#669

#669 Poplar Arrow

Here is a completed refin project: A Wishbass Arrow.

#669 has a poplar body with a walnut/purpleheart neck and a purpleheart fingerboard. This is a fairly straight forward refin. The pick-up was so tight in the cavity that in order to shield it properly I am going to have to enlarge the cavity top and bottom. I’ll also be making and fitting a replacement ebony nut and bridge as well as installing new wiring a varitone and it goes without saying lots of sanding and shaping!

Work undertaken:
Bass stripped of hardware
Finish removed with Citistrip
Sanded with 80-grit
Neck to body join reshaped with luthier’s rasp
Body contour sanding/reshaping
Sanding/shaping to 220-grit
Radius and sand fingerboard to 220-grit
Fill/glue gaps where appropriate - (with black and oak lacquer)
Sand fingerboard to 1200 grit
Ebony nut and bridge completed
Pick-up route enlarged to allow full shielding
Sanding/shaping to 400-grit
Fabricate control cavity cover
Seal body
Apply Tru-oil
Oil finish fingerboard
Drill control cover
Install new harness and variable tone and wire to pick-up
More Tru-oil
Re-string, set-up and final prep.

Notes:
One of the hardest fingerboards I’ve come across to radius and sand. Boy I’ve had a work out!
The poplar is quite soft so it is easy to work with but easy to mark!
I’ve started to fill the gap/holes/etc with lacquer which looks good and sands very smooth. It also sets very hard unlike some fillers.
The original fit of the pick-up was too tight to allow for proper shielding of the cavity so this has been enlarged on either end by approx 1/16th of an inch.
The poplar is sucking up the sealer like nobody’s business!
I’ve fabricated a walnut cavity cover - I like the contrast!
Tru-oil is going on nicely.
The bass has come together nicely - playing, sounding, looking good and ready to go back to Frank after a photo-session.

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