The long-awaited 'Harbor Freight Parking Lot Sale' was today. Of course, it was raining and cold, so it turned into the 'Harbor Freight cramabunchapeopleinthestorelookingforbargains Sale'. Of course, nothing I could afford was on sale, and everything that *was* on sale wasn't useful to me at this time. The block plane I'm after is in stock, so I may have to pick that up this weekend at some point. That would bring my inventory of woodworking tools to exactly '3'.
Between Boodah (the woodworking fiend) and Guido, I should be able to score just about everything I'll need to get going, once I scare up funds and supplies. I even found out today that a co-worker has a belt sander, a small planer, and access to an industrial planer - and offered their service up! So - after supplies, a couple of Dremel bits and glue, the only thing I should be spending money on is lumber.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
This week's Facepalm...brought to you by "Craig's Guitars".
So, over lunch I decide to take a jaunt over to a local lumber company, which specializes in craft and exotic woods, looking for lumber for the Winter Bass Construction Project (tentatively titled 'Nine-Finger Johnson's Homemade Bass Gee-tars').
I wandered around, asked a few questions, and then rambled into the 'exotic woods' section. Wonderful wood - Bubinga, Curly Maple, all sorts of exotic species - but nothing in the thickness I need.
Specifically, I'm looking to build a bass with a 1-1/4" core of mahogany (for heft and tone) and 1/4" facings on the front and back (for 'teh purties').
well, long story short, I wrapped the dimensions around in my head, pulled a Willy Wonka and reversed them...and ended up with a $20 dimensional piece of mahogany that's 1/2 inch thick.
I'm trying to figure out how to use it - maybe a laminate sandwich with another 1/2" piece somewhere down the line - but we shall see. It might be a $20 lesson in 'measure twice, cut once, and make darn sure you have the dimensions written down AND reference them'
So, over lunch I decide to take a jaunt over to a local lumber company, which specializes in craft and exotic woods, looking for lumber for the Winter Bass Construction Project (tentatively titled 'Nine-Finger Johnson's Homemade Bass Gee-tars').
I wandered around, asked a few questions, and then rambled into the 'exotic woods' section. Wonderful wood - Bubinga, Curly Maple, all sorts of exotic species - but nothing in the thickness I need.
Specifically, I'm looking to build a bass with a 1-1/4" core of mahogany (for heft and tone) and 1/4" facings on the front and back (for 'teh purties').
well, long story short, I wrapped the dimensions around in my head, pulled a Willy Wonka and reversed them...and ended up with a $20 dimensional piece of mahogany that's 1/2 inch thick.
I'm trying to figure out how to use it - maybe a laminate sandwich with another 1/2" piece somewhere down the line - but we shall see. It might be a $20 lesson in 'measure twice, cut once, and make darn sure you have the dimensions written down AND reference them'
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Maybe....AdSense wasn't such a good idea, after all.
I happened to look at the front page, trying to get ideas for what I can change the layout to, or how I can freshen up the look, and Sweet Mother Of Bill Bixby! Ads, ads, everywhere!
I may have to reconsider this. Is it worth the potential $0.05 I could earn when that one person stumbles onto the site, clicks the shiny link and actually visits an advertiser?
Am I that willing to feed the mercenary part of my being?
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So - after stopping and starting, starting and stopping, I am resolved to make every effort to maintain this on a regular basis. There's plenty to write about, and I haven't put thoughts down in far too long. It's probably going to take some time to get back into the groove, but it'll worth it. Just like folding laundry.
The main reason I decided to take (yet another) stab at this is my latest fixation: building a bass guitar. Since 'The Band' has been meeting informally, making noise and kicking ideas around on an infrequent basis, I've been taking my bass playing more seriously. And - whenever I take things more seriously, that usually means one thing: I spend money on STUFF.
Be it Magic cards, camping equipment, fishing gear, home improvement, painting, writing, model building, poker, web design, fly fishing, basket weaving - you name it. Whenever I get 'inspired' or excited about something, I have always thrown buckets of money at the gear that may or may not be necessary. It's an obscene form of OCD (excuse me, CDO) that I've suffered with since I was a child.
