Back From The Back Burner Build

[the feebler elf]

This is a continuation of a project I started 2 years ago. I built and finished a body, only to decide that I hated the body shape. I scrapped the old body, and I'm just now getting around to building the neck and a new body.

Rough Template -

Ash Body Blank -

Ubiquitous Maple/Purpleheart Neck -

I had a little accident that resulted in some excessive glue on the neck surface... I'm planning on planing the neck down today, and making my scarf joint tomorrow.

 

[the feebler elf]

I decided I wanted to try my hand at some pickup covers. I'm using ash for the "body" and top, with a rosewood veneer in between. I'm going to be using Jazz pups on this build, but I decided to make the pickup covers (and the pup routes) the same size as a Nordstrand Signature or Bart pickup, in case I decide to try something different later on.

The Bearings on my router bit slipped while routing out the cavity, resulting in a less than perfect edge on the left side of the block... Fortunately, you'll never see it while it's installed.

Rough pickup cover -

 

[bassteban]

Nice! I have several back-burner projects, as well as a few that got pushed off behind the oven entirely.
Good on you for picking it back up. BTW, I quite like the body shape.

 

[the feebler elf]

Nice! I have several back-burner projects, as well as a few that got pushed off behind the oven entirely.
Good on you for picking it back up. BTW, I quite like the body shape.

I know what you mean... I have started far more projects than I will ever finish.

Thanks! I've had this shape planned out for over a year, and I'm still in love with it!

 

[the feebler elf]

Cocobolo board after slotting -

After gluing in maple veneer lines -

I'm not 100% happy with the way the veneer is seating in the fret slots... I may saw them out and try again. Even kicked around the idea of just fretting it later on.

Since my jointer is a PITA to work with, I dropped my neck blank off with a local woodworker this evening to have the top and bottom surfaces planed down.

 

[vbasscustom]

sweet, thats gonna be cool. lovin the shape

 

[PasdaBeer]

Ive done 4 maple/rosewood venner fretlines so far. Its a bit funky everytime. Using a laquer pen on the ends or a burn in stick always seems to work well for me though.

 

[the feebler elf]

sweet, thats gonna be cool. lovin the shape

Thanks!

Ive done 4 maple/rosewood venner fretlines so far. Its a bit funky everytime. Using a laquer pen on the ends or a burn in stick always seems to work well for me though.

I should have taken more time and care to prep my fret slots. I cut them using Stewart Macdonald's fret saw, and they were just a hair thinner than the veneer. I had to widen the slots with a knife to avoid splitting the veneer as I pressed them into the slots, and even still, I had some trouble getting them seated.

I wound up with uneven lines when viewing the board from the side - as in some strips of veneer are deeper into the board than others. Not the end of the world, but a cosmetic annoyance... I've decided to attempt a maple binding to hide the fret lines from the side.

 

[the feebler elf]

Not a whole lot of progress tonight. I got my neck blank back from the shop, ready for me to make the scarf joint. Next time around, I'm going to spend a day getting my jointer adjusted so I can avoid sourcing out any work. On the upside, I've found a friendly new wood supplier.

Board after sanding down fret lines -

Glamor shots -

 

[PasdaBeer]

Thanks!



I should have taken more time and care to prep my fret slots. I cut them using Stewart Macdonald's fret saw, and they were just a hair thinner than the veneer. I had to widen the slots with a knife to avoid splitting the veneer as I pressed them into the slots, and even still, I had some trouble getting them seated.

I wound up with uneven lines when viewing the board from the side - as in some strips of veneer are deeper into the board than others. Not the end of the world, but a cosmetic annoyance... I've decided to attempt a maple binding to hide the fret lines from the side.

yup starting from well fit slots helps a lot : )

Also being sure that your vanner is cut flat on the bottom makes a big diff. Messed that one up on the first one.

 

[vbasscustom]

good luck with the binding but its really not that difficult.

 

[PasdaBeer]

binding before installing the board is much easyer then you would think

 

[the feebler elf]

Cut the scarf joint by hand Thursday night. Next time, I'm making a jig for this.

I wasn't 100% happy with the scarf joint I had cut, so I decided I would build a jig to finish the job.

The flat "rails" at the back of the jig are for using the router to thin the headstock.

 

[the feebler elf]

good luck with the binding but its really not that difficult.

binding before installing the board is much easyer then you would think

Yeah, I'm thinking it shouldn't be too difficult. I think I'll just make another template that's 1/2" narrower than my existing template, and use 1/4" maple strips to bind the fingerboard.

 

[PasdaBeer]

or just use a rabbiting bit. thats what ive used for similar jobs.

 

[vbasscustom]

yeah, if you attach the board first, taper your neck to the template, and the use a rabbiting bit along the fretboard, it will make a nice binding channel for you. then just use some maple thats a little bit wider than the channel and when the glue dries, router it flush

 

[the feebler elf]

Things have been slow going over the past few days...

I used a couple of finish nails to locate and hold the headstock in place while gluing. Notice the bite from the router bit near where the nut will mount... Luckily, that area will be trimmed away.

I will be using veneers on both the front and back of the headstock. Maple over rosewood on the back, and I've been eyeballing a bookmatched spalted maple top that I may use for both a body top and matching headstock veneer.

 

[the feebler elf]

Alright.... After a move late last year, and a badly broken hand and two surgeries, I'm back on the build.

Routed the neck and headstock shapes yesterday -

The router bit actually ripped out the maple veneer at the first fret line...

Time willing, I'll start shaping the back of the neck this week.

 

[nato101010]

Cool!

The vibe of this is really cool. The end result will be sick. Any finish ideas yet?

 

[the feebler elf]

Thanks!

Not 100% sure about the final finish yet... Perhaps an oil finish on the body, and probably a thin wipe-on satin poly finish on the neck.

Cool!

The vibe of this is really cool. The end result will be sick. Any finish ideas yet?