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Build II - Paradox MJ5 - New design!

#162
headlikeahole said:
I don't think the type of glue is a big issue here. You might want to think about making some sort of press. That can help speed up the time from applying glue to applying pressure.
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Yeah, I want that, but since previous build went succesfull regarding this step, I didn't feel the need for that right now, although it's a wish for the future.

The bending was introduced after the clamping; during the open clamp time it stayed flat. Also, I got it clamped well, just not sure if it's good enough for a perfect result.

I think a press would most of all reduce the stress level of the builder :smug:
 
#164
I'm happy :hyper:... luckily, my worries were unfounded. After about 24 hours of clamping, it came out almost completely flat and the glue line turned out to be perfect :bassist:.

I applied the glue on the veneer with a roller:

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A thicker layer, spread with a piece of cardboard goes on the maple top:

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Then, I sandwiched this between two boards of 3/4" thick MDF to divide clamping pressure and attached all of my 12 clamps:

081-top-and-veneer-clamped.jpg


I left this for an hour, removed all clamps, cleaned up the excess glue and masking tape (at this stage, the top was curved due to the increased moisture content caused by the Titebond glue) and then reclamped everything for another 24 hours. After that, the glue was completely cured and the top came out way better then I thought it would, almost completely flat:

082-out-of-the-clamps.jpg


Cutting out the top safely outside the body contour showed the following glue line:

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This is the cut out top from the front:

085-cut-top-front.jpg


And this is how it looks from behind:

086-cut-top-back.jpg


And another side view:

087-side-view.jpg


Up until this point, I'm very pleased with the results of my work and I got some of my confidence back. I took a long time figuring out how I would do this and took great care while glueing, still turned out to be pretty exciting, but in the end I was glad to see the preparation paid off.

Currently I'm figuring out how to align this correctly to the body core. I will probably glue that together tomorrow.

:smug:
 
#165
Sorry to hear you had trouble, but glad you got it sorted! The wood bowing could be down to how you have been storing the pieces. If it has been in a very dry place for a while, then suddenly introducing water (glue) it may be a bit of a shock. Just a guess!
 
#166
Meatrus said:
Sorry to hear you had trouble, but glad you got it sorted! The wood bowing could be down to how you have been storing the pieces. If it has been in a very dry place for a while, then suddenly introducing water (glue) it may be a bit of a shock. Just a guess!
Click to expand...

Not real trouble, just scared to screw it up :smug:. The wood was relatively flat at 60% humidity, so it wasn't stored very dry. But since the glue was still wet after an hour, the bending occured. As you can see above, it seems (or I found out) you have to wait longer to let the glue cure completey. Then, there's no real issue.
 
#169
It's starting to get fun now :smug:.... I removed the clamps after about 9 hours and got this:

089-glued-body.jpg


I started routing the top flush with the body, revealing this: :D

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So, today's result is the following:

091-routed-body.jpg


I now need to route the roundover, but that's something for tomorrow (and frightening). Then, after some sanding, I'm ready to start with the neck. The pickup cavities and neck pocket have to wait untill I finished the neck, ideally, but I'm not sure if I'll wait for that... (or if I'll have the patience to wait for that).

Now for some sweet treat:

092-kasteelbier.jpg


It's a Belgian "Kasteelbier", a sweet, very rich and heavy ale (11%). It's full-bodied and creamy with a very clear hint of cherry. Yummy :D
 
#170
It's update time again... sorry for the pic heavy post, but I need to show today's result from a few different angles :bassist:

This is what I started with, you can really see the flames with this light too:

093-before-routing-roundovers.jpg


And a detail of the flamed maple, wenge and swamp ash body sandwich:

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/me doing some routings (no pictures of the process due to low battery level of phone and high stress level of builder)

So, after an afternoon of routing, this is what I've got:

095-rounded-body.jpg


096-rounded-body.jpg


097-rounded-body.jpg


098-rounded-back.jpg


099-rounded-horn-detail.jpg


100-rounded-back.jpg


I really like how the accent layer turned out, the body thickness is just fine at 43 mm and the roundover's also pretty neat. I need to do some sanding and maybe grain filling, I may carve a tummy cut and the transition from body to neck still needs some work... so there's more to come :smug:.
 
#180
Thank you all!

No progress on the bass last week. Next to cleaning out the shop I made a pencil box for my wife's birthday. It's a 'stock' box with a custom inlay. It's my first real inlay, I enjoyed it. The result's not perfect, but I like it. The drawing for the inlay is a copy of a drawing my wife made.

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Next steps on the bass will be finishing all plywood templates (almost there) and finish the MDF body mockup, so I can practice for the tummy cut and heel transition.
 

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