Jb4-m

I'm sure I'll be fixed up right... anything would be an improvement... More importantly I rasped a chunk of flesh out of my left index finger tip. Now healed up and back on the guitars again!

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And finally for today, some bone for tone. Thanks DB!

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sounds like you have been in the wars Ponch ! I try and use a glove or a piece of rag when holding the rough end of the rasp, they can be nasty !
the DB bone nut looks good. I recently upgraded to a DB bone nut on my PBH-4 and it plays much better, just need to tweak the nut height a bit lower.

Best wishes on the health!
& thanks for the heads up on those machine heads, look promising.

Hope they get you sorted out ASAP, Andrew.

I'm a bit surprised with that nut. The bottom E string cut-out isn't at least half the depth of the string, so you may have issues with it popping out. You aren't going to be bending bass strings like you'd bend guitar strings, but even so, some people really pluck/pull their bass strings pretty hard.

So all done with the neck. All in all it had about 10 thin coats of Tru-oil. Knocked back with super fine steel wool every 2-3 coats. Then a wet sanding with 2000 grit at approx 10 coats and two 50/50 turps/tru oil wipe overs. 2 days curing and finally a going over with Meguiars compound and polish.

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Hi Ponch, very slick and shiny and really highlights the grain. Well done.

No now onto the neck hardware. Note this bass will have no decal, it's going with a no name tele I built a while back.

Here's how I get the machine head bushings in

Tools:
Candle wax
Clamp
Sanding block
A bit of 80 grit paper

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First clean out the machine head holes to remove excess finish. I use the sandpaper rolled into a cone, put it into the hole and let it open out naturally to fill the hole. Then a few gentle turns to remove excess finish

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Next lube up the bushing with some candle wax or soap

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Now the trickier bit. It's easier with two pairs of hands.

Push the ferrule into the headstock by hand. Sanding block on the back of the headstock and attach the clamp tight enough so it all holds I'm place

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Then ever so slightly tighten the clamp. The ferrule should push in. Keep an eye on the angle of entry and loosen the clamp / realign if required

Tada, it should go in easy

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Rinse and repeat four times.

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So onto attaching the machine heads. Tools required

Set square
Hole punch
Suitable screwdriver
Lube for screws, I use candlewax
Drill and bit (I used 1.5mm bit)
Masking tape
A relatively good eye...


First I place a machine head into hole near the neck. Then use the square to align. Note one good thing to check when your preparing/shaping the headstock is that the top is completely square

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Then carefully hole punch the screw holes. And extra pair of hands is a help..

Repeat for other holes

Then take your drill bit and use the masking tape as a depth gauge for screw depth. Drill all holes carefully. If your to enthusiastic you may end up going through the headstock... a pain to fix

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Lube up screws and attach. In this case the holes for machine heads are a bit out of whack but it's passable

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Next the hackers guide to straightening the neck without a notched ruler after which the frets will be levelled

Why in this order, it's just to hot and humid to finish the body

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