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6 string fretless for me

stevetx19

stevetx19

Sep 28, 2006
748
3
Denton, Texas
#1
Ive been storing some wood for a few months and its finally time start my next project...6 string neck-through, lined fretless. Specs:

Ash body, Bloodwood veneer line, Myrtle top(wings)
Neck through of flamed maple and bloodwood
Bloodwood fretboard, lined, 26
Black Hardware: Hipshot a bridge, brass. Ultralites.
Electronics: Im thinking passive with Nordstrand Dual coils.
Dual cut, nothing crazy...
anyway, this project is going to be slow; im hoping to finish this one by july or so...school gets in the way of fun...

Here are some pics of the wood. I have one concern: When i took my bloodwood board out of storage to start cutting lams, it seemed fine. BUT, i let the lams sit after cutting and after a few days they had warped. Now, the warp is corrected with the clamping, so i dont think i have to scrap it. Ive fixed similar issues in the past when clamping, but the warp wasn't this bad. Is there anything i should do prior to clamping to fix this or will it be ok?

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thanks
 
#2
This I very common. It's caused by inner stresses in the wood being changed when milled. One way to counter this problem is to mill your stock to final size in steps spread over a period of days. For example, joint one side and take a light pass with the planer. Then let the stock sit(not stacked board to board, but with stickers in between) for a few days the joint again and plane to final thickness. Also try to take equall amounts off of each side of the boardwhen milling, this will help to "balance" the stock. Also when ripping multiple pieces from one board, make them over sized let them sit and then joint, plane, mill to final.
The idea is to give the wood time to acclimate to its new smaller size gradually through out the process. Some very high end furniture makers, wait for weeks or months in between steps to ensure the finest most stable end results.

Looking forward to see this one take shape.
 
#3
I've had this happen with harder woods (bloodwood, ebony, bocote) more often than with others. It can sometimes also be an indication that the center of your lumber billet wasn't as dry as the outside. I'd say stack & sticker it (or clamp it if you can spare the clamps) straight as possible and let it acclimate in your shop for a few months. Should be fine then.
 
#5
OK so after a few months of hangin out, the wood is ready to proceed! ive been working on the body lams so here are some pics.

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Im also making 3 4 strings, and since they are all non commissioned i think its best not to have separate threads, so here are the pics and specs for those:

(3) 4 strings all 34", schaller hardware, all set neck
(2) alder/black veneer/Flamed Maple
-Indian rosewood boards on maple necks
-EMG p/j and J/J
(1) alder/maple veneer/walnut
-flamed maple board on maple neck
-EMG p/j

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one of the blanks is completely ready to be cut out, another is half glued up, and the last one has not started yet.

I will be working on these over the weekends as im too busy with school usually, but im hoping to finish these over the holiday break.
 
#7
quick update, pics will come tonight

the last few days have given beautiful weather, so i sanded the bodies to shape. I wanted to use a flush trim bit, but my router is small and didn't want to risk it. I realized that a build wouldn't be a build without the hours and hours of hand sanding.

Next step for the fours: round overs and pick ups,
next for the six is to glue the neck once ive finished working with it.
Its rainy and cold now, so i dont know when ill get another work day...
 
#8
erikbojerik said:
I've had this happen with harder woods (bloodwood, ebony, bocote) more often than with others. It can sometimes also be an indication that the center of your lumber billet wasn't as dry as the outside. I'd say stack & sticker it (or clamp it if you can spare the clamps) straight as possible and let it acclimate in your shop for a few months. Should be fine then.
Click to expand...

Hey Erik, have you ever had a problem where you've clamped up a blank, but that has caused it to crack?

stevetx19 said:
2 more weeks of school, then 6 weeks to (hopefully) finish all of these.
Click to expand...

You work fast

stevetx19 said:
quick update, pics will come tonight
Click to expand...

We're waiting...! :D

stevetx19 said:
Its rainy and cold now, so i dont know when ill get another work day...
Click to expand...

I can totally sympathise with you there - Im amazed than anyone can do top quality work without a decent (read: heated) space to work in, Ive tried and know how difficult that can be. Nice one! :cool:

Keep those pics coming :)
 
#9
Mikey R said:
I can totally sympathise with you there - Im amazed than anyone can do top quality work without a decent (read: heated) space to work in, Ive tried and know how difficult that can be. Nice one! :cool:

Keep those pics coming :)
Click to expand...

well, im in texas so i usually get warm weather to work in.
today was freezing rain though. and pics are coming as soon as my camera battery has recharged...:ninja:
 
#10
Ok so here are a few pics of the three 4's post roundover. Next up is depth routing for pickups and control cavity. What you dont see are the neck blanks (which are all maple). Scarf and truss routes hopefully by the end of next week.

