Since I've established myself in an IT position in a local high school, I have an entire woodshop at my disposal. I've wanted to build from scratch for a while now but haven't had the resources (apartment livin') until now.
Pics! Most are from my phone, so lousy quality. There's also a crack in the plastic of my phone, hence the weird mark on most of the pics. Here's a few of the shop area:
Stages:
Here's where I'm at as of now:
This is, above all, a learning experience. I'm not hoping for anything to come out very playable but I'm aiming for it. I'm planning on a lined fretless 5'er, with donor hardware from an old 5 string with a cracked neck I have.
The body shape was a rough sketch and done mostly freehand. I tried masonite for a template but it was too thin and the router bit destroyed it. So I made a new template out of plywood which is holding up quite nicely.
The only hardware I may end up purchasing for this is a trussrod and soapbar/MM style pickup; the donor bass has two J pups which I think would be a little cramped on this body based on my sketches.
If I've learned anything so far, it's PLAN AHEAD. I kind of dove into this headfirst without much in the way of life-size sketches, etc etc. I'm kinda wingin' it. While I'm still having fun, I'm slightly concerned about the final product. Only time will tell.
I do enjoy working with the pine, however. Very soft and easy to work with, although I'm curious what the weight balance will feel like. I think i'm going for a smaller headstock.
Some questions:
First of all, for a 'cheapie' build (but also overall), what would you suggest for a trussrod? I don't want to go crazy on an amazing $40 double action beast. Just something simple. Any stewmac/allparts product numbers that anyone's willing to throw my way?
The thing that worries me most is routing the truss channel. For a single action, it must be a bowed channel? Silicone to hold it in snug? How snug/well should the rod fit without any silicone/whatever?
Thanks!
