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Originally Posted by Stevebol
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01-08-2016 03:44 PM
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I've only used Bondo on metal and it had an earthy color to it. Looks good with rosewood. Bondo can't be reversed with moisture but there's no reason why you can't get it right the first time easily.
fret puller
1" flexible putty knife
light green low-tack masking tape, the blue might be lower tack too
Bondo
asssorted sanding grits and blocks
I put stick-on felt on a lot of sanding blocks and then attach the sand paper with tape to the top or side with duct tape. The felt seems to prevent the sandpaper from ripping or getting clumped. Been using felt that way forever. It just seems to work.
That probably won't matter for this. If you're careful with applying the Bondo you might be able to get away with just folding the sheet of sandpaper.
The stick on green or brown felt paper is what people use in jewelry boxes I believe. It's handy to have around.
When you remove the tape and hit the whole fretboard lightly I think 320 grit might be about right to start. There shouldn't be much sanding at all. It's been my experience with micro-mesh that you move through a number of grits lightly and quickly. Since you're not polishing some kind of varnish and it's bare wood I don't see how anything beyond 600 to 1000 grit would make much difference.
After each grit don't forget to wipe the surface down well.Last edited by Stevebol; 01-08-2016 at 05:09 PM.
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The perfect filler is wood. Get some .020" thick veneer the color you like (Stew-Mac has it). Size pieces appropriately. Make sure one edge is straight. Insert the wood strips into the fret slots straight edge first. Make sure they protrude above the fingerboard and extend beyond the ends a little. Secure them with thin superglue. When dry, file flush, scrape if necessary. Then sand lightly the entire board to 400 or 600 grit.
Now you will have to deepen the nut slots quite a bit. But that's all there is to it.Last edited by kenbennett; 01-08-2016 at 05:45 PM.
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Bondo works great on wood. Painters use it all the time to repair dings in wooden trim. Epoxy is best for exteriors but bondo is OK for incidental small stuff.
Blue tape comes in various adhesion grades. There's a large 4 digit or so number on the inside core. Some of the cheap off brands are pretty sticky.
The stick on felt's a good idea but maybe for a guitar neck you may not need to use a block at all because of the fretboard radius. If you do all of the rough sanding before the bondo's completely hard it's really easy with just a small piece of 150 more or less. You might get 90% of they way there with just this. I wouldn't fill too many frets at one time so that the putty will stay soft enough to work. That's the secret to working with bondo especially on wood. do most of the shaping before it gets hard. Once it's hard it's a lot of work and creates more dust, etc.
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Originally Posted by kenbennett
Whatever glue you use veneer would work great.
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Wood seems like the way to go. Just dial in the right glue. And get the right little saw in case the fret slots need something. Gorilla glue is good. The brown one is probably too much. There's another light colored one that isn't
so hard core.
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Originally Posted by mrcee
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An advantage of hide glue is you could wet down the slot just right and it will expand. The slower drying glue will also help give a tight fit. Barely any glue would be needed. Moisture would have nowhere to go.
Super glue is messy to work with.
I'd go with veneer and hide glue. At least until I change my mind again.
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I think I would agree on the hide glue. Any carpenter's glue may be to much. The Gorilla glue is great but even the light colored one is hard to clean up. Although you would wet the slot first like the hide glue.
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Originally Posted by mrcee
I thought hide glue was used because it was easiest to get to release to open up violins and guitars for repairs later on.
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I wasn't aware of that use. It just seemed to me to be a lighter duty, easier to clean up glue for use where brute
strength wasn't needed. A common but different use is for priming canvas prior to painting. It seals it and helps
prevent rot. Especially with oil paint.
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Originally Posted by docbop
Regular carpenters glue would be OK. I don't know if it's available in darker colors.
Nothing is under stress with filling frets so it's pretty simple.
I think Franklin's might be common when you don't want ugly lines showing. It's dark amber but also kind of clear.
For neck resets you have to get a good fit, use fresh made hot hide glue. The slight expansion and clamping gets good wood to wood contact. I've done about 5 violin and 2-3 guitar neck resets. They can be fun. Fire up the Goodwill cappucino maker, drill at the 13th (12th? I forgot) fret, stick the Stew Mac needle in and wait for a pop.
Haven't done one in while but I think the idea is to get a neck to body fit that's solid with no glue. On violins that's not easy.Last edited by Stevebol; 01-09-2016 at 12:50 AM.
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I think some people swear by regular carpenters wood glue for guitar necks and tops/bottoms. I'd guess they're more experienced and used to getting a proper fit and proper clamping. Hot hide glue is more forgiving. Might as well learn to make it. Forget those pots. A little beaker, pan and meat thermometer works fine. You have to have a plan because it starts to jell really fast.
Last edited by Stevebol; 01-09-2016 at 02:15 AM.
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this looks interesting
Takamine TB10 - Thomann UK
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Godin acoustic fretless
Godin A4 & A5
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Jaco's bass of doom mods have been documented endlessy, and a big factor was coating the fingerboard with marine resin epoxy to protect the rosewood from being destroyed by the roundwound bass strings grinding into it.
Tech Bench - Fretless-ize Your Life! | Bassplayer
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Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
Last edited by MaxTwang; 01-09-2016 at 02:04 PM.
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just buy a fretless bass and go fretless. Jaco did it back in the day because there weren't nearly as many electric fretless bass options available in the stores as there are today. Just like EVH building a Strat because he wanted one with a humbucker in the bridge. Today they're all over the place. Back in EVH's first album days they were nearly impossible to find, if it all.
it's a really really cool sound though, the sound of a fretless electric bass. So I can see why Jaco went to all the trouble back then. and also why after Bright Size Life Metheny recorded several albums with a bass player playing a fretless electric bass. It's just a really cool sound.Last edited by Bobalou; 01-10-2016 at 12:57 AM.
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Originally Posted by Stevebol
You want the fit to be pretty tight so you don't really see a glue line, which makes the veneer even harder to insert.
Hot hide glue which can be prepared as thin or thick as needed would work, but it requires a pot to cook it in and temperature has to be just right, so you need like a cooking thermometer.
I've done this dozens of times, at first experimenting with different methods, different materials, different glues. The veneer/super glue combination is actually the easiest and looks the best in the end.
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this is and interesting video checkout the bass at /5.28
Colin
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I was very interested in the Toby Chenell Arco Bass Guitar. I play cello often covering bass or rhythm section function.
I thought it would be cool to have a companion bass playable in a cello fashion with a 34" scale length or shorter.
I needed one that would sound equally legit playing pizzicato and with a bow.
He offered the option of setting up the bridge and bracing either in the style of a bass guitar
or with a sound post and small upright bridge and an endpin. At the time, I was in touch via email with Toby but there were no basses in the NYC vicinity to check out. This idea has since receded to a back burner.
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That was quite interesting. I especially like the NS Design Basscello and the Adamovic in terms of tone.
Last edited by targuit; 03-02-2016 at 03:16 AM.
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Kala Ubass is great at copping an upright tone. I love mine.
Lucy’s Jazz Guitar Gretsch G5420 an Projects
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