Build II - Paradox MJ5 - New design!

[MrBEAR]

I seem to have forgotten..... how red are you going?

Totally Red?
Translucent Red? Or even TR with enhanced grain ala Brubaker et al?

 

[roberthabraken]

I seem to have forgotten..... how red are you going?

Totally Red?
Translucent Red? Or even TR with enhanced grain ala Brubaker et al?

Check the very first post of this thread. I planned translucent with slightly enhanced grain, not too much contrast.

 

[josiah goldfish]

Thanks a lot, great to hear! I like your EUB design ideas and wood selection, I think an f-hole / chambered body would be a great addition. It's not really hard if you route out the chambers before glueing the top on and cut out the f-hole(s) with a copy saw or fret saw. I drew the design freehand on a piece of paper and scale it up to the right size. I also did a test run on a piece of scrap, same thickness as the top, to test the strength of the shape. Check out these posts:

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I spent yesterday evening deciding what I was going to do about the f-holes. After hours of research, I scrapped all I'd found and designed my own. Basically, it's going to be two bass-clefs (one on top of the other) with the top one slightly smaller, it will look similar to a normal f-hole, but swirlier and there'll be a gap in the middle. I'll post a pic in my build thread later.
Btw, great work here. I really enjoyed reading your website. It's also good to know I'm not the only one who does stuff free-hand!

 

[roberthabraken]

I spent yesterday evening deciding what I was going to do about the f-holes. After hours of research, I scrapped all I'd found and designed my own. Basically, it's going to be two bass-clefs (one on top of the other) with the top one slightly smaller, it will look similar to a normal f-hole, but swirlier and there'll be a gap in the middle. I'll post a pic in my build thread later.
Btw, great work here. I really enjoyed reading your website. It's also good to know I'm not the only one who does stuff free-hand!

Great to hear! Custom f-holes are cool . Thanks, I'll update my website soon with a build log of this bass (which will be more or less the contents of this thread in blog form).

 

[MrBEAR]

March 2011, I understand why I forgot now.

Thank You Robert

Check the very first post of this thread. I planned translucent with slightly enhanced grain, not too much contrast.

 

[roberthabraken]

March 2011, I understand why I forgot now.

Thank You Robert

And that was after I finished the design... I actually started in January 2011. I hope to get this project finished in less then two years (not from now, but in total).

 

[roberthabraken]

Sanding the radius by hand. Hate the day I chose ebony for the fingerboard... luckily it's only 20".

Almost halfway of being halfway...

 

[roberthabraken]

Tonight I started sanding the 20" radius in the fingerboard. I made the following setup, taping my neck to the table and clamping a straight (in this case flamed maple) blank next to the neck, to guide the sanding block:

It's very basic, but it works quite well. First I thought of guiding it on both sides, but that would lock up the sanding block constantly and I found out having the guide on one side only is enough. Here's an action photo:

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After this picture was taken, I continued sanding for over 45 minutes and got just past the fret markers. The result of one hour of continious sanding... It's tough sanding through ebony, even more with the medium quality 80 grit sandpaper I'm using. Maybe I will try to find better quality sandpaper or switch to 40 grit, although I feel that might leave quite deep marks in the pearl, so I think I'll stick to 80 grit.

I guess I need at least two or three more of those exercises to complete this task. So, to be continued...

 

[Hopkins]

Tonight I started sanding the 20" radius in the fingerboard. I made the following setup, taping my neck to the table and clamping a straight (in this case flamed maple) blank next to the neck, to guide the sanding block:

It's very basic, but it works quite well. First I thought of guiding it on both sides, but that would lock up the sanding block constantly and I found out having the guide on one side only is enough. Here's an action photo:

Link Removed

After this picture was taken, I continued sanding for over 45 minutes and got just past the fret markers. The result of one hour of continious sanding... It's tough sanding through ebony, even more with the medium quality 80 grit sandpaper I'm using. Maybe I will try to find better quality sandpaper or switch to 40 grit, although I feel that might leave quite deep marks in the pearl, so I think I'll stick to 80 grit.

I guess I need at least two or three more of those exercises to complete this task. So, to be continued...

Don't go to 40 grit, you will kick yourself later trying to get the scratches out. Go to your nearest paint and body store and get a roll of 4" wide adhesive backed sand paper. It only took me about 20 mins to get my mac ebony down to a 12" radius.

