T1 bass body

Barry wrote:Oooo, I'm liking it already.

Nipples getting hard in anticipation.

TMI, Barry..... T.... M.... I....

Westbone wrote:Sorry grogg but I prefer the grain on the back. The front looks like different pieces of timber which I thought you were trying to get away from.
Like the way you did it keeping the centre.

Me too for the back, but the veneers I had werent wide enough, only had about 1mm of margin on fitting this.
The front isnt different pieces but its what I think is a natural flame statement, might not work but hey ho.

What is tmi?

Too Much Info..... :bball:

Looking good, great work,,, I actually like the wood grain more and more....

Ah thank you.
Finished staining this am, will post pics, when more sober.
Went to game and what can I say but bloody brilliant.

Well done Wales

Heres red and light brown plus sanding.

And dark brown (mahogany) on the edges.



What do you guys think? I like it but it is dark on the edges and a bit more burst perhaps or just go with it and varnish?

Looks good.... with the middle stripe, a burst may look a little busy? Nice colour...

corsair wrote:Looks good.... with the middle stripe, a burst may look a little busy? Nice colour...

What Johnny said.

It does have a slight burst of the red but think I might stop fiddling with it now and get on with it.

Anyone got a spare neck?

Looks a lot better with the stain.
A slight fade in to hide the veneer edge as you've done looks good.
Fender necks fit.

Makes me want to finish the Thunder I started last year, just too busy at the moment.

Ta,
Will have a look at Fender copies or just hang around until something shows.

Have been thinking about replacing the black plastic (pups and rear cover) with machined brass.

grogg wrote:...Have been thinking about replacing the black plastic (pups and rear cover) with machined brass.

Have a look here and saver yerself some grief: LINK
I bought a set of the chrome ones and they're first rate.

grogg wrote:It does have a slight burst of the red but think I might stop fiddling with it now and get on with it.

Anyone got a spare neck?

Try the pawn shop maybe? I was up at one this weekend (ever heard of "Hardcore Pawn"? It was that one) and they had a handful of instruments you could pick from for $35. Couple basses in that pile.

Evilvog, wrong part of the planet for me.
Couple of coats of varnish, the grain hasnt lifted as much as I thought.

Barry wrote:Have a look here and saver yerself some grief: LINK
I bought a set of the chrome ones and they're first rate.

Ta Barry,
These guys look good but I meant these bits:-

grogg wrote:Couple of coats of varnish, the grain hasnt lifted as much as I thought.

Depends what angle its looked at, comes to life with lighting and at a different angle but my photo skills not up to it.

This shot also shows a bit where I made a mistake on the stain.

They don't have pawn shops there?

Oh yes, pawn shops and gold recovery are the boom business areas here it seems.

grogg wrote:Ta Barry,
These guys look good but I meant these bits...

Oops, sorry. Wrong instrument altogether!
She's looking beautiful! Lots of life in that grain now.

I like it; less is more!

lol well i didn't mean go to my pawn shop Just meant check yours, maybe like mine they have some with damage, or nonworking electronics you can buy cheap that you can use the neck off of.

looking good, i was skeptical of the red at first but those last couple of pictures look great.

Wish i had a mill in my garage.

Thanks guys, I think its looking nice, trouble is when youre the guy doing it your eye is drawn to hiccups whereas most wouldnt notice.

corsair wrote:I like it; less is more!

That was good advice John.

EvilVOG wrote:Wish i had a mill in my garage.

Wish I had a garage, even the Mrs said "you need a workshop". Half the battle done there then.

Nice job grogg but still prefare the back, just do.

Lovely Grogg, just lovely!!

Great work!.....

I would still give it a small burst to camouflage the demarcations a bit....

Heres some shots when I thought Id finished lacquering but before polishing. Weather was lovely last weekend, still is.




Then I used polishing compound but it went into the open grain bits of the ash and I couldnt get it out, also managed to ding it and rub through on a corner. Apart from that it looked really nice.

So today was reconciliation time, instead of setting fire to the thing have sanded down, touched up stain and lacquered again. Must say its looking better than the first run, it was in my stars to do this apparently. No photos of this yet.

