Fireman - this could be the start of something.. umm..

[Woodinblack]

Oh yes, I wouldn't do it on the wood first, especially as its a concentrate so I have no idea what it is going to work like!

Luckily I have quite a few offcuts of the actual wood, so I am trying it on those. I was thinking of airbrushing the sides darker, made more complicated by the fact I have no airbrush or any experience of ever using one

 

[Woodinblack]

On 23/05/2018 at 22:41, Norris said:

If you're thinking of mixing black with red to darken it down, do try it on a test piece first. 

I played around with some colour today, as you say the black is pretty severe. Watered down the black is purply black, and I don't know if I am keen on that. I did a few more coats of the red on my test wood, and that is excelent, but even putting the black a bit on the red made it a bit patchy. I think I shall go with the red, and play around with other colours to see what I can get

[Rikki_Sixx]

What’s the red like if you layer it up? I’m thinking instead of adding black you could build up the red and hopefully it’ll be darker and richer so you could get a bit of a red-burst effect. Are you using ink?

[Norris]

If you keep adding dye eventually you get to the point where you obscure the grain of the wood more and more, without necessarily getting any darker. You reach full saturation of colour. It's almost like applying more and more coars of paint - the colour doesn't change. Darker, beyond a small range, can only be achieved using a different blend of pigments.

[Woodinblack]

Yes the red just gets richer and more even. 

[Woodinblack]

On 24/05/2018 at 00:21, Woodinblack said:

Luckily I have quite a few offcuts of the actual wood, so I am trying it on those. I was thinking of airbrushing the sides darker, made more complicated by the fact I have no airbrush or any experience of ever using one

I have solved one of those issues, now to work on the other one!

[Grangur]

On 23/05/2018 at 20:23, Woodinblack said:

One thing I need, neck screws - I can get those anywhere I suppose. Those little ferrel things the screws sit in, where do they come from?

Also the little screws on the pickups, I need some of those (6 in fact), and springs and stuff. On ebay there are plenty around but they seem really expensive for what they are, like several quid for a couple of screws when you would expect to get a lot more for that sort of price.

Any idea for suppliers for those sort of things

WD Music are good. 

https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/hardware-parts-c1

It's all looking really good. Watching with interest, although I'd agree with @Jabba_the_gut, I like the natural look.

[Woodinblack]

Thanks, will give them a look.

I quite like the natural look in this but just because I am looking at it a lot. However, I have never liked a natural wood bass on the long term, I think it goes back to my original Pine Kay!

And anyway, how can you have a fireman that isn't red?

 

[Jabba_the_gut]

I had an old Kay P bass in natural too. My first bass. Seem to remember it being chunky and heavy!!

Enjoying watching the progress of this project. 

Cheers

Edited May 29, 2018 by Jabba_the_gut

[Woodinblack]

On 23/05/2018 at 21:04, Andyjr1515 said:

Ref the headstock veneer - if I get time tomorrow I'll do a quick A-Z of how I iron on veneer rather than clamp.  Great thing is that it gives pretty much instant results and you can see what you're doing.  I did a live demo of the technique at the Midlands Bass Bash.

Have you had a chance to do that? I haven't touched the headstock again yet, but would still be interested to give it a try!

[Andyjr1515]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Have you had a chance to do that? I haven't touched the headstock again yet, but would still be interested to give it a try!

Many apologies - I ran out of time before disappearing into the Scottish highlands!

However, here's a link from Projectguitar.com where, a few posts down, I cover the approach fairly well.  The photos should be there for the important sections.  Hope this helps!

http://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/48449-veneers-without-the-tears/

[Grangur]

@Andyjr1515 , in the other thread you say:

 

 The main voids are pretty easy to find because they sound hollow - time to chuck the first disposable and get a fresh one!  This is why I use disposables...to try to use the same blade is very false economy for this bit. 

I hope you've at least moved on to disposable blades and not generating plastic waste these days! 

[Andyjr1515]

6 hours ago, Grangur said:

@Andyjr1515 , in the other thread you say:

 

 

I hope you've at least moved on to disposable blades and not generating plastic waste these days! 

Now there we have the quandry of modern life! 

Disposable blades would normally lead me towards a Swann Morton scalpel (which I generally use for most jobs).  For this specific task though, the Stanley disposables have had the edge in my personal view (forgiving the pun).

But you are right, of course, @Grangur  - I'm sure other suitable and more sustainable products are available.  If I find one, I'll change the thread.

[Andyjr1515]

3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Now there we have the quandry of modern life! 

Disposable blades would normally lead me towards a Swann Morton scalpel (which I generally use for most jobs).  For this specific task though, the Stanley disposables have had the edge in my personal view (forgiving the pun).

But you are right, of course, @Grangur  - I'm sure other suitable and more sustainable products are available.  If I find one, I'll change the thread.

Hmmmm....and has anyone actually figured how they should dispose of replacement blades, single edged razor blades, etc, within domestic waste and recycling regs and guidelines?

[Jimothey]

37 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Hmmmm....and has anyone actually figured how they should dispose of replacement blades, single edged razor blades, etc, within domestic waste and recycling regs and guidelines?

