Thanks. I thought about the thickness after I posted as the neck I have planned for build #1 is going to be a clone of an Ibanez SRC6 (as I have 2 to copy from) but a 4 string short scale so about 21mm at F1 and 22 at F12. I'm sure I'll be able to get something along the same lines readily. Cheers.
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Two steps forward, one step back. 
I'm having finish adhesion problems on the body and the new pickup cover. And I used the same process on the neck and original pickup cover and those worked fine. This leads me to believe I've somehow contaminated something in the process.
The pickup cover is minwax jacobean stain around the edges on the walnut (to get closer to the fretboard colour), then a thin layer of system three epoxy sanded lightly with 320, then two coats of minwax wipe on poly. I used this on the original cover and it's dry and smooth. The new cover is still sticky after two days.
The body and neck are two coats of system three epoxy sanded with 320 and two coats of Saman water based polyurethane. The neck is dry and hard as a rock (well, as rock hard as this stuff gets, which is not bad all things considered). The body had sticky patches after 24 hours. The last time I applied Saman, the entire instrument had two coats sanded back and buffed out within 24 hours.
I've now sanded back the body and reapplied it twice.
After the first time, there was a different area that became sticky and didn't fully dry, so off it all came. After that second failure, I decided to sand off the neck even though it seemed okay. I reapplied that one when I did the second attempt on the body and the neck again seemed fine, even though I had that different sticky patch on the body. This time, I decided to leave the neck and only sand back the body. Tonight I did a second reapplication of the finish and so far it looks alright, but we'll see what it's like after work tomorrow.
I'm having finish adhesion problems on the body and the new pickup cover. And I used the same process on the neck and original pickup cover and those worked fine. This leads me to believe I've somehow contaminated something in the process.The pickup cover is minwax jacobean stain around the edges on the walnut (to get closer to the fretboard colour), then a thin layer of system three epoxy sanded lightly with 320, then two coats of minwax wipe on poly. I used this on the original cover and it's dry and smooth. The new cover is still sticky after two days.
The body and neck are two coats of system three epoxy sanded with 320 and two coats of Saman water based polyurethane. The neck is dry and hard as a rock (well, as rock hard as this stuff gets, which is not bad all things considered). The body had sticky patches after 24 hours. The last time I applied Saman, the entire instrument had two coats sanded back and buffed out within 24 hours.
I've now sanded back the body and reapplied it twice.
After the first time, there was a different area that became sticky and didn't fully dry, so off it all came. After that second failure, I decided to sand off the neck even though it seemed okay. I reapplied that one when I did the second attempt on the body and the neck again seemed fine, even though I had that different sticky patch on the body. This time, I decided to leave the neck and only sand back the body. Tonight I did a second reapplication of the finish and so far it looks alright, but we'll see what it's like after work tomorrow.
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Any chance the epoxy coat wasnt mixed right? Ive screwed up bondo.a few times, but the metered pumps are pretty reliable. In your shoes, I'd slow.down and let everything cure a for at least a few days, sounds like something isnt offgassing and curing fast enough.
Yes, that's a possibility for sure. I've sent everything to my brother the chemist to see if he has thoughts too. I'm hoping he has a suggestion for something to wipe with between coats. If I have to, I'll do it all again. The minwax is a year old, but was working well a week ago, and I haven't used it much.
Being close to the finish line just compounds my imaginary sense of urgency.
Heh. At least it isn’t nitro, you’d be chomping at the bit for weeks. Finish work is way harder than carpentry, at least for me. Learning to use Varathane water base, I had to sand back three times to get it right. The UV cure stuff is starting to look appealing. 
I couldn't stand it and zipped home at lunch today to check it out, and everything is cured up nicely. A light sanding and another coat is coming tonight. 
I spoke too soon when it came to the pickup cover; it was a sticky mess this evening. I've spoken to a chemist and now sanded it back, cleaned it with acetone and sanded back again.
