It only let's me "like" your post.
Seriously, this stuff is insanely hard. And when you eff up it's YUGE! Bigly even!
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Winter Buildoff 2022: Still A Diva
- Thread starter TerribleTim68
- Start date
Seriously, this stuff is insanely hard. And when you eff up it's YUGE! Bigly even!
Yeah, so..... the radius block arrived today, a day earlier than the earliest date given on the estimated arrival. So I'm pretty happy with that. Looks like a quality piece, and U.S. Guitar Kits included a personalized thank you note to me inside the package. It's the little things, you know. 
My opinion is, if you guys see something from U.S. Guitar Kits, I wouldn't be scared to do business with them.
My opinion is, if you guys see something from U.S. Guitar Kits, I wouldn't be scared to do business with them.
Sooooooo........here's a fun one.
For those who don't recall, I ordered that radius block because I couldn't find my DIY radius block I made back when I built the neck for Lucifer. I had searched all over my "shop", the house, the RV, everywhere I could think to look. Couldn't find it anywhere. My wife had said "Well, just order it because then you'll find it." So the fancy new radius block from US Guitar Kits arrives (beautiful piece, love it) and I'm standing there holding it in my hand, thinking "I need somewhere to put this where it won't get damaged, somewhere safe.......oh, let's put it in the far back of this drawer right here....." I pull the drawer out and move all my sandpaper out of the way and what do you know, there's my DIY radius block way back in the far back of that drawer! So clearly it's a very safe place to keep it!
For those who don't recall, I ordered that radius block because I couldn't find my DIY radius block I made back when I built the neck for Lucifer. I had searched all over my "shop", the house, the RV, everywhere I could think to look. Couldn't find it anywhere. My wife had said "Well, just order it because then you'll find it." So the fancy new radius block from US Guitar Kits arrives (beautiful piece, love it) and I'm standing there holding it in my hand, thinking "I need somewhere to put this where it won't get damaged, somewhere safe.......oh, let's put it in the far back of this drawer right here....." I pull the drawer out and move all my sandpaper out of the way and what do you know, there's my DIY radius block way back in the far back of that drawer! So clearly it's a very safe place to keep it!
LOL humans are all the same. I wanted to hide something from the kids and found the perfect spot. In it, I found an old christmas gift I'd wanted to hide from the kids on a previous occasion. 
This made me LOL...literally!LOL humans are all the same. I wanted to hide something from the kids and found the perfect spot. In it, I found an old christmas gift I'd wanted to hide from the kids on a previous occasion.
It's such a funny thing we do, must go back to hoarding special food away from the tribe.
Another funny thing I've noticed over my lifetime is that short people tend to hide things in high places. But not high enough for tall people not to see them.
Another funny thing I've noticed over my lifetime is that short people tend to hide things in high places. But not high enough for tall people not to see them.
Sooooooo........here's a fun one.
For those who don't recall, I ordered that radius block because I couldn't find my DIY radius block I made back when I built the neck for Lucifer. I had searched all over my "shop", the house, the RV, everywhere I could think to look. Couldn't find it anywhere. My wife had said "Well, just order it because then you'll find it." So the fancy new radius block from US Guitar Kits arrives (beautiful piece, love it) and I'm standing there holding it in my hand, thinking "I need somewhere to put this where it won't get damaged, somewhere safe.......oh, let's put it in the far back of this drawer right here....." I pull the drawer out and move all my sandpaper out of the way and what do you know, there's my DIY radius block way back in the far back of that drawer! So clearly it's a very safe place to keep it!
I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me.
I currently have one "pending" misplaced item discovery to make... my freaking dado set came up missing about 4 months ago. Not something easy to misplace, AT ALL... yet I managed to do it. So, I ordered another one, and that isn't a cheap endeavor... anyway, the old one didn't turn up yet, but I guarantee you it will when I'm least expecting it.
