Christine Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Well today was a good day, one of those days when I remember why I like making things First job of the day was to get the necks glued on, a bit of masking just in case I got some glue seepage (I did and was glad of the tape) then some titebond and clamps and there they were, two bass shaped things Then after a couple of hours I gave the tops a light sanding and proceeded to spray, a total of three coats went on today. By the time i cut back the second in readiness for the third my worries from the other day about grain filling were completely put aside. Then the third coat went on and I have to say I was very chuffed, I'm not an experienced luthier by any means and I was very surprised how good it was looking, in fact I spent an embarrassing whole hour just looking at them. Days like that are far and few between, I hope all you other makers get them too, sadly its something that you just get used to doing and the novelty wears off eventually, that is a sad thing I think 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofthewind Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Ooh, a black Les Paul shaped thing (or two). Sexy! All I ever wanted when I were a lad. Good work, Christine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Beautiful 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 They're lovely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 😍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Ive never liked a les paul bass till I saw yours! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 24 minutes ago, Jimothey said: Ive never liked a les paul bass till I saw yours! I just hope it sounds OK after all this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Do glued in necks work because the neck pocket is so much bigger than a screwed in neck? I'd be worried about the neck popping off if I ever made one. Clearly they don't but what's the physics behind it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 15 hours ago, Christine said: Ooh! Look at the depth in that gloss. I love the contrast against the natural finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 1 hour ago, Si600 said: Do glued in necks work because the neck pocket is so much bigger than a screwed in neck? I'd be worried about the neck popping off if I ever made one. Clearly they don't but what's the physics behind it? Good fitting glued joints are incredibly strong (as long as we're talking long grain to long grain, end grain joints have no strength) so there is actually a massive amount of strength in there. The trick is the fit of the joint, just get it to a good friction fit, not so tight it will squeeze all the glue out but tight enough to support the weight of the body hanging before it's glued. So if you deconstruct the joint into glueable surface area, it is 3" long and roughly 1 1/2" on three sides so there is a large surface area that will glue well. I won't say it's as strong as a through neck but it's not far off, it would be stronger than a screwed on neck given a good k (nock but that isn't to say a screwed neck isn't strong enough (given Fenders success with it ). I don't fully understand how glues work, all I know is they do, modern glues are quite spectacular in their strength 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Si600 said: what's the physics behind it? Getting good contact between the two mating parts is the key. The bonded surfaces are subjected to a combination of compression and shear forces and a little tension force. Under compression and shear, wood glues are quite good. Even under tension they're resistant to failure as long as the parts are a good fit to begin with. If a bolt on neck is a good fit in the neck pocket you could bond the neck in place with no bolts at all and have no problems with it as long as it is set at the right angle relative to the bridge to give a full range of saddle height adjustment. You lose the feature of being able to change or repair necks easily, that's all. Lots of guitars have set necks. PS: Christine's spot on. We must have been typing simultaneously. Edited August 7, 2018 by SpondonBassed 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 36 minutes ago, ezbass said: Ooh! Look at the depth in that gloss. I love the contrast against the natural finish. It's starting to look good, that's only 4 very thin coats, it will get at least another 6 before it's done, probably more. My spray gun is a very good one, it's meant for "smart auto" repairs whatever they are but it can put a ultra thin coat on with a ultra fine mist that is so easy to work with. I think I can put down 4 coats in the same thickness as one from a rattle can but getting twice the shine straight off because of how evenly it sprays. Nothing to do with me, that's just the gun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Just now, Christine said: It's starting to look good, that's only 4 very thin coats, it will get at least another 6 before it's done, probably more. My spray gun is a very good one, it's meant for "smart auto" repairs whatever they are but it can put a ultra thin coat on with a ultra fine mist that is so easy to work with. I think I can put down 4 coats in the same thickness as one from a rattle can but getting twice the shine straight off because of how evenly it sprays. Nothing to do with me, that's just the gun It's going to get deeper? Oh be still my beating heart! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 7 minutes ago, Christine said: Nothing to do with me, that's just the gun There are some people who just can not spray even with the best kit in the world. Don't undersell yourself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 7 minutes ago, ezbass said: It's going to get deeper? Oh be still my beating heart! