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1st Build: Carl Thompson inspired walnut 4 string
- Thread starter JAKeverline
- Start date
Body carving:
Now I have some sanding to do. Lots and lots of sanding!
Now I have some sanding to do. Lots and lots of sanding!
Nice carving. Which tool did you use for the inner curves of the scroll? Looks so even and consistent.
Bass looks great!
Bass looks great!
Dang that's nice, the bevel edge emphasizes the scroll shape so much better than a roundover, which might have just "blurred" it. Amazing build!
drool
Neck and body become one:
Heel carving:
At this point, there will be a lot of rough sanding to remove excess glue around the neck joint and get the curves on the heel to smooth out better. There is a bit of a glue line at the base of the joint, between the heel block and the body, which will hopefully disappear with a bit of sanding. One mishap that happened early on in the build resulted in another glue line, though hardly noticeable, just above the neck joint on the back of the top stripe. This was due to my planer tearing a sizable chunk of the flame maple out of the stripe. This left an ugly pit about 1/8" deep, 1 inch long, and as wide as the stripe in the back of the body. To fix this, I carefully routed the stripe out until deep enough to remove the tearout. Fortunately, I had some leftover material and so inlaid that into the back and sanded smooth.
Heel carving:
At this point, there will be a lot of rough sanding to remove excess glue around the neck joint and get the curves on the heel to smooth out better. There is a bit of a glue line at the base of the joint, between the heel block and the body, which will hopefully disappear with a bit of sanding. One mishap that happened early on in the build resulted in another glue line, though hardly noticeable, just above the neck joint on the back of the top stripe. This was due to my planer tearing a sizable chunk of the flame maple out of the stripe. This left an ugly pit about 1/8" deep, 1 inch long, and as wide as the stripe in the back of the body. To fix this, I carefully routed the stripe out until deep enough to remove the tearout. Fortunately, I had some leftover material and so inlaid that into the back and sanded smooth.
I'm damned if I can see the tearout repair in the photos,.Win! This looks beyond fantastic, the body bevel looks great all around. I've lost track, what is the reddish "stripe" material?
When will TB make a larger "LIKE" button for these kinds of posts!?!?
Seriously, very impressive.
Seriously, very impressive.
After 3 hours of sanding with 60 grit, followed by another 3 hours with 150 grit, then 1 hour each of 400, 600, then 800 grit sanding, this bad boy is ready for Tru-Oil!
Did you hand-sand only, or use a machine? I usually machine sand the flat areas, but hand sanding let's you see every tiny scratch. Looks fantastic!
It was all hand-sanded. I would say the most time consuming part by far was the curved areas, especially the scroll. The tool marks came out of the flat areas quickly, but in the scroll, and the edges with more end grain, it took forever!
Tru-Oil doesn't pop grain. It explodes it!!
After the holidays, the next task will be the final sanding and leveling of the fingerboard, installing frets, and then a final touch up with Tru-Oil, including around the sides of the pickup and control cavities.
After the holidays, the next task will be the final sanding and leveling of the fingerboard, installing frets, and then a final touch up with Tru-Oil, including around the sides of the pickup and control cavities.
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