Bass build.

WezV

I would go for a standard white plate as it will look stunning.  

Also, be careful wetsanding on a stain... I wouldn’t do it.  if you sand through you can’t reapply stain as the oil will block it.

try on scrap first 

Bridgehouse

TTony said:

Bridgehouse said:

GSPBASSES said:

I do indeed make semi acoustic basses along the same construction lines as an F hole Tele.

PM'd you.

Bugger off and do your buying on your own thread.

Potential new M&M thread in the negotiating stage

TTony

WezV said:

I would go for a standard white plate as it will look stunning.  

Also, be careful wetsanding on a stain... I wouldn’t do it.  if you sand through you can’t reapply stain as the oil will block it.

try on scrap first 

Hmmmm - maybe a small white plate.  Maybe.

And thanks for the warning.  I'll try the wet sanding on the scrap piece first.

AustrianJohn

TTony said:

So I'm currently having a bit of a rethink, and trying to decide just how brave I want to be. 

1. The easy, but aesthetically unpleasing, option is to put a standard-ish scratch plate on it.
2. The still easy, and less unpleasing, option is to cut down a standard plate to cover the p'up & control cavities
3. The still easy, as above, but make the custom scratch plate out of some more interesting material
4. The less easy, but more pleasing, option is to make some p'up surrounds and go back to planA for the control cover

5. Get a nice piece of wood as a top, or to make a wooden scratchplate (perhaps this is option 3.5).

Perhaps something like this...

Bridgehouse

AustrianJohn said:

TTony said:

So I'm currently having a bit of a rethink, and trying to decide just how brave I want to be. 

1. The easy, but aesthetically unpleasing, option is to put a standard-ish scratch plate on it.
2. The still easy, and less unpleasing, option is to cut down a standard plate to cover the p'up & control cavities
3. The still easy, as above, but make the custom scratch plate out of some more interesting material
4. The less easy, but more pleasing, option is to make some p'up surrounds and go back to planA for the control cover

5. Get a nice piece of wood as a top, or to make a wooden scratchplate (perhaps this is option 3.5).

Perhaps something like this...

One of your knobs has fallen off!!!


(I really like that idea BtW)

WezV

If you must see the wood, how about a clear or translucent perspex guard?  

TTony

Yup, I've got some 2mm perspex.  

Also considering aluminium as a combined pickup ring / control cavity cover.  It'd be two pieces though.

Bridgehouse

Frankenbass?

TTony

TTony said:

WezV said:

Also, be careful wetsanding on a stain... I wouldn’t do it.  if you sand through you can’t reapply stain as the oil will block it.

And thanks for the warning.  I'll try the wet sanding on the scrap piece first.

Emboldened by the successful trial on a piece of scrap ... I probably went at the body a little too enthusiastically.

Run down and start again.

Bridgehouse

Ooooops.

Watching with interest. The semi-P will be stained I think. Must start a new thread on that.

Andyjr1515

Not suggesting you do this, Tony, but I've started to use a very gentle slurry and buff approach with stained wood as well as unstained wood. 

I give it a sealing coat of oil and let that properly dry, then I use something like 400 grit wet and dry, wettened with plenty of oil.  I go very carefully so that I don't create a wood coloured patch anywhere and then wipe off - again very gently .  I repeat this a few times to the point where it will take a medium buffing without breaking through.

I think I described this on a thread last year...I'll see if I can find it.  I've started using this as the base preparation for gloss finishes, like this one:


Or just left buffed for such as necks or this one you might remember:


To my surprise, the necks done this way don't seem to leach the stain onto the players hands so they are stained but still feel silky smooth as you describe above.

If you do try it, again do it on scrap first.  And even then go gently....

TTony

Cheers @Andyjr1515 .

If you don't try something new, you never learn anything new.


Did I read "Ronseal" on one of your other build threads?  Is that what you use for the glossy gloss finish?

Andyjr1515

TTony said:

Cheers @Andyjr1515 .

If you don't try something new, you never learn anything new.


Did I read "Ronseal" on one of your other build threads?  Is that what you use for the glossy gloss finish?

It is - Ronseal Hardglaze ... the sort of original 'standard' poyurethane varnish.  I say sort of because they've changed the formulation recently to reduce some of the volatiles and it is just a touch more troublesome than it used to be...

TTony

Andyjr1515 said:

 it is just a touch more troublesome than it used to be...

That's progress for you

TTony

TTony said:

TTony said:

WezV said:

Also, be careful wetsanding on a stain... I wouldn’t do it.  if you sand through you can’t reapply stain as the oil will block it.

And thanks for the warning.  I'll try the wet sanding on the scrap piece first.

Emboldened by the successful trial on a piece of scrap ... I probably went at the body a little too enthusiastically.

Run down and start again.

And now I'm back where I was a couple of days ago, only this time I've used one of the Liberon finishing oils rather than Eze-Oil.

It's starting to build up quite a nice shine.


When my Liberon 0000 wire wool arrives (to replace the no-name 0000 wire wool that I've been using), I'm going to try a very light sand just to flatten off the oil coats a bit, and then build up the shine with oil & buffing.

No more wet sanding on this one.

Probably.

TTony

Liberon 0000 wire wool is a lot softer/finer than my "superfine" eBay bargain wool.

So, back to the (gentle) wet sanding, and everything seems to be going well.

TTony

Still undecided what to do re the scratchplate.

I'm decided that there won't be a standard all-over-the-body scratchplate. 

• I might make  a cut down version from some white pearl scratchplate material
• I might press ahead with the pickup rings idea and do a separate control cavity cover
• I might use a piece of bi-colour Ash that I just found to make a (cut down) scratchplate and stain it.

GSPBASSES

I know what you're saying, that you don't like covering up pretty wood with a scratch plate. But that bass is just crying out for a a full matt black scratch plate. 

Bridgehouse

GSPBASSES said:

I know what you're saying, that you don't like covering up pretty wood with a scratch plate. But that bass is just crying out for a a full matt black scratch plate. 

Listen to the wise sage oracle @TTony...

WezV

Bridgehouse said:

GSPBASSES said:

I know what you're saying, that you don't like covering up pretty wood with a scratch plate. But that bass is just crying out for a a full matt black scratch plate. 

Listen to the wise sage oracle @TTony...

What they said!