Andyjr1515

I did try - April 2024...

Definitely on the final furlong. Last 'mechanical' bit done - fitting the bridge and making sure it all lines up: I use a couple of old strings to line it all up - you can do it with a long ruler but I find the real thing is more accurate. The double check is that the lipsticks have a centre line - so a rule from the middle of the nut should run right down the middle of all of the dots, along the pickup lines and to the centre of the bridge. To my admitted surprise, it does! Now I can do the final tweak of the pickguard to make sure it is all square with the bridge. And this morning, the electrics and knobs arrived So, still to do: - final tweak of pickguard - sand neck - apply finish to neck (it will darken just a touch) - square up tuners and add back screws - Level, recrown, polish and fret-end the frets - Check the conductivity of the body chamber and copper line if necessary. Copper line the pickguard - Fit the electrics - Final setup The next big project after this is...the bathroom. Oh joy Oh, and just for completeness sake, here's the back:

Yes they do. And especially the term 3+1 which is a registered trade mark in itself. Which is why I never refer to it, and I don't do this commercially

Looking really good

Thanks, folks. Always appreciated To celebrate, this evening I got round to boring the tuner holes: And that means that I'm down to a list of to-do's that now fit onto one page (depending on how big the writing is ) Based on that I think I will be surprised if it's not finished by the end of next week-ish. Oh - and final weight is going to be around 7 1/2 lbs...so not bad at all.

Ever since I worked on a beautiful Wal, I have gained a particular love of machine screw/insert neck fixings and do this nowadays whenever practicable. But, whereas with wood screws you can be a little bit wonky, with machine screws it has to be right! So - in case any of you are thinking of doing the same, I'll go into a bit of detail how I, personally, do it. I first of all make sure that the neck is going to be an accurate, snug fit in the neck pocket. I temporarily clamp it in place and, using a bradpoint drill of EXACTLY the right diameter, push the drill into the pocket holes and mark a drilling datum: I then put a bradpoint drill of the right size for the insert into my press drill and level the neck in all directions by placing it on a fretboard radiusing block. I use the bradpoint marker and double check that the drill is concentric by just turning the chuck manually, then drill in one go. Having decent bradpoints is very helpful here - DIY or ebay jobbies are not likely to be accurate enough for the pin-point to be in exactly the middle of the drill. I use the Fisch ones from Axminster Tools: I fit the first insert - making sure it is absolutely straight as it cuts its thread (I always use the ones with a hex head - never with a screwdriver head). I then fit the neck and check with a torch that I can see the marking dot in the centre of each of the other holes: Then drill the other three holes in the neck and fit the inserts: And then - well, it just screws on OK - it's not a Wal. But it looks 'right' to me. And there is no way @scrumpymike is going to have the neck clap hands with the body in the middle of a performance!

Happy New Year everyone Final bits and pieces are on order and finished off the black scratchplate today - added the bevel, the countersinks, etc, and made sure it fits: Once I've fitted the bridge, I'll reshape the pickguard a touch so it sits evenly. Tomorrow's job is finally sanding and finishing the neck.

Lovely

Yup ^ me too

That branding has come out stunningly well. On the back of that, I actually prefer all of them without pickguards but that is just a personal view of course. Whatever you decide, these are going to look quite special

I've got to that stage in Christmas preparations when I am 'JUST IN THE WAY!!' as often as I am useful as far as MrsAndyjr1515 is concerned And so there are snatches of time when I can still make a bit of progress. The bass body and pickguards are getting close to being done. I've started the final finish coats on the body and also added the ebony veneer to the black scratchplate. For the final finish, I am using Osmo Polyx 3032 Satin simply wiped on with a micro-fibre cloth. For sticking on the veneer, I used good old-fashioned Evo-stick (remembering to do it with good ventilation - you forget just how strong the fumes are!) after roughing up the plastic first with some 320 grit sandpaper. This is it after one coat of Osmo on the body and one coat of Tru-oil on the veneer. It will need no more than one more coat for each: The fretboard will yellow and darken a bit when the finish is put on but I think this is going to look pretty smart as an alternative to the bling of the pearl I can see @scrumpymike swapping them round for every gig

Beautiful. I just LOVE the way the back has been carved and it looks very playable. Top drawer builder! Andy

And ignoring what MrsAndyjr1515 might say about the subject, never let it be said that I don't listen, @scrumpymike You have dots

And so the original pickguard modified (I think that looks quite nice : And the new pickguard checked for the critical sizes before adding the ebony veneer: And the ebony veneer ready for me to decide what glue is going to be the best to stick it on with! : And the fretboard dots have managed to battle their way through the Christmas post! So that will probably be tomorrow's job.

I think this (marked in green) is what we're both saying @scrumpymike ?

Trouble is, this // is going to be this \\ kind of // as opposed to this ]I \\ II ll kind of // and, let's face it, I wouldn't want to confuse @scrumpymike any more than he already is Clearly the best way for me to illustrate to @scrumpymike that I know exactly what he has in his mind is going to be for me to get it in the scrollsaw, cut it to shape and then, if it's wrong I can just... ...oh.... Hmmm....this building by correspondence is trickier than I thought!

Sorry - I missed the vital 'pickup' word. I meant to type \\ to the bridge pickup - i.e. at an angle Yes - I quite agree, \\ to the bridge itself would look a bit odd. Never assume what comes out of my mouth is what is going on in my head

Yes - my money is on \\ to the pickup too

Well why don't I straighten up the original to match the bridge and then you can choose whichever you want for starters and always swop later if you want a change

I started by cutting out the external shape using a scroll-saw: Then sellotaped the original scratchplate to this one: And then attacked it with various drill bits, hacksaw blades and more scroll saw stuff to give me this. I'll take a better photo in the morning when, hopefully, there will be a bit of daylight!

Gosh, the weather's been c**p this past few months! Two pm and all the lights are on in the house while, outside, it tips it down once more. So forgive the quality of the photos. The body is almost ready for its final finish coats. The black dots haven't arrived yet. BUT - I can start sorting the scratchplate. @scrumpymike wants to go all black. Would ebony be possible? Well, as a solid wood plate I'm afraid it can't. It's too large an area to be able to get the right thickness (or should I say thinness) of ebony sheet of the right quality. But, it should be possible to veneer a standard black plastic pickguard. That's what I'm going to try to do next. I have the sheet of black plastic and, as a template, there actually won't be much of a change to the original shape - just that area that used to wrap around the slightly unconventional bridge of the original Rascal: Something a bit like this: And so that's going to be the next job

That's the first thing I noticed too. There are two connector blocks with a grey wire each going to nowhere. Where have those grey wires been attached to to when you've tried it? Certainly, the block attached to the pickup earths has to be grounded otherwise nothing is going to happen. As you say, these things usually are about a dodgy or missing earth. Tip: follow the earth connection coming from each and every every component and work out how it eventually gets to the earth tag on the jack. You are likely to find at least one where, following it round, it never gets to the jack. Trust me, I've done dozens and dozens of circuits and I still occasionally miss one!

Not often I guffaw out loud but I did with this comment.

I feel the much the same when I see the quality of bass building that come out of Messrs Shuker; ACG; etc,etc workshops

And now fixed with maple-dust laden epoxy, sanded and headstock shape cut. Although Christmas preps are starting to encroach, will be turning my attention back to the body finishing and pickguard while I wait for the black fretboard dots to battle their way through the festive season postal melee.