This arrived this morning....FINISHED!

[Chairleg]

[url="http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx160/Wombatchops/General/Bass/jb2-1.jpg"]http://i751.photobuc.../Bass/jb2-1.jpg[/url]

I am an absolute novice at this but I really want to make the best job of it that I can.

After seeing the high standards of other forum members efforts in building/assembling and finishing their projects, I thought it might be prudent to gain as much advice as possible before I merrily screw up my own.
After trawling the internet for some enlightenment I have learned the following:

Ash is very porous so I need to grain fill the body after sanding and then sand/grain fill/sand untill it's flat and smooth enough to move on to the next step. I don't really want to paint it.

My first question (possibly of many) is: Has anyone used Tru Oil ( I understand it's very popular on gun stocks) as a finish on a guitar? I want to get a satin finish if possible or is there a more tried and trusted method/product?

Thanks for looking.

All the best

Chairleg.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Chairleg

[Andyjr1515]

Hi
I use Tru Oil for most of my Custom jobs. I find it great, but wouldn't term it as a satin finish. Have a look at ajrguitarmods.co.uk - I think you'll agree most of them are pretty glossy (for example, check out the Epiphone Junior 6 string shots) It does dull a little over time but not to what I would call satin.

There are satin spray lacquers about - any other basschat members use them?

[soopercrip]

Personally on seeing the body I would go with a paint finish. As the body is three piece you could end up with a three color body. The varying tightness of the grain will probably colour differently. The top piece looks flat sawn while the bottom looks almost quater sawn, with the middle somewhere in between. The flatsawn will be lighter while the quater would be darker. If it's your first project, then wait and see what other advice you get on here before deciding. IMHO Andy

Edited November 12, 2011 by soopercrip

[discreet]

[quote name='soopercrip' timestamp='1321136187' post='1435869']
If it's your first project, wait and see what other advice you get on here before deciding.
[/quote]

+1 Agree regarding the paint finish. A one-piece would be favourite for a natural finish. IMHO!

[Billy Apple]

Where's the kit from?

[Mr. Foxen]

I'd use Danish oil. you can also put dye in danish oil, might be interesting.

[Beer of the Bass]

I had reasonable results with Tru-oil on Ash for a satin finish, ending by buffing with the finest grade of steel wool I could find. I didn't use any grain filler, but I did start with several coats of the Tru-oil sealer before moving on to the finish itself. There is still quite a lot of grain texture, which is what I wanted, but it has a nice sheen.
Pictures here:
http://basschat.co.uk/topic/137533-swamp-ash-5-string/page__view__findpost__p__1336777

[soopercrip]

For a bit of a guide to colour, try rubbing cellulose thinners on a clean cloth on an area where the body is joined to get an idea of the difference. You can get the same effect with water,( a damp clean cloth) but not too much!
It will probably raise the grain a little but will dry and sand out.

Andy

Edited November 13, 2011 by soopercrip

[Chairleg]

[quote name='billyapple' timestamp='1321138596' post='1435903']
Where's the kit from?
[/quote]

The kit is from DIY Guitar Shop. They only do this model of bass. The other kits they have are Strats, Teles, LP's etc. Ordered it on Tuesday and it arrived at my local post office on Thursday ( couldn't get to pick it up until yesterday ).

[quote name='soopercrip' timestamp='1321136187' post='1435869']
If it's your first project, then wait and see what other advice you get on here before deciding. IMHO Andy
[/quote]

Good advice Andy. I am in no rush to have this bass featured in the 'Ugliest Bass' thread.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1321141662' post='1435927']

Pictures here:
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/137533-swamp-ash-5-string/page__view__findpost__p__1336777"]http://basschat.co.u...ost__p__1336777[/url]
[/quote]

If I get it looking as nice as that I will be more than happy!

Thanks to everyone for replying. Darned good forum is this.

All the best,

Chairleg.

[NancyJohnson]

I've seen these kits on eBay and to be honest while I've not had the inclination to try one, it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

Good luck with it.
P

[henry norton]

Exciting times ahead! As this is your first build I wouldn't worry too much about finer details like how tru oil will affect the different planks on the body. If you want to use tru oil I would go for it - it's certainly less involved than sealing, filling, priming, spraying, flatting and polishing out a solid colour. It's more important to spend your time getting the frets level and the bass set up properly.

