Spent some time leveling the sides to accept the back with no gaps. I wanted to do this before applying the tentalones. It came to me during the night, the perfect sanding device would be that huge circular sanding disc with 80 grit paper on it.
Perfect- it spans the entire bass.
Look at that rough sandpaper. and if you put pencil marks on what you are sanding you can tell where and how the sandpaper is cutting. Don't worry about that ugly gap. I will be inserting a nice piece of rosewood or some dark wood in a top to bottom inlay and you will never know that I failed to make a perfect joint here.
| And then I needed some more tentalones, so out came my magic tentalone machine |
and with a little hand labor I tapered them and sanded them smooth ready to apply to the body of the bass
The tentalones are glued on, the hole for the end-piece is drilled- the sides are sanded down and ready for the back.
Now I need to visit my local luthier friends to see if any of them have a large taper auger that will allow me to taper this 7/8ths hole to accept tightly the ebony end piece fitting. Hopefully George, or Dake, or Stan will have this tool in their kit. I will make the rosewood decorative piece later and inlay it into the maple sides.
