Andyjr1515

Been away from the day job for a few days that has given the Birchwood Casey Sealer / Filler time to properly harden. This evening, I've given it a good rub down with 00000 wire wool and started applying the first coat of Tru-Oil, which has gone on well I've never used their Stock Sheen & Conditioner before but have ordered some to try it - it is reputed to have a slight cutting content to tone the gloss down a bit towards the satin finish Bryan and I are aiming for. Allowing for drying time (they recommend leaving at least 7 days from the last coat before using the stock sheen and from experience of similar final processes, 2 weeks to harden would be better) I reckon this will be finished in around 3 weeks time...day job allowing! I'll post some shots when there's something worth posting. Andy

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1415816999' post='2604113'] They are indeed, and if you look closely at the sticker you'll see they are approved by the Royal Horticultural Society, which is a boon! [/quote]

I think I would be tempted to buy a new bottle, @MoonBassAlpha. As @MantonCustoms says, you have to be sure it is going to COMPLETELY cure...and it's not expensive for the number of basses a small bottle can potentially do...

I love Guilds. Class act.

I've finished the sealing coats and this will give an idea of the final colour. The irony of finishing is that you get to this stage and then basically have to sand / wire wool it all off again! The sealer/filler dries clear but is there really just to fill the pores. Then the Tru-oil coats will be applied. These will start off quite glossy but after a few weeks settle down to a soft satin (and, contrary to its name, does dry to a lacquer hardness...although no where near as tough). It's a good finish for an old bass because the final article doesn't look uncharacteristically pristine - it takes on a pleasing patina. The colour, though, is pretty representative. What I am pleased with is the darkened edges and back cutout. Where there is end grain, it is almost black, but where the side grain is, the green shows through. You can see this particularly well on the back cutout: In real life this looks the absolute dogs b******s - when it's finished, I think we'll be able to post it on the 'In Praise of Green Basses' thread, don't you Bryan?

Hi, Randythoades Yes - providing that the nut to bridge length is the correct distance (see the Stewmac calculator for the exact distances), it will be fine.

Thanks, folks I'm pleased with it so far and it should get better and better. The next bit will be a bit slower. Bryan would like a slightly satin look so I will be using Tru-oil rather than good-old hardglaze, that should give it an 'old bass in good condition' look rather than an old bass trying to look like a new bass. Along the same lines, I will try to put some very subtle arm wear on the top edge of the arm rest. We have also agreed to let the finish undulate with the veneer - I tried a sample sanded smoother but this particular veneer loses a lot of its texture when you do that. I won't post any shots until there have been a few coats of clear filler and tru- oil applied so probably the weekend before the next post. Thanks for looking Andy

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1415112222' post='2596795'] Awesome!!!!! Beats the hell out of the picture I had formed in my head. Love it. [/quote] That'll be a 'phew...!' then

It was a perfect morning for the edge sanding - dry and low sun casting shadows to spot the rough edges - so I'm afraid the day job simply had to wait I sanded the veneer edges. Basically, you run along the join line of the veneer using a block with coarse sandpaper aiming to get a smooth and continuous curve and all of the PVA off the join line. You also need to get all of the PVA off any of the body wood - it will not take stain. The easiest way of finding if you've got it all off is to wipe it with a damp cloth - any remaining PVA stands out as white. This is during the process: Also this morning the bigger bottle of the green ink shade Bryan chose arrived in the post so - well why not... There's some tidying up to do but the middle is the chosen colour and the burst is simply adding a little black ink to the green. I don't think it's going to need a great deal of additional work prior to the finishing. In real life it is a bit greener than it looks in this shot. Once the finish starts building up, it will darken slightly and visually gain more texture: Exciting! Although, this is where the progress slows right down...finishing - don't you just love it... Andy

