Black Dog P Bass - First build

[VoxMechanica]

It has arrived! PB4 - Ash body with Maple neck.
There will be several modifications along the way. I opted for the ToneRider pickups and a bone nut in the kit. I have selected Dingotone Nullarbor Ochre for the body and Acacia for the neck, my colour sense (?) is not good at the best of times, so let's see how it goes!
As for the electronics - a good friend is a PhD Electronics Engineer, I have already told him that the soldering work has his name on it, so let's see what turns up!

I am thinking of a rather special neck plate design based on the logo for the Black Dog Institute (www.blackdoginstitute.org.au). The Black Dog copyright notes allow the use of their materials for personal use, with acknowledgement, so I hope that this does not contravene their rules. I intend to get an outline facsimile of the logo engraved on the neck plate - stay tuned!

[Simon Barden]

All the best with your build and that's a good institution to support.

[Brendan]

Tone Rider P Bass pickups - great choice! Love mine...
Bone Nut - good upgrade.

Nullarbor Ochre and Acacia should be fine - and really it comes down to what you want in a guitar - that's why we build what we want .

[FrankenWashie]

Totally get it with the logo for the neck plate, good on you. Sounds like a cracking low ender on the way!

[VoxMechanica]

Greeting Wise Ones.
It seems I have a filling requirement, maybe? The project is a PB4 with Ash Body. The body timber is beautifully figured and the 'planks' all line up really well with no visible glue or filler so the Dingotone Nullarbor Ochre should be stunning! Started to sand the back (hand - P100) and a sort of de-lamination of the wood appeared, about 0.011m/m deep (pic #1). After a couple of hours sanding I have managed to chase the de-lamination along the body (pic #2) but this could go on for a lot longer! Already there is hand-sized hollow, not deep, but it's there. I will finish with Dingotone, so unlike a high gloss paint job the hollow shouldn't be too offensive.

Do I continue? Or do I stop now and fill? If I fill, what do I use?

[Simon Barden]

You really need to grain fill Ash anyway, as it's an open pore wood. But it seems to me that there's a sizeable split in the wood, and simple filling isn't going to be the answer as it needs glueing down. The trouble with glueing is that if you get any on the surface, then the glue needs to be removed otherwise the stain won't take in that area.

I haven't done anything similar , so am not the best person to give guidance here (I've seen YouTube videos of similar things, but there's nothing like having done it yourself), but I'd suggest using some PVA (or red-label Titebond) glue to glue up the crack. You need a glue that's water soluble.

First wet the crack area and get water down into the crack. Open the crack up with a thin blade if you can. The water will help thin the PVA and get it into the crack.

Then carefully push PVA glue into the crack - a small artists paintbrush is recommended. Wet the area again and repeat. Push the crack closed, to squeeze out excess glue. You then need to use a wet lint-free rag and dab/wipe as much of the glue off the surface as you can (making sure not to simply spread the glue out over a larger area). Then I'd cover the area with some cling-film or a bit of a plastic bag that the glue won't stick to well, then using a small wood block either side of the body, clamp the crack tight.

Leave overnight, then unclamp and I'd then let dry for a bit longer. Hopefully the crack should have gone. The water will have raised some grain, so I'd sand the general area again, maybe try and remove the local dishing. This should help remove any glue on the surface but there still may be some resudue, so I'd so a wetting check with metho or turps. If this shows any glue spots, you can either try a bit more sanding or else use some Goof-Off.

I'd use a neutral grain filler (I'd suggest Timbermate) just on the crack area first (you'll only need a very small amount), then let that dry and sand back flat. I'd then use a darker grain filler over all the body to give it a level surface and highlight the grain pattern. Timbermate is water-based, so you can use a water-based dye to colour the a neutral grain filler, or you can simply buy a tin of neutral and stained Timbermate if you don't want to mess about.

I'm suggesting using the neutral timbermate on the crack area as it will help prevent the darker Timbermate from highlighting the crack, but I'd still try and avoid putting darker timbermate on the crack itself.

When applying the Timbermate, you really need to push it into the wood pores whilst scraping it off the surface to leave as thin a later as possible to be sanded back to wood (you only want the grain filler to fill the pores, not cover the surface). An old credit card is often mentioned for this task, but you can also buy rubber-edged spreaders, which are probably slightly better, having a bit more 'give'.

I'm not saying that the above is the best solution, but I think it's a reasonable one. If there are any flaws, then hopefully others will point them out.

[VoxMechanica]

Thanks Simon. Off to the hardware shop for PVA & Timbermate.

[wazkelly]

Be careful with glueing as DT does not like any at all and you could find it hard to take stain on glued sections. If it must be glued try getting some of your stain mixed in with the glue so that when it dries at least you have trapped a bit of the intended stain colour in the repair. Always test things out on scrap timber first and allow plenty of curing time as funky things can happen as they dry out.

[VoxMechanica]

Hello Fellow Kitters,
Will a clear lacquer work over a Dingotone finish? Reason for query - I realised that the headstock decals would not work on an oil finish but I now see that the instructions require a lacquer and not bare wood. So..if I D/T the whole headstock and then apply a lacquer for the decal, will it work?
Sorry if this sounds garbled, but I know what I mean.

[wokkaboy]

Hi Vox, should be ok, I'd recommend you get some scrap wood, apply some DT on that and do a test spray with the lacquer to make sure there is no reaction