Custom 54p Build - My first ever build

[lou24d53]

On 18/06/2019 at 12:43, Cuzzie said:

Sounds a plan Batman

You're becoming my comfort blanket on this build @Cuzzie

4 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Ah - Ok.  In which case your original plan is a good one

Haha - thanks...has to be said, the Basschat community is a reassuring place at times...! 

Edited June 20, 2019 by lou24d53

[Andyjr1515]

By the way, I've used this type of decal recently.  They are fantastic and much better than the traditional waterslide decal...but it can be a bit of a shock how gossamer thin they are.

Do R&F send a spare?  The guys I bought off do and if so, it's worth trying it out first - I tried my spare one out on the kitchen worktop to the evident delight of MrsAndyjr1515.  I found that the technique was subtly different to the normal 'airfix' type.

With 'airfix' I got into the habit of sliding the decal off the backing paper.  This does not work with these newer type.

With these it's more about sliding the paper off the decal. 

I found the easiest was to lightly hold the one end in position, then smoothly pull the backing from the other side, continuing to hold the other end in place and so keeping the decal under tension.  Same with straightening wrinkles - gently pulling the wrinkle out from the edges, again keeping the decal under tension.

That said, I was delighted with the results and would certainly favour this type over the older type for future projects.

[lou24d53]

4 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Do R&F send a spare?  The guys I bought off do and if so, it's worth trying it out first - I tried my spare one out on the kitchen worktop to the evident delight of MrsAndyjr1515.  I found that the technique was subtly different to the normal 'airfix' type.

Unfortunately - and rather worryingly - they don't send a spare, however they do supply a cutting of the paper on which they are printed on and suggest that you practice initially with that to get a feel for the decal's properties before carrying out the actual application.  

[lou24d53]

Applying "deeecals" looks so easy...!! 

Haha...!

Edited June 20, 2019 by lou24d53

[lou24d53]

And what I'm hoping for...

 

[SpondonBassed]

Decalcomaniacs, the ruddy lot of you!  Heeheehee.

[lou24d53]

Is it just me or are Guitarbuild most unhelpful and unwilling to assist with the most basic of requests / queries?!

I have asked for two costs for a custom 54P body, in both Roasted Swamp Ash and Walnut, specifying everything I want, however I have asked for some advice / assistance on neck pocket size and recessed neck bushings. 

I got a response back asking for a drawing for "exact setup" of the bass.

Not understanding what they are after, I queried and got a one line reply saying "A drawing or image showing the design of the bass"

What does this matter? I've specified the full body, just asking the most suitable selections for the neck pocket to my neck and to accommodate the neck bushings.

Seriously thinking about looking elsewhere now, totally scunnered with their responses.

😡😡

[Andyjr1515]

On ‎20‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 21:41, lou24d53 said:

Is it just me or are Guitarbuild most unhelpful and unwilling to assist with the most basic of requests / queries?!

I have asked for two costs for a custom 54P body, in both Roasted Swamp Ash and Walnut, specifying everything I want, however I have asked for some advice / assistance on neck pocket size and recessed neck bushings. 

I got a response back asking for a drawing for "exact setup" of the bass.

Not understanding what they are after, I queried and got a one line reply saying "A drawing or image showing the design of the bass"

What does this matter? I've specified the full body, just asking the most suitable selections for the neck pocket to my neck and to accommodate the neck bushings.

Seriously thinking about looking elsewhere now, totally scunnered with their responses.

😡😡

My understanding is that they generally work on a 'standard options' approach which their web site leads you through (and presumably you've already specified).  So their web site (I have to say, one of the best of its kind) has for each design area, say neckpocket, all of the different shapes and hole options they offer as standard.  

But I suspect that they also do out and out 'non-standard' custom work.  For this, most similar makers would require a specific drawing because they would use that to program their CNC machines.

I gather you are asking about a variation of one of their standard options (that is, you want bushing drillings applied to one of their standard pocket and hole options?).  In which case I suspect that there is just a bit of confusion their end of which category your request fits within.

Why don't you give them a ring (they have a phone number on their website front page)?  It's lot easier to avoid misinterpretation than emails and quickly get a common understanding of the requirement and solution.

(I know, because I had a similar issue with some custom pickups from a well respected maker. 10 or so increasingly confusing, confused and fractious emails backwards and forwards was resolved in a 5 minute phone call - resulting in a splendid result from both our points of view  )

Edited June 26, 2019 by Andyjr1515

[lou24d53]

Sorry, I should updated after my 'Angry from Glasgow' rant.

I've got it sorted and ordered now. I didn't realise that you could buy one of their standard bodies and get it customised to suit, so I was basically trying to get a custom body of a 54P which they already had!

So the initial error was mine, which I admitted in my email a few days after. That said, had the responses from Guitarbuild been more than one sentence of 8 or 9 words, I'm sure we could have got the order through sooner.

Anyway, all resolved now and as of a week or two I'll have basically every component needed to get my built complete...even though it's yet to start...😬😬...been too busy last few weeks building weans outdoor toys and garden furniture to get it going...! 🙄

Edited June 26, 2019 by lou24d53

[lou24d53]

Finally got started with this a week passed on Friday. It's an Allparts TBMO neck, raw maple.

Started by rubbing down the rough edges of the frets and neck using 600 grit wet/dry before getting going with the Tru-Oil.

In total, generally two each day, there's TWENTY very fine coats on the neck up to today...each rubbed down very finely using a 6000 3M Micro-Mesh pad in between. 

It's already got a nice sheen to it, but I'm going to try polish it up more before I apply the clear nitro lacquer to the headstock (front only) prior to tackling the decal.

