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  • Something to keep me busy for awhile....

so after spending hours and hours and hours masking, remasking, changing my mind, and finally happy with the result I'm ready to stain
    well that didn't work according to plan.... going to have to clean up those lines somewhat
      Looks like the stain is bleeding into the wood. Maybe you need a wood filler to seal the wood and leave a smooth surface. Then masking and spraying would work I guess.
        yup definitely bled, One reason why I did the back first was to see the effect the stain would have with masking tape and the amount it would bleed,, it was minimal all most non existent, so tackled the front.. masked off, burnished the masking tape.. and ended up with this >☹... I'll fix it up tonight, but of sanding should help lighten it up before applying the next color.

        guess my burnishing skills need some work ?...
          Nice one! Will be keeping a eye on this thread 8)

          I assume this is a Blackbeards Den kit? Looks like a Ibby Soundgear style bass?

          Wondering what that low B string is going to sound feel like - passive electronics?

            Yup from Blackbeards.. and Yup based on a Ibby

            Its got Massive Humbucker pickups..
            Passive Electronics, and the Pots seem to be better quality than my Last DIY Project from them.
            all in all I'm very happy with the overall quality of the kit.

            as to that low End B string... Going to be interesting to Play.
              The stain will bleed under the tape. My experience with trying to mask off areas indicated that masking tape is not what one uses. There is "frisket" (?) tape available from car paint outlets, a sort of plastic tape, can go around curves, and seems to stick well at the edges. But even with that I had bleeding, guess it's about the amount of thinners in the mix. As Greg said - you will have to prepare the wood well, then seal it with a top-coat compatible sealer, sand well, to a polish, to see any blemishes, and then do the colour part with (top-coat compatible) paint, sand well to get rid of the edge ridges, and clearcoat over all, hoping the clearcoat does not make the lines "bleed". The stuff I painted never had a clear coat, I merely sanded and polished the colour coat, but I know that will not work on a guitar where a mirror finish without polish marks (hard to get it all out...) is required. I never mastered the shiny, smooth, mirror final coat anyway.

              Have fun.
                i went looking for the right tape and got blank stares... guess i looked at the wrong shops.... didn't know what it was called though so guess "I'm looking for a masking tape that isn't masking tape didn't work good thing is Stain tends not to penetrate like thinners based paint. so a light sand does wonders i'll fix up the edges with some black later
                  so everything changes with with the white... man that starting to look like something.. :woohoo:
                    12 days later

                    so getting there
                    sealant applied, and almost ready for wiring..
                    I'm getting impatient now.... just want to put it all together and play...but have a few more things to do before then

                      Tuckstir For a second I thought it said Boss Series...which is why I play bass...just kiddin'.

                      Thanks for update, it's looking good! Still curious about that low B string's playability, It's modelled on the SR so here's hoping that it should be good...

                        I decided Any More Work On the finish was Just going to ruin it
                        so imperfection and all I've started putting it together.

                          and here are my 2 DIY Builds Side By Side

                            Ok so the wiring has got me a bit stumped.... mainly they gave too much info.. 3 different wiring diagrams, which gets a bit confusing at times.. I'll ignore the 2 and go with the most clear of the 3.

                            Then looking at the wiring of the pickups I noticed that I could connect them to a pull-push pot and do coil splitting. Now is this even a good idea? would it work on a bass, or am i just going to create more issues than its worth..

                            Doing a little internet trolling they mention getting humming feed back and decreased volume from the active coil in split mode. but how much ? anybody try this is it worth doing to get that extra bit of versatility?

                            9 days later

                            So I'm Finally finished but..
                            so I've decided to change the Volume pots to Push-Pull and do coil splitting, which is next months budget.
                            but for Now Its playing..

                              a month later

                              So, as a family holiday Bonding experience I have gotten some more Guitars from the guy with the black beard who lives in a den..

                              The Strat Been Mine
                              and the JEM the Missus.
                              still 2 more to come ....

                              You have a lucky Missus. I have looked at those, wondering whether it would be worth the effort to assemble and "upgrade". What is the neck width at the nut and at the body fret? Any idea what sort of pickups are included?

                              Alas, seeing as I sort of have one of each, I am not biting. My "JEM" is amazing, powerful, very flexible. The bridge design is silly. But patience work here. My "Strat" is waiting for more small electronic components (caps, resistors) before I strip down and re-wire with new, expensive "Malmsteen" low friction pots and a new 5-way switch, I might add two tremolo springs to tighten up the rear end for supposedly better sustain (? Maybe stiffer springs eat less string vibration energy. I would have thought lighter springs will "give"more in sympathy with the string vibrations, to "pump back" into the strings. ?) and a general re-think of wire layout and connections. Of course, that is step 1. Step 2 is new tuning machines, these are rather worn (and cheap), but finding items that will fit the present screw holes might be a problem. Step 3, bringing the old worn guitar almost to new spec at a fraction of the new price for a similar item, would be a neck sand and re-fret. Which I should apparently not see as a Friday evening job. Might have to farm that one out to a specialist. Apparently a "solid" trem block also works magic. That I could machine from any material on hand, Brass? Steel?