Ed of H, and another Bass Repair Odyssey (Shop Thread)

[edwardofhuncote]

Now ^that^ makes sense...

I brushed on two coats of Homer Formby's tung oil finish so far... I've got a fan and a lamp focused on the parts to aid in drying. It's looking great... probably worthy of updated pictures tomorrow.

[edwardofhuncote]

After two brushed coats per day, with 8-10 hours of curing time (between coats) under a lamp and fan, the TB-2 is just about ready to rub-out and re-assemble. We’re not going for a high gloss finish here… these banjos had a more satin luster with that rich color. Just a good buffing with some 0000 steel wool and a little polish is about as far as we’ll go. Tung oil is a very nice medium for getting that look, and it’s fairly durable too.  With just a little care taken in these final steps, it’s almost a dead-ringer for what the original finish was on these.

A little self-critique - I should have added another drop or two of blue dye to the stain. If that sounds crazy, remember I was going for a brownish purple… this one accidentally turned more deep reddish-brown than I’d planned, a touch more blue would’ve done it. All things considered, in different lighting who would know?

So… final assembly tomorrow if all goes well with rub-out. Here’s a couple pictures that demonstrate just how drastically different the hues are under different light.     
 

[David Houck]

 

[hammer]

Waiting patienty for the next installment

[edwardofhuncote]

I've been on vacation, (still am, but back home now) and hadn't had a chance to update the thread, but here's a couple shots of it on the sofa, and a quick picture of the finished project in the hands of it's new custodian. It's so small that it makes him look like a giant.

This one started out almost as a gag, but turned out to be a cool project... it sounds amazing, and works exactly as planned. Being four frets shorter than a standard plectrum-scale five-string, it's tuned up a major third using standard sets of strings. Best of all, now a 90 year-old instrument with very little practical use gets a new life.

Back to work on the American Standard neck block today. 

[rnolan]

Go EoH, nice job!!