• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Build thread: walnut, maple, buckeye burl, pickups, bridge

#41
It's been a slow few weeks in terms of shop time, thanks to summer and other things going on. I have spent maybe 2 or 3 hours in the shop since my last update. I have pretty much finished routing on the body - headstock is shaped and thicknessed, the body has a roundover now, the cavities are done. I also finished rough carving the heel and headstock transition, and I cut the control cavity cover. Then I glued on the fretboard. That's been about it. The work happened in minutes here or there so I didn't really pause for photos. I took one photo of the in-progress heel carve and a "progress so far" shot with the pickup covers and bridge mocked up.

IMG_20210801_105310.jpg


IMG_20210804_082020.jpg


I'm starting to wish I had a little metal lathe so I could turn some brass knobs to match the bridge, but I'll probably just do some wood knobs instead since I have that down pat.

I still have to choose tuners. Nothing is going to match. :( Black won't match anything. Gold will clash with the brass. Chrome will clash with the brushed baseplate. Maybe I can find some nickel or satin chrome tuners that don't look bad with the bridge.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BritFunk, Beej, BBassBassington and 9 others
#42
dwizum said:
It's been a slow few weeks in terms of shop time, thanks to summer and other things going on. I have spent maybe 2 or 3 hours in the shop since my last update. I have pretty much finished routing on the body - headstock is shaped and thicknessed, the body has a roundover now, the cavities are done. I also finished rough carving the heel and headstock transition, and I cut the control cavity cover. Then I glued on the fretboard. That's been about it. The work happened in minutes here or there so I didn't really pause for photos. I took one photo of the in-progress heel carve and a "progress so far" shot with the pickup covers and bridge mocked up.

View attachment 4357239

View attachment 4357242

I'm starting to wish I had a little metal lathe so I could turn some brass knobs to match the bridge, but I'll probably just do some wood knobs instead since I have that down pat.

I still have to choose tuners. Nothing is going to match. :( Black won't match anything. Gold will clash with the brass. Chrome will clash with the brushed baseplate. Maybe I can find some nickel or satin chrome tuners that don't look bad with the bridge.
Click to expand...
Nice work!
I've used a drill press to sand and polish round stock to make a knob or something similar.
Drill for the shaft, drill for set screws. Attach that to a bolt or piece the same size as the pot shaft and chuck that up. Sand and polish away. You cant do anything really fancy, but I've made some interesting pieces.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BBassBassington, Reedt2000 and dwizum
#47
dwizum said:
I still have to choose tuners. Nothing is going to match. :( Black won't match anything. Gold will clash with the brass. Chrome will clash with the brushed baseplate. Maybe I can find some nickel or satin chrome tuners that don't look bad with the bridge.
Click to expand...
I think your baseplate will be a challenge to match with tuners. Maybe if you can get a Cosmo black plate and matching tuners? Not as black as black ;)
 
#48
Well, maybe, but I happen to hate cosmo black. :D It strikes me as the worst of black combined with the worst of chrome. I know it's popular, but it's just not my thing. Plus I'm not sure how I'd DIY a part in that color unless I made it and then sent it off for finishing, which I don't really want to do. I really like the look and patina you get from bare metal that's only finished with wax after either being brushed up to about 800 grit or polished to a low gloss. I fantasize about making my own tuners so I can control the finish on them as well, but that's just not realistic (for now, at least).
 
#50
I have no lathe at all. The wood knobs I do are cut with a hole saw and finished by borrowing my drill press as a vertical "lathe" to sand/polish them. I really need to stop borrowing the drill press for jobs with side loads, it is getting verrrrrry sloppy and it's a cheap Craftsman with no adjustability or servicability on the spindle as far as I can tell.

I like the idea of the shop-made keys for the tuning machines. I will probably buy some hipshot ultralites or something similar and then do that if they don't match well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TerribleTim68, BBassBassington and turindev
#51
The satin chrome usa Hipshot Ultralites showed up. I'm going to leave them as-is. They're already essentially "two tone" and I feel like adding a third color (via different keys) would make them too busy looking. The darker color on the hipshots coordinates really well with the baseplate on the bridge, at any rate.

And I just have to say, for anyone who hasn't seen both versions of these Ultralites, the USA model is a much nicer piece of machinery.

On a different note, I decided to re-do the pickup coils with a slightly different design, and no metal blade sticking up through the cover. I just don't want to cut in to these burl covers.

IMG_20210810_125705.jpg


This version is built on a ceramic blade, instead of a steel blade driven by a ceramic magnet below. Also this is my first time using this flatwork, which is laser cut from bamboo plywood (laser cutting done by ponoko). Some day I want my own laser cutter or a tiny cnc mill so I can do flatwork in bulk without having a several week lead time, but for now I am taking full advantage of ponoko!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Beej, Rôckhewer, BBassBassington and 2 others
#56
I have Hipshot "licensed" tuners. They're kinda crappy. Makes me wonder if they were made cheaper and lower quality, but whoever made them just paid to use the name and design(?)
I'd like to use the light weight USA ones on the next build, but I'm concerned.
KIMG1414~2.JPG
 
#57
RichterScale said:
Oh wait, that's the actual chrome parts?
What's the the gray part, actual aluminum?
Click to expand...

Even holding them in hand it's a bit of a challenge to know the exact material composition. There's definitely two things going on though. The case for the gear and the key are the same "satin chrome" material. It's pretty pale. It doesn't look at all like chrome but it's more silvery than most natural metals. Then the shafts and gear are a more nickel/stainless type color - those are the parts that match the steel baseplate well.

RichterScale said:
I have Hipshot "licensed" tuners. They're kinda crappy. Makes me wonder if they were made cheaper and lower quality, but whoever made them just paid to use the name and design(?)
I'd like to use the light weight USA ones on the next build, but I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

Hipshot has an OEM in Korea that makes their guitar tuners (all of them) and the licensed bass tuners. I really like the guitar tuners and use them all the time. The licensed bass tuners are okay by me. Not awesome, but okay. A little over priced for what they are, and the finish on the black ones isn't super durable. I would rate them on par with other similar mid market brand name tuners, i.e. a Gotoh GB707. I've had one other set of the Hipshot USAs (in black). I really wish they didn't cost $100 a set but they are definitely the nicest bass tuner I've ever seen. It's definitely not just a matter of the same design in a different factory, the design is totally different but just happens to look the same. The gears are different shapes, the gear housing is a slightly different shape (the USA model looks like it was machined instead of cast, but who knows), and the USA versions can be disassembled and reversed. The posts fit into the housings differently and the bushings look different (Again, the USA version looks machined instead of cast). Your licensed tuner looks like the older version - the current models don't say Lic on them any more - but I don't know if there are other differences.
 
#58
Yeah, mine seem decent to the eye, but there's some slop in a few of them and they "feel" cheap when you turn them.
I want light, so I'll probably spend $100 no matter what.
Thanks. I'm off to see what colors they have.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dwizum
#59
Hipshot has been having a super hard time staying staffed during the pandemic. If you plan to use them within the next 6 months I'd just look at what's actually available in stock vs what colors and options they list on their website. There are a few ebay dealers who consistently have the best prices and stock available, I think I got these from addiction-fx.

Then again, their US factory is practically right in your back yard so maybe you can just go there and pick what you want right off the line. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: RichterScale

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back