my hb4s build

Well, the kit has arrived and I have unpacked it, very nice. Well packed and cushioned for a trip around Australia. Deep and close inspection in good light showed some deep scratches and a bit of chatter in one spot. I wet the veneered top several times and the scratches are now gone. I will give it a very light sand and start the true oil. Dummy mock up shows the set neck pocket needs some work, too tight and the neck cannot be fully inserted. No big deal here, will fit the neck after measuring it and making the appropriate adjustments to the neck pocket until a firm fit is achieved whilst going all the way in. I am pleasantly surprised at the hardware quality, very nice. Am looking forward to starting after doing a lot of research. I am doing a stain free Tru Oil finish and will see how we go.

That should look very nice done natural with TO.

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Awesome - I've always wanted a Hof, look forward to your build

Welcome Deekay. Enjoy the build.

thank you very much

Man, nothing would have prepared me for the way the HB4S top absorbed the true oil, as per several sites I have viewed I literally poured it on and poured it on until I had enough material to work with. I live in a very hot climate so it was trying to dry as quickly as I was applying it, looks nice and even now, lots of rubbing and elbow grease. I used the Vernier and internal ball gauge to work out how much and where to remove material in the neck pocket then when I had a very tight interference fit I glued and clamped the neck. All good so far. Everything sanded to 600 before oiling

Great choice of natural finish on that HB deekay!

Thanks, after much sanding, 240, 600 then 1200 the back sides and neck are done with the first coat

Goodness me. That top came alive.

It is getting better each application. very much like Karate Kid, oil on sand off. After three coats it is getting better. I am thinking it will probably take about 10 with sanding in between.

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Originally Posted by deekay

It is getting better each application. very much like Karate Kid, oil on sand off. After three coats it is getting better. I am thinking it will probably take about 10 with sanding in between.

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What, only 10 coats??? I usually do minimum of 20 and have been known to exceed 40 on my natural finished MMB4 and possibly a similar number on one of my tele's too.

Cheers, Waz

Thanks for that Wazkelly, I was only going on what I had seen on youtube, I will keep going until it is spot on, I am not in any sort of rush. After 5 coats you can start to see what it will look like but far from done. These are some updates from today, getting better all the time. I am using a spare sanding block in the pickup hole to hold the front up whilst I am doing the back, sides and neck.

Just catching up here, looking great. Is that your rod in your profile pic? I lived in Darwin about 12 years and was pretty involved with drag racing for a lot of that time, we probably know a bunch of the same people.

I agree with Waz, I usually do about 40 light coats, sanding after every 5 or so. That many coats will fill the grain and you can polish it to a high gloss. If you want the grain to show through, just stop when you like the way it looks.

yes that is my rod, I had a 34 Chev ute before this one so you may have seen that one around. She is dubbed the Bread Box, drive it everywhere including Alice Springs. I am sure we would know some of the same people

Not after a gloss so will probably steel wool it when I am happy with the look, am more after a satin finish

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Originally Posted by deekay

yes that is my rod, I had a 34 Chev ute before this one so you may have seen that one around. She is dubbed the Bread Box, drive it everywhere including Alice Springs. I am sure we would know some of the same people

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Was that the yellow one - also a woody?

I was part of the Valiant crowd, my daily was a brown Vj and I had a Britsh Racing Green VG Hardtop I raced occasionally and took out on special occasions.

no mate, my ute was dark blue, you would know Rob Anderson if you were a Val guy

Hmm, not sure I can place that one... More than likely, which one was his?

I mostly hung out with Mike Fawcett when doing Val stuff. This is my Hardtop, the back of Cool Breeze (his drag car project) and his VH Pacer. I'm just trying to find my cruise pics to see if I can spotto yours :)

(sorry for the thread derail)

https://i.imgur.com/hXo1jV4.jpg

Well I have certainly learned a lot from you guys, wet sanding is the bomb. Worth 3 coats of oil at least. I was worried at the milky look and unevenness but leave it alone and next day wow. Now doing the diluted thing and its having some serious results. I am at about 10 to 12 coats stage and not sure I am going to achieve a whole lot more from additional coats and I am definitely not looking for a glass finish. Having a few drying challenges in Darwin's humidity but today am going to try and get some direct sunlight on the work. fingers crossed. Its 9.00 o'clock and 29C and 72% relative humidity. not ideal but lovely and sunny.

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Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain

Hmm, not sure I can place that one... More than likely, which one was his?

I mostly hung out with Mike Fawcett when doing Val stuff. This is my Hardtop, the back of Cool Breeze (his drag car project) and his VH Pacer. I'm just trying to find my cruise pics to see if I can spotto yours :)

(sorry for the thread derail)

https://i.imgur.com/hXo1jV4.jpg

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This is Rob's Val, supercharged and quick

That one I recognise! Very clean. Not the guy I was thinking of.

This is making me want another one.

A couple of pics of the Bass hanging out to dry, hopefully it will harden in our humid climate. I see with envy the posts on youtube about multiple coats in one day, nup, not for me, very long slow drying time but the finish is great so no complaints. I am somewhat disappointed by one blemish that it came from the factory with and it will stand out like doggies dangly bits, there is a bad bruise in the sub layer before the veneer was applied, no amount of steam or anything I tried could shift it. I did report it but did not receive positive response. It will be on the edge of the pick guard which I think will make it obvious, oh well my part is all done with care and love.

Maybe see how it looks without pick guard first before drilling any holes.

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Doing first mock up and preliminary setup, still some smoothing and polishing to do but the face is how I want it, just the slightest bit of open grain look, nice finish with next to no streaking, man does this have some sustain and it almost sounds acoustic. very happy. I want it to be a little grainy like my Maton naturals. Will do first setup soon, neck relief, nut, saddle height, pickup height etc. At this stage I am a happy camper.

Getting closer to completion I notice a few things that are wrong in the kit. The bridge pickup is a flush type so you cannot bring the pickup anywhere close to position, will buy a raised surround from a local shop. I was missing some screws and some are not appropriate for the job so am fixing this. All in all not too bad, end result is what I want.

Finished the bass off yesterday with wiring up the pups and solving the pickup height issue, all in all a great experience and about 10 days go to woh. The bass plays beautifully, looks amazing and the controls certainly give you room to play with various sounds.