Christine

Four more coats of gloss on the tops again today, I put the first two on with standard thinners and the last two with anti bloom to let the last coat flow a bit better. After about half an hour I pulled the masking tape of the fretboards. I think they are good now, they certainly look good (as in blemish free), the anti bloom should have gassed off well by tomorrow so I'll have a good look then to see if they are really done but I'm quietly confident tonight.

So for the first time here's a hint of the finished things, once I'm happy they are good I'll grab a quick picture upright before hanging them up for a week or two to fully harden

28 minutes ago, fleabag said:

MK beats all in terms of number of roundabouts, and i admit i've been lost there because every street looks like a clone of all the others, but for sheer madness,

Swindon takes the biscuit.  It's called the Magic Roundabout because it's sheer magic if you can get through it

That never ceases to shock me, I would just go to pieces trying to get across that

Just now, Bridgehouse said:

It’s magic...

But no Florence, Dylan or Zeberdee

2 minutes ago, fleabag said:

If you'd like an objective road tester , i'll volunteer. I'm prepared to drive to Swindon if you can too 

Swindon? Why such a roundabout place?

OK I'll shut up!

14 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

The semi hollow 51P was gigged at the weekend - and great it was too at 7lbs and nice and thumpy

 

You don't get used for target practice then ?

30 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

Please tell me that you are going to do two fretless fives and that I can have one for displaying such an impressive beard.

That's a beard? I thought it was something off a Pink Floyd album cover

No, I want to do a fretless sometime but I want to do some Thunderbird type things or Fire Dragons as they're going to be called.

1 hour ago, Bridgehouse said:

I’m giving up. My partscasters will only ever look like cheap imitations and amateurish scrawlings after seeing this level of quality. Grump.

 

Don't be daft!!  at least you won't be terrified of gigging it

But thanks

Not a lot to report today, got the last three coats of nitro onto the backs and the neck. Tomorrow weather permitting I'll finish off the fronts and let them hang for a while and move on to the next project

So after that little disaster I continued spraying through the day, cutting back with 800 grit between coats, the cutting back became easier and easier as the day went on. I got a total of 6 coats on which is more than enough for one day, they will be left now until Friday and I'll have a good look at them then and decide if that is enough or do they need more, they are looking very good at the moment but I'll see how they react to a bit of time to let some thinners evaporate or whatever it does

Cut back after 3 coats today


This was the fourth coat, starting to look good I thing

4 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

These are looking really good, Christine.  What I love about a well applied clear coat is how it makes the underlying detail and form project out to the eye.  Just look at those headstocks!  And the quality of the top carves.  

It's a great looking spray job, but what that is illuminating is the quality of the build underneath.  Top drawer stuff  

Flattery will get you everywhere! Thank you that is very kind, especially from you. The carves have turned out well but remember that sander I recommended? That did most of the work for me, they really are the bee's knees, I would have turned it into a piece of Treen before I got that smooth and flowing by hand!

Now drawers, I can speak with confidence about those, basses, I just try my best and learn from people like you

LOL! I'm not a good writer aside from bad dyslexia

Feeling slightly manic now, that relief thing. I've cut them back and given them another coat and its none the worse, back on track. Now if anyone can recommend a good water trap

Back in the workshop on my phone. Turns out the splurt was water not congealed nitro, it has evaporated away leaving next to no damage so an easy fix in the end. I’m feeling better now that was quite upsetting but I’ve learned something so that’s good! 

I love French polish/ing it is the most beautiful finish of them all without doubt in my mind, they way it's applied ensures that tactile feel that only it has. A good oil finish comes a very close second too but that is or can be an even longer process, depending on how durable it needs to be.

The thing I like about nitrocellulose other than its silky smooth feeling is it is very forgiving and can be repaired quite easily as well as almost worry free sanding. Which as it happens is just as well as my "wonderful" spray gun has just spat out a splurt of lumps over one of my tops despite a serious cleaning last night and a gun full of thinners through it this morning. Well that slows down the day, I'll have to wait for that to well and truly harden off before trying to cut them down

Every right to be smug, well done and well deserved

Not much to report today, 5 coats of clear gloss on the back and the neck. Do the fronts again tomorrow

3 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

There are some people who just can not spray even with the best kit in the world.  Don't undersell yourself.

