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Ok on to #3... I am already halfway with this build but has a few hiccups and thought I should share the pain and progress. This kit did not have the best grain given 3-4 pieces making up the body so I decided to go dark.. Attachment 20125Attachment 20126Attachment 20127Attachment 20128
So the grain is all over the place and the routing for the pots was very sloppy on bottom side.. but I can fix that...so I did mock build everything fits pretty good. So on to sanding.. found lots of glue at every glue joint so goof off and wire brush and more sanding. Found a couple really low spots on bottom edge so out came the file and more sanding..Also didn't like how pointy the top horn was so made it a little more rounded.
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Then on to grain filling. I used the ebony timbermate like on my pbh-4 and then sanded back.. Decided to go for this type of look with a dark amber neck and dark gray black finish...Attachment 20135Attachment 20136Attachment 20137Attachment 20138Attachment 20139
Then on to the stain....Attachment 20140Attachment 20141
Now to sand back to get the look I want...Attachment 20143Attachment 20144
Not looking to bad..
Now glue on ash veneer to headstock and stain to match....Attachment 20146Attachment 20147
Then Stain neck...Attachment 20149 Attachment 20151
I am gonna rub down neck with some steel wool to lighten a little but getting late and just snapped a couple of pics.
Now on to making the back control cover recessed. And cleaning up the bottom of cavity where pots mount..Attachment 20152
And then...... when you are tired and it's 11 pm and you know you should go to bed but you can't seem to put the tools down... I decided to just make the bottom all the same level.. so I set depth on router and start to work...loud noise lot's of inappropriate words and I realized I forgot that I was working on a carved body not a flat top..
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Scratched my head threw some tools and decided it was time to go to bed..
Emailed Adam at pitbull and was checking on new body..just gotta say he is great always quick to reply and help out.. first class man.. he has a spare body.. yeah... but then I remember I ordered this in 30" short scale so I measure and the pickup routs too far back I wouldn't be able to get bridge in proper position.. so now order another and wait and wait and wait.. I don't like Waiting... uggg..
so I am spraying another coat of clear on my PBh-4 kit and I get an idea.. what if I inlay a plate over the control cavity with maple stained to match the neck and then make pickup covers out of wood and stain to match maybe I can pull off a design to cover up my major screw up.. so on to the wood shop..
I find a couple pieces of maple 1/8" thick and it even has some flame figure.. now to make it work.. I make a paper mock up and get the shape right.. then cut out the maple and sand into perfect shape.. now I have to rout the cavity on the top. Which ordinary would be a tense moment but not for me I could do much worse... lol.. make it a little small and then hand chisel and sand to get as tight as fit as possible. The rounded body does not make His routing job very easy..but so far so good. Fits nice and I sand and stain it to see what it will look like.. tell me what you think and be honest please.. I think maybe when I get the pickup covers made it will tie it all together..
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Yep, that horrid feeling when you hear the router bit break though......bad words at varying volumes.
You could always mount another maple insert and call them accent pieces? If your pup covers are going to match that fill in, then I don't think it will look untoward, especially once you get the controls on it.
It's a pity you'd already done the veneer on the HS, as you could have also matched that to the fill piece.
I ended up overcoming the same issue on my FrankenWashie rebuild by filling in with acrylic resin (way messier), you've created a very tidy solution so perhaps just see how it pans out. If, down the track, it bugs you too much you can always replace the body.
I have never worked with the resin before but I should have posted on here and asked for ideas. I hope it will look ok but a new body is not that much money I just didn't want to wait for 2 months to get it to the USA.. I need to check out the frankenwashie and see the repair so I k is for next time I loose my mind..
The other fill repair I have heard of guys doing is the mouldable epoxy putty stuff.
I think once you get all the component parts in place the insert will serve as an accent feature, and it's a good yarn if people ask about it any how, as you've saved what some would have immediately binned.
Oh man... Hopefully you'll find a way to repair this and still love the body.
bummer DD, I think the fix you have will work. Maybe stain it darker similar to rest of the body so the control 'plate' blends in more.
The grain is looking amazing you popped the ash really nicely.
Hopefully lesson learnt. No need to level off the control cavity as it won't be seen.
Nice recovery.
Shame about the cavity dd but looking good. That fan fret ibanez's style is what i had in mind for next build and you are hitting it out of the park
Geez man, that's sad eh. I feel for you. That's one trait that building guitars gives you, how to move on from such mistakes and still make an awesome build. nice save
Well I got the battery box routed out and lightened up the color a little and started the first coat of tru oil.
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Nicely done sir!
The more I look at it the more i like the patch DD, nice clean battery box rout too. Once some controls go on it'll look like it was meant to be there!Quote:
Originally Posted by Drummerdude
Ok so I got three coats of Tru Oil and it's looking pretty good I think. The tru oil really brings out the brown wood grain and I think it helps tie in my patch job control panel.Attachment 20231Attachment 20232
Nice gloss already!
Geez, bummer with the router oops moment.
Have to agree with Woks that a darker shade on the control plate would help things blend unless of course you want it to stand out as a feature? Are you doing a matching one for the back instead of using the plastic one?
I think I am going to leave the black plastic one on the back since the battery box is the same.. I am making pickup covers out of the same material as the front cover and I made a truss rod cover to match. I hope it all ties together. Not original plan but you know how it goes the kits seem to always have a plan of their own.. I will be ordering another kit soon and I will just have another body made in case I don't care for it..
Ok well I am getting there.. I have about 10 coats of Tru Oil and I think I am going for at least that many more to fill a little more of the grain before I start finish sanding and waxing.. but when I get the pickup covers done and it all put together I think it may work out.and if not then new body..
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I'm sure it will work out ;) That TRC is superb!
Thanks Kick... I needed something else to tie in the other wood and color..
Well, it works beautifully ;)
Just catching up - real shame about the break-through. Can I just ask if, when positioning the battery box, that you've checked that the bridge fixing screws won't be going through the box, or right at the edge of it? The bridge ground wire hole looks to be fairly forward of it, so hopefully it's fine.
Yeah thanks for the heads up Simon.. this is a 30" short scale so the bridge is right behind the back pickup rout.. actually the ground wire hole is about where the mounting screws for the bridge go.. I have masked off the specs from the bridge to check and that was about the only place I could put it. I am using a Sandberg bass bridge..
The furthe down the finish path you go, the more that cover looks like it belongs. If you have similarly finished pups then it's going to be sweet.
Well I did a little work on the ib-5. I still have to make the pickup covers and I have to wait for the the hand wound pickups I ordered from a guy in France.. I think when they are stained the brown and finished it will tie it all together.
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looks great DD. So is your plan to put pickup covers and stain it the same as the control cover ? think it should look excellent. What is the bridge looks pretty flash ?
Wow, nice IB, love the control plate concept, very cool
Yeah, just like I said, get the controls on it and it looks like a design feature. Like you say, the PUp covers go on and it will all match up. Great save man.
Looking very good DD!
Yeah Wokka, I am making pickup covers out of the same flames maple and will stain the brown to match.. the bridge is from Sanderg, it is a company from the U.K. The make some pretty nice basses sold mostly in Europe. I saw this bridge on E bay and liked the design.Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
Thanks Andy, Franken, and Kick.. I hope to get this one wrapped up this month.