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

[Bobrostohar]

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.

[WeirdBits]

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.

[Brendan]

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.

[Andy40]

Hey Bob, Great kit. keep us posted

[wazkelly]

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

[Simon Barden]

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.

[stan]

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

[Bobrostohar]

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.

[Bobrostohar]

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?

[wokkaboy]

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