Tonight I finished sanding the neck flush to the fretboard. It's sweet. There's a few things that the neck still needs to have done for it, if I feel the need. For example, the heel of the neck isn't actually flat (which means that without a body attached to it, the neck can't stand up like it should, but some cellos and double bases actually have an angled heel for flare I guess).
The fingerboard looks straight. Everything looks good. I used a cuetip and some acetone and some sandpaper to work away at the excess glue I didn't manage to scrape off in time. There's a very small gap (less than a fingernail) down the bottom of the fretboard on one side where there wasn't enough clamps (by virtue of it being impossible to fit any clamp I own on that section, and the weight not bieng quite heavy or even enough). I filled the gap with timbermate before and sanded it back, but I think some of it didn't take or maybe I sanded it out in chunks a bit. I'm not sure, but you have to look really close to notice, and I think I will be able to fix that flush later without affecting anything.
The neck has been restained. I've come to like the unfinished peg box. I'm contemplating making the ebony darker - but I dunno, being the kind of off black/brown that it is, it gives the instrument an even more rustic look. There's a stray glue spot or two that managed to find their way on to the fretboard (no idea how) that I've gone at with a bit of acetone and a cuetip and some fine sandpaper, but at the end of the day I dont want to take anything too course to the fingerboard right now. If I can get the glue smooth - or off - then I'll be sitting pretty as far as that goes.
I have to drill the peg box and create the boosters. Both which require some handy work I might not actually have, but I will give them a go first.
After that I can actually start setting up and finishing the surface of the instrument.... Which means I also need to choose what oil (or maybe poly) to use. I'm leaning towards one of the oils you can buy large quantities of fairly easily (like danish oil).
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