Yeah a few of us on the forum have done it. I really enjoyed doing this one. Measured and drew, measured, drew and redrew that sucker, haha. Seems simple to see it like this I suppose. Sort of "cut this" and then "cut that" but really there are lots and lots of hours figuring out how to make everything come together properly. I probably have more than ten hours just in measuring and drawing the bridge, tuners, pickups etc just to make sure all the hardware would fit properly. Many machine setups and probably a lot more hand work than most people would expect.

Still, it was a rewarding experience for me and I would encourage you to go for it if you have the equipment to get it done.


Early stages, after gluing up the boards and making the first CNC cuts
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0368.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0368.jpg)


Next cuts, shape the headstock including all the holes. Screw holes count too!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_HEADBACKDETAIL.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/HEADBACKDETAIL.jpg)


Next program was the biggie, the whole front including trussrod channel, body contour, body routing, etc. Didn't get a pic at this stage!

After gluing on the fretboard came fretboard radiusing, inlay, fret slots, and nut slot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0428.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0428.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_FEB5.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/FEB5.jpg)


Notice the fret slots don't go all the way to the edge of the board. Really came out clean but I had to cut the tang flush with the back of the frets. With the CNC mill of course.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0454.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0454.jpg)



Ready for binding, bent the stuff to shape using a heat gun. Worked great.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0466.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0466.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0489.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0489.jpg)


Checking fit
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0494.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0494.jpg)


Hand carved the neck

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0443.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0443.jpg)


In paint process. Love the back contours, never saw a thigh cut before so I figured why not?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0503.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0502.jpg


Yeah she's sexy ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/SEXY2.jpg

HOT D***!!!! Thats thing is amazing! I wish I could have one...

Need pics of the MILL!

It has a Rickenbacker look to it. Very nice.

Nah, that thing sucks. I'll take if off you, so you won't have to look at it anymore.

:D

Very nice work, very nice. What's the final weight on it, it looks very light?

SWEET!!

Yeah a few of us on the forum have done it. I really enjoyed doing this one. Measured and drew, measured, drew and redrew that sucker, haha. Seems simple to see it like this I suppose. Sort of "cut this" and then "cut that" but really there are lots and lots of hours figuring out how to make everything come together properly. I probably have more than ten hours just in measuring and drawing the bridge, tuners, pickups etc just to make sure all the hardware would fit properly. Many machine setups and probably a lot more hand work than most people would expect.

Still, it was a rewarding experience for me and I would encourage you to go for it if you have the equipment to get it done.


Early stages, after gluing up the boards and making the first CNC cuts
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0368.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0368.jpg)


Next cuts, shape the headstock including all the holes. Screw holes count too!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_HEADBACKDETAIL.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/HEADBACKDETAIL.jpg)


Next program was the biggie, the whole front including trussrod channel, body contour, body routing, etc. Didn't get a pic at this stage!

After gluing on the fretboard came fretboard radiusing, inlay, fret slots, and nut slot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0428.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0428.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_FEB5.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/FEB5.jpg)


Notice the fret slots don't go all the way to the edge of the board. Really came out clean but I had to cut the tang flush with the back of the frets. With the CNC mill of course.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0454.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0454.jpg)



Ready for binding, bent the stuff to shape using a heat gun. Worked great.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0466.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0466.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0489.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0489.jpg)


Checking fit
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0494.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0494.jpg)


Hand carved the neck

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0443.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0443.jpg)


In paint process. Love the back contours, never saw a thigh cut before so I figured why not?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0503.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0502.jpg


Yeah she's sexy ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/SEXY2.jpg

Sweet! Look at the pick-ups...this is what the Peavey T-40 should have looked like!

Need pics of the MILL!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCF0225.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCF0225.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0367.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0367.jpg)

The router on the left was the scene of most of the action. The table saw on the right was the main tool starting out getting the rough pieces ready to glue up. Notice the aluminum plate laying on the saw table, thats the kind of stuff we usually cut on that saw. It's a beast!

Looks really cool!
Well done

:) :bassist: :D

It has a Rickenbacker look to it. Very nice.

Kinda like Rickenbacker meets Peavey T 40, meets Jazz bass....the bass is friggin awesome! I love the look of the thigh cut!!!

:bassist: :bassist: :D :bassist: :bassist:

now that you have the programs, you need to make a dozen or so basses...

I'll take one in shell pink with MFD pickups and a tort pickguard :D

now that you have the programs, you need to make a dozen or so basses...

