Rooks RCA-4!!!

[rook]

Hi everybody!

Been lurking for a while and seeing some of the amazing instruments you all have been building. It's inspired me to do a build of my own!

I've learned a lot from these forums, so I thought I'd start a diary of my own. Hopefully others can learn from my (impending) mistakes.

I'm doing the RCA-4 Electric Bass Guitar Kit. Here are picks from the mock build.

[Sonic Mountain]

Nice- bit of a run of Rick basses on at the moment. What's the plan?

[Andyxlh]

Looking good! I did one of these last year, it is a nice bass but unfortunately coincided with me stopping playing bass and taking up guitar full time!
Just check out the neck tilt, my kit didn't have quite enough which made it hard to lower the bridge enough.

[rook]

Nice- bit of a run of Rick basses on at the moment. What's the plan?

@SonicMountain Yeah, there has been quite a few. Which is good for me, it's helped me figure out what I'll do!

Aiming for a walnut stain with wood dyes. Not sure about the finish. My last project I finished with TruOil and it looked great, but didn't have quite the gloss I hoped for even after 30+ coats.

[rook]

Looking good! I did one of these last year, it is a nice bass but unfortunately coincided with me stopping playing bass and taking up guitar full time!
Just check out the neck tilt, my kit didn't have quite enough which made it hard to lower the bridge enough.

Thanks for the tip! Based on some of the other builds on this forum that upgraded their bridge it seems like a neck shim is in my future.
I'm planning on a rick-style bridge. So it seems I'll be needing a pretty thick shim to compensate for the height. Kind of nervous about that part to be honest!

[rook]

SANDING!!!

Did some sanding to the front and back today. The wood is starting to look really nice! I went to 220, but will likely go a little finer - 320 or 400 - before I stain. I also smoothed out some of the edges on the back for a belly cut. Used 60 grit and 80 grit to shape, then 220 grit to smooth.

I tried to keep the boundaries the same as I have seen on real rick's, but I couldn't get the same cool angular a cut. I tried, but it was looking kinda wonky.

I aborted mission and decided to go with a rounded edge instead. Not quite authentic, but it feels pretty comfortable on my ribs and knee so I am happy with it. (The pictures below makes it look like I barely rounded the edge, but in reality it's about as rounded as the back of my fender jaguar bass.)

Pencil marks to mark the sanding area TOP:


And sanded TOP:


Pencil marks to mark the sanding area BOTTOM:


And sanded BOTTOM:


I had a tough time getting a nice looking curve with my block sander, but found using my girlfriend's nail sander wrapped in 220 grit was great for getting a nice uniform edge:

[Fretworn]

Great job Rook. Might just ask you to edit the language, there are some kids involved with builds here and we try to keep it family friendly.

[FrankenWashie]

"Did some sanding to the front and back today. The wood is starting to look really nice! I went to 220, but will likely go a little finer - 320 or 400 - before I stain. I also smoothed out some of the edges on the back for a belly cut. Used 60 grit and 80 grit to shape, then 220 grit to smooth."

Careful going much higher than 320, it can cause issues with stain penetration as the wood surface gets too "polished" and the stain won't take. 240-320 should be fine for it, again depending on stain type.
Have you checked for glue spots etc? These can be problematic as they will repel stain and stick out like a dog's whatsits. If you find these you can usually get them out with a product called Goof Off and a small clean manual wire brush.

[Brendan]

Looking great - BTW - your girlfriend's nail block can be great for getting a nice polish on some surfaces (especially CA glue) - the grits seem to be just right.

[rook]

Great job Rook. Might just ask you to edit the language, there are some kids involved with builds here and we try to keep it family friendly.

I apologize. I'll keep it PG from now on.