Lex Woodfingers ST-1

[yakkmeister]

Orrite gentleman!

The game is afoot!

So I handed my housemate a set of keys while I had a nap. When I awoke, the housemate had returned and deposited a large, rectangular box at my door. Yep; kit has arrived.

Having never used basswood before, I didn't really know what to expect. Fuzzy. That's ... pretty much a good description of it. I'm not sure how I'll get a decent finish out of it yet but internet searches suggest;
a) Don't bother with trans finishes
b) Don't sand
c) Fish with a scraper
d) Burnish

Well ... looks like I have some more learning to do!

Soldering work is neat and tidy - whoever's doing those is pretty darn good at it!
But since I am replacing all that, it's not going to matter too much ... still - very good work!

All the parts are there - stickers look fantastic, BTW!

All in all, for the price; amazing!
Next time I will avoid basswood unless I really need to ... ^_^

More to come, gents!

[MikeL]

I had the same fuzz with my ST-1, it's a Basswood thang.

With my build I'm painting it, not staining, so I tried the approach of undercoating before sanding and it worked a treat, I do recommend it for anyone planning to paint basswood. It hardened the surface making it an easy sanding job.

Have a look at Mike's ST-1 build if you want to see some photo's. Day 2 photo's at the bottom would be the relevant ones. it was undercoated in them but only the front was sanded.

[dingobass]

Hi All.

Don't write off Bass wood as difficult to get baby bum smooth, I have done it many times and used stains and Wudtone finish with great results.
(check out my SG on the site under Guitar kits, this was finished with Wudtone. Also the ST 1, this was finished with a wax treatment and is glassy smooth)

The trick with Bass Wood is to sand down to 400 grit, then get a damp cloth and wipe the timber down.
This will cause the fibres to stand up.

Then attack it with 600 grit and repeat with the damp cloth.
Next step is to go in with 800 grit, damp cloth it again. repeat with the damp cloth and lightly sand again

As Mike has stated the primer will harden up the fibres enough to achieve a smooth finish.

[yakkmeister]

Yeah - that's a great little trick, DB, I have heard that it's totally possible - definitely not writing it off; I just know I had to find the right solution

On that topic, can you tell me how you did your Wudtone finish on basswood? Did you use primer?

Just got back from a sweet jam session - can't wait to show off the PitBull ... but I guess it has to be built first, right :P

[dingobass]

Quote from yakkmeister on February 5, 2013, 23:07
Yeah - that's a great little trick, DB, I have heard that it's totally possible - definitely not writing it off; I just know I had to find the right solution

On that topic, can you tell me how you did your Wudtone finish on basswood? Did you use primer?

Just got back from a sweet jam session - can't wait to show off the PitBull ... but I guess it has to be built first, right :P

Hey Yakkmeister,

No primer with Wudtone... Sand with 400 grit and begin with the deep colour base- (some kits are two part, deep colour base and colour base)

The first application of the Wudtone is the one where you get the most colour and oils into the timber. I gave the SG-1 3 coats in the first application to get the depth of colour i wanted.

Left it to cure for a couple of days, rubbed it back with 0000 grade steel wool and gave it another light coat of deep base.
I repeated this process another 3 times and then gave it 3 coats of base colour before starting on the top finish coats (the SG has 3 coats of top finish)

You will find that with each successive coating and steel wooling the surface becomes really smooth and the grain really leaps out at you- even on Bass Wood!

[keloooe]

Quote from yakkmeister on February 5, 2013, 18:59
Orrite gentleman!

The game is afoot!

So I handed my housemate a set of keys while I had a nap. When I awoke, the housemate had returned and deposited a large, rectangular box at my door. Yep; kit has arrived.

Having never used basswood before, I didn't really know what to expect. Fuzzy. That's ... pretty much a good description of it. I'm not sure how I'll get a decent finish out of it yet but internet searches suggest;
a) Don't bother with trans finishes
b) Don't sand
c) Fish with a scraper
d) Burnish

Well ... looks like I have some more learning to do!

Soldering work is neat and tidy - whoever's doing those is pretty darn good at it!
But since I am replacing all that, it's not going to matter too much ... still - very good work!

All the parts are there - stickers look fantastic, BTW!

All in all, for the price; amazing!
Next time I will avoid basswood unless I really need to ... ^_^

More to come, gents!

Yes, the basswood is nice and fluffy...

[yakkmeister]

Woodfingered!

Found a sweet rotary tool and did some carving ...

[MikeL]

Definitely interesting... Can't quite make out what the part on the left is though.
Does it fit ok with the scratchplate ?

And lastly, I don't envy you sanding it

[pablopepper]

Wow, that is really cool! Are you gonna fill the carving with ink or something?

[yakkmeister]

It's a tree growing out of a flying island. It's hard to photograph due to lack of contrast.

Nope, no ink filling or anything. The sundisc (behind the bridge rout) will remain un-stained, as will the clouds, while the tree and remaining surface will be treated with charcoal. The tree will remain in that state while the remaining surface will be wudtone'd then all will be clear-coated.

At least, that's the plan ...