Andyjr1515

Also, depending on the bass, 35" can be a huge stretch just to reach the first fret. OK of you're a tall guy but no good at all for short a***s like me

Based on the fact that my bodies nowadays are usually closer to 25mm (but I'm, admittedly, weird), then structurally and for fitting any 'normal' electrics and pickups, 40mm is plenty, plenty

Looking great!

In terms of the way the veneer bends, the paper backed veneer acts just the same. However, it does help prevent splits running for some veneers so could be a benefit on this one. If you are going to do a centre join and apply the veneers in two operations, remember that: It does shink a little as it warms up so will try to pull away from the centre join It floats on the molten glue and so, until it is properly secured, can shift around a bit I fit one side, check that the join is still completely straight, then secure the join first, using the iron to push the second sheet into the join then hold firmly with the cloth until it's grabbed - I effectively tack it like that in 4-5 places along the join then close up the complete join. I've seen it done different ways too but that way works for me personally

Well - that was interesting. It should be said that I used one of the more forgiving veneers - myrtle. Although quite figured, the grain is multi-directional which has advantages on something like this. This is the iron I use - it's an old heat-shrink iron that I find nice and small and easy to hold - but any household iron will work (the smaller and lighter the better). Steam irons should be used completely dry doing it the way I do. Basically, I heat it until the glue melts and then press down with a cloth (or chamois in this case) long enough for the melted glue to re-solidify (about 10-15 secs). I use the iron itself to ease the veneer into shape. I secured the heel first: Then secured the spine of the neck 'cylinder': Then eased the veneer round the curve - and WOW - look at that!!!: The 'grain' is in line with the bottom diagonal so the neck is at roughly the correct angle of a typical Warwick horn. BUT - even though that has bent remarkably well, can you see the split just starting to form at the right hand side? That's where the neck heel is and that is where the double curvature is. Closer up you can see it's basically pulling itself apart: There would be a similar issue at the spheroidal end of the horn. So - trimmed straight - this is much better that I would have expected: But - in that you have to get to the join in the body - it will be the double curvature that will be challenging. Probably not impossible - but certainly challenging and where a compromise of the amount of wrap over would probably need to be accepted. Oh - and at one of the sides of the heel, I spritzed at little bit of moisture - and the differential expansion immediately found all the grain lines and, again, pulled itself apart. Hope this helps, @Jimothey

No time like the present. Quick reminder how I do it while I'm waiting for the glue to set. Ignoring the stuff at the back of my hastily cleared workbench, this is my veneering kit (plus an iron, of course): Basically: a sponge roller and tray (DIY in the gloss paint brushes, etc area); a water spritzer (superdrug, etc travel atomiser); Evostick PVA wood adhesive (green bottle - not the blue waterproof type) I roll an even and thin but complete coating of PVA on the veneer (bit of offcut I used for stain trials): See it already starting to curl like crazy from the differential expansion. A light water spritz on the back and it flattens by itself: Then a light even covering of PVA on the neck: Then wait 1/2hr or so for that glue to dry while I type this up and look for the iron I am allowed to use...

It's hard to say @Jimothey , but I would have thought the best you could do for the adhered join line is somewhere here: Only way of knowing is to try it. If I get time later, I'll have a go at veneering this old Yamaha neck - it'll be about the same radius: I'll do it at an angle to the grain to simulate the angle your top horn would be at...

It can help to sprink some fine water spray on the veneer just before you form it, although it is immediately dry once the iron gets to it. Also, the way I do it (coat both surfaces with PVA, let dry, iron on) i find I also have to lightly dampen the back of the veneer as I apply the PVA to the front to counteract the curling (sometimes severe)from the dampness of the glue making one side of the veneer expand. At the E Midlands bash in May I'm going to be doing a live demo of veneering a body. It's straightforward once you've sorted the tips and techniques - but there are a few tips and techniques to be learned...

I'm not sure I'd abandon the idea, @Jimothey - it's more about taking steps to increase the chances of success and modifying expectations of how close you can get. I can't remember how much of the iron-on approach to veneering I've gone through recently, but once the bulk is on and attached, I then ease the edges round - using the hot iron as the shaper - as far as they will comfortably go and stick by using the iron to deform the veneer and then hold down with a cloth very firmly until the melted PVA has cooled and gripped. Some veneers are better at this than others because some will split more than others. Then, when I've bent it round all the edges as far as it will go, I then trim around the glue line and finally sand round the glue line. So my cautionary note is simply that the strip of veneer on the top horn will be thinner than on the example you show, because that is a wooden top sanded round and not a veneer. But you will be able to get it to curve part way round. The less extreme the curve, the more it will curve round. So, if you went for an oval carve on the horn rather than a cylindrical carve, then the veneer will cover more of the horn. Does that make any sense? The veneer itself generally isn't that expensive, so worst case is that you have to scrape it off. That's pretty easy - you just heat it up with an iron to soften the glue and use a decorator's scraper - if you use the right kind of PVA, this is completely repeatable in terms of re-melting and cooling. Then you've simply need to sand off the PVA residue and you are back to where you were.

If all goes to plan, I will be doing a live demonstration of veneering a bass body top. If all doesn't go to plan, I'll be demo-ing how to light a BBQ using a sheet of veneer and a wrecked bass body.