LOL humans are all the same. I wanted to hide something from the kids and found the perfect spot. In it, I found an old christmas gift I'd wanted to hide from the kids on a previous occasion.
Does your saw have blade storage inside? My old cabinet saw did, and sometimes I'd get a new blade, open it up to change it and find my old new blade inside. I'm actually glad I don't have that saw anymore.
I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me.
I currently have one "pending" misplaced item discovery to make... my freaking dado set came up missing about 4 months ago. Not something easy to misplace, AT ALL... yet I managed to do it. So, I ordered another one, and that isn't a cheap endeavor... anyway, the old one didn't turn up yet, but I guarantee you it will when I'm least expecting it.
Does your saw have blade storage inside? My old cabinet saw did, and sometimes I'd get a new blade, open it up to change it and find my old new blade inside. I'm actually glad I don't have that saw anymore.
Nah, that piece of crap is only full of sawdust and disappointment.
OMG! A dado set?!?!? Yeah, that is NOT cheap!
I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me.
I currently have one "pending" misplaced item discovery to make... my freaking dado set came up missing about 4 months ago. Not something easy to misplace, AT ALL... yet I managed to do it. So, I ordered another one, and that isn't a cheap endeavor... anyway, the old one didn't turn up yet, but I guarantee you it will when I'm least expecting it.
I've been wanting a dado set, but I just can't afford one. Grandpa had a wobble-dado that I ended up with and quite frankly, it scares the bejeesus out of me!
I have yet to use it, just because of fear. I'd like to have a real dado stack, but yeah man, the budget on those is not very kind. I'm just not in a place yet where I can make that purchase for something I'd use very seldom.
It's such a funny thing we do, must go back to hoarding special food away from the tribe.
Another funny thing I've noticed over my lifetime is that short people tend to hide things in high places. But not high enough for tall people not to see them.
My 4ft 6in mother used to do that exact thing.
OMG! A dado set?!?!? Yeah, that is NOT cheap!
I've been wanting a dado set, but I just can't afford one. Grandpa had a wobble-dado that I ended up with and quite frankly, it scares the bejeesus out of me!
I don't build as much furniture as I used to, so I don't need it very often. But man, when you need it, you gotta have it.
Tim, are you doing all one finish, board and all, all at once, or doing a separate finish on the face of the board?
I will be doing a separate finish on the fretboard. This fretboard is Brazilian Rosewood and I plan to just finish it in CA since it is a fretless. I don't want to leave it unfinished, and I'm not convinced that the StewMac fretboard finishing oil is durable enough for fretless. Unless someone else says "I've used the StewMac oil on fretless and had no problems", then I'll just do that.
The rest of the build will be finished in water based wipe-on poly.
So in this case, I'll mask off everything BUT the fretboard, finish it and then mask off the fretboard and finish everything else. I suspect I'm gonna go through A LOT of masking tape.
Sooooooo........here's a fun one.
For those who don't recall, I ordered that radius block because I couldn't find my DIY radius block I made back when I built the neck for Lucifer. I had searched all over my "shop", the house, the RV, everywhere I could think to look. Couldn't find it anywhere. My wife had said "Well, just order it because then you'll find it." So the fancy new radius block from US Guitar Kits arrives (beautiful piece, love it) and I'm standing there holding it in my hand, thinking "I need somewhere to put this where it won't get damaged, somewhere safe.......oh, let's put it in the far back of this drawer right here....." I pull the drawer out and move all my sandpaper out of the way and what do you know, there's my DIY radius block way back in the far back of that drawer! So clearly it's a very safe place to keep it!
At least you’re consistent?
Presumably a Magna-Dado®, given the ShopSmith®. No more reason to be scared of it than any other dado IMHO.Grandpa had a wobble-dado that I ended up with and quite frankly, it scares the bejeesus out of me!
I uncompromisingly refuse to have "digital assistants" but I believe you can tell them to recall where you have put things for you (if you remember to tell them where you put things in the first place.) If not, it's covered in Science Fiction, so anybody could make it happen without patent issues.
