April Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in March 2018)

[Gary B]

I will throw my RCA-4 bass into the mix.

Finish - Sanded down to 240grit and stained using Wudtone Burning Sky and Hot Auburn
Neck - Frets levelled and dressed using similar methods to those mentioned by Ahabs_beard
Hardware - Tuners as supplied with the kit. Bridge a 'no-name' item from ebay that I liked the look of. Control cavity cover, neck pup surround and truss rod cover I made myself.
Electronics - Pickups as supplied with the kit. Wired for stereo with new pots, caps, switch and jack sockets.
For those who don't know (and I didn't properly understand when I set out on the build) the bass has two jack sockets. One mono which works as normal and one stereo which separates the outputs from the two pickups then using a splitter cable each pickup can be run to separate inputs (eg two different amps).

Build diary is here http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=8183

[Ahabs_beard]

I will throw my RCA-4 bass into the mix.

Finish - Sanded down to 240grit and stained using Wudtone Burning Sky and Hot Auburn
Neck - Frets levelled and dressed using similar methods to those mentioned by Ahabs_beard
Hardware - Tuners as supplied with the kit. Bridge a 'no-name' item from ebay that I liked the look of. Control cavity cover, neck pup surround and truss rod cover I made myself.
Electronics - Pickups as supplied with the kit. Wired for stereo with new pots, caps, switch and jack sockets.
For those who don't know (and I didn't properly understand when I set out on the build) the bass has two jack sockets. One mono which works as normal and one stereo which separates the outputs from the two pickups then using a splitter cable each pickup can be run to separate inputs (eg two different amps).

Build diary is here http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=8183

Holy crap! And I thought competition would be easier this month - looks like I'm wrong!
I've always been really apprehensive about buying kits with binding, in case I get the stain over them...
How exactly do you go about making sure that the white binding stays (or gets) clean?

[Gary B]

Holy crap! And I thought competition would be easier this month - looks like I'm wrong!
I've always been really apprehensive about buying kits with binding, in case I get the stain over them...
How exactly do you go about making sure that the white binding stays (or gets) clean?

When I saw your guitar I thought - no point entering this month Same could be said every month though.
I wouldn't think it possible to do something unique with a Strat but you have managed it!

I think some people manage to successfully mask the binding but the majority just stain over it then scrape the binding clean afterwards with a blade which gives a nice clean edge.
It is not that difficult but mighty tedious and certainly in my case gives continued entertainment in spotting bits that have been missed

[Fretworn]

Holy crap! And I thought competition would be easier this month - looks like I'm wrong!
I've always been really apprehensive about buying kits with binding, in case I get the stain over them...
How exactly do you go about making sure that the white binding stays (or gets) clean?

If you polish the binding smooth first then it can be quite stain resistant making it easier to clean up after.

[Ahabs_beard]

I think some people manage to successfully mask the binding but the majority just stain over it then scrape the binding clean afterwards with a blade which gives a nice clean edge.
It is not that difficult but mighty tedious and certainly in my case gives continued entertainment in spotting bits that have been missed

When you say 'mask', you mean just covering it with masking tape when staining, and hoping for the best, right?
Stewmac have a good video; is this what you meant by scraping? I'm a noob, but I'm gonna try to hound all you guys for as much information as I can get! haha

If you polish the binding smooth first then it can be quite stain resistant making it easier to clean up after.

What exactly do you mean by polishing? Like, steel wool, sanding sealer etc? What products do you recommend? Cheers!

[Gary B]

When you say 'mask', you mean just covering it with masking tape when staining, and hoping for the best, right?
Stewmac have a good video; is this what you meant by scraping? I'm a noob, but I'm gonna try to hound all you guys for as much information as I can get! haha



What exactly do you mean by polishing? Like, steel wool, sanding sealer etc? What products do you recommend? Cheers!

I'm new here myself so maybe not the best to be giving 'advice'
Masking - yes, covering the binding with masking type. My view was that I don't have a good enough eye or steady hand to get it just right (especially on the really narrow binding on the guitars top) so would be likely to get stain on the binding and have to scrape anyway or, even worse, get tape over the wood and miss bits with the stain.
The Stewmac vid is it. He makes it look easy! I like the tool he uses - I did all mine with what he calls a utility blade (Stanley knife blade in the UK)
I don't know about the polishing, would be interested to hear if Fretworn replies on that.

[Fretworn]

When you say 'mask', you mean just covering it with masking tape when staining, and hoping for the best, right?
Stewmac have a good video; is this what you meant by scraping? I'm a noob, but I'm gonna try to hound all you guys for as much information as I can get! haha



What exactly do you mean by polishing? Like, steel wool, sanding sealer etc? What products do you recommend? Cheers!

Our resident luthier, Dingobass, suggests polishing the binding with 0000 steel wool prior to staining.

[Lukas]

Hi Guys here is some photos of my first build. EX-1 kit Bass wood. Antique white Nitrocellulose finish.
I started with the frets levelled crowned and polished.
Then sanded and shaped body neck and headstock with 320.
Set the neck in place.
Applied 5 coats of Sealer primer with a light sand with 600 between coats.
Applied 5 coats of top coat and left for two weeks to cure.
Flat sanded the finish with 1200 then sanded with 1500 then 2000.
Polished finish with Meguiars ultimate compound.

Fitted a set of EMG active pickups HET SET,Gotoh tuners(cosmo Black) Tusq nut.

[Guvna19]

Hi Guys here is some photos of my first build. EX-1 kit Bass wood. Antique white Nitrocellulose finish.
I started with the frets levelled crowned and polished.
Then sanded and shaped body neck and headstock with 320.
Set the neck in place.
Applied 5 coats of Sealer primer with a light sand with 600 between coats.
Applied 5 coats of top coat and left for two weeks to cure.
Flat sanded the finish with 1200 then sanded with 1500 then 2000.
Polished finish with Meguiars ultimate compound.

Fitted a set of EMG active pickups HET SET,Gotoh tuners(cosmo Black) Tusq nut.

hi Lukas - Wow, that looks mint !

[Lukas]

Thanks Guvna19