Get stuck in and ask on the forum if you're not sure about something - there's always someone willing to give you their opinion

[Chairleg]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1321197788' post='1436304']
I've seen these kits on eBay and to be honest while I've not had the inclination to try one, it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

Good luck with it.
P
[/quote]

Thanks. I will post the finished bass and hopefully any snags/mistakes as I go along. After I finish it, I am hoping to get a more experienced player to have a go on it (a Bass Chatter perhaps?) to give it a bit of a 'review'. Novice assembler + home assembly kit = ?

All the best,

Mark.

[NancyJohnson]

[quote name='Chairleg' timestamp='1321209014' post='1436513']
Thanks. I will post the finished bass and hopefully any snags/mistakes as I go along. After I finish it, I am hoping to get a more experienced player to have a go on it (a Bass Chatter perhaps?) to give it a bit of a 'review'. Novice assembler + home assembly kit = ?

All the best,

Mark.
[/quote]

I've done a couple of refinish jobbies in the past and I've never had an issue with that aspect of this type of thing, lots of patience, elbow grease and fine grade sandpaper. Today's paints are [i]very [/i]forgiving. Make sure you take a load of photographs.
P

[Andyjr1515]

Hi
This is the back of a Strat I did for someone - also a three part Ash body.

I stained it with red calligraphy ink (but any colour fountain pen ink would do and there is a pretty vast range if you start looking on the internet) and then finished it with Tru Oil. Staining like this softens the differences in colour and cut

(Sorry - have forgotten how to past a photo I will try again soon!!!!)

[Andyjr1515]

Couldn't work out how to do it, so I've pasted a copy onto a page of my website! [url="http://www.ajrguitarmods.co.uk/#Rear%20View"]http://www.ajrguitarmods.co.uk/#Rear%20View[/url]

[soopercrip]

Couldn't work out how to do it, so I've pasted a copy onto a page of my website!

Andy, it's more reply options bottom right, then browse and attach files, then add to post.

That looks real nice, although the grain on the strat is a bit more uniform than the kit Mark has.
Andy

Edit. Just had another look at the kit and I'm not 100% sure it's not a 4 piece body.

Edited November 14, 2011 by soopercrip

[Andyjr1515]

[quote name='soopercrip' timestamp='1321282944' post='1437293']
Andy, it's more reply options bottom right, then browse and attach files, then add to post.
[/quote]

Thanks - you've reminded me I forget every time...

[Chairleg]

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1321282627' post='1437287']
Couldn't work out how to do it, so I've pasted a copy onto a page of my website! [url="http://www.ajrguitarmods.co.uk/#Rear%20View"]http://www.ajrguitar...uk/#Rear%20View[/url]
[/quote]
Love that colour!

[quote name='soopercrip' timestamp='1321282944' post='1437293']
Couldn't work out how to do it, so I've pasted a copy onto a page of my website!

Andy, it's more reply options bottom right, then browse and attach files, then add to post.

That looks real nice, although the grain on the strat is a bit more uniform than the kit Mark has.
Andy

Edit. Just had another look at the kit and I'm not 100% sure it's not a 4 piece body.
[/quote]
Spot on Andy...4 piece it is. Certainly gives the grain an 'abstract' dimension.

All the best,

Mark.

[soopercrip]

[quote name='Chairleg' timestamp='1321287349' post='1437337']
Love that colour!


Spot on Andy...4 piece it is. Certainly gives the grain an 'abstract' dimension.

All the best,

Mark.
[/quote]

Certainly give you a challenge getting a uniform colour Mark.
Keep us posted how it goes.
Good luck
Andy

[pbass67]

This is a tru oil finish on a bass I put together. I love the look of it and its easy to apply, but offers no protection whatsoever and anything underneath is clearly visible so if the differing grains are likely to niggle you then a darker or solid finish may be a wiser option.
Good luck with your build !

[Owen]

Mmmmmm. Lush warmth

[quote name='pbass67' timestamp='1321288884' post='1437366']
This is a tru oil finish on a bass I put together. I love the look of it and its easy to apply, but offers no protection whatsoever and anything underneath is clearly visible so if the differing grains are likely to niggle you then a darker or solid finish may be a wiser option.
Good luck with your build !


[/quote]

[NancyJohnson]

Mr Chairleg!
It's been over two months. How's this going?
P

[Chairleg]

Whoops! Got a bit waylaid with the update. I will take some photo's this week and put them up.
There are a couple in my sig but I will endevour to do some decent ones.

Mark.