Forgot to mention for the polish, instead of a liquid compound, will be using 2000 grit paper. I thought 1200 was fine but have been exposed to a new world, a colleague has 12000 grit, yes an extra 0.

A bit of direct sunlight always sets things right. I think I'm in love...

Gorgeous gooey caramel. Why, you've got a Cadbury on your hands, grogg!!

Great job so far, looking great in that sunlight! Nice and deep looking grain.

Been toying with this idea today..

dooooooo eeeet.

What?? Couldn't track down the piece they cut out of the blank initially, eh?

Sloppy grogg, really a cut-rate job now...

I know, better next time. Who they?
The thing I like is the way the shades/colours change with the angle its looked at. Anyways, still need a neck.

Nonetheless grogg we'll leave it with the following...


B
E
A
YOU
T
FULL

Grogg

Add a little burst before you put on a final coat of lacquer. You know that in your heart of hearts you really want to!!

Hoax

Thanks guys, time to move on now. Ive really enjoyed the learning from mucking about with this. Will post some pics when its assembled, could be some time.

Ok, did a swap with Westbone (prestige case for a loaded neck)


and thought I would stain the top veneer of the headstock to match the body.

After stripping, sanding and staining it all I did a really stupid thing. Put the water transfer logo on without sealing the stain (Hoax thanks for the artworks). Of course this made the stain run and look like merde. So I washed the surface to even out, put some stain back on to try and recover the situation but of course you cant get back to where you were.
So heres a couple photos of where it ended up so far, depends on angle of looking and light but in reality it is paler and either pinker or browner.



Also lost the feathering I did around the edges. So am I just being really picky and thinking I should sand it back to wood and start again (might have to replace the veneer which is putting me off a lot) or is it looking ok?

Would welcome your thoughts.

poop just noticed the bubbles under the transfer, off it comes then

I didnt say poop I said sheet

Grogg

Not only does the transfer need sealed, but so does the wood. Before you apply the transfer, the wood needs to receive a couple of coats of lacquer to seal it. I don't know if you did that, but it might explain the bubbles.

Hoax

I did that on this version, what about the shades?

You also need to make sure that the stain and wood is fully dry.
Leave it in a nice warm room for a good few days.
The moisture is deep within the grain, hence bubbles.

As nice as it's coming together grogg still gotta say it still looks like a timber joint on the front lower.
Which is what you complained about in the first place. Sorry mate just my humble opinion.

Headstock looks a little light but if you can still stain it down a bit after it is lacquered. Just lightly rub some stain on, let it dry and apply more lacquer.

A very light rub though as the new stain will tend to dissolve the existing lacquer.

Hoax

Westbone wrote:As nice as it's coming together grogg still gotta say it still looks like a timber joint on the front lower.
Which is what you complained about in the first place. Sorry mate just my humble opinion.

I know, agreed, live and learn eh?

hoax wrote:
Headstock looks a little light but if you can still stain it down a bit after it is lacquered. Just lightly rub some stain on, let it dry and apply more lacquer.

A very light rub though as the new stain will tend to dissolve the existing lacquer.

Hoax

The stains Im using are water based, you think thay will eat the lacquer? If so may get the bubbles out otherwise its aluminium oxide time.

I do not think water based will eat the lacquer, only spirit based. If it the lacquer is dry, give it a little rub. Use a pin and prick your bubbles.

Hoax

It needs to be fully dry before applying lacquer.
Considering you only got it(neck) on Friday. The water based stain has not dried out fully.

Water based stain on top of lacquer will not take at all.

ok, ta.

Westbone wrote:It needs to be fully dry before applying lacquer.
Considering you only got it(neck) on Friday. The water based stain has not dried out fully.

Water based stain on top of lacquer will not take at all.

I haven't tried this with stain but I can tell you that water based lacquer will take to a previously lacquered finish.

If it doesn't work then just give it a little rub with some spirit based stain. You will have some lying around the garage or shed. Everyone does!

Hoax

I think it needs a maple fretless board with walnut block inlays