Andyjr1515

Bet you all thought I'd forgotten about this! Next job is filling the tang slots and any remaining gaps between the fret-ends and the board edge. I use Z-poxy mixed with rosewood sanding dust. The epoxy is squeezed into the end slot and then overfilled to allow for any sinkage. Should look and feel OK once it's sanded flush and clean of the wood: After this, it's just a case of levelling, recrowning and polishing the frets and it can be shipped back to Andy. Should be all done by the end of this week

All looking good from here

The reason I do such detailed build threads is so I don't forget on the present build what I forgot on the previous build

Our opinions matter not a jot. But if you were to ask, I think the one with the stripe is quite, quite special

The second shot is in direct sunlight but yes - it's like a tigers eye semi-precious stone

Yes - little by little it's getting there

There are now enough coats of hardened oil to be able to do a light flattening. I use 2000grit with plenty of water on the paper and regular spray downs to prevent the sandings clogging the paper: This gets rid of any specks, bubbles, minor dips and also prevents the build up of application ripples in the surface while sanding only the oil and getting nowhere near the wood underneath. That done, I pop it onto a wiped down shoe box to get it away from any dusty surfaces, wipe it down with a clean microfibre cloth (I use the ones they sell for cleaning windows with), open a new bottle of tru-oil so I know there is no dust contamination and apply the first of the finish coats wiping it on with a clean lint-free soft cloth. This process may happen three or four times until I get a coat that looks right...and then I STOP

It took me a while, but I worked it out in the end

Magnificent!

Lovely!

For the top, I've done a number of re-sand, re-slurryandbuffs as I've found sanding scratches, etc, and now this is the second 'build-up' coat. The process I will then use will be a bit like I do when I slurry and buff stained wood with tru-oil - I build up enough coats to be able to slurry the tru-oil itself, but not deep enough to reach the wood. That will give me a super-smooth satin base layer and then I will wipe on a couple of final finish coats to add back the shine. So I reckon another three undercoats, with a full day's drying in between, and then I'll do a slurry coat, followed by a couple of very light wiped coats. In between that I will be doing the slurry and buff coats for the neck to give me that silky-smooth organic feel. The fretboard won't be finished until the frets have been levelled, re-crowned and polished.

Only just caught up with this. FABULOUS paint job!

Ah - the old 'Razzle Dazzle' camouflage trick: Look into my eyes Have you ever seen a bass as beautiful as this? No you haven't. No You haven't.

It would indeed be a shocker if we all found out that most of the members were fishmongers who just happened to also play musical instruments. "No, no...but it's Basschat...it's all about...oh...hang on a minute" And I'll get in before any of you lot, "Yes - it was a bit of a surprise, but at least there was plenty of Sole!"

By the time it has got a bit more glossy, that quilt in it will follow you round the room

Always a good sign when it's time to order the strings First final finish coat on. Knobs are probably not in their final positions (no holes will be drilled until the final finish is finally finished ). For a tru-oil light gloss (and most other finishes, to be honest) I start in the same place - a good old 'slurry and buff': Told you it's going to look pretty The bone nut has arrived. Always a relief that I've cut the neck the right width! : And the luminlays have sanded up nicely: Still to do while the finish is being sorted is the truss-rod cover and the hatch rebate strips, and I have the jack/jackplate and pots to source, but there is now plenty of 'waiting for it to dry hard' time to do those sorts of things

Nothing wrong with that For oddball sizes / multi-scale. etc, I also mark out and cut by hand. Looking good, @benh

Wow - that is luuuuuvvvverleeeee Beautiful job. Want that....

It's actually an ongoing challenge, @benh . I would say that my hit rate of joints not moving is now 4 out of 5, but at least 1 in 5 will still have shifted. For the important ones I have to put in specific mechanical steps. The pieces of wood are still floating until all squeeze out is squeezed out...and that only happens when the clamps are fully tight...but any variation of angle or force direction will try to move the timbers while it is in the process of squeezing out!

I've tried making knobs a few different ways, but this is probably the most successful method of the ones I've tried. I part-cut the bottom wood using a diamond pipe-drill: Then create the relief for the pot nut with a 15mm Forstner: Then the hole for the spindle insert: And now I have all the concentric holes done, I can re-fit the pipe-drill and finish the cut: Next is the hole for screwdriver access to the insert grub screw: And now I can (carefully) press-fit the spindle insert, lining up the grub screw with the drilled hole: Then I cut the purpleheart and ebony discs with the pipe-drill: Glued and clamped: Next is installing the luminlay dots: And finally, using a 6mm drill in the insert as a mandrel, a quick sanding and oiling:

And to the Luminlay. Pricey but very easy to fit. It comes in a stick. I drill a 3-4mm deep hole with an accurate bradpoint drill, then pop a drop of superglue gel on the end and push the Luminlay fully home: Then I cut it almost flush with the razor saw before paring it fully flush with a sharp chisel: And here they are all installed just ready for the final final sand: And that final final sand will happen this afternoon which means that the final final finish starts tomorrow And the other thing to try this afternoon is the knobs. We're going for: oak; very thin purpleheart demarcation; ebony top; luminlay dot - if I can manage that

First pass of the final sanding and another reveal coat. Bit of glue squeezout at the top and end of the fretboard/body join: Back looks OK : Edges look OK . You can see where the pickup chamber I cut after fixing the top meets the control cable channel I cut before fixing the top. Yes - the chamber and opening will be tidied up : Bit more sanding at the back to lose those grain chips: Final finish, once it's ready, will be like @Jus Lukin 's headless - a light Tru-oil gloss

Assuming you made like for like and use decent timber, yes - plenty strong enough at that width.

Volute nearly there: I'll finish it off as part of the final sanding...which, incidentally, has begun : I'll put in the Luminlays before starting the finishing and so by the middle of the week the finish stages will begin - and in between each drying coat, some wooden knobs, the magnetic trussrod cover and the frame for seating the hatch cover (hopefully with it being just one Superquad loom, magnets should be fine) will all be worked on. In the meantime, the bone nut has been ordered and I'm just about to order the strings I think the final furlong is definitely in play.

I do @jazzyvee (and many thanks for the mention @Daz39 ) but at the moment I'm afraid I'm completely committed to promises already made on other projects. As Daz39 says, there are other builders here that do both who I'm sure will come along soon... If you get no luck here (including the sister site Guitarchat), then the next best try is TheFretboard. It's another good UK forum with large membership and predominately folks interested in 6-string guitars. There are some great builders on that site too.