Andyjr1515

As they used to say for American Express..."That will do nicely, Sir"

Very plausible - it all depends where, how far, what angle and what's in the way. The ideal is a straight line as @BigRedX rightly says, but sometimes that's not possible. This afternoon has been about frets and fretboard. Not finished but well on with it. The frets had already been levelled with a levelling beam but, to be able to guarantee no buzzes at decently low action heights, it needs to be better than that alone. So I use a rocker across a number of points for each fret looking for high spots: There were around 7 frets that needed some attention in particular spots across their widths...but the 11th fret, hmmm I just wasn't happy with. From halfway across the fret, the 'high spot' was more than I would have expected. I had a real close look and came to the conclusion that it wasn't seated properly. Now, a decent whack from the rubber mallet might have sorted it...but I wanted something a bit more certain than that. So, because I run a small bead of titebond along the fret tangs when I fit them, I first heated the fret with a soldering iron to soften the glue: Then used the fret-removal pincers to ease it out. These are just like any other end cutters, but the end is ground down so that the jaws can get under the tiny gap under the fret wire: Tidied up the slot, checked it was deep enough and then detanged a length of fretwire so that I could leave the tang slot ebony fill at each side in place: A tiny bead of titebond along the tang, fret inserted and then judiciously whacked with the mallet and this is a good sign - the glue squeeze-out means it's seated properly: Wipe clean and then a radius block clamped on for 10 minutes for good measure: All of the remaining high spots were levelled and the fretboard edges rounded over a touch. So tomorrow will be to re-crown /polish any flat spots and then scrape and final sand the fretboard In the meantime, I've emailed Martin Sims to ask whether they advise shielding the pickup cavities or not. The control chamber can be shielded while I'm waiting for the reply and the switch and pot holes can be drilled

By the way, the 'heel block' will be glued to the neck but will usually form a continuation of the dovetail joint. You steam-heat the dovetail and not the heelblock joint and so this will act just as if it had been a solid heel. The sharp edged joint is just that they didn't sand it smooth before fitting the neck

First of all, congrats getting the fretboard off so well! OK - there's sort of good news and bad news here. The good news is that yes, it's a dovetail joint - so, unlike one video about Aria acoustics I've seen where it was dowelled and the guy had to saw it off - then yes, it's perfectly feasible to get the neck off. Worth having a look at the internet and the Stewmac site because you basically have to get steam into the joints to get heat into the glue and soften it just like with the fretboard. Stewmac sell a surprisingly cheap steam 'hose and needle' for the job. If MrsMaude has an old Prestige pressure cooker that can go into your workshop like the iron, that's ideal...but there are other ways of generating steam. The good thing about a dovetail joint is that once you get it moving (when the glue is soft, you basically tap the bottom heel with a rubber mallet to 'crack' the joint), the tapered joint quickly lets go and the neck lifts out. The bad news is...that it's a dovetail joint Because cutting a new dovetail to match the angle and get a half decent joint isn't the easiest thing to do. But you can turn a dovetail joint into a mortice and tenon joint...and that's a LOT easier. I'll try and find some photos of my acoustic builds, where I have used both types, to show you the difference.

The jack socket hole is usually an ideal place. Again, you need a long drill.

There are a number of ways, yes. The challenge is usually what your options of direction are in terms of a drill being in the way and the accuracy of angle and direction - especially if you are trying to join two holes meeting in the middle. Sometimes it's the same with cable runs. The 'standard' way of getting a double humbucker cable run into a solid body is to drill with a long drill though the back of the neck pocket all the way through both chambers. Again, a small amount of drift over that length can result in a large variance from where you were originally aiming. And long drills can bend while they are drilling...