Case in point:
When Tony and Rob asked me to start playing again, I had my Trusty Jazz bass, a cord, and little else. The Jazz had been relegated to hanging on the wall in the family room - a display piece, more than anything - and I had no amplifier, a basic strap and one lonely 1/4" cable. No amp, no other gear - not even the machine that goes 'ping'.
Tony told me he had an amp available, as had Robert, so all I really needed was the bass. Since the Jazz had been little more than decoration in the last 10 years, I gave it a thorough setup, cleaned it, and got it ready to play.
2 months later, I had acquired the following gear:
GK Backline Combo amp
Boss Bass Chorus pedal
Boss GEB-7 Equalizer pedal.
And had replaced the pickups in Teh Jazz with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz humbuckers, and added a Hipshot D-tuner for drop-D tuning on the fly.
Fast forward to today - 6 months after the first Reunion Practice, and my gear now includes:
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Boss BF-3 Flanger
Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive
Boss LMB-3 Bass Limiter/Enhancer
Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo
Boss RV-3 Digital Delay/Reverb
Dunlop Crybaby Bass Wah
Digitech Whammy
Custom Powered Pedalboard
OLP Music Man Stingray 5-string
...and there's yet more gear on my list.
what i'm REALLY Jonesing for, however, is a new bass. (yes, I know I just got one.) Unfortunately, the bass I want is no longer being made - the Wal Mach II Custom. Prices on the secondary market for used Wals routinely push $5000 - $6000, and there is NO WAY I'm gonna be able to afford that in my lifetime.
So - the next best option is to make my own. Which is my winter project....
I happened to look at the front page, trying to get ideas for what I can change the layout to, or how I can freshen up the look, and Sweet Mother Of Bill Bixby! Ads, ads, everywhere!
I may have to reconsider this. Is it worth the potential $0.05 I could earn when that one person stumbles onto the site, clicks the shiny link and actually visits an advertiser?
Am I that willing to feed the mercenary part of my being?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
So - after stopping and starting, starting and stopping, I am resolved to make every effort to maintain this on a regular basis. There's plenty to write about, and I haven't put thoughts down in far too long. It's probably going to take some time to get back into the groove, but it'll worth it. Just like folding laundry.
The main reason I decided to take (yet another) stab at this is my latest fixation: building a bass guitar. Since 'The Band' has been meeting informally, making noise and kicking ideas around on an infrequent basis, I've been taking my bass playing more seriously. And - whenever I take things more seriously, that usually means one thing: I spend money on STUFF.
Be it Magic cards, camping equipment, fishing gear, home improvement, painting, writing, model building, poker, web design, fly fishing, basket weaving - you name it. Whenever I get 'inspired' or excited about something, I have always thrown buckets of money at the gear that may or may not be necessary. It's an obscene form of OCD (excuse me, CDO) that I've suffered with since I was a child.
Case in point:
When Tony and Rob asked me to start playing again, I had my Trusty Jazz bass, a cord, and little else. The Jazz had been relegated to hanging on the wall in the family room - a display piece, more than anything - and I had no amplifier, a basic strap and one lonely 1/4" cable. No amp, no other gear - not even the machine that goes 'ping'.
Tony told me he had an amp available, as had Robert, so all I really needed was the bass. Since the Jazz had been little more than decoration in the last 10 years, I gave it a thorough setup, cleaned it, and got it ready to play.
2 months later, I had acquired the following gear:
GK Backline Combo amp
Boss Bass Chorus pedal
Boss GEB-7 Equalizer pedal.
And had replaced the pickups in Teh Jazz with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz humbuckers, and added a Hipshot D-tuner for drop-D tuning on the fly.
Fast forward to today - 6 months after the first Reunion Practice, and my gear now includes:
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Boss BF-3 Flanger
Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive
Boss LMB-3 Bass Limiter/Enhancer
Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo
Boss RV-3 Digital Delay/Reverb
Dunlop Crybaby Bass Wah
Digitech Whammy
Custom Powered Pedalboard
OLP Music Man Stingray 5-string
...and there's yet more gear on my list.
what i'm REALLY Jonesing for, however, is a new bass. (yes, I know I just got one.) Unfortunately, the bass I want is no longer being made - the Wal Mach II Custom. Prices on the secondary market for used Wals routinely push $5000 - $6000, and there is NO WAY I'm gonna be able to afford that in my lifetime.
So - the next best option is to make my own. Which is my winter project....
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