The Wenge/Elm Build

[Silky999]

A bit more progress on this one today, with equal parts satisfaction and quiet concern.

 

The roasted maple neck has had a test fit into the wenge & elm body (dry fit only). Alignment and scale are behaving themselves, centreline is where it should be, and for once nothing has tried to fight back. Always suspicious when that happens.

 

I’ve also been polishing the gloss poly finish, which has reached the stage where it looks finished enough to give you false confidence, but still has plenty of opportunities left to catch you out.

 

This build was started before I’d properly refined my build process, so there are still a couple of jobs left that now feel… character-building. Chief among them is drilling the bridge earth hole, which is one of those operations where you stare at the body for ten minutes, measure it again, stare some more, and then wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea.

 

Still, progress is progress. Next update will either involve a neat earth wire… or a lesson learned.

 

It would be rude not to mention that a worrying amount of today’s progress was made possible by my Narex chisels, which continue to justify their place on the bench every single time I pick them up. Sharp, predictable, and refreshingly uninterested in drama, they’re basically the opposite of most of my builds. Clean cuts, no tearing, no surprises — just quietly getting on with the job while I mutter “that’s lovely” to myself like a man who’s spent far too long in a workshop.

[SpondonBassed]

I am always in awe of your finishing.

 

Great job!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Silky999]

2 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

I am always in awe of your finishing.

 

Great job!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you…..you don’t see the swearing, sweat and tears.

[80Hz]

Wow that really pops! The wenge is stunning but also wow.. that elm!

 

The dark grain filler really transforms it. Are you using tinted poly or is it the light that has yellowed it a bit? Really nice. Great job 😀

[Silky999]

30 minutes ago, 80Hz said:

Wow that really pops! The wenge is stunning but also wow.. that elm!

 

The dark grain filler really transforms it. Are you using tinted poly or is it the light that has yellowed it a bit? Really nice. Great job 😀

It’s black grain filler then Liberon finishing oil hand sanded in, shellac and finally Blackfriars gloss poly. I wanted to use the Liberon on the wenge and the elm to help blend it together with the ambering.

Edited Tuesday at 22:00 by Silky999

[HeadlessBassist]

9 hours ago, Silky999 said:

A bit more progress on this one today, with equal parts satisfaction and quiet concern.

 

The roasted maple neck has had a test fit into the wenge & elm body (dry fit only). Alignment and scale are behaving themselves, centreline is where it should be, and for once nothing has tried to fight back. Always suspicious when that happens.

 

I’ve also been polishing the gloss poly finish, which has reached the stage where it looks finished enough to give you false confidence, but still has plenty of opportunities left to catch you out.

 

This build was started before I’d properly refined my build process, so there are still a couple of jobs left that now feel… character-building. Chief among them is drilling the bridge earth hole, which is one of those operations where you stare at the body for ten minutes, measure it again, stare some more, and then wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea.

 

Still, progress is progress. Next update will either involve a neat earth wire… or a lesson learned.

 

It would be rude not to mention that a worrying amount of today’s progress was made possible by my Narex chisels, which continue to justify their place on the bench every single time I pick them up. Sharp, predictable, and refreshingly uninterested in drama, they’re basically the opposite of most of my builds. Clean cuts, no tearing, no surprises — just quietly getting on with the job while I mutter “that’s lovely” to myself like a man who’s spent far too long in a workshop.

 

Argh! The temptation is strong with this one - luckily, I've already got an MGCS Basses instrument in the works and almost completed. Phew!

 

I need to say to everyone, @Silky999 is getting very good at this game very quickly. His care, attention to detail and careful research are second to none. You'd all best order one of his basses before he hits the BigTime! (... or should that be 'BassTime'? 🤔) 

Edited Tuesday at 22:56 by HeadlessBassist

[Silky999]

A bit of neck TLC today on the roasted maple neck for the ongoing wenge Jazz bass build.

 

Full fret level, crown and polish from end to end — slow, methodical, and accompanied by the usual internal monologue of “that’s fine… that’s fine… please be fine.”

Roasted maple behaved beautifully: stable, clean, and took a polish like it was showing off.

 

Frets are now level, crowned cleanly, and polished up to a mirror finish. Before it gets married to the body it still needs a coat of Monty espresso wax on the rosewood fretboard and a gentle edge roll to take the factory sharpness off — small details, big feel.

 

Tuners have also been mounted, which is always a testing moment when drilling for those tiny mounting screws — measure twice, drill once, briefly question life choices, then carry on.

 

One of those stages where nothing looks dramatic, but everything feels right. Low-action territory firmly unlocked.

 

Next up will be final neck fitting and setup once the wenge body is ready to reunite with it.

 

Progress pic attached 👍

[Silky999]

Quick build update, in the spirit of mistakes building character.

 

Found a small scratch in the poly on my wenge/elm bass and decided to sand it out. Poly responded with witness lines, I responded by sanding more, and together we agreed this was now a learning exercise rather than a repair.

 

Several poor decisions later I was stripping the entire body with a heat gun. The poly came off, my confidence followed, and the heat encouraged part of the wenge/elm joint between the pickups to lift slightly, just to make sure I got full value from the experience.

 

It’s now re-glued, clamped, and will be reassessed once cured. There’s no finish on it, so it’s all fixable — just slower than planned and significantly more educational.

 

Upside: it’s moving to nitro.

 

Builds aren’t always about the good stuff — sometimes they’re about standing in the workshop looking at your own handiwork and thinking, “Well… at least I won’t do that again.”

[SpondonBassed]

[Silky999]

Wenge / Elm bass update: it lives.

 

Thought I’d share a quick resurrection story in case anyone else needs reassurance that instruments can come back from the brink.

 

This one very nearly became “that bass I don’t talk about”.

 

What started as a simple refinish escalated into:

 

poly having a meltdown

heat gun decisions I immediately regretted

a drop-top seam briefly auditioning for independence

and a small chunk of wenge making a bid for freedom near the pickup route

 

 

At one point I was genuinely Googling “is relicing a legitimate coping mechanism”.

 

Anyway… slow down, walk it back, glue where glue belongs, patch where wood went missing, black grain fill doing some very heavy lifting, and a lot of patience later — it’s back on its feet.

 

Still some sanding to do to remove the grain filler then oil and shellac ready for nitro clearcoat. I also took the opportunity to do a comfort carve into the wenge to make it more hmmmm.

 

The seam is solid, the top is flat, the grain is doing that wenge thing again, and structurally it’s absolutely sound. More importantly, it looks like a bass rather than a cautionary tale.

 

Lesson (re)learned:

 

Heat guns are not subtle tools

Wenge forgives, but only if you apologise properly

Fixing your own mistakes is annoying… but also oddly satisfying

 

 

Onwards now to finishing, hardware, and pretending this was all part of the plan.

 

Builds aren’t always about the glossy photos at the end — sometimes they’re about dragging something back from the dead and quietly nodding at it when it survives.

Edited 1 hour ago by Silky999