Winter Build Off 2022 - Explorer Bass

[TFM94]

Can this work regardless of grain orientation, or do you need to orient the grain perpendicular to the bend?

That depends on your veneer thickness. The backstrap in your earlier post seems to be quite thin, I'm pretty sure you could bend this along the grain with a proper caul. I've used a lot of 0.6mm veneers, and they are very pliable. It is safe to try it without glue first.

Btw, your headstock veneer turned out really nice!

 

[Flamingo21]

Thanks!

The veneer samples I got all seem to be 0.9mm thick. Maybe a bit too much to bend into the curve of the headstock face near the nut. I'll ponder this some more.

 

[dwizum]

Most commercial veneers are more in the range of .5 - .6mm. Either way, they can be bent pretty easily unless they're a very brittle wood. On brittle wood you can soften them with a mix of household ammonia and water. Spray it on, let it sit 15 minutes, spray again, then clamp to shape and let it dry. Then glue it down.

 

[Flamingo21]

Another all-clamp shot. I'm veneering the front of the headstock, somewhere beneath all this. The cardboard cylinder serves as a caul for the curved portion. It also contains complete full scale plans for a Gibson Explorer guitar, which I bought for this project because I wanted to get the body shape right.

 

[Flamingo21]

Oh, by the way - that's the first time I felt I was a clamp short.


So another rite of passage there.

 

[Slidlow]

Oh, by the way - that's the first time I felt I was a clamp short.


So another rite of passage there.

Definitely a clamp short!

 

[Flamingo21]

I made the stupidest mistake. When clamping the headstock front veneer (and having veneered the back already) I didn't want to put any clamps directly onto the veneer on either side, so I sandwiched the headstock between some old wood planks. Now the glue from the top veneer has seeped down (gravity, duh) to the back plank, gluing it to the back veneer.

So now I somehow must break off the plank from the back without breaking the headstock, and then I'll have to re-veneer the back.

 

[Flamingo21]

Well that turned out less horrible than I thought it would. I can try to repair this, or make a big logo or something. I still have some bits of the same sheet of veneer.

 

[dwizum]

Is that just glue on the surface of the veneer, or did the veneer get ripped? If it's just glue, I bet it sands out well enough that you can leave it.

 

[Flamingo21]

Is that just glue on the surface of the veneer, or did the veneer get ripped? If it's just glue, I bet it sands out well enough that you can leave it.

It's some of both, actually. The bit near the A tuner was a blob of glue, and I've pretty much sanded it out now. The other bit, near the G tuner, is a rip. I have enough offcuts of this veneer that I can repair this.

So all in all, not a throw-the-towel situation.

And although I still need to work the edges, I'll give you a pic of the front. This particular veneer darkens quite a bit when oiled, so it won't be as plain as it appears now.

By the way, veneering the bend (which I had my doubts about) went fine:

 

[Max Bogosity]

I made the stupidest mistake. When clamping the headstock front veneer (and having veneered the back already) I didn't want to put any clamps directly onto the veneer on either side, so I sandwiched the headstock between some old wood planks. Now the glue from the top veneer has seeped down (gravity, duh) to the back plank, gluing it to the back veneer.

Yeah, I've done that kind of thing too. Waxed paper between the clamping caul and the work helps keep the glue away.

 

[Flamingo21]

Waxed paper between the clamping caul and the work helps keep the glue away.

Good idea.

What I've used so far (except this time) is a sheet of Evergreen polystyrene, 1mm (0.040") thick. That's the stuff I made my control cavity cover from, if you remember.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Yup, wax paper or packing tape with the smooth side facing your glue surface. I see a lot of wood resin users using that red Tuck Tape, so if that stuff is smooth enough that resin won't stick to it, it would also probably work really well.

 

[Flamingo21]

I have gotten the impression that some people here hate sanding. So when my build got to that point, I braced myself for a tedious job.

But I find I'm quite enjoying going over every nook and cranny of that bass body with my fingers. I don't intend to turn this thread pornographic, but yes it reminded me a bit of lovemaking.

 

[dwizum]

To continue your analogy, the thing that makes sanding and lovemaking different is that one of the two becomes tedious, boring, and downright painful after you've done it 20 or 30 times, and the other one.. doesn't.

 

[5tring]

Where is Swiss Toni when you need him?

 

[Flamingo21]

one of the two becomes tedious, boring, and downright painful after you've done it 20 or 30 times

When I got into instrument building (i.e. when I announced I'd participate in this Build Off) I thought I'd build two instruments per year.

That's probably a good idea.

 

[Flamingo21]

I repaired the damaged veneer.

 

[dwizum]

Building lots per year stays fun, only some steps become tedious. And eventually you find ways to do those steps better, so they're at least quicker if not less tedious. That's about the point I'm at I guess. I don't like sanding, but sanding out my 37th instrument was a lot faster and less of a hassle than my 3rd or 7th.

Your veneer patch looks very well done!

 

[Flamingo21]

Your veneer patch looks very well done!

Thank you! It is very smooth to the touch as well.

Though perhaps I shouldn't pursue that thought.