Great tip

And we're ready for the final furlong It's difficult to describe the difference between a full poly-type gloss and a light Tru-oil gloss (you can build it up and build it up as an alternative), and even more difficult to photograph it. But once it has fully hardened, it sinks much more into the grain which I describe as "more like an old guitar polished up than a new guitar made to look older". It's easier to photograph that effect on the back: Than the front: ...but the effect is the same on both sides. The main thing, though, is that the finish is now tough enough to stand normal handling for the final stages. And those final stages are: a bit more work on the frets; rounding of the fretboard edges; copper shielding the control chambers (I'll check with Martin at SimS to see if he recommends the pickup chambers too); cutting the jack hole and fitting the plate; installing the switches and pots and bridge earth wire; installing the pickups; fitting the magnets to the control hatch cover; stringing up and final set up. Talking of the bridge earth, it's something that doesn't come up very often in the build threads, but it can be one of the more challenging tasks of a build. No matter how close the chamber is to the bridge area, the hole for the wire has to be at a very shallow angle so that you don't just drill out of the back! This one has an added challenge - the carriers for the individual tuners are super slim (normally, the entry hole is under a 90mm x 60mm bridge plate) and I have to drill at an angle to miss the bridge screw-holes So it calls for a long drill. A LONG drill. If there was such a thing as a 'medium long bradpoint drill', then for this one, it could have been maybe half that length - but I've never been able to find one: Why only one hole? Well, happily, the other strings will be electrically connected via the head block. For the connection itself, I stick some copper shielding foil on the flat mating surface, soldered to the bridge wire that sits in the drill hole entrance. That way you get a great electrical connection without the bridge plate being lifted by bare wires, problems often associated with the 'traditional' stripped wire way of earthing the bridge plate. I'll take a photo when I do that bit. And why didn't I drill the hole before I fitted the ebony inset? Well, I could have done, but then I would have had to line up the bridge blocks before fitting the wood they were going to sit on. Building basses are full of these 'neither way is ideal' decisions. A lesson for broader life, I suppose

Coming along very nicely

I'm chuffed to bits It looks great

You will be able to see when you take the fretboard off. It really depends what kind of joint it is.

And you can see why MrsAndyjr1515 is always so angry!

It's a long (and tedious) story...

OK - I'm paying attention. This is getting real and exciting So, the Aria FEB is this one? I've just re-read the thread. Just a thought - and do feel free to ignore it I've got the wrong end of the stick. I've read your musings on getting the right kind of angle of the board to give you a floating overhang and I'm not convinced that there is enough wiggle room to get the board a steep enough angle with the sanding and building up approach (if I've understood those musings properly). The amount of thinning down and building up tends to be impractically high for any major change in angle. On the other hand, a small change of the angle at the heel can make a huge difference (think of how thin a shim needs to be on a bolt-on neck to correct the action if the bridge is over its adjustment range). Once you've got the board off, you should be able to see the neck joint... Because all that got me thinking. And I remembered that years and years ago - I bought a cello neck And to my surprise, I've just found it (MrsAndyjr1515 is, as you can imagine, delighted) : ...and realised just how small that heel angle has to be (5.5 degrees)... ...to produce this effect at the overhang: ...and you might have access to that neck joint soon.....

And what a pleasure that was. If I had to choose the favourite bass I've ever held in my hands, it would be - without doubt, that one. Couldn't tell you why. It just felt magical.

They look like DiMarzios to me...

Looks a nice board

Looks great, @W1_Pro ! Always had a soft spot for Washburns. And yes - this fits nicely in this section Hope all well with you and yours

Yes - that second coat looks a lot better. It is always a surprise just how much hard work it is to actually sand fully back to the wood! Great stuff - look forward to seeing the result

Like the sound of this Mad as a box of frogs - Love it!

It's @Fishman 's request but - with there being so much black on the pickguard pickups, etc - it looks right to me.

Ideally (if I get my drill holes the right size ), just an interference fit. You only really need them not to drop out when you are changing strings...

Most of the reveal coat of stain and tru-oil is off. One last job before the final hand sand and 'watching paint dry' stage is the string-through ferrule recesses. For this I use my Proxxon drill press for accuracy (it is small but it has very little runout - spindle wobble - that affects many drill presses) and then the old channel-tunnel trick of drilling from both sides and meeting in the middle to ensure that the entry holes and exit holes are individually lined up visually, but also actually meet in the middle to allow you to get the string through . The holes at the back are recessed to ensure that the tops of the ferrules are flush with the back. With ferrules, it's best not to 'try them and see if they fit' before you are ready to fit them permanently

Nope. No prize; no cigar

I haven't. I suspect that wooden binding would loosen in places and have to be reglued on reassembly and acrylic binding would distort and need to be replaced.