JBA-4 (code-named "Jenny") - first build

[quiet1_au]

Thanks for the tips Brendan - I'll check out your build diary :-)

Looks like another trip to Bunnings/Masters for some clamps (I knew time time would come) ;-)

[stan]

great start

[Brendan]

Don't thank me - thank the maestro DB - though it helps not to have the word Bunnings and DB in the same post - he's not their biggest fan.

[quiet1_au]

Some work with a 1/2 round bastard file and P80 sandpaper and the head is looking good - I will revisit over the weekend to square up and sloping edges, then work on the neck/bridge/pickup alignment.

I initially made little prick marks for the neck holes with the screws with it fitted hard against the top/back of the cavity (for strength) and am hoping that will be the correct alignment. I'll be spending a lot of time making sure I get that as close to perfect as I can. I'm sure I can do a much better job than the factory did on my Ibanez JetKing 1 - it has appalling neck pickup and pickguard positioning (the thick transparent finishing wasn't great either - foggy and floaties)!...

[Dengreg]

Headstock looking good.

[quiet1_au]

Sanding sanding sanding... I started at P80 yellow paper on the body to work on the fibrous wide grain, then did P120 yesterday on body and neck/headstock (not the fingerboard other than the sides), including a damp wipe over to raise the grain before another sand to cut back all the fuzzies. Today will check the neck alignment (seems OK) and possibly drill the holes for it, followed by, you guessed it, more sanding this time with P180 anti-clog (white) paper. I have up to P400 grit paper but I doubt I'll go past P320 - I also have 0000 steel wool but that was bought mainly for scuffing the finishing coats.

The flash in the photos brings out the grain like damping the surface does :-)

[quiet1_au]

A few build tips needed.

1) There's a crack (appears to be filled - poorly though) on the back which I think will need (re)filling? If so, does anyone know what the best colour match for whatever species of ash this is in Timbermate or similar, easy-to-find&use fillers?

2) Hard to see but there appears to be a few finger mark stains (oil? glue?) in the wood - darker patches. I'm not sure whether I should try to sand these out before going any further, or whether they will be unnoticable under shellac?

Finally,
3) The fit of the neck in the body is pretty good, but should I sand back the body recess at those two points that are touching to try to bring the whole surface into contact and remove/minimise the gap?


Thanks,
John

[Brendan]

John - timbermate colours - maybe oak? Might be worthwhile taking the body to your local hardware shop and try to find the closest... I'ts difficult as there's so much variation in the colour of the wood - even within the same woods. Before you fill, sand a bit of the body to get some sawdust up and mix that into whatever one you get and it'll help get a bit closer.

Finger marks / stains - how does water go with those spots? If it takes water OK, gut tells me you should be right with shellac (that coming from one use of the stuff - so could be way off beam). Wood as a natural product will have some variation in colour through it.

Neck - always hard. You should be right to leave it - depends on what you can see with the pickguard on. It's worthwhile being careful as you don't want to change the seating for the neck at all...

[quiet1_au]

Thanks for your advice Brendan.

I decided to leave the neck as is - the gap is very small and I wasn't convinced that sanding would actually help. The pickguard will hopefully hide it (if it doesn't have it's own problems - I have to shape it to fit around the neck, but at least you can get spares if it goes disastrously wrong!...) I've just drilled the holes on a drill press so I can proceed with final positioning of the bridge (the neck pickup may have to wait a bit due to the pickguard fitting issue.)

A little warning to others - if you buy the cheap Craftright quick-action F-clamps with the orange rubber pads, be sure to give them a good wipe down and preferably use some paper towel or other padding between them and the wood. I discovered to my horror that they left bright orange stains on my cardboard bridge packing and also on the back of the body - thankfully it sanded off easily!... Although I want some orange toning to my wood, near-fluorescent was not what I had in mind!... 8O

The "fingerprint" stains aren't disappearing with sanding and I haven't noticed any issues when damping down the wood so I'm hoping they're just natural and won't cause any issues.

The amount of dust I've been generating with sanding, I did start wondering whether I can't make my own filler from it and say some PVA (watered down perhaps) - it's a bit of a waste buying a whole tub for just one crack. I'll hit the 'net and see if it's been done before.

[quiet1_au]

There are various ideas for DIY filler - PVA wood glues aren't recommended if staining as they will cause problems and don't sand well, liquid hide glue is one option as is shellac which sounds perfect for my needs as I will be using it to seal/color/finish the bass anyway, so compatibility won't be a problem (although being fast-drying shellac it will require some quick filling work!) I'll be giving that a go and will post the results here (I think I'll wait until I'm ready to finish it before filling)

http://www.ehow.com/how_5731928_use-...od-filler.html