Maandag:
Citaat:
This evening I started on the bass. First I checked that there were not any lumps on the finish (you don’t want lumps, no you don’t) and then I rubbed all the lacquered bits with very fine wire wool lubricated with fine beeswax - no silicones.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...oolandwax..jpg
Citaat:
A quick rub with a clean cloth and the finish feels nice - no stickiness. Next job is to work on the frets If you can remember there were two layers of tape on the fingerboard. Why two layers Chris? The top layer protected the fingerboard from lacquer and the second layer protects the fingerboard from me when I work on the frets. So, off with the upper layer.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...ffirsttape.jpg
Citaat:
At this stage I want to protect the body of the guitar as, from now on, I am going to be working with some sharp metal tools and we wouldn’t want to slip! Stiff cardboard is cut to fit around the fingerboard end and some masking tape is used at the headstock.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n...tectthetop.jpg
Citaat:
After fitting the frets I levelled the fret ends with the side of the fingerboard. Now I create an angle (about 30 degrees) using a file between the fret end and the edge of the fingerboard. If I didn’t do this there would be a lot of blood when playing the guitar as the player’s fingers were shredded by the sharp fret ends.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...lefretends.jpg
Citaat:
The fret ends are still quid sharp after the angling process so I round off any sharp edges using a triangular file.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0...2Bfretends.jpg
Citaat:
At this point I should explain that my fingernails were clean when I started this process but are now filled with wax and wire wool residue from the first part above! I am not a dirty person (except sometimes when I am working on my moto but even that is temporary!
When the frets were fitted I tried to get all the tops level. This is almost impossible so now I use a long metal file to gently remove any high spots. I do this under the overhead light and when I can see file marks on all of the frets they are level.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...levelfrets.jpg
Citaat:
Anywhere metal was removed by the file the frets will be slightly flat so I have a special concave shaped file that round off the flat bits. This is called crowning the frets.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W...crownfrets.jpg
Citaat:
After the files I rub the frets with abrasive papers to remove any marks that the files may have left. I start with 320 get, then 600 and finally 1200. But even that is not good enough so a final polish with fine wire wool does the job.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8...olishfrets.jpg
Citaat:
Peel off the second layer of tape and the frets look pretty good. And so do the inlays.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T...removetape.jpg
Citaat:
Final job for the end of the day is to wipe the rosewood with a little lemon oil to seal the surface and then I can go off to clean my hands before dinner!
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n...2Blemonoil.jpg
Citaat:
Now I have to think hard before I do anything else so I’ll say good bye for now. But I will be back later.
ChrisFretboardKing.