HB-4S First build

[Bugeye29]

Hi,

This is my first build of a bass and I am looking forward to learning lots of new stuff, I have been a player but been on hiatus for a number of years.

Like all on here it will be built to suit my style and in that I am hoping to stain it Barn Red on the face and unknown colour on the rear although the sides will be Mahogany with Tru Oil on the neck. That is the plan but if a disaster happens then the colours might change.

I do have a question and hopefully the photos attach to seek advise, the neck is an extremely tight fit and I can only put the neck in about 1 inch but it is pressed and i think if i push it further it would split the body. Is this tight a fit normal ?? I assume i only sand the sides in order to remove enough material for it to slide in is this correct ?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[ozzbike]

Hi,

This is my first build of a bass and I am looking forward to learning lots of new stuff, I have been a player but been on hiatus for a number of years.

Like all on here it will be built to suit my style and in that I am hoping to stain it Barn Red on the face and unknown colour on the rear although the sides will be Mahogany with Tru Oil on the neck. That is the plan but if a disaster happens then the colours might change.

I do have a question and hopefully the photos attach to seek advise, the neck is an extremely tight fit and I can only put the neck in about 1 inch but it is pressed and i think if i push it further it would split the body. Is this tight a fit normal ?? I assume i only sand the sides in order to remove enough material for it to slide in is this correct ?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Oh wow...you have the neck into the body way too far. A pickup needs to go into that cut out perpendicular to the neck pocket. Be careful jamming it in that far.

Here is a finished one...

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=2233

[Bugeye29]

I know it doesnt go there it is only there to show how it doesnt fit, due to being so tight in the body.

[colin2121]

Not sure how long you have had the kit but it is best to give a bit of time for the wood to adjust to your climate. There might be some residual moisture swelling the timber.
You might need to carefully sand it a bit to get a nice fit. Better to start with it a bit tight rather than too loose.
Nice looking kit.

[Simon Barden]

I second the waiting period. It doesn't take much for the wood to swell up due to temperature and humidity changes (it's spent weeks on a container ship and then travelled over 2000 miles across Australia to you), and you'll have a better idea where things are after a week or so. Please don't start sanding anything yet, as it is very common for the timber to shrink a bit after transit. Sand now, and you could end up with a very loose fit when you eventually come to glue the neck in.

[Bugeye29]

Thanks for the replys, i havent thought about the temp / humidity issue, i will leave sanding the neck fit until i am at that stage of fitting it.

Appreciate the replys.

[Bugeye29]

Hi,

I have an issue with staining, i had taped the binding up but the stain bleed through. I have tried acetone, mineral turps and goo remover none of which did anything other than the acetone starting to melt the plastic.

Any suggestions on how to remove the stains ?

Additionally i am having great difficulty using this forum i wanted to try and post a picture but there is no way i seem to be able to any suggestions ?

[JimC]

The forum has a size limit on pictures and doesn't always say so. Try resizing.

[Bugeye29]

Thanks Jim i will give that a go.

[Swanny]

Thanks Jim i will give that a go.

Another alternative is to use a site like https://postimages.org/

You upload the images to your account there, and use a link from there to post here for your photo's to show up.

The same applies for Flickr, Imgur and others. Just stay away from Photobucket.