Andyjr1515

It was certainly an interesting veneer! This is how the final thing came out:

Most kind...but does Andyjr1515 know his epoxies from his onions?? Jury might be out

Well, the worst thing is if there is any area with not enough...that patch will bubble and raise with the moisture of atmosphere/subsequent finish spray/etc. You will be sanding the joint line in any case to use the epoxy in the joint to blend the veneer/joint/original finish, so a bit of squeeze out isn't the end of the world assuming that this is intended to be sprayed afterwards in any case.

With luck, your Jazz body would come out of the vacuum bag a bit like this: Then, ALWAYS cutting across the grain and not along it, you use the curve of the body sides as your blade guide: After some careful sanding along the line, again, across the grain line and not into it, it should blend in pretty well:

I've never tried applying veneer with epoxy (if I was doing this, I would strip it all down to wood then use the PVA 'iron on' method I've described in a number of past threads. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages of this too so epoxy isn't such a bad thought). But, assuming this is the standard flat-topped Sire Jazz, to use epoxy, I would be tempted to use a vacuum bag (like skate-boarders use or folks who want to store quilts in their loft). - I would cut the veneer a couple of cm large all-round and use a decent medium set epoxy (I think I would probably use Z-poxy Finishing Resin). - the veneer I would use would be close-grained, non-figured (the figured will likely split in the process). - with luck, the vacuum will not only help you achieve the close, flat bonding, but also start to curve the veneer a touch round the edges - when set, the excess veneer would be cut off with a single-edged razor or scalpel (must be super-sharp) from the top laying the blade from the top and using the curve of the top to use as a 'summit' for the blade to have point-contact only - then I would sand along the line of the joint with a sanding block, starting with something like 240 grit and finishing with 320 or finer I'll try and find some old pics of some of the things I'm talking about

Yes - I do the same 👍

StringsDirect also sell Switchcraft barrel jacks.

Switchcraft in my experience. That said, barrel jacks are a difficult concept from an engineering and materials point of view and so even the best won't last as long as, say, a Switchcraft standard jack.

Oh yes - and remember the golden rule "Always tune UP to pitch" If you are sharp, detune past the note and then adjust back up. This ensures that any backlash in the tuners is eliminated and also ensures that the tension of the coils on the post is at a consistent level.

OK - my take. 1. As folks have said, where the silks end up is entirely up to where the string maker wound them to and how far the peg is away from the stop tail or stop tail part of the bridge. They will always end up the same distance from the peg once wound up to tune 2. The big no-no is not to have winds on the tuner riding up on each other...even a bit. If they do, it allows the possibility of the winds shifting in relation to each other and that could lead to tuning instability 3. The ideal is to end up - with all coils butted up to each other - having the exit of the last coil as near to the bottom of the peg as you can get (but without risking 2 above). This way, you maximise the break angle over the nut and - in the case of string trees - it applies less tension and friction onto the string tree 4. The actual distance to allow depends on how thick the string is and how thick/long the thin string leader is 5. In terms of the distance I cut to, I personally have a rule of thumb of a fingers-closed hand width past the far side of the post (which for me is 10cm/4"), but with the bottom E usually shorter in order to avoid 2 above. 6. If I am going to err on a 'safe side', I err towards longer and not shorter. If I've overcooked it, I have no problem loosening it, snipping a cm or so off the end and then rewinding it

Oh yes - definitely this...

Yes - I'm definitely phoenixed out nowadays for doing this sort of stuff (spirit willing, hands not) but the fantastic and innovative ideas folks come up with with modding still fascinates me. And I know how I would tackle the back wing if I was doing it. I would probably need to draw a sketch, but basically I would recreate the general shape and visual effect of the two beauties that @RonC pasted above by: - routing the top rear bout from the back of the body, halving the thickness. - shaping the existing edge to the shape of the transition I wanted. - cutting a piece of contrasting wood and route a mirror step so that it would slot in at back that I'd removed and shape that to the 'correct' shape of the rear bout - I would add a sliver of contrasting light maple for the witness line - Glue it in - Carve the bout to the correct profile No idea at the moment what I would do to correct the 'SG' spikes of the front cutaways...

Yes - it came out well...and sounded great! It was your 5er Sterling with the Aguilar P added. Very enjoyable project and satisfying result : If you are tempted, @fretmeister, I would say 'Go For It!'

It sounds to me like insufficient neck relief. Have you checked that you have tangible relief on those strings? Hold down the string on the 1st fret and the 15th and then tap the string at the 6th fret. There should be a small but perceptible gap. If the string’s hard down on the fret, then there is insufficient relief. With a Rick, there are particular techniques to adjusting them so, if the above is the case and if you aren’t familiar with them, best to report back here before doing anything yourself 🙂

There's a bit of a challenge involved, @Jimothey Generally (although @RonC 's intriguing Safran breaks the rule ), the pickups are in the body area and the fretboard...and the strings...sit higher. As such, the distance from the strings to the coils (which is where most of the ooomph of a pickup happens - the poles themselves have a fairly modest impact) can be excessive and affect significantly the strength of the signal. On @TheGreek 's Psilos Bass that @SpondonBassed refers to, I also was able to break that general rule by making the top of the bass part the fretboard...

I’m afraid I’m all phoenixed out 😀

...and yet the very lightest of my 'why do electric guitars and basses have to be soooo heavy' series of builds, a 6 string double humbucker 25" scale electric coming in a 5.25lbs...has an oak back 👍 Watching with interest, @Dom in Dorset

Yes - good, thanks. Hope all good with you and yours too And yes - looks that way!

I use this double-sided tape from Axminster Tools. They sell it as what to use to hold wood being hand routed onto the work bench - it's very thin and very strong... https://www.axminstertools.com/ujk-technology-double-sided-tape-102795?queryID=e4b200edde4afd5cf964884eacec8f0a

Only just caught up with the thread. Yes - the final sealer coat can be a real b****r. Best way of checking if you are down to clean wood is to wipe it with a damp cloth - the clean wood darkens with the moisture and anything with sealer residue in the grain shows up as light patches...and that will show pretty much whatever finish you choose.

Interesting - to my surprise, I think you are right. Can't find any. There are 3-hole solid black, there are 1-hole B/W/B three-ply...but even those mostly look a little short at c.4.5mm...but no solid black 1-holes as far as I can see.

Lovely job, lovely bass!

Yes - I use a similar method. I actually solder the wire to the copper tape, then cut an 'arrow head' in the copper to allow me to pull the earth wire and solder joint back into the hole so the bridge only has the copper tape between it and the bass/guitar body.

Nice work and lovely result I notice that you had filled the bridge earth hole in one of the shots. Is the bridge earthed?

Splendid, @Dom in Dorset Looks super good!