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

[dwizum]

Probably a good 90% of my hardware comes from McMaster. They have such a good selection, it's all high quality, and their standard shipping usually has stuff here within 24 hours. And I've gotten familiar enough with their catalog and their mobile app that I can find stuff quick. It's super convenient so I don't really even think about shopping elsewhere!

M3 works great for all this small stuff, for sure.

 

[TerribleTim68]

I'll second McMaster-Carr. I get some stuff from them through my brother who works at a machine shop, they get a discount because they buy so much stuff. It's not the most user-friendly website, but they do have a great selection of stuff, even beyond fasteners. And prices are reasonable, not marked up to "luthier pricing".

 

[RichterScale]

I'll check them out on the laptop later.
I'm assuming it will be easier than on the phone. I've gotten pretty good with the phone, but I'm still stuck in that middle spot where I can't use it like a 20 yr old kid, but I'm not as bad as someone who's 107.
I just spent 30 min trying to figure out how to download a PDF to send over to my boss via the phone. I kept getting these google pop ups all in my business and I almost had a severe old man episode.

 

[dwizum]

Try their mobile app too. I really like it. It's very no-frills which I find makes for a nice fast experience once you get over a small learning curve. And all the parts are searchable by parametric filters that make sense for that specific part (ie the filters for bolts make sense for bolts and the filters for bar stock make sense for bar stock). Much more convenient than so many other parts suppliers who seem to try to force things into a one size fits all search tool.

 

[Black Out Jazz]

I'll check them out on the laptop later.
I'm assuming it will be easier than on the phone. I've gotten pretty good with the phone, but I'm still stuck in that middle spot where I can't use it like a 20 yr old kid, but I'm not as bad as someone who's 107.
I just spent 30 min trying to figure out how to download a PDF to send over to my boss via the phone. I kept getting these google pop ups all in my business and I almost had a severe old man episode.

Lol

 

[TerribleTim68]

Don't forget, they also sell measuring tools as well and things like machinist's straight edges and so on.

 

[ctmullins]

Do they sell tone foam?

 

[RichterScale]

Do they sell tone foam?

I'm sure they do cuz I'm an idiot and put it on the internet before getting a patent.
I'm sure the gov is already making weapons and space craft out of it.

 

[postalflunkie]

I'm sure the gov is already making weapons and space craft out of it.

Alien technology

 

[rwkeating]

Grainger https://www.grainger.com/ is also another good place to get general hardware. There was one about 2 miles from where I used to live. Very convenient to order on line and walk in and pick up parts. You had to order on line since there wasn't a real "store". It was more like a warehouse with a pickup area.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Around here, we have this really cool place called "Tacoma Screw". They stock basically every fastener you could ever imagine. I always wanted to try to get them to sponsor my racecar, along with another local business, "Industrial Rubber".

 

[Videojunkie]

Between Fastenal and McMaster-Carr, you can order just about any fastener that you can imagine. (At least in the US.)

Last time I looked at one the McMaster-Carr catalog was several thousand pages...

 

[Lonnybass]

Quiet couple of days but I did get the body trimmed and routed to shape, and I routed the pickup and control cavities.

View attachment 4338674

I still need to cut the "lugs" down quite a bit with my second template (I ran out of time!) This bass will have a tilting magnetic cover on the control cavity, so there's no ledge all the way around - just these three lugs. There will be a magnet on each lug and a matching magnet on the cover. The cover is opened by pushing down on either extreme end, which pops it off the opposite magnet and tilts it up so you can grab it and take it off. I feel like this is the best combination of elegance (no fasteners visible, no finger cutout visible) and simplicity.

I dropped the unfinished pickup shells in place to mark them for orientation and I set the fretboard in place to get an idea of how the overall look was progressing.

View attachment 4338679

Just going through this thread and wondering what method you used to cut out the wooden pickup covers - I'm planning to do the same thing on an upcoming build but haven't figured out what approach I'm going to use to make a nice clean, straight cut with a tiny kerf.