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Build II - Paradox MJ5 - New design!

#341
Maybe you're following my 'warped body' thread too, but as you may know, my bass' body developed a slight cup after glueing the laminates... I couldn't resist trying to get it back to how I liked it better... I moistened the top and clamped it like this:

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In the meantime, I will work on the fingerboard (planing, cutting), cutting the fret slots, gleuing the fingerboard on the neck (have to install the truss rod before I do that.. shouldn't forget.. making mental note..) and do some radiusing. I can even start shaping the neck profile, so I don't have to get bored while the body is in the clamps for a few weeks.

Oh, and I'm shopping online for a moisture meter right now..
 
#343
whodom said:
Any updates Rob?
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Not really.. the body as you see it above is still in the clamps (for almost 9 days now). The fingerboard blank got a very little, tiny bit of warpage.. so I had another thread up here discussing what I should do with it. It's now in clamps for over 3 days and almost ready to use...

Only thing is (don't laugh) I clamped my body over the router table with my router still in there. Now, I can't get the router out without getting the body out of the clamps, and I don't want to do so yet. So I kinda locked my most important tool in there... :hiding:

This is a paper template over the Macassar Ebony to select the grain and to see how it'll turn out:

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I hope to start working on the fingerboard soon, but I'm still puzzling how and where to start. I'll keep you posted, thanks for asking!
 
#344
Clamping a piece in an attempt to remove a warp doesn't really work in the long run. A warped piece of wood is more often than not a sign that the piece is stabilising internal tensions and achieving a state of equilibrium. Applying force to move it into another shape will not work permanently unless those internal forces are altered also, such as steaming for example. Wood will do what it wants despite our best attempts to reign it in. As a rule, I leave newly cut, glued, planed or shaped wood a week or two in order for any changes in internal tensions to express themselves.

When and why did the fingerboard warp in the first place, Rob?
 
#345
Prostheta said:
Clamping a piece in an attempt to remove a warp doesn't really work in the long run. A warped piece of wood is more often than not a sign that the piece is stabilising internal tensions and achieving a state of equilibrium. Applying force to move it into another shape will not work permanently unless those internal forces are altered also, such as steaming for example. Wood will do what it wants despite our best attempts to reign it in. As a rule, I leave newly cut, glued, planed or shaped wood a week or two in order for any changes in internal tensions to express themselves.

When and why did the fingerboard warp in the first place, Rob?
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Exactly my thoughts, but this was adviced to me and I thought it wouldn't harm trying it. Also, if I can get it flat in a few days, it will probably leave my neck straight as well. Also, the deviation is very minor. But if you like, please chime in over here http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f57/use-not-use-fingerboard-blank-854112/. The OP of that thread explains how and what.
 
#347
Today I thought just checking the body status wouldn't harm, so I released it out of the clamps. Turns out, the warp didn't disappear completely, but got noticable less. Especially the horns became straight again very well. The lower bout still has some cupping, but I can live with that. You cannot see it by eye. I hope it stays like this, maybe I let it sleep in its clamps for a while to be sure. So this is what I've got:

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I'm not ready to start on the fingerboard blank, so I decided to go for the neck pocket and pickup cavities. I started out by drilling the pickup cavity corners with a 7 mm drill. My router bit's diameter is too large for those tight corners and this is my solution to cope with that:

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Then, I aligned my previously made template on the body. It has a protruding support surrounding the neck pocket, so my router doesn't tip over at the edge and I clamped it down with three heavy clamps well outside the routing area. The clamps also held the body flat against the table, so my cavities have a flat bottom as well:

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I used a template guide to get to the right depth, removed it and used the ball bearing to clean up the cavities. This is how it looked after routing:

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And without the template, it's starting to look like a bass:

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I couldn't resist to try the pickguard on there. It fits remarkably well, I'm happy with it!

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The neck doesn't fit yet, the template was very tight already and on the hardwood it seems to have lost its flexibility opposed to the MDF and plywood template... but that's for another time. Now, it was time to enjoy a Gulpener Dort (Dortmunder), a very nice, bitter but light and smooth Duth lager.

195-gulpener-dort.jpg


See you next time :smug:
 
#351
HaMMerHeD said:
Thanks for this picture. I was beginning to believe you had magical dust-free wood.

Really excellent, clean work...for what it's worth, coming from one such as me.
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Thank you. I like to keep my bench clean, ground not so much, but I believe a clean surface helps in achieving good quality work.

Prostheta said:
This is the stage where you need to not forget to drill the connecting hole from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup. Thankfully you are doing a bolt-on.

I have never made this mistake. I was told about this happening to a builder by a stranger I met once on a train. Once.
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Aj, that's a nasty fail.. I planned it to be bolt-on, so wouldn't be much of a problem. Although, since the neck pocket came out that tight, I was thinking about a set neck. Would be easier in a lot of ways and I don't have to think about the thickness of the finish. But I find it scary to glue those parts together, not being able to disassemble them in the furture...

Thumpin_P said:
I love it!!!! Keep up the good work and good brew!
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:smug:
 
#353
Just have to say, again, how much I like that body shape, the pickguard on it, and your execution of both.
They look great together. And, FWIW, they look great together.
And, also, as well, I generally HATE pickguards on solidbodied instruments, too.
But that works. Well.

That said, the shot without the pickguard just calls to me, somehow...

It says, "Send your money to the Netherlands..."

:)

wraub
 
#355
wraub said:
Just have to say, again, how much I like that body shape, the pickguard on it, and your execution of both.
They look great together. And, FWIW, they look great together.
And, also, as well, I generally HATE pickguards on solidbodied instruments, too.
But that works. Well.

That said, the shot without the pickguard just calls to me, somehow...

It says, "Send your money to the Netherlands..."

:)

wraub
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PDGood said:
I love the playfulness of this design. Sub'd.
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Thank you guys, nice to hear you like it :smug:

I tried the pickups in there, they do not fit well yet because I did not yet clean up the routes with a chisel and some sandpaper, but I've got a good starting point. While at it, I almost started to doubt if I should dye the body... but I still think red looks killer and I want to get experience with that part of guitar building too.

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The fingerboard blank wasn't flat, I ordered it at 7 mm thickness, but the thickness varied between 6.30 and 6.95 mm... that's over half a mm and to my standards not good. So I took my 'planing jig' and routed the blank to 6.35 mm:

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You could see some minor router marks, but the result was pretty nice. Thickness now varies from 6.25 to 6.45 mm, which lives up to my standards and it's close to the desired thickness of 1/4".
Then, I sanded it with 40 grit to remove the router marks:

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...and with 80 grit to get it smooth enough to start working with it, looking great!

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You've gotta love ebony! At least, I do! :D

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And save the dust...

201-save-the-dust.jpg
 
#357
pilotjones said:
Beautiful fretboard.

As long as you're dying it red you might consider a yellow to red sunburst. It would look killer. Since the bass kind of reminds me of a Pedulla Rapture on drugs ;) it would be appropriate.
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Thanks! LOL.. yeah, the Rapture was one of my inspirational resources :smug: (I had a pic of a translucent blue one with a pearl pick). I thought dark red or dark red to a clear red burst.. all translucent of course. Maybe with a black dye first and sand back to bring out the figure..
 

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