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Okay, let's not fall too far behind here!
Stay On The Level -
I snuck a couple hours while waiting for the cheesecake to cook, then cool. Yes, I said cheesecake. You gotta have a dessert for the Super Bowl party, right? Anyways, focus...focus. I taped off the body around the fretboard, broke out my fancy new radius block, stuck some sandpaper to it and started level sanding. -
Started at 150 grit just to bring everything into spec, then went up to 400 grit. I'm feeling pretty good about it, because the machinist's straight edge says it's straight -
Yup, looks good to me. Let's go with that! Next up will be getting some sort of finish on it. I'm still debating between the CA finish or just using the StewMac fretboard finishing oil that I have on hand. Anyone know if that stuff will stand up to fretless play? Or is it just more of a fancy citrus oil?
Mark Your Spot -
Okay, before we finalize a finish, we probably better finish putting side dots on it, huh? I decided I wanted markers at the frets and dots between frets, like you'd have on a fretted. Don't ask me why, I just figured that might help me since I've literally never played a fretless before. I'm trying to make it more like what I'm used to I guess. This could wind up being a horrible decision, but if so I'll just build another one or something.
Anyways, first we need to mark locations with the awl (every time I say that word I picture my dad with his Texas accent saying "awl them there" ) I joke, but it's kinda how I say it too. Anyways, focus! Focus! Mark some locations, and drill some holes -
I used my fancy new handheld egg beater style drill. This is literally the only reason I bought it, because I knew it would be nice for this. Yes, I could have just used a cordless drill. I have a very nice DeWalt 20volt. But there's something to be said for moving a bit lower, and I'm all for that on operations like this.
Next up we put Luminlay in it, trim it with the end cutters (not side cutters, the "blades" are on the end) and we have this -
So the Starbond accelerator leaves a bit of a mess that I need to clean up, pay no attention to that, it'll be fine. And then the moment I absolutely love -
Oh yeah man!
Okay, we're gonna need to finalize the sanding on the sides of the fretboard and then we can move on to some sort of finish. I really need to make a decision there. But nothing will happen tomorrow. It's party day. I don't have a team in this game, I'm mostly just using it as an excuse to hang out with some friends, eat some good food and catch up how everyone's been. It's been way too long since we had one of these get togethers, and living in a state that is still fairly shut down, I'm looking forward to socializing. You guys have a great Sunday, I probably won't log on at all.
Stay On The Level -
I snuck a couple hours while waiting for the cheesecake to cook, then cool. Yes, I said cheesecake. You gotta have a dessert for the Super Bowl party, right? Anyways, focus...focus. I taped off the body around the fretboard, broke out my fancy new radius block, stuck some sandpaper to it and started level sanding. -
Started at 150 grit just to bring everything into spec, then went up to 400 grit. I'm feeling pretty good about it, because the machinist's straight edge says it's straight -
Yup, looks good to me. Let's go with that! Next up will be getting some sort of finish on it. I'm still debating between the CA finish or just using the StewMac fretboard finishing oil that I have on hand. Anyone know if that stuff will stand up to fretless play? Or is it just more of a fancy citrus oil?
Mark Your Spot -
Okay, before we finalize a finish, we probably better finish putting side dots on it, huh? I decided I wanted markers at the frets and dots between frets, like you'd have on a fretted. Don't ask me why, I just figured that might help me since I've literally never played a fretless before. I'm trying to make it more like what I'm used to I guess. This could wind up being a horrible decision, but if so I'll just build another one or something.
Anyways, first we need to mark locations with the awl (every time I say that word I picture my dad with his Texas accent saying "awl them there" )
I joke, but it's kinda how I say it too. Anyways, focus! Focus! Mark some locations, and drill some holes -I used my fancy new handheld egg beater style drill. This is literally the only reason I bought it, because I knew it would be nice for this. Yes, I could have just used a cordless drill. I have a very nice DeWalt 20volt. But there's something to be said for moving a bit lower, and I'm all for that on operations like this.