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product. Yes but not a lot, it's deminishing returns from here, flattening and polishing is what really does it, it's that horribly annoying thing that everyone looks at and completely misses the amount of work in the rest of the thing and they just admire the shine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 3 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said: There are some people who just can not spray even with the best kit in the world. Don't undersell yourself. You should see my spraying with a poor gun, it's like the Texas chainsaw massacre has come to town A good sprayer would do better. No I'm not bad but I'm not that good, I still stress over it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 The attention to detail throughout the build is astonishing, and if i may say, is up there with the same detailing as Andy's basses. The person that gets hold of that spare bass is going to be overjoyed, no doubt ! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 Not much to report today, 5 coats of clear gloss on the back and the neck. Do the fronts again tomorrow 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 13 hours ago, Christine said: Yes but not a lot, it's deminishing returns from here, flattening and polishing is what really does it, it's that horribly annoying thing that everyone looks at and completely misses the amount of work in the rest of the thing and they just admire the shine Tell me about it. I sprayed a telecaster in black nitro from rattle cans (Rothko & Frost) for a friend and I can’t tell you how many hours went into flatting and polishing to get to this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 20 hours ago, Christine said: Yes but not a lot, it's deminishing returns from here, flattening and polishing is what really does it, it's that horribly annoying thing that everyone looks at and completely misses the amount of work in the rest of the thing and they just admire the shine 7 hours ago, JPJ said: Tell me about it. I sprayed a telecaster in black nitro from rattle cans (Rothko & Frost) for a friend and I can’t tell you how many hours went into flatting and polishing to get to this. Yes. The effort is not wasted however. Despite automated spray booths and chemically curing finishes, I have yet to see a product of contemporary manufacturing methods match the quality of a hand finish. Anyone remember French Polishing? Built up layer by layer, it is about the best "natural" finish you can get. It works for trans and solid finishes too. "Literally, hundreds of passes all over the surface of the wood will be required to complete this step. When this objective is reached, take a break and wait a few hours to allow the shellac to dry thoroughly. You're going to need to repeat this entire process 6-8 times to achieve the desired finish." French polished guitars There is a lot of effort spent in the prep between coats with high quality spraying too. You could take short cuts but it would be a shame not to give the underlying instrument the best finish you can achieve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 These are looking really good, Christine. What I love about a well applied clear coat is how it makes the underlying detail and form project out to the eye. Just look at those headstocks! And the quality of the top carves. It's a great looking spray job, but what that is illuminating is the quality of the build underneath. Top drawer stuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, SpondonBassed said: Yes. The effort is not wasted however. Despite automated spray booths and chemically curing finishes, I have yet to see a product of contemporary manufacturing methods match the quality of a hand finish. Anyone remember French Polishing? Built up layer by layer, it is about the best "natural" finish you can get. It works for trans and solid finishes too. "Literally, hundreds of passes all over the surface of the wood will be required to complete this step. When this objective is reached, take a break and wait a few hours to allow the shellac to dry thoroughly. You're going to need to repeat this entire process 6-8 times to achieve the desired finish." French polished guitars I can french polish and it takes days to get a nice lustrous finish which is the problem with that finishing technique, because of this people don't do it as much now because it's very hard to earn any money doing it and the price you have to charge to make money most customers won't pay it! , I priced up to refinish/French polish a mahogany table top quite a few years ago, but because of the length of time it took to do it, it worked out I earnt under a £5 an hour so I didn't really bother doing it any more....... Edited August 8, 2018 by Jimothey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 I love French polish/ing it is the most beautiful finish of them all without doubt in my mind, they way it's applied ensures that tactile feel that only it has. A good oil finish comes a very close second too but that is or can be an even longer process, depending on how durable it needs to be. The thing I like about nitrocellulose other than its silky smooth feeling is it is very forgiving and can be repaired quite easily as well as almost worry free sanding. Which as it happens is just as well as my "wonderful" spray gun has just spat out a splurt of lumps over one of my tops despite a serious cleaning last night and a gun full of thinners through it this morning. Well that slows down the day, I'll have to wait for that to well and truly harden off before trying to cut them down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 Back in the workshop on my phone. Turns out the splurt was water not congealed nitro, it has evaporated away leaving next to no damage so an easy fix in the end. I’m feeling better now that was quite upsetting but I’ve learned something so that’s good! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Christine said: my "wonderful" spray gun has just spat out a splurt of lumps You have a way with words. 8 minutes ago, Christine said: Back in the workshop on my phone. Turns out the splurt was water not congealed nitro, it has evaporated away leaving next to no damage so an easy fix in the end. I’m feeling better now that was quite upsetting but I’ve learned something so that’s good! Very glad it wasn't a malevolent splurt. They're the pits. Edited August 8, 2018 by SpondonBassed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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