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31" Gibson Bass build...


honza992
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Very nice Sargent H!

No, in this sort of game not much is carbon neutral, I've chosen to use FSC timber when I can and Rocklite but other things, I guess the best we can do as amateurs is make them right first time so they are not disposable

I like the way you've bound the headstock, looks a more sensible way of doing it than mine :laugh1:

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12 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Very accurate work.  True craftsmanship. 

 

On 02/02/2020 at 19:33, honza992 said:

Tomorrow I'll sand the fretbard flat and we;ll see how neat my MOP blocks are🙄

 

@Andyjr1515 methinks you did speaketh just a touch too soon!  The Superglue/black dust gap fill didn't work at all.  And now I  come to think of it I'm pretty sure I've tried before using that technique and it didn't work then either.  Honestly, I have no memory at all.  Drives me and Mrs H bananas!  I think the problem is that even with water thin CA glue, the instant is hits the powder it turns to a solid, so no time to fill the gaps.  Ditto medium and thick CA. 

So I've redone it using Epoxy and Mixol black pigment, which now I think about it that is exactly what I did last time and it worked fine.  Fingers crossed.😁

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On 03/02/2020 at 09:07, Christine said:

No, in this sort of game not much is carbon neutral, I've chosen to use FSC timber when I can and Rocklite but other things, I guess the best we can do as amateurs is make them right first time so they are not disposable

I’ve started trying to use recycled wood as you can’t get much more eco friendly than that maybe it’s to offset my carbon footprint as I drive a transit for work and have a Ford Ranger as my own vehicle I better watch out I don’t have people gluing themselves to my front door 😬

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8 hours ago, Jimothey said:

I’ve started trying to use recycled wood as you can’t get much more eco friendly than....

That's great.  It's occurred to me.  On holiday in Italy last year we stayed in a place that had a massive 4 inch thick mahogany garden table.  Enough for probably 10 bass bodies!  Once we've moved to Italy, I may try and sneak it off under my jacket.....😎   

8 hours ago, Jimothey said:

....have a Ford Ranger as my own vehicle I better watch out I don’t have people gluing themselves to my front door 😬

Ha ha probably not the vehicle of choice for the Extinction Rebellion activist🤣🤣  But the reality is, what you drive makes no difference.  What's important is that we recognize fundamental changes are needed in the way we all live our lives, then apply political pressure so that society-wide solutions are enacted.  If we depend upon all of us willingly giving up our carbon-intensive lifestyles, then I don't believe there's any hope.  There's just not enough time.  Or at least that's what the United Nations and scientific community tell us.

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Just a bit more work on the fretboard.  The epoxy and mixol worked fine, as it did last time....🥴

I had a couple of small tearouts with the fret slots, so rather have to dig out dried epoxy I used some 'dams' made from a cut up sheet of 0.5mm teflon.  They're the perfect thickness for the fret slots, and teflon is one of the few things that expoxy doesn't stick to at all.  Just stick 'PTFE teflon' into ebay and you can buy it by the small sheet.  

IMG-20200206-083907.jpg

Then just radius sanding block to 400, then hand sanding to 2000.....

IMG-20200206-095844.jpg

 

Talking of sanding blocks, the quickest and best I've ever made was this one.  Makes radius sanding much quicker and much less stress on the hands.  It's just a plastic push block that came with a cheap set that I think came free with my planer.  2 bits of double sided onto the foam on the bottom, then stick it directly onto the back of the radius block and hey presto!  cool, glow-in-the-dark custom handles...

IMG-20200130-134614.jpg

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20 hours ago, Jimothey said:

I’ve started trying to use recycled wood as you can’t get much more eco friendly than that maybe it’s to offset my carbon footprint as I drive a transit for work and have a Ford Ranger as my own vehicle I better watch out I don’t have people gluing themselves to my front door 😬

Recycling is best in this game, the very best we can do anyway although finding wood with the characteristics and dimensions you need is quite difficult. Reuse is even better, something I've noticed you do a couple of times, far better to refill a bottle than recycle it if you get my drift.

@honza992 what is the binding, white plastic and Rocklite? Nice

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On 29/11/2019 at 21:47, honza992 said:

I think might cause neck dive, my pet hate

 

On 10/01/2020 at 21:16, honza992 said:

The body I've decided to chamber a bit more than I have in the past. 

You're doing a beautiful job there, but are you your own worst enemy in the balance department?

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On 07/02/2020 at 09:32, Stub Mandrel said:

 

You're doing a beautiful job there, but are you your own worst enemy in the balance department?

I guess that's part of designing and making guitars, pushing the boundaries to see how far you can go.  I've made 3kg full scale basses, so given this is 31" and is using guitar tuners, I'm  confident this will have zero neck dive.  And should be sub 3kg.........

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On 13/02/2020 at 13:19, Taylor beach-blues said:

Now you seem like a knowledgeable person,  i'd be interested to know what the wipe on finish is that you use ?

Ummm....who....me...??!??

It would be fair to say that I haven't yet found a finish that I like.  If you want a satin or low gloss wipe-on finish to go over the top of natural wood, then I'd suggest Tru-oil or Liberon Finishing oil.  Both are hard drying varnishes, rather than oils as such, the names are misleading.  If you're happy with a matt finish then Danish Oil (which is an oil finish) is as easy as it gets. I have also used wipe on polyurethane (Ronseal Hardglaze thinned approx 50% with white spirit) for satin necks which is pretty good, but I haven't had much luck with it for a whole body in terms of getting it up to gloss.  It's still a technique I'm working on. 

The one thing I would say is that the single most important part of finishing is not, in fact, finishing, but is grain fill.  If you don't have a flat and even surface to begin with, then it doesn't matter what finish you apply,  it's always going to be really really hard to get a flat and professional looking finish. 

I'm not sure any of that is any help?

This guitar is going to have tru-oil on the neck (slurry sanded till smooth), and a french polished (ie shellac) body and headstock face.  Or at least that's the plan at the moment.  

(Just remembered the easiest finish ever is Osmo polyx oil, which is an oil/wax finish.  Wipe it on 3 times and you're done)

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On 07/02/2020 at 09:12, Christine said:

Recycling is best in this game, the very best we can do anyway although finding wood with the characteristics and dimensions you need is quite difficult. Reuse is even better, something I've noticed you do a couple of times, far better to refill a bottle than recycle it if you get my drift.

@honza992 what is the binding, white plastic and Rocklite? Nice

The binidng is rocklite and the 'white' wood is whatever the standard veneer is that you buy by the metre - sycamore probably?  

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