4th one is done

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Jeff Mills
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:49 pm

4th one is done

Post by Jeff Mills »

You guys must have all the patience in the world besides building (which is the definition of patience) it took 4 weeks for the finish to cure... There is no way I could take the monthly challenge :lol:

Thanks to EVERYONE on this site, I studied hard, read a lot and learned a ton.

Arch Top and Back / Semi Hollow Body / unlined fretless / 33 1/4" scale / Cream Binding / big 1/8" side dots for old eyes to see / custom single coil toaster pups ~ 7.5k / etc...

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With 4 bass builds under my belt, I'm really looking forward to starting my next one. I had a hard maple log come across the sawmill that was real light weight so I cut it up into usable guitar lumber and it's coming out of the kiln next week. Although I really like this body style think I may try an EB2 style next.

Thanks again everyone for posting all this good information especially the FAQs
Last edited by Jeff Mills on Mon Jun 04, 2012 10:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Experience is a strange thing - You get it right after you needed it.
Steve Senseney
Posts: 673
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:45 pm

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Steve Senseney »

I would like to see your pics, but they don't show up for me!
Jeff Mills
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:49 pm

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Jeff Mills »

Steve Senseney wrote:I would like to see your pics, but they don't show up for me!
Hi Steve - I adjusted the URL in the first post
Experience is a strange thing - You get it right after you needed it.
Jeff Mills
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:49 pm

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Jeff Mills »

Third times a charm?
Experience is a strange thing - You get it right after you needed it.
Steve Senseney
Posts: 673
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:45 pm

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Steve Senseney »

Now I see them!

Looks nice!
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Jim McConkey
Posts: 1061
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:00 pm
Location: Way north of Baltimore, MD

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Jim McConkey »

Four weeks, and worth every minute of it. That finish looks great! Seems like an awful lot of controls for a bass, though.

One old trick to the patience problem is to have multiple projects going at once. You can apply a coat to one instrument, then go work on the fretboard of another.
MIMForum Staff - Way North of Baltimore
JC Whitney
Posts: 208
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 1:19 am

Re: 4th one is done

Post by JC Whitney »

Very nice, and without of those painful sharp edges. Looks mighty comfy.
Jeff Mills
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:49 pm

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Jeff Mills »

Jim McConkey wrote:Four weeks, and worth every minute of it. That finish looks great! Seems like an awful lot of controls for a bass, though.

One old trick to the patience problem is to have multiple projects going at once. You can apply a coat to one instrument, then go work on the fretboard of another.
I used this wiring diagram ---> http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/f ... rotary.pdf instead of a 5 position rotary switch I used a 6 1st position is open (off)

Thanks or the reply
Experience is a strange thing - You get it right after you needed it.
Jim Bonnell
Posts: 232
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:32 pm
Location: Tampa Bay area Fl.

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Jim Bonnell »

Nice job Jeff. Looks great.
Jeff Mills
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:49 pm

Re: 4th one is done

Post by Jeff Mills »

For side dots I wanted something bigger for old eyes to see and dark red rather than the standard 1/16" diameter and black or white store bought side dots. So I was looking at a couple of heavy fender pics and came up with an idea. I drilled a 1/2" hole in a chunk of wood but not all the way through. I took and cut a piece of old bandsaw blade from my sawmill and laid flat over the hole in the wood and clamped everything down nice and tight to the drill press. I took a 1/8" drill bit and popped a hole in the piece of bandsaw blade. I then removed the 1/8" drill bit and flattened the blunt (not cutter) end of the bit with my bench grinder. I put the drill bit back in the drill press upside down and used my drill press as a punch press to punch out 1/8" diameter dots from a few picks. Much to my surprise it worked like a champ when I un clamped everything there were perfect little 1/8" dots in the 1/2" hole I drilled in the wood. Moments like these are rare for me but when they happen, they do happen :)

I'm pretty confident I could use this technique to punch out diameter dots like maybe fret board markers if I needed to.

Anyways I thought maybe someone may want to try the idea...

Here are a few more side profile pics and a closer one of the 1/8" fender pick side dots. The bass has amazing balance on a chunk of mahogany :). I also really appreciated reading about neck tilt as mentioned the new builder FAQs, this bass has a little less than a 2 degree tilt.

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Thanks again for the replies.
Experience is a strange thing - You get it right after you needed it.
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