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When I do it, I do it by hand with a shinto rasp. I rough it in with the rasp and then use my random orbital sander with a soft sanding pad to break the edges and blend it together. But I'm a hobbyist doing it for fun, not any kind of production shop. The pros probably use CNC or a router bit.

Success! I gave my bandsaw a tuneup and went extra slow. Two pieces about a mm each, saw marks aren't too bad. One side is planed but they're too thin to send through the planer, so it's hand work to get the other side flat. My jig to do this is to tape the veneer to a piece of MDF and...

Sad news. Gluing the veneer to the body core didn't work. The veneer bubbled up in places. I suspect it did this because the veneer was uneven, so I couldn't get even clamping pressure, so the moisture from the glue caused the thin veneer to swell where it didn't have enough pressure, causing...

The world seems to be conspiring against my using veneers on my body. When planing my maple layer, I had a big chunk tear out. It's right in the middle so I don't think I can place my template around it. I tried hand sanding my Padauk layer to even it out. After sanding about fifteen...

Top and back are glued and planed. Nothing like freshly planed wood. The body core is also glued together but not much to see since it won't be visible in the finished product except the edge. I still haven't done anything with the padauk. I think I'll try to hand sand it this weekend.

Finally had some time for the shop this weekend. I spent some time on the bandsaw, resawing my top and veneers. I made two wenge tops. The nicer one will be the top, the other will be the back. Because of the size of my board, the back won't end up being a proper bookmatch but should be...

Looks better than my first attempt. Good work.

I suppose it's too late now, but couldn't you have used your bought template to make a custom template with the fingerboard notch?

The difficulty in making a P pickup template for my first build played a large part in making my own soapbar style pickup covers for my second build. I wasn't happy with the quality of my first template and didn't want to make or buy another one. Traditional P routes are too fiddly.

I don't like trying to hide a mismatch, it often doesn't look right. If you want to use a 3rd piece to widen it, use something that contrasts so it looks like you planned it that way. I always like the method of, hide the error by pointing it out and pretending you did it on purpose.

I'm not putting my feet on the internet for free! Some people may enjoy it too much. If you want to see the original pics, you'll have to subscribe to my Only Toes.

Problem corrected, it won't happen again.:laugh:

It always feels good to get the first glue on a new project. I figured out why my maple laminates were unused from my previous project; they have horrible tool marks from the table saw. I must have recut them rather than clean them up. That's ok, nothing the planer won't take care of. And...

A few years ago, I built my very first bass. My skills as a builder have improved significantly since then and as a result it never gets played. My plan this year is to use the hardware and pickups from it on a new build. In keeping with my theme of repurposed parts, I also plan to use scrap...

I love the finished product with Wenge. It looks and feels great with just a little tung oil. I hate working with it. You have to be very careful shaping or even handling it to avoid splinters. As much as I hate working with Wenge, I have a nice piece in my stash that I'll probably use for...

I like the six month option. While I appreciate the time restrictions that come with a three month build off can force you to get it done, the weather restrictions are too much for me.

I'm going to stop making jokes because it seems to be misconstrued. I never said anything negative about inexpensive instruments, I think its a great thing that cheap guitars and basses are better than they've ever been. I like pau ferro, my last build was made from it (the headstock in my...

My conspiracy comment was intended as a joke. I already suspected that the real answer was them trying to solve the problem of how to build a bazillion guitar per year at a price people are willing to pay. The solution is to make them from a material which is cheap and plentiful, ie, rusty pau...

I don't know where Fender gets their dry rusty Pau Ferro. None of Pau Ferro I've seen at any of my lumbers sources looks anything like that. My conspiracy theory is Fender intentionally picks ugly Pau Ferro to increase demand for their Rosewood guitars.

Lots of people here are in a similar situation, so that's exactly why we want to see it. From what you've posted, your limited tools don't seem to be holding you back, beautiful work.

I like the idea of the year long build off. In my garage shop, the coldest parts of winter and hottest parts of summer are unworkable. I'll try to participate in a traditional winter build off, weather permitting, but can't promise it. As to my build, I've been wanting to repurpose the...

My first build was a neck through. I found it easier to wrap my head around. I'm the kind of builder who likes to lay things out physically rather than relying on plans and calculations. With the neck through, I could build the neck and rough cut the body wings, then dry fit them together to...

I aim for "just a hair" when doing the second fret test you describe. But as long as you don't hear fret buzz on the open notes, it's not too low.

I always love it when I can't decide whether I like the front or back better. Looks great from all angles.

Love that fretboard. I hesitate to give this feedback because it's too late now but, it would have been really cool if that big eye were on the 12th fret. As it is, I think its the 13th if I'm counting right (I'm viewing this on my phone, its entirely possible I'm miscounting). Plus, I don't...

Looking good. This kind of build wouldn't look right without the imperfections. It needs some wabi sabi, it would look fake if it were too perfect.

I don't see why it wouldn't work. Weight and hardness are similar to commonly used species. How the finished instrument will sound is a mystery but that's part of the fun: build one for us and let us know! As far as size, if you're looking for a Fender style body blank, they're usually around...

I've built two basses that were about 1.25" bodies. Standard pots work just fine, but stacked pots or push pull might be a tight fit. I also use 1" pickup screws to make sure they don't poke out the back.

Fingerboard radius is a matter of preference. 9.5" will work, but it's more a matter of if you like it. Visit a well equipped guitar store and try to find a five string with that radius. If not, it's not too expensive to buy a radiused block that you will like. Many of us don't even use...

No need to explain, very few of us here think that way. We're more of a "let's get crazy" crowd

Sure it does. A P bass has two coil and usually two pots. You could also do a 2x2 headstock, there's two more twos right there!

The thing about a bandsaw that makes it feel less dangerous is it doesn't kick back, and the blade guard covers the blade all the way down to the work piece. I can let go of my work piece and it's not going anywhere, don't try that with a table saw or router. Of course, you don't want that to...

I have to agree with everyone else, for instrument making, a bandsaw is more important than a table saw. I'll use my bandsaw to resaw lumber and cut veneers, deliate detail work where other saws might be sketchy, rough cutting body shapes and neck tapers before using a router template, and...

When I did it, on non lutherie projects, I was gluing a straight line, so I ran it through the table saw to remove a thin bit of wood, probably less than 1/16". That obviously wouldn't work here if you want a seamless repair.

Since it was repaired before, how you'll need to fix it depends on what was used for the first repair. Regular wood glue like titebond doesn't like to stick to itself, so if that's what was used the first time, I wouldn't expect your new repair to hold. I'm not qualified to tell you what you...

Amazing first build, looks much nicer than my first build and more ambitious at that! Very impressive. More important than the looks is how it sounds and plays, how did you do in that regard?

I probably won't enter this one but am excited to see what everyone else does. I have a few non-lutherie projects to do before I work on anything lutherie. If I end up entering late, I was considering rebuilding my first scratch build since my skills have improved and I never play it...

I hesitate to use wenge anymore for this exact reason. I get splinters every time I get anywhere near it. I've also had it splinter in chunks when carving it. I have a scrap piece of wenge big enough to make a few tops or fretboards out of that I'll probably use eventually but I probably...

I always disagree with the idea that any fingerboard should be left unfinished. At very least, use a few coats of a drying oil like tung or linseed. When people complain that their fingerboard looks dry, thats the sign that it should have been finished. Soapbox rant over, I think your...

I don't know if I'll participate or wait for spring to start my next build. I like the idea of reinterpreting a classic, but could find a way to make my plans fit either theme.