I also may have discovered the source of the contamination - when I opened the bottle of CA glue I used to drop fill the body and pickup cover, it was all gooey on the tip. This happened to me once before when I got activator on the tip of a bottle. So, I think I got activator on the bottle and then that was passed onto the surfaces when I drop filled, and that in turn may have prevented the finish from curing (minwax on the cover and waterpoly on the body). The areas that were sticky coincide with places that were drop-filled, so I hope this is it, and I can control it going forward.
The body got a light sanding and another coat this evening, so that's basically it. I've found that even though it's "cured and ready for foot traffic in 72 hours" or something, it takes a few days. After about a week it seems as hard as it will get, so I'll wait to polish it up.
I also may have discovered the source of the contamination - when I opened the bottle of CA glue I used to drop fill the body and pickup cover, it was all gooey on the tip. This happened to me once before when I got activator on the tip of a bottle. So, I think I got activator on the bottle and then that was passed onto the surfaces when I drop filled, and that in turn may have prevented the finish from curing (minwax on the cover and waterpoly on the body). The areas that were sticky coincide with places that were drop-filled, so I hope this is it, and I can control it going forward.
The body got a light sanding and another coat this evening, so that's basically it. I've found that even though it's "cured and ready for foot traffic in 72 hours" or something, it takes a few days. After about a week it seems as hard as it will get, so I'll wait to polish it up.
I've used 6x3mm ali rod from Bunnings in mine. I put two strips in each channel. The neck is now VERY stiff... and it's a lot cheaper than graphite.
Okay, it's pretty much done, but just needs a little sorting. The "nut" is rough carved and needs final shaping, polishing and to be glued in. There's no jack mounted yet - the person it's for hasn't decided yet on where they want it. The knobs are temporary - I have some plain black cylinders on order, which is what he wants.
The Saman water based poly was horrible to get up to a high gloss. It took a lot of work and it's still not as perfect as I'd like. Definitely not recommended for a gloss finish, though I really like the satin I can get with it.
These are nighttime pics, so I'll take some real ones at some point for an update. Thanks for watching!
The knobs are temporary - I have some plain black cylinders on order, which is what he wants. The Saman water based poly was horrible to get up to a high gloss. It took a lot of work and it's still not as perfect as I'd like. Definitely not recommended for a gloss finish, though I really like the satin I can get with it.
These are nighttime pics, so I'll take some real ones at some point for an update.
Thanks for watching!
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Wow!.Nice build! Im not sure most water based finishes are quite Ready For Primetime yet, my experience with Varathane Ultimate was mixed at best. It was a ton of work and learning curve, and the results were not noticeably better than other finish types, particularly on scratch resistance. The reduced toxicity was the only real advantage I found. Still looking for that Holy Grail finish, maybe Solarez? Or maybe it just doesnt exist yet?
Really great looking bass! That spalt is crazy good, and is complemented with a nice balance of contrasting woods and inlays.
- Jun 30, 2010
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Thanks, I figured it would be striking in it's own way. Not for everyone for sure.I dig it Beej - I generally shy away from exotic wood basses, but the more random 'chatter' texture of the spalted wood you chose is really sort of 'anti eye-candy' while being visually unique/interesting.
I like to make these in the same way that I like making custom furniture or doing finish carpentry; it's intrinsically rewarding in the processes required to build and design it towards an overall pleasing gestalt. For my own players, they are not as 'plaid suit' in their appearance. I'm definitely not a good enough player myself to play what appears to be a high dollar custom bass in my dirty little punk and cover bands. 
Kira Roessler played an Alembic in Black Flag. If you’ve got it, flaunt it!I'm definitely not a good enough player myself to play what appears to be a high dollar custom bass in my dirty little punk and cover bands.
I think she had irony on her side. I've only got infamy from mediocrity.
If that’s not an album title….I think she had irony on her side. I've only got infamy from mediocrity.