Black Dog P Bass - First build

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!

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

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 :).

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

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.:rolleyes:

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

I used clear acrylic from that place that must remain nameless over the DT on my Tuff Dog project, works just fine

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 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

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Thats a very good suggestion.

Im not sure I understood what VM is getting at, are you saying you want to stain it with DT, then put a lacquer coat over the DT then apply the decal?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andy40

Thats a very good suggestion.

Im not sure I understood what VM is getting at, are you saying you want to stain it with DT, then put a lacquer coat over the DT then apply the decal?

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Correct Andy. The decal instructions (Rothko & Frost) say it will not work on bare wood and a lacquer substrate is needed. So, Plan 'B' is to D/T the whole thing, clear lacquer over that and then apply the decal - with a top coat of lacquer, just as per the instructions.

sounds good Vox. Definitely worth a sealer coat or 2 over the decal at the end. Dave King thinks there should be no issues with clear acrylic and DT

I'd just give the DT quite a while to dry out first so that any oils in it have evaporated.

Simon's right at least a week (maybe a bit more) for the DT to cure, then spray the base coasts apply the decal, then top coats over the decal before wet sand polishing.

Thanks dave.king1! Is there an emoticon for a self inflicted smack on the head?:o

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Originally Posted by dingobass

Hey Mark,

The Bloodwood is really close to the vintage amber found on the old classics, Acacia is close to the bog standard yellow.

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The project is PB4-A (ash body) finished in Nullarbor Ochre with Acacia neck. I am attempting to emulate a '50s Precision Bass. I had assumed that Bloodwood would be a red finish, so went for Acacia. One stain coat has given me a very yellow colour :( Is there any way to get to the vintage amber, or would Bloodwood still do the trick? :confused:

Hey Vox, so you want to go from yellow to amber ? What DT stains have you got nullarbor ochore and acacia, I would try mixing some NB into the acacia and do a small test on some scrap wood and adjust the mix till you get a suitable amber colour.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wokkaboy

Hey Vox, so you want to go from yellow to amber ? What DT stains have you got nullarbor ochore and acacia, I would try mixing some NB into the acacia and do a small test on some scrap wood and adjust the mix till you get a suitable amber colour.

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Thanks Wokka!. Just gave it a try, probably 40/60 Ochre/Acacia. Sanded off a fair bit of the Acacia, but the wood had a distinctly yellow effect however, I'm getting closer to the amber that I would have preferred.

Must send a note to Adam suggesting pics of the DT neck finishes, instead of the bottles. Would make life easier for us artistically challenged peeps! :o

Hello Fellow Kitters,
The PB4 build continues apace.....I suppose the weather will improve and allow the DB Nullarbor Ochre to fully cure...eventually...
Question is, why did the early Fender P Bass have a thumb rest/rail positioned below the strings (looking from the playing position - see the picture 1959 P Bass)? Is it a thumb rest?
I would have thought the thumb rest would would be above the strings. Obviously I'm missing something here, but what is it?:confused:

It is a rest, but Leo Fender just got it wrong to start with. After all it was the first electric bass and the first bass with frets (hence the 'Precision' tag as players could hit the notes in tune with ease compared to a fretless) and thought that the strings would get plucked with the thumb, so the original rest is a finger rest, not a thumb one. But the bass players converting from upright basses played the strings with their fingers and so they themselves moved the rest to the E string side, but it took Fender until 1974 to move it above the E string on their production basses.

Ahhh.... Now I understand!
Thanks for the enlightenment Simon!

Time for a status update. Neck and bridge placement.
The neck is now properly located and the neck screws inserted - enough to hold it all together. The neck pocket needed a shim pack (0.75 m/m brass shim stock). I chose to place this on the E string side because that is by far the largest bearing surface. (It's logical to me anyway).:rolleyes:

The E and G string Gotoh tuners are clamped in, I'm still lacquering the headstock so I didn't want to fit the tuners yet.
The Dingobass bone nut is pushed in - the height adjustment comes later.

Builder's string in place so that I can set the bridge location with a high degree of accuracy. I had managed to obtain a Fender drawing of the 1950s & '60s P Bass body, showing all centre lines of the body itself and the various items of hardware, that was a big help. The bridge is a Fender High mass, I know that 'Leo got it right' but the engineer in me doesn't cope well with a bit of bent metal on what is otherwise a precise piece of gear.:p

Just had to share this!
As per my first post, where I was thinking of a rather special neck plate design based on the logo for the Black Dog Institute (www.blackdoginstitute.org.au). I intend to get an outline facsimile of the logo engraved on the neck plate - stay tuned!

Well, it's happened! I now have a 3-D engraved neckplate. Get the light just right and all the details of the hand show.

Not bad for $29 from Mister Minit and his amazing machinery!

That looks great!

Greetings all,
The build has progressed to the truss rod adjustment stage.
Question is, what size allen key to use. 3/16" isn't right but 4m/m feels right. Because it's dark in there I can't tell if the 4m/m key is right, or am I just burring the hex socket on the truss nut?

Hey Vox, the allen key should have come with the kit but pretty sure it's 4mm. The truss rods are dual action so should be able to turn it both ways. Try turning it the other way but don't force it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wokkaboy

Hey Vox, the allen key should have come with the kit but pretty sure it's 4mm. The truss rods are dual action so should be able to turn it both ways. Try turning it the other way but don't force it

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Thanks Wokka. Don't recall seeing a truss nut key in the kit (but I wasn't particularly looking). The 4m/m feels right but I though it best to ask first. I do remember reading Gavin1393's comment that a broken truss rod is not an afternoon's repair job!:(

no worries Vox, sounds like its tightened to the left or right. Hopefully once you loosen it a bit it should free up

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VoxMechanica

Thanks Wokka. Don't recall seeing a truss nut key in the kit (but I wasn't particularly looking). The 4m/m feels right but I though it best to ask first. I do remember reading Gavin1393's comment that a broken truss rod is not an afternoon's repair job!:(

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Normally in with the lead I seem to remember.....

Thanks Chrissy. I was never going to use the kit supplied lead (prefer a 'real' one) so I never got to open the plastic bag. :rolleyes:

4mm is a standard size, so most likely correct

Greetings Fellow Kitters.
The Black Dog Exactitude Bass was given a voice a couple of weeks ago, thanks to the soldering skills of my PhD Electronics Engineer friend. (He still has difficulty understanding why it has a relatively enormous 47pF paper-in-oil capacitor! :confused:).
The end result is a P-Bass of Doom! The sustain is amazing! Ash body with Maple fretboard, I had originally fitted a Fender High Mass bridge but had to replace it a Fender bridge (circa '58, with threaded saddles) because a 50+ second sustain was too much and the D & G strings were vibrating in sympathy.

I now have something a bit more manageable but pluck a string with a volume turned of and the body vibrates through my ribcage. Is this normal for a P-Bass?

I feel like Homer Simpson at the 0:31'' point in the Homer Plays Bass episode.

BTW, I had to shim the neck pocket up to get within the adjustment range of the saddles and get the string heights right. Brass shimstock has more than an engineering use!

Can anyone tell me why the 1950s-60s P-Bass had a cover over the pickups? I can understand the ashtray over the bridge - to improve the looks, but the pickup cover is a mystery. :confused:

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...7P_k83oeieRvJI

Definitely worth 2 minutes 20.

And, clearly the cover has now come into its own... it just had to wait for technology to catch up.