You should see my spraying with a poor gun, it's like the Texas chainsaw massacre has come to town A good sprayer would do better. No I'm not bad but I'm not that good, I still stress over it

7 minutes ago, ezbass said:

It's going to get deeper? Oh be still my beating heart! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Yes but not a lot, it's deminishing returns from here, flattening and polishing is what really does it, it's that horribly annoying thing that everyone looks at and completely misses the amount of work in the rest of the thing and they just admire the shine

14 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Ah...but I can turn nice wood and a budding instrument into BBQ fuel just as easily - and just as quickly! 

Which is why I bought an acoustic bass

36 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Ooh! Look at the depth in that gloss. I love the contrast against the natural finish.

It's starting to look good, that's only 4 very thin coats, it will get at least another 6 before it's done, probably more. My spray gun is a very good one, it's meant for "smart auto" repairs whatever they are but it can put a ultra thin coat on with a ultra fine mist that is so easy to work with. I think I can put down 4 coats in the same thickness as one from a rattle can but getting twice the shine straight off because of how evenly it sprays. Nothing to do with me, that's just the gun

1 hour ago, Si600 said:

Do glued in necks work because the neck pocket is so much bigger than a screwed in neck?  I'd be worried about the neck popping off if I ever made one.  Clearly they don't but what's the physics behind it?

Good fitting glued joints are incredibly strong (as long as we're talking long grain to long grain, end grain joints have no strength) so there is actually a massive amount of strength in there. The trick is the fit of the joint, just get it to a good friction fit, not so tight it will squeeze all the glue out but tight enough to support the weight of the body hanging before it's glued. So if you deconstruct the joint into glueable surface area, it is 3" long and roughly 1 1/2" on three sides so there is a large surface area that will glue well.  I won't say it's as strong as a through neck but it's not far off, it would be stronger than a screwed on neck given a good k (nock but that isn't to say a screwed neck isn't strong enough (given Fenders success with it ). I don't fully understand how glues work, all I know is they do, modern glues are quite spectacular in their strength

24 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

Ive never liked a les paul bass till I saw yours! 

I just hope it sounds OK after all this!

I've had a good laugh here, you just make that look so easy! I'm impressed

Well today was a good day, one of those days when I remember why I like making things

First job of the day was to get the necks glued on, a bit of masking just in case I got some glue seepage (I did and was glad of the tape) then some titebond and clamps and there they were, two bass shaped things

Then after a couple of hours I gave the tops a light sanding and proceeded to spray, a total of three coats went on today. By the time i cut back the second in readiness for the third my worries from the other day about grain filling were completely put aside. Then the third coat went on and I have to say I was very chuffed, I'm not an experienced luthier by any means and I was very surprised how good it was looking, in fact I spent an embarrassing whole hour just looking at them. Days like that are far and few between, I hope all you other makers get them too, sadly its something that you just get used to doing and the novelty wears off eventually, that is a sad thing I think

Is steam bending a valid technique in making acoustic bodies? We made a wooden box with a hinged lid at one end, it was fed from a metal bucket with a sealed lid and a couple of electric kettle elements, it pumped steam into the box and drained the hot condensing water back into the bucket via a pipe. The wood comes out like a dead eel, it's best done with green wood but the great thing is once it cools and dries for a while it is completely seasoned. Everybody I've seen seems to use those bending irons

54 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

I completely agree they are more hassle than their worth! yes they give you a consistent angle but if it's not set up correctly it will be consistently the wrong angle (especially the ones with the plastic flap thing that has the different angles on it) and my technique is moving the chisel in a figure of 8 movement which you can't do with a honing guide 

Its like everything the more you do it the better you get at it. 😀

A bit like a fretless player needing lines or not