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Don't Make the Mistakes I made!

DigthemLows

DigthemLows

Oct 10, 2003
1,632
1,541
53
Sacramento CA
#1
Seems like a good thread title huh? There seems to be a lot of new folks taking on a first build and I'm sure there are "duh" moments happening. Let's post them for everyone to learn from.

I'll start.....
The biggest opps that almost ruined my whole build happened when I used cabinet wood for a template to cut my neck taper with a router. By cabinet I mean the stuff that's coated white. I knew it was slick so I sanded it in places and then clamped it to the neck with tons of clamps. So in the first 2 inches of routing I looked down and realized the neck had slipped under the template and I was cutting into my neck. I got lucky because the neck template was oversize on accident so when I used MDF to make a new one I lucked out (I also used double sided tape this time).

Also, never turn your router off or on while it's in position. There's a small kick to a motor going from 0 to 22000 rmp will kick a little (I ended up with a small bump when I did my truss rod route but it wasn't enough to affect anything)
 
#3
DO warn your family not to storm in while they hear a machine on! I didn't do that and my wife opened the shop door (which makes a loud noise in my case) while I was cutting a 45deg on the back of the neck to remove most of the bulk before shaping ...I freaked and looked to see what was going on while on the last 2" of the cut ...nothing irreparable happened to the neck, but the bandsaw pulled it in and a piece of it went flying straight to my face cutting me between my upper lip and my nose ...too bad I didn't have a mustache, that would have cushioned the hit a bit.
 
#4
well. having done my fair share of mistakes, and still not finished with the bass, I have some to tell.

Keep a close eye on your body thickness, if you get below 1 1/4", and plan to put a preamp in there, you're out of luck

make very small runs with the router until you have reached your desired depth, too thick and things can go very bad, and you may take out more wood than you hoped.

carve the body AFTER you glue it to the neck (for a neck through), it is very difficult to glue the body together after you carve, and then trying to keep the carve consistent after you glue is also difficult.

Always order more wood than you need, extra is always useful and if you make a mistake, it is easier to fix with the more wood you have.

PLAN! I didn't have a solid plan and I wasted 150 bucks, a good plan can get you a long way.

hope this helps

Greg
 
#5
You can never have to many clamps...

Exhibit A: When clamping a template to a neck or body, and routing along this template, if you don't have enough clamps on your router just might move and KABLAM! it's over. I should know.

Exhibit B: When gluing parts together, and you're a bit short on clamps, your pieces might not stick together properly, and when you start working with your laminate KABLAM! something rips. I should know.

Also, don't make your control cavity to close to the edge of the body, it'll make a weak spot there, and if you're trying to drill your jack hole there KABLAM! major ripage. I should know.
 
#6
Don't assume professionally purchased tools are correct out of the box. My stew mac tuner hole jig has 3/32 of deviance, call me crazy, but I like my tuners to line up exactly. I did a batch of six necks and didn't notice until they were completely done- finished fretted, everything. should have measured the tool.

don't drill your output jack hole on a tele style guitar before routing your binding ledge.
 
#11
if possible, rout the edges of a body on a neck thru before gluing to the neck. i had a router grab on the last pass and gnawed into my already fretted neck. needless to say, i actually found the chunk of ebony somewhere in the corner of the shop and glued it back in. had to reinstall 2 frets too. oh yeah, make sure you know what kind of truss rod you're using and which direction is supposed to be up. i kept tweaking the neck to correct upbow and it just got worse? *scratches head*
 
#12
Don't rest any of your fingers in front of a chisel when pushing. A lot of people don't think they're so dangerous because they don't make any noise or anything... but man. You don't really just "ding" yourself with a sharp chisel.

Make sure you have all of your electronics holes drilled (or routed), especially before you glue a neck on a set neck :rolleyes: It's still possible, but it's a little iffy when you're trying to drill a hole from the control cavity all the way to the neck pickup in one shot.

There are SO many more, but I gotta go to work. I'll be back! Great thread!
 
#13
Teh Fleaz0rz said:
carve the body AFTER you glue it to the neck (for a neck through), it is very difficult to glue the body together after you carve, and then trying to keep the carve consistent after you glue is also difficult....
Click to expand...
maybass77 said:
if possible, rout the edges of a body on a neck thru before gluing to the neck. i had a router grab...
Click to expand...
Guess it's a matter of opinion. Looks there are advantages and disadvantages to each way.
 
#15
As the title says, what were some of the mistakes you made in your time building basses/instruments? And what was your solution?

I'm on my first build, nearing the finish line. A few of the mistakes I have made:

1. I have a 1/4" walnut laminate between the wings and the neckthrough because the contrast between the poplar and the maple wasn't right. Well, everything was fine, until I decided to put the wings over the jointer before gluing, to ensure that they were perfectly flat for gluing. Well, I was rushing and didn't keep the pressure right on the wing, and ended up with a sort of taper, which I had to fix by going over a few more passes on the jointer to make it squared again.. losing about 3/16" of the 4/16" thick laminate on that wing. Luckily the Top and Back will cover most of the mistake, but looking from the bottom you can clearly see that one laminate is thinner that the other.

Solution: Never rush, Especially, when you are almost done. Make sure that the wall guide on the jointer is perfectly squared, and make sure to apply the right pressure, to the right place... at the right time.

2. When I drilled the holes in the headstock for the tuning keys, the clamp slipped when the drill bit hit the wood, and well, I was sort of rushing.. and didn't notice til I was about 1/8" in, so I continued. In the end the tuning keys are about 1/8" to the right of where they should be.. looks more like 1/4" :D

Solution: Never rush, and always make sure your work is clamped up good. Or maybe I should not use a drill press with the headstock/neck clamped awkwardly.. hmm.

3. When I glued up the bookmatched back laminates, the glue was slipping and sliding, and I didn't really plan the clamping very well ahead of time, so I had a hell of a time getting the back to clamp where I wanted it to clamp, Right when you see that its in the spot you want it, you try to tighten the clamp a bit to get some ooze out, and sliiiiip. When the clamps were removed, and the dust settled, the glue up was pretty good, except, the center line of the bookmatch was about 1/16" gap, which I will probably fill with epoxy and walnut dust mixed.

Solution: Plan ahead, know exactly which clamp is going where. And I hear that when gluing up top and back laminates, you should put the glue on the piece, when wave it in the air for about 30 seconds to let the glue get a bit less... slippery, then you will have a much easier time getting it to clamp in the right spot "So I hear".

That is about it for my Mistakes, but remember I am only on my first build, and i'm sure I have plenty more Mistakes to come... unless I can learn from Your Mistakes.

So let's hear them.

If this has been done before, I appologise.
 

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