If my last post was on 2011-07-27, and today's post is dated 2011-10-08, then there must have been a three month period without an entry. Much less a journal than a quadriannual. Enough said.
After a busy couple of weeks earlier this month spent preparing for the biennial printers' fair (or Wayzgoose) in Vancouver, which really deserves an entry of its own, today is the first day of more-or-less directly remunerative work. Repairs can be a pleasant way to get back into things, so:
This looks a bit like taking Grandad's Waltham pocket watch apart to clean it. However, it's essentially it's a sort of psychological ploy to ensure that the work gets done properly (or gets done at all). Perhaps rock-climbers do this when faced with a tricky climb - put themselves deliberately in a position of no-return, when the only way down is up.
This bass has been in the wars, certainly. The inside is water stained - odd; the outside finish had been heavily abraded in parts, perhaps with a wire brush. The neck has acquired a fearsome bow (visible in photo), which caused the fingerboard to separate itself along most, but not all of it length. At some point the two were forcibly rent apart. A new neck and fingerboard were originally all that was required, but it very quickly became clear that far more work would be needed: many of the glue joints had failed, and the bouts were barely attached to the top and bottom.
Today: clean bare wood, plane as needed, and re-glue bouts to corner blocks. The tail-block needs either replacement or repair. Then the top and bottom can be attached, which will mean making a LOT of clamps, which will fortunately be useful for the new bass.