I found another Stanley disposable knife last night so did the back and the rough trimming of the main chambers and holes. Here's the back - the cutout will be the same colour as the sides (black/green to dark green): ...and here's the top with the main chambers and holes cut out: I'm pleased with it so far. Next job for later this week is feathering in the veneer to the sides and getting rid of any PVA overlap at the sides...stain will not take to PVA covered wood so it's all got to go! Thanks for looking and your encouraging feedback Andy

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1414964089' post='2595191'] Did you measure where the holes are for the bridge mounting screws and ground wire so you can easily locate them again? Assume you can feel the veneer dip over the pickup cavity. Really interesting figuring going on there! [/quote] Hi, HowieBass Yes - the figuring is great. And yes - having been in the position in the past of 'now where did those screws fit??' I always set up a paper template nowadays - I just press round the neck pocket and pickup slots and then the various screw and earth wire holes: You can always find the big chambers, but the screw holes are usually something else

Bit of progress this afternoon - the veneer for the front is on. First I rough cut the veneer with about 25mm overlap: Then a thin but complete coating of PVA both onto the body and the veneer. I use Evo Stik Wood Adhesive (the green bottle) - it is a decently thick PVA that behaves itself and is readily available. I also use a small sponge roller (again - any DIY shop) as it gives a great full but even coating. When you coat the veneer, it starts to curl so I have a small atomiser bottle (£1 from superdrug) with water in it to spray a very light water mist to the other side. Then let both coated surfaces dry to touch dry (about 1/2 hr) Then the veneer is laid on and positioned on the body. It is then ironed on. I use a small iron I used to use for modelling but a standard iron (used dry!) will do fine. This is wide enough for one sheet - for this the ironing starts in the middle and works outwards. Particular attention is paid to the edges of the body. The veneer is tougher once the PVA is on and bends quite well, so the simple curve of the arm rest is no problem (compound curves are problematic without a vacuum bag or similar. Then I trim to within 1cm of the body with sharp scissors so that I can firmly iron round the edges without splitting the veneer: Basically, you run the toe of the iron round the body shape a number of times, slowly easing the veneer round the shape at the same time as securing the bond of the veneer and body at the edge. Next, I use a Stanley disposable knife to carefully saw / cut the veneer edges, always with the grain trying to pull the knife away from the body so that it doesn't dig in: You can see above that the veneer has no problem with the arm rest, provided there are no compound curves. Looks OK, doesn't it? The back will have to wait until tomorrow - I've run out of disposable knives (and they have to be SHARP!) Thanks for looking Andy

OK - we're back on the road The gap has been me travelling for the day job and Bryan and I trying a few 'what-if' trials with the various veneer / stain options. First of all, I have to say that my buying experience with the German veneer supplier that Bryan found, [url="http://www.designholz.com/index.php"]designholtz.com[/url] was a very good one indeed. Some of the veneer I bought was over 2 metres - it all arrived in an impossibly small box after about 5 days, tightly coiled and with no edge damage whatsoever. The quality of the veneer is also very good and the choice is the best I've seen outside the States. Prices are VERY reasonable - although you need to be serious enough to buy a reasonable amount as the basic packing and shipping cost is similar for one sheet as for ten. So the project is going to be a real win-win - I have never come across this supplier before...thanks Bryan Here are some veneers we have rejected (some I bought for other projects and stained green just to see how they came out): This is Indian Apple: It's very organic and looks like banana leaves when it's stained this colour! Below is some quilt maple I bought for a different project but stained the same colour to see what it looks like: ....and, below, THIS IS THE ONE WE'RE GOING FOR: It's birch burl and, before staining, is white with black figuring. On the Thunderjet, the sides will be very dark green (almost black) with a narrow and fading burst round to the veneered, green-stained, top and back. I'm in the UK this coming week so should be able to make some decent progress during the evenings. I'll keep you all posted Andy

We run everything through a PA that has a decent number of inputs already incorporating preamps. The bass actually goes direct to the same PA in our case but the guitars are via effects pedals of various makes. With the added EQ controls from the pedals and the inbuilt pre-amps, we find it pretty much does the job that a DI box would normally do. Mind you, that's maybe only with our equipment and our types of gigs.

