A little overdue bass maintenance

I’ve been playing a bit more bass lately. Much less frustrating for me than guitar. This is a wacky little 1968 SD Curlee short scale. My bass teacher had one of these and I found one on ebay a while ago. Its a neat little thing. Put on the first set of new strings in years. Cleaned up the maple neck and fingerboard with my favorite bees wax and turpentine mix. It works well and I just love the way it smells.
In fact, if the World Turpentine Council ever needs a spokesperson, I’m applying. I have my Billy Mays style infomercial all ready to go…
What if I told you that you that there was a product that could clean wood… and condition it… at the same time! I know what you’re thinking… Dave, there’s no way… But wait, there’s more… After a hard day of wood cleaning and conditioning, there’s no need to shower… this miracle product doubles as a unisex fragrance! Right from work to a night out on the town… there’s no telling what adventures are in store when you smell like this!
Unleash the power of Turpentine!

A bit much???

Guitar Stand

Making a couple quick guitar stands. Using some of the mahogany from my friends porch. Taking the opportunity to practice making blind sliding dovetails.

Double Rainbow

Played a gig on upright last night. It was a party at a house out in the country. Weather was beautiful. It rained for 5 minutes at a set break. So I took a quick pic of a nice double rainbow.
Ran into some old friends. Was also offered to take a bunch of local wood from trees on the property. Including some Osage orange. Sweet.

Sound hole sticker designs

Almost forgot. I should put a label in the sound hole before I string up the guitars.
Brainstormed a version of my typical dB initials that looks a bit instrumentish. I hate my handwriting but I don’t think I want to print these either. I think if I take my time pen and ink can work.
Thoughts on logo, text, border, etc… I know people obsess on this type stuff, but my plan is to draw these up and have them in pretty damn quick so I can string these up.

Made some bridge clamps…

Made some bridge clamps.
Shop is holding under 45% humidity. I think tomorrow is the day.

Quick bridge rebuild and replacement

Here is that wacky, cheap, 24” scale guitar that I rebuilt and replaced the bridge on.  The original bridge had no saddle, so I made the new one and put in a rosewood saddle.  I may replace it with bone. It sounds OK, but its really small for my hands.

I was hoping to glue the bridge on guitar number one today, but the humidity spiked in my shop.  Its cool and wet out so the AC didn’t bring it down.  So I’m on my second dehumidifier now, hopefully it brings the humidity back under 50%.  If so, then I’ll glue the bridge tomorrow.

I made new bridge clamps in the mean time and can still do more prep work, making clamping cauls, etc…

Knives, skews and awls…oh my.

Results of my quick tool making project.

Those two handle carving knives look odd, like the blade should be bigger, or the handles should be for one hand.  I used 1/2” x 1/8” W1, which was all I had.  Guess I’ll try them out.  I can always cut the bottoms off to make a couple flamed maple file handles.

The awl and marking knife are for my Dad for Father’s Day.  Does he need them?  No.  Will he use them? Maybe.  Will they look nice in one of his tool drawers? Probably.  Does it beat a crappy card? Yes.

Oh and I really labored making those ferrules from solid copper bar stock on the lathe…cough, plumbing department, cough…

Redwood top, looking good.

Ok.  I’m calling the french polish on number 2 done.  I’m fairly happy with this.  The grain and little rays on this redwood is really nice.  Its come a long way from the old fence board.  Shellac curing and oiling the fingerboard for a few days.  I think once I put the bridge on and polish it up it will look good.

Number one is another story.  I wasn’t happy with a few spots on the top and was trying to get them to look nice.  Well… then i put a big scratch in the top with my fingernail.  So… I sanded it down again!  This may have been a blessing because I could correct the spots I didn’t like.  I’m getting close to finishing my third attempt at that top.  If all goes well, just another few sessions and I’ll be done.  It is looking much better already.

I will put the bridge on number one before I try the second one, even though guitar number two briefly pulled ahead in progress.  I can’t wait to be done with these.  Excited to hear how they sound.  Maybe more excited to start something else.

Blade and handle time

I couldn’t stay away from the flamed maple I just got.  So I had to break into it and make something.  I guess its tools.  Went to my Dad’s shop and turned a few handles.  Making left and right, two handed, skew carving knives for me and a marking knife and birdcage awl for dad for Father’s Day.  Not sure if he will use them.  The awl is more likely to see action than the marking knife.  But its the thought that counts.  I hope it beats a card with a stupid witty saying.

Using some of the W1 tool steel I had.  Found my aunt’s old enameling oven that I may try to fix and see if it will work for heat treating.  If not, I’ll go with the torch.

Hoping this will keep me sane while I take breaks from french polishing.

Pore filling guitar two

Wash coat of shellac on guitar two. Started filling the pores on the back and sides. Going better than the first. Of course I went over this one in much more detail before I started.
One more pore fill session (I hope) then I can start to polish. The grain on this soundboard is much nicer too. Lots of tiny medullary rays that I hope will show up nicely.