CURRENT CATALDO

[Dadagoboi]

I received an order for two basses from a customer, a Polaris white JAEbird and an Ebony black REV. These are essentially the same bass, a Thunderbird variant. The REV has a raised center, shaved heel and more contouring than a JAEbird.

JAEbird blank. This started out as a 1.75" thick 2 piece Allparts Alder body blank. Cataldo basses are maximum 1.5 inches thick. My Belsaw Planer is only 8 inches wide. So I split the blank in half, planed it to 1.5", jointed the edges and glued it up. Knot will be dealt with later. Note that the body template is not on the centerline of the blank. This bass gets painted so it's not important IMO.

REV blank. Using another 2 piece blank I cut a 4.25" strip off an edge. Then I bandsawed the remaining part to allow the assymetrical wings to be cut without wasting any material.
I planed the center section to 1.5" and the wings to 1.375". Jointed the 3 pieces on a '70s Craftsman 6" jointer and glued up the blank.

Next will be routing the neck and pickup pockets using this.

 

[Dadagoboi]

The Onsrud inverted pin router has adjustable depth stops. I set the first one at .25" for the pickup cavities. ThunderBucker pickups, like the original Thunderbirds, are .5 inches thick. Pickup rings give a very tight route.
I also use that setting for the initial neck pocket cut which is cut undersize using .1" 'flaps' on masking tape hinges. This prevents the pocket from getting too large due to slop in my old equipment.

After going to the final pocket depth with flaps in place, I fold back the flaps and finish off the perimeter of the pocket with the pin putting minimum pressure on the template.

Neck is an interference fit.

I use .125" hardboard on each wing of the REV to get a flat surface for the router table. 2 pin nails on each piece are enough to keep it in place.

The joint is tight enough to hold the neck in place with the template attached to the blank, about 20 lbs. total.

 

[Splods]

Looking good.

 

[GKon]

sub'd

 

[hillerup]

Subscribed!

 

[ctmullins]

Oh man, I love watching how the "real" builders do it! And I love the Cataldo style!

 

[Hopkins]

I think a pin router may be my next investment, after I upgrade my jointer

 

[Beej]

An accidental thread hi-jack: I had the pleasure of using one of these a few weeks ago in my neighbour's workshop. http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=43038&cat=1,43000 I was quite impressed; it was much more solid than I would have thought. I'm on the fence right now on a purchase...

 

[Dadagoboi]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys!

Here's my .5" mdf template. I line it up using the pickup routes on the blank and template. One screw into the neck pocket and one in the bridge area. The black areas on the template are from development of another model, the MAX.

I bandsaw to about .0625" to the edge of the template. 3TPI x .5 " Olson blade on a Delta 14" with cool blocks. Removing as much excess wood as possible will put the minimum strain on the 15 amp router motor and bit.

I remove the template and slice off this area at the front of the neck pocket. Otherwise the router bit can make a mess of it.

Template back in place, .5" upcut spiral router bit raised to its maximum 1.5" cutting height. I do perimeter shaping in one pass to utilize all of the cutting edge of the bit. Otherwise the top part of the bit will do all the work no matter how may incremental passes you make.

90 seconds later...

...take that CNC!

 

[Dadagoboi]

.375 holes for pots and jack. I drill them before routing the control cavity, it eliminates tear out on the inside.

.5 holes to accommodate pickup and ground wires.

Hung out to dry.

 

[Scoops]

Oh man, I love watching how the "real" builders do it! And I love the Cataldo style!

I'm trying to figure out what a "real" builder is. Insights please

 

[ctmullins]

Somebody who has more than a router and a WorkMate in the backyard. Somebody with dust collection and climate control.

Somebody other than me, in other words!

 

[Scoops]

Somebody who has more than a router and a WorkMate in the backyard. Somebody with dust collection and climate control.

Somebody other than me, in other words!

My intent here is not to hyjack this thread, but I just thought it an interesting comment. There are tons of people doing it the way you and I do, but I consider all of the people posting here "real" builders.
Just MHO.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Somebody who has more than a router and a WorkMate in the backyard. Somebody with dust collection and climate control.

Somebody other than me, in other words!

I do some of my best work in the backyard...I have a shop vac but no WorkMate. A/C barely works in the house much less the shop in the summer.

My intent here is not to hyjack this thread, but I just thought it an interesting comment. There are tons of people doing it the way you and I do, but I consider all of the people posting here "real" builders.
Just MHO.

I agree, we're all real builders here. As far as 'luthiers' go I don't consider myself one. I buy my necks and I've only built one set neck bass.

 

[Hopkins]

I do some of my best work in the backyard...I have a shop vac but no WorkMate. A/C barely works in the house much less the shop in the summer.




I agree, we're all real builders here. As far as 'luthiers' go I don't consider myself one. I buy my necks and I've only built one set neck bass.

I don't really consider myself a lutheir either, as I only really build electric basses and guitars. In my mind a luthier is someone who can build or repair anything with strings.

 

[ctmullins]

No disrespect intended to anyone. Truth is, I'm just jealous of anybody with a pin router.

 

[Scoops]

No disrespect intended to anyone. Truth is, I'm just jealous of anybody with a pin router.

LMAO.....Now the truth comes out!

BTW, I wasn't insulted, or disrespected.

Have a great day!

 

[Dadagoboi]

This is my four and six bolt neck pocket template I use with Harbor Freight transfer punches.

During the last month I've been finishing this. Cadillac Green acrylic lacquer.

The customer wanted the headstock plate to match the tort guard. They don't make the stuff that thin. My solution was to photograph the sheet of tort, work it in photoshop and print a laser sticker

Then I cut an .020 lexan plate and applied the sticker

Here 'tis

 

[pilotjones]

Love that green, and it goes beautifully with the tortoise.

 

[natw42]

+1 to PJ. That bass is stunning.