EX-5 Build Diary - My First Build Bridge Pilot Hole Question

[MusicStudent1]

That Washburn does look a bit like a butchered Lefty Explorer. Explorer shape is surprisingly ergonomic considering it's rather long and angular shape. The EX5 is very, very neck dive heavy and suggest locating the strap button in the middle of neck mounting plate as I have done recently. If placed on the upper horn/lump I found it wanting to drag down all the time and couldn't seem to find a balance point. All good now. Guitar is not such a problem as the neck is way shorter but I may still get around to relocating strap button too.

In case you were interested in doing a matching guitar here are the comparison shots taken late Jan 2016....
Attachment 28442Attachment 28443Attachment 28444Attachment 28445Attachment 28446

I’ve always liked the Explorer shape but whenever I played one, it just didn’t fit in my lap. I remember Ritchie Stotts of the Plasmatics playing a light blue Ibanez Destroyer II back in the early ‘80s and always thought that’d be a cool guitar to have. Building a replica of the Destroyer II would be a fun project. I probably wouldn’t modify the body, but maybe that’s not that hard to do with a coping saw and some sandpaper. I don’t like the rhythm pickup being too close to the neck problem, though...



I am expecting neck dive, so thanks for the strap button tip. The BC Rich players have reported the same solution to neck dive with their guitars. I am ready to deal with it and plan to use a strap while playing seated. I’m going to work around the bass’s shortcomings because it looks cool, and I am dedicated! Ha ha!

Thanks for the comparison photos. I think you answered a question I had about the EX-5 fitting in a Pit Bull hard case. I believe it’s probably their largest solid body bass and aren’t sure it’ll fit. It looks like it isn’t that much larger than the EX guitar so I’m guessing, yes. After all this work, the thing is going in a case! (Unless my paint job ends up looking like a two year old painted it with a water color set!)

Here are some lessons learned:

1. Clean cotton cloths fresh out of the washer and dryer still contain detergent soap! That fact probably doesn’t do anything but I realized I was wiping my body and neck with sudsy water to raise the grain. I rinsed the cloths, wiped again, and sanded a bunch more when the wood dried so I doubt any soapy residue is left anywhere.

2. Stew Mac grain filler should be mixed with water. That fact is left off the jar but I saw it later on their website. Today, I glopped a bunch of it in the body and neck with a brush as instructed and let it dry. After a few hours, I sanded it back and re applied with water. No harm done, I guess. (There is no question that I’m sanding way more than necessary but sanding seems to cure any mistake!)

Grain Filler properly mixed with water!

[wazkelly]

Finding a hardcase big enough in Australia is a problem.
I bought an Epiphone Explorer case for the EX1 and it has lots of spare room, so i placed the EX5 in and it does squeeze in but pushing back the padding around end of headstock and really tight around rear wing too. The headstock was more my worry because if the case took a solid bump that might be just enough to separate that part from the rest of the Bass.
Bought a gig bag on Amazon instead.
If you live in USA check out a Dean case as it should fit in one of them. Just can't get those cases here in Oz.

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[wazkelly]

Hardcase shots just uploaded under this thread... http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...202#post173202

[MusicStudent1]

Hardcase shots just uploaded under this thread... http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...202#post173202

I think I was posting about cases for the EX-5 a year or so ago. Didn’t the website say at one time that the PitBull hard cases will not fit the EX-5?

Will it fit in this case which is currently listed at the Pit Bull store?

[wazkelly]

No external dimensions are probably just short of the rectangular shaped length and that does not leave any wiggle room inside.
As mentioned above, i couldn't find anything big enough in Oz but discovered it would fit into a Dean bass case, just can't remember which model?
Judging by price shown you live in USA? You need to find a case with overall minimum internal lenght of 50 inches to 52 inches.
When searching for something i took the bass into several guitar stores to see what it might fit. Not even Epiphone Thunderbird which would have required reshaping the foam in body section of the case.
Gig bag bought on Amazon was about $40 and quite good quality. Cheaper and easier than making my own hard case which would have ended up quite heavy with the bass inside.

