NEWBIE BUILDER!!! four string bolt-on

[tdogg]

it's finally time to build my first bass. ive been getting luthier GAS from this forum all winter and its finally time. ive read through "make your own electric guitar" a couple times. this is definitely my first build so im doing this one on the cheap just in case i mess something up bad. generic tuners and bridge (fender style), used Bartolini MM pup from the evil-bay, and menards lumber. ive already made a practice neck from a 2x4 so i have my neck carving skills down.

heres the rundown
-4 string
-bolt on
- 2+2 tilt back headstock
-5 peice, maple mahogany neck
-body is maple front, mahogany back
-hickory fretboard
-one bartolini MM pup ( passive for now)
-double cutaway. the body design is pretty much a copy of my yamaha bbg5s

i wanted to keep everythig simple for this build. i know there will be more after this so im calling this one my "learning build"

heres the body design, i know its hard to see but you get the idea.


heres the neck blank all glued up. maple with two mahogany stripes


the neck blank after a few passes through the joiner


the body getting glued


my sweet hickory fingerboard that i made out of a trim scrap from my dads house


i might not get to work on this till thursday, but im sure ill need some guidance from you guys so stay tuned. constructive conversation is encouraged. i cant wait to play this thing!!!!

[scottyd]

Looking good so far! I'm excited to see the hickory board! Is it going to be fretless?

[tdogg]

Originally Posted by scottyd

Looking good so far! I'm excited to see the hickory board! Is it going to be fretless?

its gonna have 24 frets. i guess i could have mentioned that. the hickory is hard as a rock and does not agree with my table saw. anybody know a good way to finish hickory? i waas thinking tung oil for the whole thing.

[Big Hungry]

Originally Posted by tdogg

its gonna have 24 frets. i guess i could have mentioned that. the hickory is hard as a rock and does not agree with my table saw. anybody know a good way to finish hickory? i waas thinking tung oil for the whole thing.

Just dont stain it. I lay hardwood floors and stained hickory looks horrible.

Otherwise it looks great.

[eleonn]

It looks really nice as it is right now, but well... this is matter of tastes.

[tdogg]

hey i have a question for you guys. i made the neck blank plenty thick to cut out the neck and tilted head stock all on one peice. i read that the scarf joint technique is an issue of strength. how big of a deal is this on a regular 4 string (the truss rod adjuster will be at the head)? it looks like my warwick is non-scarf joint, but many of the luthiers on here use the scarf joint technique.

[tdogg]

heres an update! i forgot to bring my camera into the shop so i brought the peices in the house.
heres the rough body shape cut out.


heres the truss rod route


i made a tiny oops on the truss rod route, but it will be covered by the fretboard.


and heres mushu and sasha inspecting my work.


what should i do next on the neck? do i glue the fret board on first or cut out the neck profile? im not totally sure of the order.

[manutabora]

So it's going to have TWO MM pickups? Man, that thing is gonna kill Keep us posted, it looks nice. I can't offer any advice, but I sure can enjoy the pictures

[eleonn]

Originally Posted by tdogg

what should i do next on the neck? do i glue the fret board on first or cut out the neck profile? im not totally sure of the order.

You can do it in any order. I tappered the neck first on my project then glued the FB and use the necks tapper as a guide for the router. There are people who tapper the FB and the use it as a guide for the router. Never saw anybody using a template to tapper the neck and FB after both are glued.

[tdogg]

Originally Posted by manutabora

So it's going to have TWO MM pickups? Man, that thing is gonna kill Keep us posted, it looks nice. I can't offer any advice, but I sure can enjoy the pictures

yeah i actually bought another bartolini MMC on ebay. i dont have a preamp yet though. i was thinking of a similar set up as the warwick corvette $$. two big pup, series/parallel switches, blend and 3 band eq. i dunno what pre i wanna buy though

[tdogg]

Originally Posted by eleonn

You can do it in any order. I tappered the neck first on my project then glued the FB and use the necks tapper as a guide for the router. There are people who tapper the FB and the use it as a guide for the router. Never saw anybody using a template to tapper the neck and FB after both are glued.

what about cutting out the back of the neck? can i put the fretboard on and fret it after the back of the neck is cut?

[eleonn]

I'm not sure what you mean with cutting out the back of the neck? If you meant to carving the shape of the neck I don't think this is a good idea. Not that it can't be done. With a good jig sure you can do it but it would be much more easy to slot the FB before gluing it to the neck (that is what usually everybody do here). For slotting a FB you want a 100% flat place and a carved neck is not. What I did was to tapper the neck, slot the fretboard, glue the fretboard, use the tappered neck as a guide you route flush the fretboard and then carve the neck.

[Mikey R]

Originally Posted by eleonn

...Never saw anybody using a template to tapper the neck and FB after both are glued.

thats what i did - and i can recommend REALLY NOT DOING THIS!

i used a strait grained maple blank for the neck but a curly maple finberboard, and the fingerboard just chipped between the fret slots.

it would have been so much easier to cut the fretboard - carefully - then cut the neck to match.

[tdogg]

Originally Posted by eleonn

I'm not sure what you mean with cutting out the back of the neck? If you meant to carving the shape of the neck I don't think this is a good idea. Not that it can't be done. With a good jig sure you can do it but it would be much more easy to slot the FB before gluing it to the neck (that is what usually everybody do here). For slotting a FB you want a 100% flat place and a carved neck is not. What I did was to tapper the neck, slot the fretboard, glue the fretboard, use the tappered neck as a guide you route flush the fretboard and then carve the neck.

i think ive got it figured out. right now that neck blank is about 2" thick. thick enough for the neck and angled headstock to be cut from one peice. so ill cut the side profile of the neck and headstock, slot the fret board, taper the fret board, glue the fretboard, flush route the neck taper, install frets, and then final shape the neck. sound about right?

[eleonn]

Id install the frets as the last step. You need you place the neck upside down in order to carve it and the frets would suffer for the pressure you put when carving.

[jordan_frerichs]

Originally Posted by tdogg

i think ive got it figured out. right now that neck blank is about 2" thick. thick enough for the neck and angled headstock to be cut from one peice. so ill cut the side profile of the neck and headstock, slot the fret board, taper the fret board, glue the fretboard, flush route the neck taper, install frets, and then final shape the neck. sound about right?

2" is enough for 2 necks with angled headstocks, if you scarf joint the heads.

[tdogg]

update time! we had a wonderful april blizzard here in minnesota so i decided to spend the afternoon in the shop.

carving the forearm cut and tummy cut


neck profile cut and fretboard ready to be slotted


fretboard slotted


mock up so far (there will be another pup, just waiting for fedex)


adding some width to the headstock


i think im going to put a thin peice of maple over the front of the head stock

[allenhumble]

Looking great! Keep it up.

[VisualShock]

awesome work! when you're done gimme some pointers, i'm a wannabe luthier looking for a simple first build

[bassgod76]

For a newbie builder, you're killing it! Kudos to you!