What have I done

[Olddon]

I hope that the enthusiasm I have now will carry through after I actually receive my kit.

So far I have bought a soldering iron kit and a couple of small jacks that have tabs for soldering, and I have tinned a wire and soldered it to the jack. Should I put a multimeter on it to check for resistance?



I also bought a plank of Tasmian oak and did my first practice cut of the headstock. I hope to do at least another 3 before trying the real thing.



A few questions. Is the tasmanian oak similar to maple (my real neck) in regards to cutting and sanding. And if I do some practice painting on my practice headstocks, can I expect similar results.
Thanks Don

[FaustoB]

I also bought a plank of Tasmian oak and did my first practice cut of the headstock. I hope to do at least another 3 before trying the real thing.



A few questions. Is the tasmanian oak similar to maple (my real neck) in regards to cutting and sanding. And if I do some practice painting on my practice headstocks, can I expect similar results.
Thanks Don

Hi Don,
about practicing cutting the headstock, that's an excellent idea and that cut looks great.
However I wouldn't just practise cutting the shape of the headstock; get familiar with your tools and with different types of timber. Practise on timber with different thickness as it will respond differently (I might be wrong but the timber in the photo you have attached seems much thicker than a headstock).
Practise also cutting precise 90deg angles, or cut a long straight strip 1cm wide and 20cm long.. cut a circle, cut free hand shapes, cut 90deg angles then try to round the edges, and so on... this will get you familiar with your tools, will make you comfortable with cutting and correcting different shapes, and will give you a sense of how different timber responds and vibrate.

About vibrations, when you eventually will cut your headstock, make sure to clamp the neck as close to the headstock as possible, to avoid excessive and unneeded vibrations that could potentially crack the timber.
I usually use two clamps, I make a sort of sandwich with the neck in the middle, some cardboard and some scrap wood I have around (plywood or anything), to avoid leaving the clamps marks on the neck.
If I am cutting a bass headstock (for example a classic Fender precision headstock for example) I put two clamps slightly apart where the low 'E' and 'A' tuner will be.

I am not sure if Tasmanian oak is similar to maple, however I would proceed in a similar way. Get familiar with sanding and do test painting on as many scraps of wood you can find (without breaking the bank!).

When you will cut the headstock, there will be the parts that you have cut out that you can use for painting and finishing tests.
For the body, I usually do my tests inside the electronics cavities. These are small surfaces compared to the back of a guitar body for example, some tests might not be 100% accurate but they will still give you a very good indication on how that timber will respond and look.

[Olddon]

Thank you very much for that feedback, and well picked up on the wood. That is 19mm, which was the closest I could get to what I believe will be 14mm on the real thing. After your comments I will try harder to get something closer to 14mm. I have had my jigsaw for close to 30 years and it hasnt done much in the last 20!. I will certainly be trying different cuts as you suggested.
After my painting trials I have an idea of what I want to do, but trying off cuts and seeing if the paint looks the same is a great idea.
Thanks for the feedback. Cheers Don.

[Olddon]

I bought the kit on the 29th of August and it was in the Aust Post warehouse at 2.57am on the 1st of Sept with a delivery expected between the 8th and 12th. I was expecting by now that I would be well under way but unfortunately not. According to the Aust Post tracking website, 17 days after accepting my parcel it is still 'waiting to be processed for delivery'.
Ah well I will just have to keep practicing my painting (I have now realised the difference between sanding with 220 grit and 1200 grit!!),
soldering and jigsawing.

Watch this space ... (but don't hold your breath)