I would save them up and when you have a enough of them take them to a scrap dealer and get the scrap value for them and then that would pay for the next lot 

[Woodinblack]

I tried to get some of those blades earlier but B&Q who claimed to have some didn't.

So I bought a block plane instead

 

[Grangur]

Stanley do knives with snap-off blades, and replacement blades.

We save all our scrap metal in something, then take it all to the council tip when we go.

https://www.uktoolcentre.co.uk/products/stanley-tools-sm9-snap-off-blade-knives-9mm.html?SID=775115&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8py4leSw2wIVhOcbCh1PQQBMEAQYGCABEgLeqfD_BwE#

[discreet]

Wow, this is quite inspirational. I'm going to have a go - just so I can say 'I've got wood'. Wakka wakka!

[Woodinblack]

I got an airbrush today (off ebay), actually two airbrushes and a compressor for £60. Played around with it on some scrap wood (and drew my house number on the bins while I was there). Looks promising once I get the hang of using it, works well on the wood.

[Grangur]

Anyone else interested, can get a brand new air brush from Aldi for £65

https://www.aldi.co.uk/workzone-airbrush-compressor/p/083261211637200

[Woodinblack]

Yeh, it was just like that, and I am not sure why I said £60 as that is how much they are new (there is an airbrush shop doing them at £62, they are the common one). It was £45 with shipping, but I had been looking for new ones on ebay (where most are £65 but there are a surprising amount for £100).

But yes, that very one, and I am pretty impressed with the compressor, it is really stable.

The airbrushes work differently for each other for some reason, I find the one with the glass bottle easier to use (and you can see when it is getting low).

[Woodinblack]

Well, with the final screws for the neck coming in, I think I have everything for it. Actually no, I have some machineheads coming from china, but I can use ones I have at the moment and swap later.

I have had so little time since going back to work after my holiday and having a busy gigging weekend - I could do with being independently rich really, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

Anyway, managed to get some time last night and this morning, and now I have power in the shed (but not light yet), I spent some quality time sanding stuff. Thats it, just sanding the edges to 320 grit, it is really smooth now. I think that is about done. Just need to make holes for the neck and that is it.

I have the controls all upstairs on a piece of wood ready for wiring.

And I started with the red. I did the neck, so now I have a redneck. 

 

I also while I was waiting for my wife to be ready played around with the veneers again and put a veneer on the front of the headstock, and it worked really well, the wood was less brittle than last time. Only trouble is, I am not sure I like the colour. Still, I think it is staying there now!

I have also glued two other random bits of tulipwood (what the body is made of), which I will sand flat and then stain to see if there is a problem with the stain going over a glue line.

So at least I feel I have done something!

Got to get more done this week, next weekend is another 3 gig weekend

 

[SpondonBassed]

9 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Well, with the final screws for the neck coming in, I think I have everything for it. Actually no, I have some machineheads coming from china, but I can use ones I have at the moment and swap later.

I have had so little time since going back to work after my holiday and having a busy gigging weekend - I could do with being independently rich really, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

Anyway, managed to get some time last night and this morning, and now I have power in the shed (but not light yet), I spent some quality time sanding stuff. Thats it, just sanding the edges to 320 grit, it is really smooth now. I think that is about done. Just need to make holes for the neck and that is it.

I have the controls all upstairs on a piece of wood ready for wiring.

And I started with the red. I did the neck, so now I have a redneck. 

 

I also while I was waiting for my wife to be ready played around with the veneers again and put a veneer on the front of the headstock, and it worked really well, the wood was less brittle than last time. Only trouble is, I am not sure I like the colour. Still, I think it is staying there now!

I have also glued two other random bits of tulipwood (what the body is made of), which I will sand flat and then stain to see if there is a problem with the stain going over a glue line.

So at least I feel I have done something!

Got to get more done this week, next weekend is another 3 gig weekend

 

I think you might find that 320 doesn't look as good as it feels once the finish goes on.  Edges are unforgiving.

If you are unsure, prepare a test piece to the same stage and apply the finish.  You might find that there are finer grades of abrasive to work through yet.  On the other hand, you might be happy with the finish as is.

Now that you have power in your shed, It would be worth clamping a good anglepoise lamp to your bench.  This will help when natural light is of poor quality.

Maplin used to do a good one that had a ring tube with a large magnifier at the centre for less than fifty knicker.  It gets lots of use.

Good progress!  From a standing start you've now got a lickle workshop and a taste for whittling.  Just be aware that sheds can become storage bunkers during the colder months.  If that happens, it is very hard to come back from.

[Grangur]

Have to endorse @SpondonBassed here. In sending wood, I don't consider anything less than 800 as fine. I often use 1500. You may find that stain raises the grain. So the finer you go the better.

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Now that you have power in your shed, It would be worth clamping a good anglepoise lamp to your bench.  This will help when natural light is of poor quality.

Maplin used to do a good one that had a ring tube with a large magnifier at the centre for less than fifty knicker.  It gets lots of use.

I have one of those very lamps upstairs in my office where I do electronics, from maplin. I suppose I will have to find one from somewhere else (as I couldn’t lose that). However, the thing I am lacking is a proper bench.

went round my friends the other day, he gave me a set of legs for a bench, just got to make one. Also have to insulate the shed.

he also gave me a 70x40x950 block of mahogany...