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i realize this thread is supposed to be about the six string fretless, so ill give a quick update for that one as well. The 5 piece neck is going to stay in the clamps for another day, and will then need to be planed and sanded before gluing the body part of the neck blank on. Im hoping to do truss rod and graphite routing for all 4 on the same day so i dont have to rebuild jigs, so possibly some time next week i will begin to attach fingerboards. I didn't get nearly enough work days over the break, so im not anywhere near my completion goal. i hate to rush things anyway. They will be done when they are done...
 
#11
A revive for this thread as i've had three solid days of work in a row. I'm on Spring break for the rest of the week so i hope to get these on track again.
Necks are planed and scarf has been cut. I built wilser's scarf route jig and will be cleaning up the scarfs tomorrow.
Pickups are routed on the 3 4's.
Next up is scarf gluing, neck tapers, truss routes, and fb gluing. I'll be happy if i finish all of this by the end of the week.

pics tomorrow after the necks are further along.

peace
 
#13
Reviving this one. Life is a trip...and i've been anywhere but home for the past year. I've had some stability issues with the 6 string neck and have decided to use that blank for something less valuable to me. Thus, i've had some new maple glued up over the past week. It has been given some time to get used to Texas and tomorrow is the big day to get back to work on each of these basses. This post is the precursor to what will hopefully be an epic day of progress for these long over due projects. God i'm glad i don't have paying customers...

I promise pics tomorrow night!
 
#14
stevetx19 said:
Ive been storing some wood for a few months and its finally time start my next project...6 string neck-through, lined fretless. Specs:

Ash body, Bloodwood veneer line, Myrtle top(wings)
Neck through of flamed maple and bloodwood
Bloodwood fretboard, lined, 26
Black Hardware: Hipshot a bridge, brass. Ultralites.
Electronics: Im thinking passive with Nordstrand Dual coils.
Dual cut, nothing crazy...
anyway, this project is going to be slow; im hoping to finish this one by july or so...school gets in the way of fun...

Here are some pics of the wood. I have one concern: When i took my bloodwood board out of storage to start cutting lams, it seemed fine. BUT, i let the lams sit after cutting and after a few days they had warped. Now, the warp is corrected with the clamping, so i dont think i have to scrap it. Ive fixed similar issues in the past when clamping, but the warp wasn't this bad. Is there anything i should do prior to clamping to fix this or will it be ok?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

thanks
Click to expand...

As a note for you and any others reading, to help alleviate warps in thinner woods, spray the wood with a mixture of water and glycerine(90/10 or 95/5 depending on the type of wood) sticker the wood in small stacks or by the piece, and keep an even amount of weight on it to get it flat. Allow this to dry for 2 weeks, and the warp should be corrected, or 95% corrected. you can re-do this method enough to get the piece flat. An old woodworkers fix. For future consideration.
 
#15
thanks for the tip; i'll keep that in mind for the future.

Anyway, today went pretty well. I spent the past week setting up my router table, running several tests to make sure it was good to go before cutting the actual truss routes. What does it do today? Slips...Not too bad, it didn't mar the wood, it just routed my channel about 1/8" to the left, probably about as far as it could have without me running out of adjustment room. Regardless, i Have two neck blanks roughed out with truss channels, one of which has the fb being glued on right now.
Bodies got a bit of work as well, nothing serious. The control cavities are finished, and pickup routes are clean.
The best idea i've had in a long time was to put a 3/4" blade on my band saw for cutting the neck blanks. That sucker went straight through them like butta'.
Considering i spent several hours readjusting my router table and took the night off for the game, i'd say today was very productive. I'm tired...i promise the first thing i'll do in the morning is make some photos.
 
#19
well when you build 4 at a time....

i sanded the radius in two fb's today, marking the spots for inlay which might go down tomorrow night. I also cut out the faces for each of the headstocks which will be glued on Sunday. I need to sand the face of the other 2 necks down as the graphite is just a tad high of flush. I swear they fit when i tested....:scowl:
Anyone ever taken a router to graphite bars?

Hopefully i will be gluing the other two fbs on Friday and Saturday. That leaves Monday for gluing the body portion of the neck for the neck-through, which means next Wednesday i could theoretically be gluing the wings on.
The four string bodies are ready to go; as soon as my tenons are made on the necks i'll route the neck cavity.
My favorite part of building by far is carving necks....i feel like i'm rushing through the grunt work to get to that part :hmm:
 
#20
stevetx19 said:
I need to sand the face of the other 2 necks down as the graphite is just a tad high of flush. I swear they fit when i tested....:scowl:
Anyone ever taken a router to graphite bars?
Click to expand...

Yeah, graphite bars tend to float. I use a glue scraper to take them down flush-works real well. Actually, its one of my favorite tools-I use it for everything. Heres the only pic I have of it tho.....


PHonwings2.jpg
 

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