This is the stuff I'm talking about. I use Norton A275, its expensive but it doesn't clog easily and cuts fast.
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http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Abrasive-Pressure-Sensitive-Waterproof/dp/B000QJB37E

 

[R Baer]

And whenever you don't know how to proceed or solve a 'problem' (like the radiusing), it's always good to turn around and look at what you've already achieved, so here's a quick full mockup:

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That made me smile again, so it helped

Got to tell you, this is one of the coolest bass designs I've seen in a long time. If this was a production model, I might just be down for one. Now, just finish the darn thing already!

 

[jmorbita]

Patience my man!!

one advice I might give, I don't know how you're doing this, they way I did it on my build is stand with the neck in front of me, and worked pushing / pulling the sandblock towards me. This position seems obvious to me, but from your picture it might seem that you're working sanding from side to side going left to right, and if you are, I believe this might take a lot more effort as well as not be helpful when trying to keep the sanding block centered...

I don't have much expierence, but just wanted to point this out... also, I'm pretty sure a longer sanding block would help to make the task faster...

 

[roberthabraken]

Don't go to 40 grit, you will kick yourself later trying to get the scratches out. Go to your nearest paint and body store and get a roll of 4" wide adhesive backed sand paper. It only took me about $20 to get my mac ebony down to a 12" radius.

This is the stuff I'm talking about. I use Norton A275, its expensive but it doesn't clog easily and cuts fast.
Link Removed

http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Abrasive-Pressure-Sensitive-Waterproof/dp/B000QJB37E

Thanks for the tip! I will look for it, not sure if I'll be able to find it here, but I'll try.

Got to tell you, this is one of the coolest bass designs I've seen in a long time. If this was a production model, I might just be down for one. Now, just finish the darn thing already!

Thanks a lot! Great you like it! I'll do my best

Patience my man!!

Oh, lots of patience over here (as you might have noticed by the duration of this build)... just wanted to illustrate the hardness of ebony .

one advice I might give, I don't know how you're doing this, they way I did it on my build is stand with the neck in front of me, and worked pushing / pulling the sandblock towards me. This position seems obvious to me, but from your picture it might seem that you're working sanding from side to side going left to right, and if you are, I believe this might take a lot more effort as well as not be helpful when trying to keep the sanding block centered...

That's how I do it too, from the side isn't ideal indeed.

I don't have much expierence, but just wanted to point this out... also, I'm pretty sure a longer sanding block would help to make the task faster...

True. I have a longer one, but that one wasn't wide enough (my neck's almost 3" wide, due to the 5-string wide string spacing and 24 fret configuration). This block was the only one I could find that was wide enough.

 

[Prostheta]

Single direction strokes. Back and forth makes it dip in the middle.

 

[roberthabraken]

Single direction strokes. Back and forth makes it dip in the middle.

Really? Why? If you apply a constant pressure and move towards the outer edges with the center of the block (not turning around too soon), I can't see why that would be the case.

If you're right, this'll take much longer, as you have to pickup the block after each stroke and you can make only half as much strokes with the same movement..

 

[Prostheta]

Not a dip side to side, along the length. Back and forth concentrates sanding in the middle regardless of pressure because the paper spends more time in contact there.

I am sure that if you are checking straightness along the length as you work it will be no problem. It is an easy mistake to leave a slight depression in the middle when hogging with papers.

 

[roberthabraken]

Not a dip side to side, along the length.

I did understand that.

Back and forth concentrates sanding in the middle regardless of pressure because the paper spends more time in contact there.

Not true IMO. That depends on when you turn around and where you apply pressure. If you turn around just before the end of the board, yes it is. But if you go past the end with the center of your block (and put pressure on the center), than each stroke is equal to a full stroke from begin to end, albeit in two different directions respectively.

I am sure that if you are checking straightness along the length as you work it will be no problem. It is an easy mistake to leave a slight depression in the middle when hogging with papers.

That's a good tip nonetheless. I did it once during the process last night, but will do this more often next time.

Anyone else on this topic?

 

[Hopkins]

The LMII blocks IMHO are better than the Stewmac ones. They are 4" wide and a foot long, and have a different radius on either side.

 

[octaedro7]

Funny thing is that my experience is the opposite. Manual sanding of flat surfaces, going forward and backwards using blocks, has usually ended up taking more material from the extremes than in the middle, despite the rational explanation that the middle portion is sanded more times. The only explanation I have is the variability introduced by the arm movement. One direction only sanding produces more even results, but yeah, it' slower, particularly working with hard woods, it's kinda hopeless.

 

[roberthabraken]

Thanks guys. I still don't see why the middle would be sanded more times... I'll see if I can illustrate..

 

[m.oreilly]

dang, robert, this is just the stuff. i love this bass!