Bobs JB-5RF build, son's graduation present!

First build, and 82days to get her done! Wish me luck

Very excited about the project! No real experience in woodworking, but patient and look forward to learning. Here is the plan and idea for the project:
- yes, it's a fret less Fender JB look that I plan to paint pelham blue of Gibson fame, and add a thru body bridge. Besides that I don't foresee anything unusual. All the parts appear to be included.

The body arrived with a DING in the top, about 20mm long and 4-7mm deep. It seems too deep to sand out, but it may end up behind the bridge.

Reading the quick-start guide now. I'll be back.

Welcome, and good luck with the build. 82 days, tell us more.

Regarding the 'ding' I don't suppose it's the hole for the bridge ground wire is it? Post some photos of it so we can take a look and see what's what.

Bob - welcome along - as Scott has said, post some photos - it may be supposed to be that way - or there might be an easy way to fix it.

See the image below - the big black mark behind the bridge pickup is an intentional hole for a grounding wire to go from the control panel to the bridge.

https://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-co.../05/JB-509.jpg

Hey Bob, Great kit. keep us posted

Hi Bob, welcome and look forward to seeing how your build comes together.

82 days sounds like plenty of time, just under 12 weeks. Only thing that might slow you down is curing time required between coats of finish.

Where is your Son graduating as mid calendar year makes me think Northern Hemisphere and most likely USA? Weather conditions should therefore be improving as you head into spring if my assumption is correct.

Cheers, Waz

Hi Bob. Yes Brendan has almost certainly got the right cause for the 'gash'. The connecting hole is drilled with a very long drill bit at a very shallow angle, which is why you get that long elliptical mark. Sometimes they drill the bridge ground-wire hole into the bridge pickup cavity rather than the control cavity, which results in a smaller indent, but a slightly more awkward route for the ground wire, which might possibly interfere with the pickup fitting.

welcome Bob and good luck with it, go slow and enjoy

Wow......can't thank y'all enough to for ALL your great advice. Yup it was just the ground wire hole....didn't know I needed one of those. Building in Austin, Texas.

Starting with the neck. Since its fretless, and after reading a fair amount of reading, it seems pretty important to protect the fingerboard or it will wear very quickly. I am planning on using wipe on poly over the rosewood. The more coats the better protection, but can it cause a problem in playability? I was thinking like 3-5 coats?

Hi Bob welcome to the forum. Let each coat cure for at least a day so 3 to 4 coats should be enough.
After the final coat be worth getting a 12" radius block and sanding it flat. Worth waiting extra curing time

The poly finish is going to get worn over time, but it's simply a case of sanding it down occasionally and adding a few more coats.

I made it! Completed the final assembly 2 days before graduation.

Bottom line, I just LOVED the project, and can't wait to start another! This was particularly difficult since I had to work on it without my son knowing about it! If he was home, then I couldn't touch it and on many days it was really difficult to DO nothing. I installed a locking keyed door knob on my office door, so I could do the final assembly, soldering, testing, and polishing as needed. He was really BLOWN AWAY when I presented it to him in front of 25 family and friends. The next day he took it to his best friends house, who plays and has built a bass and a guitar and who I contemplated calling several times for help/advice.

I am sure I made EVERY mistake possible including a very small sand thru with 1500 grit paper finishing up the body. I figured I was done for at that point, but thanks to the nitrocellulose paint, I was able to recover....not without lots of, OMG what have I done now thinking. But in the end it's AWESOME. I know about every single imperfection, but no one else seems to notice.

A SUPER learning experience for sure! I discovered that working with an instrument like a bass guitar is about the perfect size of item to handle in a small garage. Wood is amazingly forgiving! I'm sure my finish is NOT up to REAL luthiers standards in ANY way, but I think Gibson, Fender, Martin, et all, could NEVER pour the amount of LOVE that I put into this project! So, my son got what I believe is possibly the ONLY Pelham Blue(known as a Gibson color, taken from the 1960 Cadillac), Fender Jazz bass shape, 5 string FRETLESS bass that I could find on the internet. A one of a kind bass for a one of a kind kid. Could not be prouder of him!

Now for the BIG question......what do build next?

Thanks for ALL your help and advice.....really appreciated!
I will post a couple pics if I can figure out how......

Congrats Bob make sure you post some pics of the completed project we are all wanting to see your hard work..

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Here is a pic of the entire bass and one of just the body. Not much of a photographer!

super nice! I bet he still has the grin on his face.

Awesome, that's a great story and a fantastic result Bob!

He's gotta be happy with that Bob, a wonderful JB!

Wonderful gift... Great job done Bob!

Smooth paint job.. great work.. I bet he was thrilled.. I'm sure you will be starting another build soon...

wow, great job Bob, it turned out great

Nice work, Bob. The paint colour is really good.

Great build Bob. Well done and good luck for the next one. And many congratulations on your son's graduation.

Thanks so much for your kind words and sorry for my poor pics. All-in-all, I just can't wait to start my next build! It will be something with a natural finish this time, maybe a LP style. I'm a bit partial, but have to say when lined up next to my son's Strat and Yamaha bass, my pitbull custom, look MUCH better. And, I have to thank Adam for his guidance in selecting the kit I purchased since I didn't know which would be best. I think the 5-string fretless is definitely something special. Thanks again.....back soon with my next project!