Wide 5 Jazz Build

[thiessen3.14]

Ok, so control cavity recess and coverplate are done. Finally. I ended up gluing a little piece (not pictured) in the middle of the bottom side of the control cavity for a screw mount on that side. It is purposely off-center as I wanted to leave as much body between the recess and the round-over. Fits better than a glove--there will be sanding required after paint buildup. Oh well, ready to move on.

Almost forgot to drill the bridge screw holes before I sanded my centerline away.

Finished finish sanding and dyed the top. Here is the finish I'm aspiring to:

I am starting by dying the top an amber tone. Dyed, sanded back a bit, dyed again. Anyway, I think it'll work. Figuring is coming out and after I put a sealer coat on tonight I'll be able to see where this thing's headed. Then grain filling time for the back and sides.

 

[thiessen3.14]

Sprayed sealer coat. When I was teaching math at a tech college, one of the auto body students made me a stand for my spray gun. Nice, heavy base, it is appreciated every time I use it:

This morning I realized I forgot to drill holes from the p/u cavities and bridge to the control cavity. Done, but not documented.

 

[thiessen3.14]

Oh, adventures in grain filling (using Por O Pac):

Sealed, then filled and sanded back. Not bad, I thought.

Another sealer coat. Ok for a first fill, I thought.

Sand back and fill again. Mighta left a little too much on, but it was super smooth. Sealer coat went on and then it flashed a bit rough.

Damn. So, I sanded it back. And filled it again. Each time masking off the maple cap and top. Grain filler is messy and I don't want it on my pretty top.

This is where it sits now. Upon further reflection of what's not going right, I think I may have an idea. I've been thinning my vinyl sealer with SW K27 reducer/retarder. I think the solvent is reacting with the por o pac and lifting it up out of the pores. So, I'm going to let this dry for a few days, then shoot an unthinned coat of sealer. Hopefully I'm done grain filling 'cause it's not super fun, it's kinda messy, and I'm ready to move on.

But, the neck is making progress. Here I've drawn out the neck contours at 1st and 12th frets. I used drafting triangles to draw tangents and then dimensioned the drawing. This is probably overkill, but other than winging it I don't see how to do this. Anyway, I laid out the lines on the neck blank and started making a pile of shavings with my spokeshave. This is fun.

Anyone got a guy they use for decals?

 

[thiessen3.14]

IMO making the neck is one of the most rewarding parts of the build. LMI offers fingerboard radius and slotting if you don't want to buy the tools required to do that yourself. It's really not as daunting a task as it might seem. Good luck with whichever route you decide to take. Looking forward to seeing this bass finished.

Thanks so much for this insight. Neck is carved, transitioned, smoothed, mojo-ed, etc. And it was fun and rewarding. I dyed the headstock as I will attempt to burst it to match the body.

I'll ask again: who do y'all use for custom decals?

Here's the neck pics...

 

[SaintMez]

I'll ask again: who do y'all use for custom decals?

You can easily design and print your own on decal paper with an InkJet or LaserJet printer. There are a couple of good tutorials here that can shed some light on the subject.

 

[thiessen3.14]

You can easily design and print your own on decal paper with an InkJet or LaserJet printer. There are a couple of good tutorials here that can shed some light on the subject.

Yeah, I've done this with B/W/Color but don't have metallic capabilities. I think I may have found someone...we'll see. Anyway, I think it was the reducer that was lifting the por o pac out of the grain. I've got two heavy coats of sealer on--it didn't go down as smooth as when thinned, but I don't mind a bit of sanding. Also sealed and sprayed a light coat of lacquer on the neck. I used my tinted lacquer jar for the start of the burst--was thinking it was a different shade. Must be the fumes. I think it's ok, though--the brownish tint should go well with the body. Neck feels super good. Another coat or two of thinned out lacquer should make it good to go. I like a really thin finish on necks--although the headstock will be bursted, decal-ed, and built up, polished, etc.

 

[thiessen3.14]

Well the brown neck got to me, so i sanded back to the wood, reapplied a thinned sealer coat, then a thinned clear lacquer coat. Can't decide if I should tint it a bit amber or not. What do you all think? Regardless I'm glad the brown is gone.

And, progress on the body; got it sanded to almost flat--looks good from this angle:

Patience, grasshopper.

But see the shiny spots from this angle? I left it here because I'm close to sanding through.

So, I shot another coat of sealer on, will wait 2 days and sand it flat. Then on to burst/clear coats.

 

[thiessen3.14]

It's been a while, but I've been busy--just not a lot to show. Anyway, when I shot a clear coat on, it showed lots of things I wasn't happy with. So, I took the finish back to the wood, filled the grain again, sealer, sand, sealer, sand, ad nauseum.

Mixed my burst color with Mixol brown with black, tobacco brown, and vintage amber dyes. I shot the edges to opaque which took about 5-6 passes. Here's a picture after about 3 passes--you can see what I've been fighting. Por-o-pac is absorbing the solvent (K27) from the lacquer--through the sealer; then it raises and sticks out. Luckily, I let it set and it settled back down after a day or two. After a few passes, it is no longer an issue.

Then I faded the top and back to the edge. Took about 4-5 passes. Here's some progress pics:

Now I've got about 4 coats of clear lacquer on and this is how it looks as of this morning:

I decided to burst the headstock, too. It's a second try, as well--I forgot to decrease the flow rate when switching from fan to spot--too much material, runs, pools, etc. But it looks pretty good now after sanding back and re-shooting (the photo looks more orangey than it actually is--it matches the body perfectly):

After I get all the clear on, it will sit two weeks or so; then wet sand, polish, wiring, final assembly, setup, and play!

 

[CholisGuitars]

Looks awesome. Nice dedication to perfection.

 

[lbridenstine]

That's looking really good!

 

[thiessen3.14]

Well, strings won't be here until tomorrow . Electronics are passive VBT (I use a Fodera stompbox pre) with Nordstrand Big Splits in P4 covers for the 20mm string spacing @ bridge. When I get it strung up I'll take some better photos.

 

[thiessen3.14]

Some more:

 

[thiessen3.14]

and more:

 

[thiessen3.14]

yeah, more:

 

[Dan Knowlton]

NICE!!!!!

So, what does it sound like?

Dan K.

 

[thiessen3.14]

NICE!!!!!

So, what does it sound like?

Dan K.

Won't know until strings get here.

 

[thiessen3.14]

I thought this was an interesting pic--the fingerboard is sanded to 800, I think--no hard finish, just this stuff.

 

[Hopkins]

Wow, the finish is outstanding man. Very impressive

 

[CavinTan]

Simply gorgeous.

 

[thiessen3.14]

First, thanks for all the compliments. Ain't gonna lie, it feels good. Second, I took some real photos. (Man, doesn't this guy ever stop posting pictures? This is it, I promise.) Third, I recorded a rough sample; Bass --> Fodera stompbox pre set neutral --> iPad. Dry. I'm sure you'll be able to hear which pickups are used on which parts. My fretless technique is about 2 hours old--the intonation makes me cringe in parts, so a big apology up front; lots of practice to follow.