[MusicStudent1]

No external dimensions are probably just short of the rectangular shaped length and that does not leave any wiggle room inside.
As mentioned above, i couldn't find anything big enough in Oz but discovered it would fit into a Dean bass case, just can't remember which model?
Judging by price shown you live in USA? You need to find a case with overall minimum internal lenght of 50 inches to 52 inches.
When searching for something i took the bass into several guitar stores to see what it might fit. Not even Epiphone Thunderbird which would have required reshaping the foam in body section of the case.
Gig bag bought on Amazon was about $40 and quite good quality. Cheaper and easier than making my own hard case which would have ended up quite heavy with the bass inside.

wazkelly, yes, I live in the US, specifically Houston, TX. Come to think of it, there is no such thing as a Gibson or Epiphone 5 string bass so these are unique instruments. No wonder there are few cases that fit them.

I will find something that fits it, most likely a gig bag like the one you found would do. Do you have the link or name of the one you got that worked?

Oh yes...build progress:

Tonight was about an hour of sanding down dried grain filler from yesterday. Another coat was applied which will be sanded down tomorrow. The plan is to keep sanding, reapplying grain filler, sandinge, etc. etc. until it is freaking smooth. I can still see the lines where the different pieces of wood were glued together. That’s going to show up so I figure I’d better get rid of that at this stage, then it’s on to some coats of sanding sealer and more sanding.

Body and neck drying after the 2nd coat of grain filler for the body and 3rd coat for the neck:



Once I’ve gotten the parts smooth and sealed, I’ll drill the holes for the bridge, neck, and maybe even the tuning machines. I need to do another test fit because I wouldn’t be surprised if the neck won’t fit onto the body any more. It was a very good fight fit right out of the box and I got grain filler on the neck heel.

That’s the game plan. Is there anything I should know about drilling pilot holes for the tuning machines? I’m guessing I need a tiny drill bit. Any input is welcome. Working on this is fun so far.

[wazkelly]

Here is the link to eBay seller for the gig bag. So long ago that I thought it was bought on Amazon.... https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20mm-Gig...REXK:rk:1:pf:0



Pilot holes for the tuners are very small indeed. Best to line up a screw with intended drill bit to make sure that centre core of screw is same or similar thickness to the drill bit about to be used.

[MusicStudent1]

Here is the link to eBay seller for the gig bag. So long ago that I thought it was bought on Amazon.... https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20mm-Gig...REXK:rk:1:pf:0



Pilot holes for the tuners are very small indeed. Best to line up a screw with intended drill bit to make sure that centre core of screw is same or similar thickness to the drill bit about to be used.

Hey wazkelly, that was very nice of you to look that up and send it to me! Thanks!

Hey, I’ll probably go with that.

I’m on the 3rd coat of grain sealer for the body and 4th for the neck. Slap it on, let it dry, sand it smooth, repeat. I think it’s about as good as I can get it.

I hope to spray everything with sanding sealer tomorrow, sand, spray, sand, spray, etc.

I tell ya...I’ll feel like I’ve gotten somewhere when I get the 1st nitro color coat on!!!! That’ll probably be next week at the earliest.

Right now, I feel like I’m spinning my wheels hand sanding for hours on end like this. The body and neck are very smooth now but everything LOOKS like I just took it out of the box! No worthwhile photos to post, ha ha!!

[wazkelly]

It is not a sprint race, more like a marathon.
Slow and steady will pay off in the end.

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[MusicStudent1]

I think I’ve found a tool to safely drill tiny pilot holes...a “hand drill”. The thought of a big heavy power drill or a drill press near a guitar I’ve worked hours on to get smooth and perfect does not compute! My apologies to the builders who knew about these tools already.

These are used in building Tamiya model kits, BTW!