BassTool

While I plucked up the courage to get my router out, I decided to refurbish the back of the neck with a Truoil finish after studying @honza992 's @Andyjr1515 's inspired technique here. The fingerboard I think I am going to leave as it seems it'll be a bit of a challenge to strip the lacquer off, but if anyone has any suggestions how to do it please chip in

And the scratchplate arrived the following day..

Ahhh, I wondered about that, wasn't sure how to do it, any suggestions welcome It's not too much bother tuning, but it would be nice to have it the right way round 👍

Then onto the Bay to get a chrome control plate. I'm now thinking that control chamber is looking on the small side 😎

A Seymour Duncan MM pup and a John East MMSR preamp.

It was time to spend some money on the bass that so far had only cost me very little money, and this little box of trickery came courtesy of @Sharkfinger Really well packaged, it was just what I was after to take this project up a level.

I did a bit more work on the headstock shaping, and these are the tuners close up, amazing condition for 39 years old.

That bass is one of the best looking basses I have ever clapped eyes on. I hadn't seen those pictures before. Absolutely stunning. 😍

Good suggestions those Mick thanks for the ideas 👍

I like the sound of that microplane rasp Andy, maybe a tool to look out for if I decide to do anything like this again. I've got to say it's become quite addictive. The temperature thing was mainly for the top splits, there was so much glue and pressure in the main split I was reasonably happy it wouldn't come open again, and considering I've been sanding etc outside in some bitter temperatures then bringing the bass back indoors, I think it's passed the test as there's been no change in any of the splits whatsoever.

Forgot to say, it played and sounded great acoustically when I first strung it up.....

Now whilst I'm hoping that the body is properly glued up solid, I remembered @Andyjr1515 's next step after he'd glued up @TheGreek 's beauty. String it up and wait and see what - if anything - happens to the wood under tension. So that's what I did - and left it, for a week - between the living room, conservatory, and even the shed for a night. Moving from each area in this current winter, I was hoping to replicate the many thermal changes a bass would usually encounter, particularly if it was being gigged and travelling in a van and then onto a hot stage etc - though unfortunately those days are probably long gone 🤔 I still thought it should be subjected to different temperatures and humidity just to make sure it was ok. It's going to live in the living room once finished, but I had to be sure it was solid.

Forgot to mention the plugging of the previous scratchplate holes. Which I did with BBQ skewers, and finished them off by filling with 2 pack woodfiller and more sanding.

Not sure what you mean Mick, but I'm interested! Can you give me a bit more of an idea what your thinking?

I say finished, but there is more sanding to do to get it as close to perfect as I can. This then, was time to see how it looked with the tuners fitted. These bad boys turned out to be in remarkably excellent condition after a buff up with a simple polishing cloth. They are a bit of a strange design, that odd butterfly shape and the smaller than normal barrel, but they work well, and the one I used upside down fits too! I was going to paint the headstock white to match the body and hide the plugged hole. But as this was going to be a long term project during dry January and beyond (painting will hold the job up until warmer weather arrives) I've decided I'm going to have a go at veneering the headstock in maple...

Needed a bit of a lie down after using my sanding skills to sort that out, and then actually realising I probably could have used my router 😖 Finished result looks like this...

Right then, back to that headstock reshape. I blacked off the areas to trim with a felt tip pen (well, blued off), and then put them above a black background to give me an idea of where to tweak. I was tight on the bottom curve and sweep up to the top, but by messing around with the template I got an almost Rayish headshape. Then to cutting..

The white stuff you can see in the Titebond fix is 2 pack woodfiller. There were one or two low spots from air bubbles, which I 'wicked' with cyanacrolate ala @Andyjr1515 then filled and re-sanded.

Sandpaper and a decent sanding block (from my 'supplier') are proving to be a big help with this build. I never anticipated how much, and how much of a range I would need. I've used 80 grit to start cleaning up after the rasping, going up to 400 on the body all over. The carves have given the body a bit of weight relief - it is a lump - as well as a more comfortable feel.

Now you can see the 'splits' I mentioned earlier in the front face. They've all been Tightbonded and dragged flat using a Stanley blade then sanded, sanded, and sanded again. They look alarming, but I'm happy enough that they don't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, and I've got them flat level for painting.

Then the belly - forgot to take a pic, but I put a bit extra into that one...🤣 Then did a bit of rasping, which is nice 😝

I moved it into various positions till I was happy then marked my line in pencil. First the arm carve...

That reminds me. I need to clean it out...🙄

I needed something to give me a basic arm/belly carve outline and found the perfect 'tool' in the shed - our icebucket for BBQ beer etc. That's got a few nice curves, especially when it's full 😊

The Blazer has a little extra inward turn on both horns, probably to keep Leo from the door at the time, so to make them more 'Rayish' I decided to take them off. I bought three rasp files for under a fiver at our brilliant local DIY warehouse. Set up by a local guy around 10 years ago, Ability Supplies is now bigger then our local B&Q. I'll go in there for something simple like masking tape and come out with a carrier bag of stuff that 'will come in useful sometime' and £20 less in my pocket, it's got almost everything at amazing prices, resistance is futile. Anyhow, I digress.. I'm not on commission by the way. Back to the rasps, one flat, one half moon, one rat tail. One word... Lethal 😮 I was planning on putting a belly carve and arm carve in the slab body, and I've now found the tools to easily do the job.