Using CNC for Bass Building?

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by arnoldschnitzer

Actually, no. I've been in both their shops, and they do not use CNC machines. They do, however, use mechanical duplicating machinery to rough out tops, backs, necks, etc. It saves a lot of time and lets them concentrate on the details, which they do extremely well.

If jonas is correct about them making their own fingerboards, then I have to wonder if they showed you everything they own. Roughing out tops, backs and necks is something that Pantagraph Carving Machines (mechanical duplicating machines) do very well and relatively fast. I would imagine that their carving machine is similar to my big (1200lb) 48" Northstar pantagraph carver. The same basic design has been in use in the violin industry for over a hundred years. Doing ebony fingerboards on one is an all together different thing . I've tried it, and the end results were not pretty. A CNC is capable of making much smaller increment depth of cut with far more precise than a human can using a PCM. I make my own fingerboards, but not with a PCM (or a CNC).

[mpm]

I bulit my own PCM but in the long run, not for me. As Matthew said if you change one parameter, you neccesarily have to do one whole run which does use up a lot of wood!

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by mpm

I bulit my own PCM but in the long run, not for me. As Matthew said if you change one parameter, you neccesarily have to do one whole run which does use up a lot of wood!

I'm surprised that you would say that. I've always thought the greatest advantage of the PCM is that it CAN be used for one off projects. On numerous occasions I've used mine to duplicate the profiles of the original neck when I've had to do neck grafts.

[Ken McKay]

I wish I had one of those big old beasts in my shop Bob, but then I'd have to throw out the glue bottle to make room

[robobass]

Just to address this business abous CNC being only usefull for production. When I had my commercial art business, I had a CNC Bridgeport knee mill, and a neighbor had a CNC router table. I often used both machines for one-offs. It was for many projects orders of magnitude faster that using non CNC machinery, even if I was making only one part. When it got to fifty parts, It wasn't necessarily that much faster, since I could have made jigs and templates, but of course it still was faster. That's why I named myself:

Robobass

[Doug Ring]

Originally Posted by jonas

Maybe, but now I tell you the secret: we Germans use to keep he good basses in Germany, and only sell the bad ones for twice the price to the USA ... that's why.
(just kiddin ... )

That's funny, I heard the same thing about German wine...

[1st Bass]

Originally Posted by bejoyous

The book Matthew is using is "So You Want to Build a Bass" by Peter Chandler. Peter made my bass and I'm out to his house regularily to visit.

He uses a small rotary grinder of some type (it kind of looks like a small circular chain-saw) to rough out the front and back. He says the bass starts at about 200lb and ends up around 20lb. That's a lot of whittling!

Of course, he uses the small planes to do the fine work.

The book showed a photo of all the wood, parts, etc. for a bass-- at 115 pounds--and stated the finished bass weighed 20 lbs..still an impressive amount of wood to remove. The "circular chainsaw" is marketed under the name "lancelot" and can be bought through Woodcraft and other woodworker supply stores. It fits a 4" grinder. Very effective, and an absolutely wicked tool, if you make a mistake.

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by robobass

Just to address this business abous CNC being only usefull for production. When I had my commercial art business, I had a CNC Bridgeport knee mill, and a neighbor had a CNC router table. I often used both machines for one-offs. Robobass

If I had the money and didn't have to worry about it paying for itself, I would love to have a CNC carver to play with. It's usefullness if probably limited only by your imagination. I am reminded of something my late mentor once asked me. "Do you think that Stradivarius wouldn't have used todays power tools if they had been available to him?"