First build: TB-4 bass

[fender3x]

This is sort of uncharted territory, so I am just spitballing here...

It's probably more important to inundate the crack with glue than it is to have the glue be strong. I would want it to be more viscous than superglue, and have longer set time. So...some alternatives...

You could use epoxy. That would give you more set time and be even stronger than superglue.

You could use a hard polyurethane glue. The good thing about that is that it will expand as it cures to fill the space. It's not usually recommended for guitars because, sort of like epoxy, what you glue with it will not come unstuck. Bad for necks, but maybe OK for this.

If it were me, I would probably use something like an aliphatic resin or hide glue with a syringe. I would want to thin it enough so that I could shoot it way down into the crack with the syringe. Tite bond can be thinned up to 5% with water. If that's not enough, I'd look for one that could get thinner. Hide glue gets thinner by heating so you'd want to syringe that isn't bothered by heat. Once the crack is innundated with glue, I'd clamp the body. tight enough to get squeeze out from the crack. You could clamp big clamps...but if you don't have enough nylon cargo straps or even bicycle innertubes can be used to do the clamping.

Since I have not tried any of these approaches with a crack, I am hoping others will chime in!

[Trevor Davies]

Yes unchartered for me also. But,

My 2 cents:
There is a hole drilled from the neck pocket which goes through the neck pup cavity to the bridge pup cavity. I think the crack is along that line.
I would get some dowel and plug the hole from the neck pocket to neck pup cavity using lots of glue. Definitely clamp the body until the glue is set. Make sure the dowel is not extending into the neck pocket or pup cavity.

This hole is used to get the hole between the pups, so it is not important now. It may require you to drill the hole to the dowel diameter. It may also open the crack a bit more! But hopefully the glue around the dowel will stop the crack getting worse, and the glue may also fill the crack from inside.

[Karl]

Thanks Fender and Trevor. I have some Titebond (aliphatic resin) that I can try injecting, but I don't know if I can get much down there. I can't even fit a piece of paper into the crack.

Putting a dowel into the hole by the neck should lock down that section. For the rest, what if I drilled a few vertical holes along the crack and glued pieces of dowel into them? That should secure those places pretty well. And I could put one at the end to keep the crack from spreading.

[Trevor Davies]

Thanks Fender and Trevor. I have some Titebond (aliphatic resin) that I can try injecting, but I don't know if I can get much down there. I can't even fit a piece of paper into the crack.

Putting a dowel into the hole by the neck should lock down that section. For the rest, what if I drilled a few vertical holes along the crack and glued pieces of dowel into them? That should secure those places pretty well. And I could put one at the end to keep the crack from spreading.

If you are painting the body, then yes. I think it would be a good idea to be proactive.

[fender3x]

If you are painting the body, then yes. I think it would be a good idea to be proactive.

1+ Dowels are a great idea. I have been known to use a very long drill bit and drive in chopsticks. Bamboo is VERY dense and strong if you can get them which makes it good for extra long dowels. I have I kids chair that aggressive children made short work of. Long chopstick dowels are still holding it together now after about 15 years of abuse.

[Karl]

Here it is with the dowels installed and crack glued.


I put Minwax wood hardener on it to help resist dents in the soft basswood. The surface is definitely firmer than before. I read that some people use a coat of CA glue to protect their basswood, but the wood hardener is cheaper and it was easy to work with.

Now to fill the dents and it'll be ready for primer.

[fender3x]

Hopefully that and the glue in the crack should do it.

How did you like the Minwax? I used something called PC Petrifier on my paulownia build. Not sure how much it helped, but guessing it did not hurt ;-)

[Karl]

Hopefully that and the glue in the crack should do it.

How did you like the Minwax? I used something called PC Petrifier on my paulownia build. Not sure how much it helped, but guessing it did not hurt ;-)

Same here. I don't know how much it'll help, but I'm sure it didn't hurt. Given my luck on this project, if I'd tried the CA glue I would've ended up with the bass somehow stuck to the ceiling.

It goes on easy. It's about as thin as water and the basswood drank it up. It dries quickly so by the time I finished the first coat it was ready for another. The only downsides are you can't clean your brush, have to sacrifice it, and it'll leave an uneven texture on the surface so you have to sand it smooth.

[Trevor Davies]

Here it is with the dowels installed and crack glued.


I put Minwax wood hardener on it to help resist dents in the soft basswood. The surface is definitely firmer than before. I read that some people use a coat of CA glue to protect their basswood, but the wood hardener is cheaper and it was easy to work with.

Now to fill the dents and it'll be ready for primer.

That should hold it! Good work.

[Karl]

It's time for an update. There have been enough warm days this winter that paint job attempt #3 is nearly done.

I went with a completely different color this time. Maybe the green was bad luck. In any case, I didn't have enough of it so I went to the store and this color-shift stuff caught my eye. Looks fun, why not.



I painted the body black first, which is necessary for the color shift effect. The shifty paint comes out of the can mostly clear, and as you add more layers it gradually gets to what you see in the picture. (Under direct bright light you can see through to the black, with a few sparkles, like outer space.)

You don't sand this paint unless you have to, and I had to, because I got too generous and created a few drips on one of the horns. When sanded it turns dull gray and doesn't change color. I need to add a few more coats in that area and then it should blend in with the rest of the body.