Winter Build Off 2022 - Get Ready

[RichterScale]

I'll take every possible precaution and will be careful on a level of surgical precision.
On the outside, I'll appear to be in total control, like I've done it 100 times.
Inside, I'll be freaking the eff out and hovering over it the whole time.
Luckily it will only be 1.5 hours of puckering terror.

 

[Reedt2000]

puckering terror

Another one for the accidental band name thread

 

[TerribleTim68]

Just make sure you dry the thing really, really well. You'd be surprised how much water a turkey skin holds.

 

[dwizum]

Edit.. and Happy Turkey Day to those south of the longest undefended border in the world! We had ours last month, because we harvest earlier.

So, is that like the whole daylight savings thing all over again, but you guys move holidays instead of the hour hand on the clock?

 

[2groggy]

We only move this one. We are quite selective.

 

[Camaro69]

I'll take every possible precaution and will be careful on a level of surgical precision.
On the outside, I'll appear to be in total control, like I've done it 100 times.
Inside, I'll be freaking the eff out and hovering over it the whole time.
Luckily it will only be 1.5 hours of puckering terror.

I'll be doing mine on the BBQ. Less eventful

Talking about birds, my bastard jag/bird body in mahogany was delivered yesterday!

 

[RichterScale]

My local hardware store switched from Johnson's to the Minwax equivalent a couple years ago so I use that now. I go through a lot of that stuff. It works great to buff out a satin finish on an instrument. Or as a finish all by itself on shop made metal parts. And it's great as a screw lube.

It's also handy for rubbing down your lathe bed, your hand plane soles and any other metal tool you would rather not have covered in rust.

I use it to style my hair

Wax. The secret weapon.

It's the hot sauce of woodworking.

 

[AudioTaper]

I tried my 'new' toy the other day. It was a gift that I never had an opportunity to use until now. This thing is great!!

 

[AudioTaper]

I tried my 'new' toy the other day. It was a gift that I never had an opportunity to use until now. This thing is great!!
View attachment 4483841

Oops, forgot the 'before' picture. It's a different section of the same piece

 

[RichterScale]

Know what? I think it would be cool to have a finished body like this.
I might have to try it if I ever come across a piece just like that.

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Chainsaw bass!

 

[AudioTaper]

Know what? I think it would be cool to have a finished body like this.
I might have to try it if I ever come across a piece just like that.

Have it rough or level it with poly? It would be cool with a really thick clearcoat so its smooth like any other bass.

 

[AudioTaper]

Chainsaw bass!

Exactly!

 

[Camaro69]

So what's everyone's opinion on the neck pocket? I bought a rough cut body, did some checking closely today on it and the neck pocket is closer to .700" than .625"

Im debating having my woodworking friend plane it down

 

[dwizum]

What's the body at thickness wise? Is it already shaped and routed, or just a square blank with a neck pocket?

If it's already shaped, I'd glue a .075" shim in the bottom of the pocket. If it's not shaped, and plenty thick, I'd take the thickness off the top as you mentioned.

 

[Camaro69]

It's right at 1.75, but mahogany so any shim I add will stick out like a sore thumb. It was also already routed, so I have some butchery/fixery going on to make it what I want. The grain is nice, I'll pickguard around the new neck pickup and cover the old route

Unfortunately that's the deal to get things in the budget I had. I'm good with that

 

[dwizum]

Mahogany shim to match? Glued in and cut to match the shape of the pocket and it should be more or less invisible.

Or you could leave the pocket too deep and do a tapered shim to get some neck angle and make up the difference. A difference of .075" would need an extremely thin tapered shim, even just 4 or 5 layers of masking tape on the heel end of the neck would probably be enough.

What are your neck plans? If you're doing the neck from scratch and don't care about compatibility, you could just make the neck thicker than normal.

 

[Camaro69]

I kinda hate shims

Neck is a fender Aerodyne, and I'm kind of a snob about string height. I usually bottom out most bridges or even shave the saddles
Pretty much sums up my course of action I guess

I'll just rerouter the outside and get it like I want when I'm done

 

[dwizum]

If you really like very low action, and find yourself typically bottoming out bridges, then a too-low neck pocket might be a godsend - it'll get you the low action you want with the saddles closer to the middle of their travel instead of bottomed out!

 

[Camaro69]

Wouldn't I need a shallow pocket, raising the neck vs the strings?
I think my best bet it to aim for .625", and keep from needing a tapered shim to correct something off with the neck

I made sure to get a bridge that allows the saddles a tad closer

maybe I should start playing ham fisted and fix all that!