I'll take one in shell pink with MFD pickups and a tort pickguard :D

Oh it's been thought of! I even mentioned it to my boss/shop owner/friend and he said "hey anything that makes money is cool with me" Well maybe if the shop workload runs low sometime I can run a batch of 10 or something and try to make a few bucks. The prices probably would be out of line for an unknown builder though. I think it would be pretty tough going from a business perspective.

I think it would be pretty tough going from a business perspective.


I think you might be able to pull something positive off,you could feel the void of the Reverend bass market (retro/modern).

So suppose I did decide to go out on a limb and make a batch of basses. What would I need to do TalkBass-wise to keep everything proper. Run it throught the TB Bazaar maybe? I've tried searching around some and haven't really seen much info on how I could properly persue this. Any suggestions of where to look or who to PM to make sure I'm not breaking any rules checking out the possiblilties?

Talk to the admin, and ask him directly.


Cuz you REALLY need to sell this bass.

Only complaint: no binding around the headstock?????

And I'd easily consider a 5-stringer version of this.

If you do sell this:
bind the headstock
do "vintage" colors (seafoam green, shell pink, white) etc
It will be super hot

Huh! well I never thought about binding the headstock. I admit this design was highly influenced by Ric, and 4003 headstocks aren't bound. Got any pics of stuff that you've seen that would make you request that? I'd like to see what you guys have in mind.

I dont hacve pictures, I just think it would be even hotter with the headstock done too

That's a really nice looking bass, but seriously, it looks like it'd snap in half easily! It's so thin. How does it feel?

Sexy!
Nice job, well done!!!!
What wood is the body made from? What's it weigh?
Do you use MasterCAM to program the router?
-Stay tuned, more questions at 8.-

Thanks guys!

All drawn and programmed in MasterCAM, made all from the same piece of hard maple. Not like I had a huge board and carved a bass from it, but the board was pretty big and I cut pieces and glued them up appropriately. Here you can see the three piece neck quartered grain and the body flat cut grain.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0370.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0370.jpg)

The body is 1-1/4" thick, same as the Ric 4003 ;) Finished weight on this one is a bit under 7 lbs IIRC. Very light from all the cavity routing and back relief cuts. I'm going 1-1/2" thick next time though so I can fit the pickups easier. The T-40 p'ups were a little too tall even bottomed out in the body. I was able to get it playable, but when I brought the action down where I wanted it was getting string buzz off the pickups. The bass is currently set up with jazz pickups which fit fine.

Huh! well I never thought about binding the headstock. I admit this design was highly influenced by Ric, and 4003 headstocks aren't bound. Got any pics of stuff that you've seen that would make you request that? I'd like to see what you guys have in mind.


Well... consider any quality Gibson Les Paul.


Here's some reasons why binding should go throughout a guitar's design:


http://www.bcrich.com/images/lrg/beast_avenge.jpg
http://www.bcrich.com/images/lrg/mock_special_wht.jpg
http://www.espguitars.com/images/basses/ec-404.jpg
http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~rblander/music/lespaul.jpg

I'm still looking for a store that has this sucker in it to try it out:
http://www.espguitars.com/images/basses/f-255FM_STBC.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCF0225.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCF0225.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/th_DSCN0367.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0367.jpg)

The router on the left was the scene of most of the action. The table saw on the right was the main tool starting out getting the rough pieces ready to glue up. Notice the aluminum plate laying on the saw table, thats the kind of stuff we usually cut on that saw. It's a beast!

Cool. I would actually consider buying something like that. But 3000+ lbs? Not in *my* shop :p It would end up in the basement pretty quick.

Cool. I would actually consider buying something like that. But 3000+ lbs? Not in *my* shop :p It would end up in the basement pretty quick.


That's the lightest machine in the shop besides the saws, lol.

We're getting to be a pretty decent shop these days with two CNC lathes, four CNC 3 axis machine centers, two 5 axis machine centers, and a 4' x 10' waterjet. Lots of fun toys for me, YAY!

We're getting to be a pretty decent shop these days with two CNC lathes, four CNC 3 axis machine centers, two 5 axis machine centers, and a 4' x 10' waterjet. Lots of fun toys for me, YAY!

May I ask what the company makes? Job shop? What materials do you cut?

(Sorry, I'm a machining gearhead)

May I ask what the company makes? Job shop? What materials do you cut?

(Sorry, I'm a machining gearhead)


Don't be sorry!

We're a job shop and we probably do 99+ percent aircraft work. The vast majority of parts we make are from 2024-T3 aluminum. We're producing about 400 pounds of chips per day if that gives you an idea of how big or small our shop is.

Here's a little over a day's work of chips with the 5 gallon bucket for scale.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/DSCN0733.jpg


We might try running a few wood projects that could be considered our own product though one of these days ;)

That's the lightest machine in the shop besides the saws, lol.

