$100 Bass Challenge - Marceline's Axe Bass

[T_Bone_TL]

More-or-less this jig/sled, but with different end-parts for a larger radius. And work envelope. There's pictures on here someplace of one done with wheels/rollers but I cannot for the life of me find them (or it was a post linking to a web-page off of here showing the jig/sled)

http://www.talkbass.com/threads/fingerboard-radius-jig-for-router.655298/

With the "sled" part made, you can also use straight end pieces to make a "planer" that uses your router (in the sled, guided by straight rails.)

 

[MrArose13]

WOW! you really took off running with this one. I didn't get a chance to send pics, sorry, but I'll hook you up so you can decide if the big giant spike might be a better fit... it's yours. BTW this is a cool build. have fun talk to you tomorrow.

 

[mapleglo]

Rough positioning of tuners on the headstock. I'll have to make a nut - I think I have some scrap aluminum pieces I can use from the pickup spacers I made for the Leafenbacker.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Rough positioning of tuners on the headstock. I'll have to make a nut - I think I have some scrap aluminum pieces I can use from the pickup spacers I made for the Leafenbacker./QUOTE]

If you end up needing aluminum let me know and I will send you some scrap I have that should be plenty big enough for what you are wanting to do.

 

[Nic.]

Whoa. Subbed. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

If you end up needing aluminum let me know and I will send you some scrap I have that should be plenty big enough for what you are wanting to do.

Same if you end up needing (or would rather use) brass.

 

[PDX Mathias]

Yes, this is a great design idea. Perhaps I can make some kind of router jig to obtain this shape.

I'd be very interested in seeing how you taper the body, if you decide to do this. I'm considering doing an Aerodyne-style radius on a future (non-axe shaped) body.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

For the taper, I would (carefully) utilize a handheld belt sander.

 

[Luke19Boarder]

neat!

 

[PDX Mathias]

For the taper, I would (carefully) utilize a handheld belt sander.

I was thinking a router jig, somewhat like what is used for radiusing fingerboards, but that's a pretty complex setup. Freehanding a belt sander would be a whole lot quicker (and dustier!), but a bit less precise.

 

[Corey Y]

Your builds have all been cool so far Mapleglo, but I lovelovelove that you're making Marceline's axe bass. So excited to see how it comes out.

 

[mapleglo]

Wow, thanks for all the offers, interest, and support! What a wonderful community we have here at Talk Bass. It's really something!

So I've been thinking about the taper. One concern is the control cavity. I had thought I might be able to just rout out an area from the output jack hole and use an oversized jack plate to avoid using a control cavity cover. But really, there's no reason to work that hard. Of course, if I use a control cavity cover, that may not play nice with a tapered body. So more thought is warranted on this matter.

Of course, looking through the pictures of the series, I'm not even seeing a cable between the bass and amp, and it seems she's not even using an amp most of the time. I don't even know if there's a jack plate or output jack on the cartoon version. I'm thinking a good place for the jack plate would be here:

She's playing left handed in this picture, so the bass is upside down. The controls also seem to move depending on which picture one looks at. But the final control positioning will determine where the control cavity cover ends up.

There's also the issue of fret lines. They're clearly not to scale in the pictures, and I will definitely need the lines. So my options are a maple fingerboard with laminate mahogany strips, a mahogany fingerboard with maple laminate strips, or in keeping with the picture, just drawing or painting black lines. I think in any of those options, I'd want to coat the fingerboard with epoxy - likely fiberglass resin as I have some from the acoustic build.

Regarding neck dive, I was thinking about putting a second spike on the upper horn, with a strap lock on top of it. But first I'll see how it balances. I really want to keep this as light as possible - I'll be walking around wearing it for hours at a time, over the course of a weekend. ouch.

And finally, I have to make a nut, I'll try making one from some of the scrap aluminum I have. The string spacing - well, that's another area of research. I never made a nut from scratch before.

Anyway, I'm off to cut some aluminum.

 

[mapleglo]

Cutting a nut.

It's a bit over sized, but it's easier to reduce the size, than make it bigger. Now I just have to figure out the string spacing. Equal spacing between strings as opposed to equal spacing between string centers seems to make more sense to me.

 

[gsnad2000]

Almost looks like she could have fret lines in the 1,3,5,7,9,12 spots, skipping the even ones until you get beyond the 12 no?

BTW great thread already! Can't wait to see your progress.

 

[mapleglo]

Almost looks like she could have fret lines in the 1,3,5,7,9,12 spots, skipping the even ones until you get beyond the 12 no?

BTW great thread already! Can't wait to see your progress.

Thanks!

Yeah, the fret lines have been a mystery since the start. I'll go with a line on each fret, with inlay center and side round markers like "normal" basses.

 

[mapleglo]

The controls on this depiction seem to make the most sense, and are somewhat in line with my projected jack plate position. I'll likely go with something like this. Though I'd want to space the pickups a little further apart.

edited to add that I just received notification that my giant spike has shipped.

 

[MrArose13]

Well I finally got your pics. When I saw you had ordered a spike I thought... looks like she's got it covered, this things probably too big anyway... BUUT... after looking at the resent pic you posted this thing i got might be a good option. It would be a little tricky to mount though and you would have to rattle paint it sliver or strip it down to the aluminum, I'm sure you'd work it out thought.

this pics a little fuzzy, that's 1" on the calipers.

again, if you want it its yours.

 

[RyanJD]

I'm curious, what do you have planned for the color?
Stain it? Or are you going to paint it?

 

[mapleglo]

Well I finally got your pics. When I saw you had ordered a spike I thought... looks like she's got it covered, this things probably too big anyway... BUUT... after looking at the resent pic you posted this thing i got might be a good option. It would be a little tricky to mount though and you would have to rattle paint it sliver or strip it down to the aluminum, I'm sure you'd work it out thought.

this pics a little fuzzy, that's 1" on the calipers.

again, if you want it its yours.

It's actually a little bigger than the one I ordered. I'll wait until that one arrives, and see how it fits. If it's too small, I'll take you up on your offer. Thanks!

I'm curious, what do you have planned for the color?
Stain it? Or are you going to paint it?

I'm thinking rattle can paint, what ever is on sale at Home Depot. Red, with maroon blade edges, like the original.

 

[mapleglo]

Truss rod and jazz pickup templates order shipped:

And I ordered a strap for my red Rogue Bass from Amazon which also shipped:

Finding a red strap with black ends took some doing. I hope it's not too long.

Hmm, now that i think of it, I should be able to use this strap for this bass too.

I likely won't be able to work on the bass today. Tomorrow, I hope to get started on filing the nut.