[Chairleg]

Sorry for the delay chaps. I managed to get this finished in January but this is the first opportunity I have had to post the results.

I got the kit from DIY Guitar Shop ([url="http://www.diyguitarshop.co.uk"]http://www.diyguitarshop.co.uk[/url]) as a birthday present from my wife. At the time they were £130.00 + £13,00 p+p but they had an offer on and the p+p was free. It's currently the only bass they do and they tend to run out of these regularly.

This is what you get:

[b]BODY:[/b] Unfinished, unsealed, pre-drilled and pre-routed three piece Ash "Jazz" style with front arm and rear body comfort cuts
[b]NECK:[/b] 34" scale 20 Fret Maple w/ Rosewood fingerboard, matched to body, with pre fitted truss rod, pre cut top nut, unshaped headstock with pre-drilled tuning machine holes, pearloid dot markers. 1.625" (41.2mm) top nut width (Not very thin for a 'Jazz. is it?)
[b]PICKUPS:[/b] 2x Jazz bass style single coil
[b]CONTROLS:[/b] Pre-wired 2x volume and 1x tone controls. Some soldering required.
[b]TUNERS:[/b] 4 open type with ferrules and mounting screws
[b]SCRATCHPLATE:[/b] Tortoise/W/B/W with mounting screws
[b]HARDWARE:[/b] Chrome strap buttons, neck plate with screws,string tree.
There is also a set of strings (not very nice at all) and some assembly instructions which benefit from an internet connection and/or advice from someone who knows what they are doing if, like me, you are a novice to guitar assembly and finishing.

The kit requires a bit of woodwork (shaping the headstock and preparation for whatever finish you use) but the pre-cut pickup, control routs and neck pocket are accurate FOR THE SUPPLIED PARTS (more on that later). Everything went together well on a trial fit.

So, after finding a template on the internet for the headstock shape (and having it cut by someone with the skills to do it) I started off by masking the fretboard and copper shielding the cavities.
I used Danish oil ( 8 coats applied over 3 weeks ) and then, after leaving it to cure for another 2 weeks I started to use Carnauba wax to deepen the shine a bit. The headstock decal (and 'Sopwith' the camel) were applied before giving it a couple of very light coats of vintage tint nitrose. 3 more heavier coats were applied later.
Final assembly was fairly straightforward but you do have to position and drill the screw holes for the tuners and the string tree, The neck fitted very well and the wiring was pretty easy to do. I hate those pickup adjustment springs so I opted to use foam instead although I realise it may need changing in future. A set of Ernie Balls (45-105) were fitted and I was ready to go.
No output from the bridge pup. Bu66er!
Checked the wiring but couldn't really find anything amiss. Luckily, I had a spare Wikinson JB bridge pup. Unluckily it didn't fit so, after a little work with the dremel I effected a working solution without too much bother. Bingo!
I also had a cream pearloid scratchplate spare so I thought I would try to see if it fitted. No was the answer. The cut-out for the neck pup would need altering and some of the screw holes were not aligned (this was a scratchplate from a new Squier VM Jazz) so I stuck with the tort plate supplied with kit.

Pictures:
[u]https://picasaweb.google.com/111890033724158302297/JazzBuild[/u]

The set up went rather well. The truss rod required adjustment but I only moved it 1/4 turn at a time and gave it a day between turns (no previous experience so caution was used) to settle down. The Intonation is now good and the action is fairly low with no rattles or buzzing at any position on the neck. The supplied neck pup is up to the job as is the Wilkinson at the bridge. The frets are tidy and the tuners seem to be holding very well. I have changed the control knobs as I am not very happy with the chrome knurled type, added an ebony thumb rest, pup covers and Schaller strap locks.
Next job (play time/fiddling) is a Gotoh bridge and possibly a brass nut.
As a relative newcomer to bass playing (30 year lay-off) I can't really give an informed opinion of it's performance and it's my first build so I may have not done some things in quite the right way. I also only have an Ashdown 100W combo to play through and nowhere to really turn it up for a good listen. I would readily let any local BC'r with the kit/knowledge have a go with it so I/we can find out if a) I have done a reasonable job and it was worth buying the kit in the first place.
I have really enjoyed doing this project. The first time I plugged it in and heard it gave a great sense of satisfaction and achievement.
If you haven't done one before, I can thoroughly recommend it.

Regards,

Mark.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Chairleg

[discreet]

Pic link not working..?