As I said above, an arm relief bend isn't a problem - even though it's going diagonally across the grain: Most veneers are remarkably flexible considering they are 0.6mm thick. But - it's the double curvature that's the challenge

Theoretically yes - but don't forget that you will only be able to achieve a very limited curvature at the top horn (because it is essentially circular - and the veneer has limited bending, very limited in terms of double curvature) you would end with a thinner and shorter strip than on the above example. Same goes for the edges - they will curve round to an extent, but again not as much as the above. This is an example of a similar grain pattern on a bass did a few years back - but it is essentially flat-topped, including the horn. There is a fender-type arm relief, but that is a single curvature, which works fine. It's the double curvatures that are problematic. So yes - the white ebony could look great - but veneering a cylindrical top horn, even partially, is going to be - at best - "challenging" :

Lovely bass

No problem - we are all waiting enthusiastically to see how it progresses By the way, in case people are inspired to use inks themselves, there are some ranges of colour that seem susceptible to fading and some specific colours that definitely do within those generalisations. Generally, the blues and purples seem to fade the most. Having said that, the blue/turquoise guitar in the example above still looks the same colour as when I did it in 2014 - and it's been hanging on a wall near the window until very recently! There is an interesting accelerated fade test of the full range of Diamine inks on one of the fountain-pen enthusiasts web sites: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/250572-all-diamine-inks-mini-fade-test/

I'll cover the basic method I use and then a couple of variations. Like always, I just will outline 'this is how I do it - and it consistently works for me - but I'm not saying this is how it should be done!' It's very simple. For a basic stained finish, non grain-filled, I do the following: I sand down to 250 grit. If it is a bought body, I take care that there is no releasing oil or similar on it and that I'm down to clean wood I vacuum the body with a brush attachment to make sure all the dust is out of the grain I apply the ink, straight out of the bottle, using a piece of old t-shirt or similar, bunched up and soaked in ink using a circular motion, making sure that the ink has properly gone into the grain. Latex or nitrile gloves are essential unless you want very brightly coloured hands for a few days.... I let it dry and repeat if necessary. 2-3 coats is usually fine. Remember that each coat will darken the end result The colour when the ink is first applied and still wet is the best indication of what the finished, varnished, colour will be. When the ink dries, it will look completely different - don't panic! I let it dry fully I finish it with Tru-oil or polyurethane varnish If I need to fill cracks or grain, I use one of two methods. Basically, the water-based ink will absorb differently on different woods and surfaces so, for example, if you sanding sealed it or used many types of filler, the ink colour would not absorb in those areas Grain Fill - Method one. Stainable Timbermate I use the dark stainable one This veneer had multiple deep fissures. The Metolux Timbermate will mix with water stains and - to an extent - absorb stain once dry. For best results I do both I mix some ink into the Timbermate Then prefill the gaps, then when the timbermate is dry and sanded, apply the stain in the normal way If I had just filled with the Timbermate out of the tub, the filled areas would have shown up as lighter shades. If I'd used the 'light stainable' Timbermate, even premixing ink into it, the same would happen. Using 'dark, stainable' Timbermate, premixed, the filled areas end up the same shade or slightly darker, both of which look fine on the finished result Grainfill - Method two. Tru-oil slurry and buff This is a method I've never seen other people do. Generally, it is said that you can't slurry and buff a stained surface because you will sand the stain away. Actually, if you are careful, you can. This is how I do it: I stain in the normal way I apply a coat of tru-oil and let it fully dry I apply a second coat of tru-oil, applied with 800 or 1000 grit wet and dry (you can also use micro-web) slurrying VERY gently. The slurry WILL take up some of the stain but the trick is not to go deep enough to expose unstained wood. Basically you are trying to slurry the first tru-oil coat, not the stained wood The slurry will fill grain perfectly well. While still wet (within 10 mins) very gently wipe the slurry off Let it dry, then repeat the slurry and wipe Repeat once more then leave as is (hand buffing to satin smoothness once it's properly dry) or add more tru-oil coats for a greater gloss or over-coat with varnish, whichever preferred. If you don't add the top gloss coats over the slurry and buffed finish, surely the ink will come off on your hands when you play? Well - it doesn't seem to. In fact, because I like satin necks, this is how I do all my stained necks nowadays - even for very, very regular players - so far they assure me they've never been caught red handed. Hope this helps Andy

Yes - sounds a good set of options. The Flamingo is a bit pinker and the Matador is a bit deeper, so between the three, you should be able to get what you're after. I'll add a post on how I apply these shortly

OK For sapele, I would use this - Diamine Wild Strawberry At less than £3 a bottle (and 30ml is plenty) you can afford to buy a shade darker and a shade lighter just in case your wood requires it. Pete's EB3 tribute was done with it - figured mahogany top, sapele back, mahogany neck: Pete plays it every week and keeps it on a stand next to a picture window exposed to full light. Two years later, it's still this colour. And I used the same ink on this mahogany double cut junior, that has been hanging on my wall for nearly three years and, again, it is still this colour: Personally, I think a Thunderbird would look great in this colour....

To be honest, this is one of the reasons I tend to use inks as stains. There are some issues with some specific colours with colour fastness, but the huge range of colours available from such as Diamine, and the very low cost, means that I can buy 4 or 5 shades and see which works best. So far I've been lucky with colour fastness but I know some other folks have had issues. The problem, though is that the actual colour is hugely influenced by the wood it's being applied to and sapele is a dark wood. Now, if you were going for cherry red, I know exactly which ink I would recommend for both colour and colour-fastness...

I agree with @Norris that £300 is good going for build. And in the words of a well-known advertisement..."And the thrill of playing a bass you've made yourself to your own spec? Priceless!"

Thanks, Stuart

From a structural point of view that's absolutely fine - similar position to a Curbow: One of the nice things on the Curbow is that this position makes the bass feel like a shortscale when it's a full 34". It's a principle I've followed on a number of my own builds.

Wow....I see what you mean. Great finishing jobs!

I love that colour on guitars and basses Very, very cool

...and look forward to hearing this What do you reckon to the preamp?