P Bass (5 string, short scale, fretless)

[Knunney]

I am still waiting to take delivery of my kit but I had two initial queries:

1. With sanding, what is the endgame? I'm a little confused because on one hand, the advice seems to be to get as smooth a surface as possible and on the other hand, you don't want it so smooth the finish won't take. (I'll say at this point, I'm leaning towards Dingo's finish but I was interested in the general principles of sanding and finishing.)

2. What are some general principles/pitfalls concerning shaping the headstock? To begin with, I wanted to replicate the Fender shape but were I to balls it up or, and let's, at least to begin with, start in an optimistic frame of mind, want an original design, what should I avoid? (I guess what I have in mind is avoiding taking wood away that will cause structural problems with the bass neck.)

Many thanks, learned people.

[Dedman]

Hi Kunney, how much sanding and to what grit will depend on the finish you use. Probably 320 is fine enough for staining, once you get the clear coats on you can go down to the finer grades to get that glassy smooth finish.
If you want a fender shape, a google search will find plenty of PDF's you can download and print, cut out and trace. The main thing is not to take any more than what fender did , within reason.

[Knunney]

Many thanks, Dedman

I will almost certainly use a stain.

I will have a look for a headstock guide and try to keep as close to the Fender size as I can.

Thanks again.

[blinddrew]

Trace on both sides so that you can see how it looks from the front, but also check your tuners are going to be properly concealed / have space for the locating screws.

[Knunney]

Thank you to Dedman and blinddrew for their responses.

I have another query. Does anyone have any thoughts on conductive paint for shielding? The Guns and Guitars YouTube channel mentions it but the chaps seems to suggest that the paint is fine but aluminium foil is a cheaper option. If one takes price out of the equation, which does the better job - copper, aluminium or conductive paint?

Many thanks in advance.

[wazkelly]

I have used both conductive paint and copper tape and find that the paint is ok for humbucker cavities and maybe around J Bass PUP routs but always revert to using copper tape in the control room. Aluminium foil is a cheaper option but how do you get it to stick in the places it needs to go? Snail tape from the local hardware store is a better bet and not much dearer.

Cheers, Waz

[Knunney]

My kit arrived this week so I should be able to make a start this weekend.

The neck fits nicely and I look to have all the parts I need.

With the mock build, I guess I want to do my measuring and marking and drilling so I know all the pieces fit together properly before I do the finishing. Do I want to, in effect, assemble the guitar and then disassemble it or is that overkill?

Also, with the drilling, do I want pilot holes or holes deep enough to take the length of the screws? (Apologies for the newbie question but I haven't had much woodworking experience and I don't want to damage the wood with sloppy technique.)

Many thanks in advance.

Kris

[king casey]

With the mock build, I guess I want to do my measuring and marking and drilling so I know all the pieces fit together properly before I do the finishing. Do I want to, in effect, assemble the guitar and then disassemble it or is that overkill?

That's precisely what I would do.
All the structural assembly done to the point the guitar plays as well as it should.
Then you can worry about the finishing as a separate issue.

cheers, Mark.

[wazkelly]

Also, with the drilling, do I want pilot holes or holes deep enough to take the length of the screws?

Hi Kris, when drilling any holes it is best to line up the length of the screw on the drill bit and then wrap a bit of masking tape around at the point you want to stop drilling. For example, scratch plate screws may need a 2 or 3 mm bit and depth of around 7 - 10 mm.

If the holes drilled are too small or too tight you risk either slipping off a screw driver and marking the guitar, or even worse, breaking a screw off in the body. This actually is more prevalent when doing the locating screws on headstock tuners. A handy tip is to also roll the screws across either bees wax or slightly damp piece of bath soap so that acts as a lubricant for when screws are driven into place. If there is too much effort required when tightening up a screw it may end up snapping off, particularly the really thin ones for securing tuners.

Being a P Bass the only tricky part is locating the bridge. Personally, I would leave that until last when doing final assembly as the bridge plate holes will be slightly bigger in diameter which could trap water and cause swelling when doing any wet sanding. No real point doing strap button screw holes unless you want to screw in a hook at the bottom to help with hanging it up to dry. Again, not my preference as it just complicates finishing around an object that may end up attracting drips and runs. Would seriously consider drilling neck for the bolt-on screws but that is also just as easy done later too.

Cheers, Waz