We're getting to be a pretty decent shop these days with two CNC lathes, four CNC 3 axis machine centers, two 5 axis machine centers, and a 4' x 10' waterjet. Lots of fun toys for me, YAY!

Ok, I want a video of cutting out a bass body on the waterjet! :hyper:

Actually I'd think they wouldn't want you cutting wood on the mills because of the moisture. I bet you have to clean up pretty thoroughly afterwards.

The waterjet is for metal.... but that would be cool.

Ok, I want a video of cutting out a bass body on the waterjet! :hyper:

Actually I'd think they wouldn't want you cutting wood on the mills because of the moisture. I bet you have to clean up pretty thoroughly afterwards.


Well I manage the shop so I really can get away with just about anything I want to do... Company guy that I am though, I don't like doing stuff that interferes with the shop earning money :smug:

Running wood in the milling machines does make a mess though, both from wood dust and chips in the machine as well as all kinds of contaminates getting into the wood being worked on. The wood residue in the machine pretty well ruins the coolant and just makes a nasty mess in general. I've done it some years ago and don't do that anymore.

I've experimented with wood on the waterjet too and that's just not a good combination at all. No harm to the waterjet, but the wood suffers horribly. The water pressure is about 50,000 PSI and the water stream carries garnet abrasive which actually does the cutting. In wood, all the hard and soft variation of the grain cause the water stream to wander around (sort of like light refraction in different materials) and the abrasive tends to get all embedded in the wet wood. Nasty nasty!

No need to do any of that though, all the wood work goes perfectly fine with the saws and router.

The waterjet is for metal.... but that would be cool.


The waterjet does all KINDS of cool stuff. We've cut out foam rubber for shadow boxes, and that works great. Four layers of 2" thick foam cut fast and clean with water only. The foam take a while to dry out, but I haven't seen a more perfect or faster way to get the job done. We've cut some neoprene rubber and that works well too. It also does a great job with stone and glass, but I haven't needed to make any glass or stone parts. I have done a little bit of mother of pearl though and that worked out just great.

I know I've said it before but I've got a fun shop =)

My first WJ vendor bought his machine to cut glass exclusively. It does a fine job at that. We have a few stone countertop places here in town cutting all types of stone, marble, granite and tile as well.

If I wasn't looking for a twin spindle lathe with live tooling right now I'd probably be looking at a small waterjet. Fortunately my WJ (and laser) vendors keep me very happy with good pricing and fast turn times saving me from having to take the plunge myself.

By the way, I'm not only about CNC work. I like my hand crafting opportunities too.

Here's the guitar I built in about 1981 while I was in high school. The neck was made by Carvin, but the body was made from hard maple bought from a hardwood store somewhere around Detroit. I drew it by hand from looking at a two inch long pic in a magazine ad. Cut the basic shape with a jigsaw and did the rest of the shaping with hand tools. Spoke shave, block plane, rasps and lots of sandpaper. I borrowed a hand router from a neighbor to do the neck pocket and pickup and back routes. I think it was a medium blue metallic first. Man I sweat a lot over that one...

I added the quilted mahogany veneer and did the refinish job sometime around 1989. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/dirtybirdsmall.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Birdback.jpg

Impressive!

The waterjet is for metal.... but that would be cool.


Make a bass out of aluminum! That would truly be METAL!!!

dude, that ric-ish bass is awesome. man.

Even with the machines and the skill, it takes a lot of determination and drive to do that-my hat's off to you. great job.

Sweet bass! I love the profile and shape. Nice job! makes me want to try one.

thread resurrection!

I thought the bass was a short scale axe the first time I saw that pic of it next to the Jazz. I really like that headstock, but I'll go against the grain here and say that I like it non-bound. I think it's because of the shape, though. If it were a 2x2-style headstock, it'd really need some binding.

What made you decide on that colour for the bass? It looks great with the shape and the tonne of black everywhere.

Actually, considering the convo that's going on here, you guys'd probably know this: I'm thinking about maybe building myself a bass or two. Specifically, starting with a Warmoth-y something, just to get my feet wet, then maybe (If I can get near a workshop) trying to carve something. I sort of have this nebulous idea to get the logo for the headstock (and a small one for the body à la Godin) cut from stainless or aluminium. Any ideas where I can get something like that done? I'm still just planning and tryign to get some cash together, so I'm wondering what the cost would be if I did up an illustrator file.

But I'm even less than a noob when it comes to stuff like this.

Thanks, guys.

By the by, what pickups are those ?

you could make all the hardware yourself in that shop!