 

[lou24d53]

Guitarbuild walnut body arrived today...already tested the colour test strip, only one coat of Tru-Oil, but it'll darken down with a few coats.

Neck was as tight as a gnats chuff so had to sand down the edges of the neck very slightly to get it to fit...its just tight now, rather than mega tight...😁

Currently in process of nitro lacquering the face of the headstock pre-decal applying.

And looking at this, I'm already convinced, no pickguard...chrome hardware and I might even go to the lengths of a chrome tugbar to finish the look.

Last pic, I've applied one coat of Tru-Oil to seal, do another tomorrow before starting the wet sand grain filling.

Edited July 24, 2019 by lou24d53

[lou24d53]

Duplicate post.

Edited July 24, 2019 by lou24d53

[durhamboy]

That is a lovely looking body, I wouldn't cover any of it up with a pickguard either. The oil finish should give the grain some real depth.

[Jimothey]

9 hours ago, durhamboy said:

That is a lovely looking body, I wouldn't cover any of it up with a pickguard either. The oil finish should give the grain some real depth.

I agree that Walnut is far too nice to cover........😀 

[lou24d53]

Raging with myself...!!

So, as I anticipated, I have just made a right royal @rse of trying to apply my first ever headstock decal.

I guess my 'room temperature' water and Rothko & Frost's are somewhat different as the backing wasn't for coming away as easily as it shows in that YouTube video above. 

That's £12 down the drain...need to reorder...😡😡

Edit: Just bought another THREE at £7.99 each...just in case...🙄😬

Edited July 25, 2019 by lou24d53

[durhamboy]

I don't know about these new fangled super thin decals, but I always found that for the old types, more babies bath water (or lukewarm) was better than 'room temperature', whatever that is? Regardless, some decals just seem to be a real pain. Good luck with the next one.

[lou24d53]

Here's a novice query, how tight should string ferrules be? I ordered a set machined to suit my Guitarbuild 54p body, but they don't fit by hand pressure only, don't appear to be anywhere near fitting. I've no doubt they'd go in if they were forced, but I was expecting the fit to be somewhat less tight than they are.

There only appears to be 0.5mm difference from tape measuring - which I appreciate isn't the most accurate for these small sizes!

I'm obviously not keen on getting the 'adjusting tool' into action...😬

Edit: Appreciate also the novice error was not supplying my own ferrules and sending them to GB to size accordingly...also appreciate perhaps would have been more ideal fitting these prior to putting a seal coat of Tru-Oil on...like I said, I'm a novice!

Edited July 28, 2019 by lou24d53

[lou24d53]

Decided I wasn't happy with the fretboard finish, despite rubbing down between coats, I noticed there was build up of oil at some of the frets.

Sanded it down yesterday and gave it one decent oil coat, making sure the frets were clean after. Finished the fingerboard with three coats of nitro today.

Basically as it stands just now, the back of the neck is Tru-Oil finish and the fingerboard and headstock (to take decal application) is nitro lacquer.

Two sealer coats on the body, not yet started with the wet sand grain fill.

[lou24d53]

Got there...!

I'll know next time to get these in place before I do anything with the body...two might have went slightly too far in to be honest, but I'll try sand the wood flush around those.

Edited July 28, 2019 by lou24d53

[durhamboy]

Good compromise on the neck. As for the ferrules, they can be tricky, especially the types that sit flush.  I don't know about sanding the body around the two you say are a bit low, unless they're really obviously low and you can't stand how they look. (Would anyone else ever notice?) By sanding down to them you'll create a dip in the otherwise flat body, the result might make you less happy than the small irregularity with the ferrules depth... From your picture the G string ferrule certainly looks slightly low, I couldn't be sure which of the others is low, the A or the D?

I'd have a think about it before acting, but if you do decide to sand, go slowly, feather away from the ferrules gradually and good luck.

[lou24d53]

37 minutes ago, durhamboy said:

From your picture the G string ferrule certainly looks slightly low, I couldn't be sure which of the others is low, the A or the D?

I'd have a think about it before acting, but if you do decide to sand, go slowly, feather away from the ferrules gradually and good luck.

It's the A (slightly) and G (more) strings that are a tad low.

That's exactly what I'm debating with myself - and frankly is it worth the hassle?!

I'm was thinking about maybe getting an old drill bit and seeing if there was any give between the hole through the body and the hole in the ferrule, if it could be chapped out the slightest wee touch to reflush. 

[durhamboy]

I have done more or less what you describe with an appropriately sized flat tipped engineers punch on a few occasions, either to level a set of ferrules or to remove them completely. (Once to get a punch of the right size I cut the tip of a suitable sized nail and ground it flat to make a punch.)  If the string holes in the body are slightly larger than the holes in the ferrules it is doable.  

[SpondonBassed]

14 hours ago, lou24d53 said:

That's exactly what I'm debating with myself - and frankly is it worth the hassle?! 

I think you're the only one who's going to notice just from looking at your photos.

If you scuff the shiny surface of the ferrules it might look more unsightly despite being "flush".  As has been pointed out by Durhamboy, you will create a slight indentation in an otherwise flat surface to add to your frustration.  It wont be truly flush however unless you reseat the ferrules at the correct depth.

It looks grand as is from what I can see.

[lou24d53]

48 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

I think you're the only one who's going to notice just from looking at your photos.

The voice of reason...yeah, that's what I'll probably do...I'm gonna be keeping it anyway, so it's going to spend it's life either staring at my tubby belly or the wall it's hung up on...! 👍

[lou24d53]

Used an old 5.5mm steel drill bit, managed to tease the ferrules back out and reflushed them just using a hammer to tap them and a cloth to protect the wood.

Far, far, far happier with the way they look...

It's the little things in life...! 😂