Finally put this back together ~ Luthiery Laboratories

June 24, 2020

Finally put this back together

June 24, 2020

I got all the electrics reconnected on the Kubickish bass. The switch at the lower-right has 13 connections coming and going; luckily I drew a diagram of the whole thing before I took it apart. The switch controls the mode of the pickups - coils in series or parallel. There is also active bass and treble controls, with a passive backup mode.

And now for the mechanicals. Everything went back together easily. I installed a couple of dings in the front when I dropped a pickup, but they are not noticeable. I think the Radiata glue-up looks fantastic.

Some final polishing with Meguiars and Pledge, and it looks nice and shiny. You might notice it is missing the 'Factor' badge under the pickguard. That is printed on thin delicate transparency material, and I put it away someplace safe. Too safe, apparently. No matter, I can print a new one, I will need a second one for the guitar anyway. Coming up next ...

Uncategorized, 06/24/20

« KMise Wireless Transmitter « » The Matching Guitar »

Comments on Finally put this back together

Phil:

June 26, 2020 at 7:56 AM

Love your blog. That body looks incredible.

Comments on Finally put this back together closed.

Questions or Inquiries?

Just want to say Hello? Sign the .

Finishing

Black Polyurethane body. This is during the polishing process, you can see it is not even clean. The front came out like black glass. I smoothed the orange-peel with 1500 grit wet, then 2000 and 3000. Then I switched to the random orbital with a red sponge cutting pad and Turtle Wax rubbing compound that claims to remove 1200 scratches. Shouldn't be any 1200 scratches, since I started with 1500. That came out shiny, but with swirl marks in the light. Then I switched to another red cutting pad with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, and finally a softer yellow pad with the same Meguiar's. At that point, it was pretty much a factory finish. I didn't work as hard on the back, it is nice, but will soon enough encounter a zipper or belt buckle, so the effort would be wasted.

More: Finishing ...