Next up we put Luminlay in it, trim it with the end cutters (not side cutters, the "blades" are on the end) and we have this -
So the Starbond accelerator leaves a bit of a mess that I need to clean up, pay no attention to that, it'll be fine. And then the moment I absolutely love -
Oh yeah man!
Okay, we're gonna need to finalize the sanding on the sides of the fretboard and then we can move on to some sort of finish. I really need to make a decision there. But nothing will happen tomorrow. It's party day. I don't have a team in this game, I'm mostly just using it as an excuse to hang out with some friends, eat some good food and catch up how everyone's been. It's been way too long since we had one of these get togethers, and living in a state that is still fairly shut down, I'm looking forward to socializing. You guys have a great Sunday, I probably won't log on at all.
I havent tried Stewmac oil on a fretless. Its not like citrus oil, it soakS into the wood and hardens it some, but I dont know how it would hold up long term on a fretless. On the plus side, if it wears away, you just put more on, and its a satin finish, not super glossy like CA. CA would really pop the board, but man, that stuff is nasty. I am more than normally sensitive to it, full resporator for sure. @Rôckhewer did a tutorial on it a while back. Build is looking luscious. The eggbeater drill is the perfect tool for side dots, thats about all I use it for. Not much chance of it slipping and doing terrible things to your neck.
It's looking really goodOkay, let's not fall too far behind here!
Stay On The Level -
I snuck a couple hours while waiting for the cheesecake to cook, then cool. Yes, I said cheesecake. You gotta have a dessert for the Super Bowl party, right? Anyways, focus...focus. I taped off the body around the fretboard, broke out my fancy new radius block, stuck some sandpaper to it and started level sanding. -
View attachment 4582247
Started at 150 grit just to bring everything into spec, then went up to 400 grit. I'm feeling pretty good about it, because the machinist's straight edge says it's straight -
View attachment 4582246
Yup, looks good to me. Let's go with that! Next up will be getting some sort of finish on it. I'm still debating between the CA finish or just using the StewMac fretboard finishing oil that I have on hand. Anyone know if that stuff will stand up to fretless play? Or is it just more of a fancy citrus oil?
Mark Your Spot -
Okay, before we finalize a finish, we probably better finish putting side dots on it, huh? I decided I wanted markers at the frets and dots between frets, like you'd have on a fretted. Don't ask me why, I just figured that might help me since I've literally never played a fretless before. I'm trying to make it more like what I'm used to I guess. This could wind up being a horrible decision, but if so I'll just build another one or something.
Anyways, first we need to mark locations with the awl (every time I say that word I picture my dad with his Texas accent saying "awl them there" )
View attachment 4582245
I used my fancy new handheld egg beater style drill. This is literally the only reason I bought it, because I knew it would be nice for this. Yes, I could have just used a cordless drill. I have a very nice DeWalt 20volt. But there's something to be said for moving a bit lower, and I'm all for that on operations like this.
Next up we put Luminlay in it, trim it with the end cutters (not side cutters, the "blades" are on the end) and we have this -
View attachment 4582244
So the Starbond accelerator leaves a bit of a mess that I need to clean up, pay no attention to that, it'll be fine. And then the moment I absolutely love -
View attachment 4582243
Oh yeah man!
Okay, we're gonna need to finalize the sanding on the sides of the fretboard and then we can move on to some sort of finish. I really need to make a decision there. But nothing will happen tomorrow. It's party day. I don't have a team in this game, I'm mostly just using it as an excuse to hang out with some friends, eat some good food and catch up how everyone's been. It's been way too long since we had one of these get togethers, and living in a state that is still fairly shut down, I'm looking forward to socializing. You guys have a great Sunday, I probably won't log on at all.
The tape is such a good match I had to zoom in on the photo to figure out why you had ditched the purple and not included any pics!
