Coming soon; Steinbacker fretless bass

[JIO]

Haven't had much time to do further for now, but will update soon.

Meatrus - yes.., sometimes it's best to stop while you're, er, behind... (now you got me second guessing every implication!)

TheEmptyCell, thanks for following!

... and yes reverendrally, a needed neck plate will be custom fabricated. (haven't heard back from Don yet on their various length Steinberger neck-plate mystery)

[JIO]

... just want to say, that having the opportunity to create a unique instrument like this bass is not to be taken for granted. I am lucky to have connections to an art-fabrication shop here on the coast of the SF bay area/Peninsula w/many of the shop-tools/machines I am using to fabricate this bass. I started this "thread" of creating unique hybrid basses more than a few years ago and each time it gets more interesting. The best part is the process, and the next best part is playing these project basses. To all of you that are following this build, I wish you could play the result - I can't wait!

[JIO]

Seems obvious, but it ends up that the smaller neck-plate is for Steinberger guitars, not basses. In the description, it states "for GM series guitars" and I missed it. Unlike most Fender neck plates which fit guitars and basses alike, these are for guitars only.

Also, more thoughts on the neck platform stabilization issue... what if I routed a shallow relief into the rear of the body (to keep the back side flush) and attached a 6" long (double the length of a standard plate) metal/steel plate and used multiple screws to bolt it down. It wouldn't be the most aesthetic choice, but would that be enough to keep things stiff/stable?
If so, I think I could detail finish it in a way (in keeping w/the matt black parts) that will look ok/techie/cool .

Your insights will be appreciated.

[Matthijs]

I don't think a narrow steel bar set in the back will add a lot of strength, unless it goes pretty deep. One broader or two narrow reïnforcements will be better.

As long as your custom making the neck plate, you could make a longer thick neck plate and rout it into the body. Another idea might be to drill out two holes for threaded rods legthwise through the body.

[JIO]

My very thoughts Matthijs - I've already rendered a 7 1/4" slightly flared 9 bolt plate that extends into the body. I thought about routing it into the body but didn't consider making it thicker than a standard (Fender) plate. The neck platform is 11/16ths, so if a thicker 1/8" plate was fabricated, that would leave 9/16" wood. Will determine my solution soon...

[phat5]

Subbed!

[stedtale]

interesting

[JIO]

I've talked w/a friend who has a super nice long plank of linear-strand carbon fiber about 1/4" thick. This stuff is way stronger than steel and relatively light weight. He is going to help me cut out that long plate-shape I made a template of (and drill 9 bolt-holes) out of that plank. Once routed flat into the back of the body there is no way on earth neck/body flex will occur. And aesthetically, it will be consistent w/the concept and look very cool.

I've had no spare time lately, but very soon I'll update w/pics of the project. I guess anything worth doing is worth waiting for!

Thanks for hangin' in there!

[reverendrally]

That is still not going to be stiff enough I think. The idea of putting some carbon rods in is the trick I reckon. Otherwise, I still think it will move.

[JIO]

Finally got some work done on the project. Routed the 1/4" pocket for the carbon neck/body plate. (still to be cut/drilled) Weather or not this tact w/give the neck/body connection the rigidity it needs is to be seen down the road. I'm banking on success as the south end of the dense carbon plate will be anchored into the full depth of the body wood, and the neck and plate will sandwich the neck platform with ultimate stiffness. With all interfaces snug and tight, I can't imagine it moving. I also did some backside edging and shaping, to RIC specs. So next it's top face binding routing, installing the (black) binding, and final finish-sanding before sanding sealer and finishing.
And yes, in the lower pic of the full back you do see a small bondo patch filling the most common error for DIY folks - the incorrect angle pick-up to control cavity drill channel...

[Thumpin_P]

Looking great!

[Matthijs]

Good to see some progress! Love to see this finished.

[JIO]

Did a couple of sanding-sealer coats filling little divots w/bondo between and sanded it smooth. Will do a few more to fill in the minimal-depth grain. I need to run down a router bit that will give me the 16th by 1/4th rout for the biding and once that's accomplished the detailing/finishing w/start.

