Double Bass Bass bar repair

[niedermee]

I'm trying to repair the bass bar that's pulling away from the top and have seen James use of crochet material as reinforcements, but do I need to completely remove the bass bar and then reattached or just focus on the areas that have lifted?

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Photos would be helpful, as would be specific information about the bass.

 

[eh_train]

... have seen James use of crochet material as reinforcements ...

You're most likely thinking of linen patches as a form of reinforcement. Crochet is when you fashion yarn into a pattern. Don't think that would be a good approach, somehow.

Like KFS says, pics and more description would help immensely.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[niedermee]

You're most likely thinking of linen patches as a form of reinforcement. Crochet is when you fashion yarn into a pattern. Don't think that would be a good approach, somehow.

Like KFS says, pics and more description would help immensely.

Cheers,

Paul

Oops, my mistake. I think needlepoint was the term I was looking for. I remember seeing a post where BassManDan got a lesson from James Condino and they used it as reinforcing material. But, those pics will have to wait, as I got shipped out to the field for a few weeks. I'll be sure to post them when I get back.

 

[james condino]

Crochet made me laugh out loud; I only do that for the crinkly dress hippee girls' basses. Lots of people use varying different materials to get this job done. I went to one of those giant sewing shops that take up half a mall and sat down and had a long conversation with a couple of old ladies in big pastel hats that had used everything in the store for decades. I told them what I wanted to do. I gave them some strength and working characteristics from an engineering perspective. I tried a number of different much higher tech options like silk, carbon, and kevlar. All of them had really low holding strength with hot hide glue; unacceptable low. When I tried this, it rocked. I've used it on about 50+ basses now, every one with outstanding results and performance, great adhesion, low tech, organic, and completelly reversable. If you have something that works better for you- great, keep on using it. From now on I'll be known as the guy at the trade shows selling tie dyed crochet bass bar covers and wheatgrass shots with the hot hippee girl slurping Yerba Mate through a bombilla taking orders.... WAY better than another crusty old guy in his 1980s suits!

j.
www.kaybassrepair.com
www.condino.com

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

James, is that green paint I see trickling down from the ff-hole? Do I even wanna know what the rest of the bass looks like?

niedermee, to be clear, the use of linen soaked in hot hide glue goes back centuries. The carved Shen basses I've seen typically have their center seams reinforced with linen instead of spruce cleats, which is a clever way to speed up production while ensuring a good solid build. Linen is quite strong, nearly weightless, acoustically invisible and tends to contract as the glue cures which is a neat way to get a very tight seam.

What you want is unbleached flax, not crochet, macrame or macaroni. Before using your flax to fix a bass, launder it and tumble dry it on a low setting to tighten up the weaving and get everything lined up nicely. Looking forward to seeing your photos.

 

[turf3]

So what exactly is the fabric called? I assume it's linen, but is there a specific term? (If I had to describe what I am seeing, I would call it "linen canvas".) How did you get it sucked down on the surfaces, did you vacuum bag it?

 

[niedermee]

Crochet made me laugh out loud; I only do that for the crinkly dress hippee girls' basses. Lots of people use varying different materials to get this job done. I went to one of those giant sewing shops that take up half a mall and sat down and had a long conversation with a couple of old ladies in big pastel hats that had used everything in the store for decades. I told them what I wanted to do. I gave them some strength and working characteristics from an engineering perspective. I tried a number of different much higher tech options like silk, carbon, and kevlar. All of them had really low holding strength with hot hide glue; unacceptable low. When I tried this, it rocked. I've used it on about 50+ basses now, every one with outstanding results and performance, great adhesion, low tech, organic, and completelly reversable. If you have something that works better for you- great, keep on using it. From now on I'll be known as the guy at the trade shows selling tie dyed crochet bass bar covers and wheatgrass shots with the hot hippee girl slurping Yerba Mate through a bombilla taking orders.... WAY better than another crusty old guy in his 1980s suits!

j.
www.kaybassrepair.com
www.condino.com

This post is better than the Sunday funnies! Thanks everybody. I'll let you know how it goes and will send photos for sure. Gotta get back home first.

 

[moles]

So what exactly is the fabric called? I assume it's linen, but is there a specific term? (If I had to describe what I am seeing, I would call it "linen canvas".) How did you get it sucked down on the surfaces, did you vacuum bag it?

Canvas would be too heavy. Something in a "muslin" weight is probably more what you're looking for. Depending on what the luthiers here have to say about it...