I think it was [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Micro-Mesh-Micromesh-Cushioned-Abrasive-Polishing-Kit-9-Sheets-6-X-4/141378195269?_trksid=p2054897.c100204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140407115239%26meid%3D22f4b9be51ae404ca00c9cea94628fd5%26pid%3D100204%26prg%3D20140407115239%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D20%26sd%3D131249123251"]this stuff I got[/url]

Micromesh is the way to go. When I get a moment, I'll add a link.

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1414288005' post='2587953'] Precisely. Even the nagnets aging takes decades. You'd need a time machine to chevk on the sound difference, and then it wouldn't be great. [/quote] ...and during that time, your hearing shifts anyway. Mmmm...a tricky conundrum this one...

I think you've got yourself quite a challenge there! Because the pickups are mounted on the surface of the top, rather than the now almost universal approach of sinking into routed chambers in the top, the bridge is going to be much higher than most commercially available ones. The simplest way would be to mount a standard modern bridge on a block of wood. Not elegant but, if you can still use the existing string retainers, you wouldn't at this stage even have to bolt it down. Also have a look at the bridge that hofner use on their violin basses. They are also high and free floating. When I have a moment I'll send you a link. But before you spend a lot of time and effort, find someone who can confirm the pickups are still working...

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1413753298' post='2581620'] I really like it. I've been meaning to build a Yew capped guitar for a while as have some nice stuff stashed away but haven't got round to it yet. One of those woods where the cracks and knots really add character....Anyway, sorry for the de-rail, good luck with the re finishing, I'm sure it'll turn out great having seen your other stuff . [/quote] Thanks. It was my main gigging guitar until I had a go at another forum's summer challenge to take a cheap kit and turn it into something special. Now THAT is my main gigging guitar The Yew one came out well. I've done a violin too in Yew - it really is a nice looking wood and easy enough to work. But you have to be VERY careful with the chippings and dust. It is very poisonous...

If it's brand new then yes - get the shop to sort it

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1413738717' post='2581406'] Yew can't be serious . Very nice! [/quote] Ouch ...and thanks

It stayed dry enough for me to do a bit of grouting (tactics) and get the bulk of the remaining black paint off the Thunder Jet. I won't be sanding the structural veneer any more than this - it would make it too thin for my cunning plan. Getting deep enough on the back and sides to eliminate the soaked in black usually takes HOURS of extremely tough sanding but I took a gamble and recently invested in an Abranet sander - first time I've used it and it's ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC It's pictured on the table above. It attaches to a vacuum cleaner and uses velcro to hold the micromesh in place. As it sucks all the sanding dust away, it is claimed to make sanding much quicker and extend the life of the sandpaper at the same time. Well, I always approach these things with a healthy dose of scepticism and yet I reckon it took 70% off the time to do this bit of sanding. Wonderful invention. It also, of course, makes sanding almost dust free. I started the sentence with Mrs Andyjr1515 and got as far as 'Hey - that's a thought, when it's raining...' The answer was as quick as it was brutal...'No!'

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1413633270' post='2580348'] Following with interest [/quote] Thanks, Mel

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1413631244' post='2580311'] Looks crackin'!!! How much gunk did you have to scrape off? ;-) [/quote] Not too much, Bryan I don't think the bass has been hammered in its past - for its age, the fret wear was not too bad and not too many round-wound impressions in the fretboard either. Simply had to get beyond the string depressions of the lower strings at the lower frets. Just about to go out while it's dry and finish sanding the body ready for the veneer when it arrives. I lose most of my evenings this coming week with the day-job travel but hope to come back to the veneer waiting for me next weekend! Andy

Daylight again! This is how the fretboard is looking