[JIO]

Some of you may have finishing skills, but if not I'll pass along some tips to help w/your DIY projects. If you want a slick, smooth as glass finish on your instrument (body), it starts with eliminating the grain texture. After doing a reasonable job of sanding the bare wood, (reasonably smooth) use a vacuum and a tack-cloth to get it dust free. Create a way to hang or attach it so it can be worked on and left to dry between coats w/o touching anything. The neck-pocket is a logical place to attach a clamp or bolt-on a stick. For my body, the neck platform will only be finished on the narrow edges - so I used a small wood clamp and hung it up. I used fast drying thinner-based sanding sealer and applied a number of coats, sanding lightly between coats. This is more to fill in the grain so it's not critical in the sanding dept to get it perfect.



Once you've done 4-5 coats w/light sanding between, do one more coat and then use a piece of flat wood as a sanding block w/sandpaper wrapped around it and sand off all the sealer. Depending on the depth of the grain, the wood surface should be flat w/o visual texture if you eyeball it across the surface w/a light-source. My Korina has minimal grain, so it filled in nicely, and the hard flat wood did a nice job of leveling the flat areas on the front and back. It even helps smooth/crisp-up the sides where they are flat, and then use the freed paper on the rounded edges etc. More vacuum/tack cloth and the final coat of sanding sealer is brushed on and then mostly wiped off, so it soaks in and leaves little surface material. After a thorough drying, you're ready o apply the finish of your choice. I'll pick up more on this after I do the binding. Hope that helps.

[JIO]

Progress! I corralled my friend w/the carbon board and finally cut that sucker out using a carbide blade in a jig saw. This stuff is amazing - super rigid and light, and it turns out that it can be filed/sanded reasonably well/cleanly. Initially you need to be careful of the sharp-cut edges as they are razor sharp and the edge fibers are fine slivers that you don't want piercing your skin. You can see the vertical length fibers in the 2nd pic. I ordered a specialty (bolt hole) drill-bit, and a countersink bit for drilling into carbon and low profile head bolts. (nine bolts will be installed over its length) As Bob Dylan sang "you (it) ain't goin' no where". I got it to fit snug as a bug into the body rout but allowed the plate to sit above the body back so that when finished it should come nearly flush. I'll wait until after drilling the holes before final shaping of the exposed neck/body/plate area when I'll round out the edges of the carbon and sand the whole plate to de-bur the hole rims and edges. If I need to, I will seal it w/a thin coat of clear lacquer. More soon!

[JIO]

Building a bass/guitar from scratch is difficult, but sometimes it's harder starting with pre-drilled imbedded machine-bolt mollies in the neck heel, and aligning and drilling precise holes in a slab of unforgiving carbon fiber to line up perfectly. 6 hours later and I'm checking off to-do's. There probably are a few ways to do this, of which one was used. The neck heel fits snug into the neck pocket, so the object is to make it possible to use that to create the hole guide. I got a box of the bolts so I had spares to hybrid into useful markers. The head gets cut off, and the depth of the molly is noted, and the bolt is cut to that length after grinding a shallow point into one end. The coupler and nut were used to extend the bolt to work on it. (if you were wondering )



Next step was to install the bolt nibs and press the neck into the pocket, thus creating indent/points in the neck heal. A punch was used to further define the points for accurate drilling on a drill press.



I used the heel holes as guides to drill the carbon, and countersinking the heads was done after that. The material made it difficult to get a clean hole, even w/a brand new sharp bit. Such is the illusive nature of perfection.



Finally, I drilled the holes in the heel 1 size larger for fine-tuning the neck/body alignment. It's tight, but there is a bit of wiggle room, which is good. I filed the edges and sanded the carbon so that it's smooth to touch w/slightly rounded edges. So far so good. Will wait to do anything more w/the plate until the body is finished/painted.



And as you noticed in the last pic, I also did the top binding rout. It was pretty straight forward and the fresh bit cut a clean channel. Stay tuned for binding installation and finishing in the days ahead!

[reverendrally]

*virtualpatontheback*

[ronaldpdbrandt]

Thanks for the refresher course on using sanding sealer! I'm about to do this myself, so it was helpful to see it done right, before I start mucking it up.

[ricca]

Well done!!!

[Thumpin_P]

Outstanding!!! Keep up the great work!!!