-1970's American. My son got me an old Starrett combination square on Ebay for my birthday, orders of maginitude better quality than the cheap ones I've bought in the past.
 
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#6,017
Yea. the majority of my good tools are old American or English, and old or new Japanese.
I got lucky and snagged some nice old German measuring and drafting tools a long time ago, but I gave those to my daughter.
watch garage sales etc…
There is good stuff still being made, but it’s expensive and can be as hard to find as the antiques are.
 
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#6,018
My son has gotten addicted to buying old tools, first wrenches, now old hand planes. Almost invariably, the older ones are better made, hard to beat that mil-spec level of quality in post-war tools. The old steel blades seem better too, though you’d think the newer steel should have advanced somehow.
 
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#6,020
Yea. that’s part of what can really irritate me.
we know how, and have the capability to make wrenches, planes, rasps, files,… whatever, just about everything really. Better, stronger, more durable and more precisely than ever before.
But we don’t. (There are exceptions, but not as common as they should be)
“The market won’t bear it” or some such. People have become accustomed to cheap price along with the quality and it’s a hard habit to break. The economy is false and wasteful and ridiculous.
Dam. I went and got triggered.
I’m going to have a beer and put some sweet modern Kool-Stop brake pads on my modded out 1953 bike with modern aluminum rims.
 
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