Building: Tools, Fixtures, Jigs & Templates

[Turnaround]

That is pure illogic.
As far as I am concerned, it is ruined, and I abandon it. I have deleted all my recent content, and will have all of my previous posts be deleted as well. I turn the thread over to you.
BTW, once 90% of people 'perceived' that the earth was flat ...

Yes. They may have been wrong. They could not imagine a round world. And there are those that cannot imagine the idea that the wood of an electric instrument can affect how it sounds. This has nothing to do with logic. It has everything to do with perception.

It's too bad you feel you need to abandon TB. I think many participants enjoyed your perspective and learned a thing or two about how to do things bass construction related. We may disagree on some points, but that's actually healthy. I urge you to reconsider your choice

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Alder, hope you're not quitting Talkbass. I got some good stuff from this thread.

 

[David Powell]

Alder:
Do you happen to sell this Jig. or have instructions on how to make it specifically "The Fret Slotting Jig "
It seems it would work on 1 x 1 x 32 Dulcimer Sticks ?

The stewmac jig will not.

Thanks
David Powell

Fret Slotting Jig

The Fret Slotting Jig is basically a very precise mitre box. What makes it a fret slotting tool is the Fret Guide, which attaches underneath the workpiece with double-sided tape, and engages a pin on the Fret Slotting Jig directly below the saw blade. The holes in the guide are spaced to Fender's formula, so depending on which hole you start with for the nut slot, you can cut anything from a 36" bass to a 20" ukelele, and all the standard scales in between. The guide fits snugly between the inner rails of the jig to keep the workpiece centered and straight.

View attachment 486527 View attachment 486528
The scale guide and angles are aluminum from Home Depot. I just happened to have the angle material lying around, and it worked out really well, but there are a lot of other ways you could build this mechanism.

This design is inspired by StewMac's fret slotting jig.​

The left jaw of the saw guide is fixed to maintain a perpendicular angle and align the blade with the pin. The right jaw is adjustable to set the tensioning on the saw. Each jaw holds a waxed maple block which together serve as the saw guide and depth stop. The height of the depth stop is set using the bolts on the top, and then locked in with the wing nuts on the side.

The saw is an $8 hobby saw with a 0.022" kerf, almost identical to StewMac's 0.023". It is important to use a new sharp saw, as a worn saw will bind badly in hard maple or rosewood and make the job almost impossible. The jig can also be used freehand to cut the back side of the nut slot for a Fender nut, and then hog out the material for the rest of the slot.

View attachment 486549 This test piece came out so nice that I kept it to use some day.
As a test article, it came out too thin, so I glued a thin piece of walnut to the back,
which will make a unique stripe in the final assembly.
​

Actually, there is an easier way to make a short-scale bass fingerboard. Head on over to StewMac, and pick up one of their long-scale 'boards. Convert the first fret to a nut slot and install the dot markers accordingly -> 32". The same operation at the 2nd fret -> 30.3", 3rd fret -> 28.5", etc. All of Fender's scale lengths are related like this, you can cut a bass right down to a guitar (5th fret), the only problem is you run out of frets at the other end. That is why my scale guide above will make anything from a bass to a ukelele, depending on which hole you start at.

So why then all this clap-trap? Being able to make a board entirely from scratch opens up a world of materials, from incredibly cheap but nice maple, to dozens of kinds of tropical hardwoods that can be purchased online.

I get very nice 1/4" x 2.5" hard maple pieces at my local Lowes store. Search through the pile, and you can often find nicely figured pieces, from flames to birdseye, for just a couple of bucks. Pieces of tropical hardwood suitable for guitar fretboards are available from online woodworking suppliers at very reasonable prices as well. Try rockler.com.

Bubinga is often very reasonably priced, is hard with a grain structure similar to 'rosewood', and has a nice orange-brown color. You'll find it on many Rickenbackers. Purpleheart really is purple. One of these days I'm going to try a piece of walnut from the hobby store around the block. Wisdom is that walnut is too soft to hold frets, but I bet it works fine.

The longest board I've made yet is a 24 fret 30.3" for a Bass VI, which fit neatly into a 24" blank, and would be impossible to cut down from a StewMac board. Most boards leave several inches of scrap leftover, which I save to cut dots from.

The dot markers in the example piece above are actually cut from scrap rosewood with a 1/4" plug cutter in the drill press. For rosewood boards, I have used maple dots. Gives a nice woody look to the neck. You can also cut dots from any solid color pickguard material, so save those scraps! Rumor has it that Fender's famous 'clay' dots were nothing more than plugs cut from old floor tiles. Pearl and abalone dots are best purchased pre-made. Someday I will also have to teach myself inlaying, and go beyond plain dots.

View attachment 486543
Here's a shot of my drill press table and fence, homemade from scrap, of course.
Aluminum T-tracks are available from Rockler, good for all sorts of things.
​

Final Note:
There is no need to buy "luthier grade" wood, whatever that really is. If you did, you got ripped off. Quartersawing is an expensive gimmick. Find me a quartersawn Fender neck - they don't bother with it either.

​

 

[74hc]

Now take a solid steel bar. No adjustment possible, no adjustment necessary. If you did it right the neck is never going to move in any way, the wood can be regarded as little more than padding, although in some designs it actually contributes to the stability of the bars along their weaker axis.

Sounds like you're talking about moisture retention and expansion as a result of that. However, thermal expansion is a different matter all together. Thermal expansion rate of metal is going to be worse than wood. For steel, it's going to depend upon the alloy, and some alloys get close to the coefficient of aluminum.

Talk to the guys that were at Kramer back in the early 80's. They have lots of experience on why metal does not necessarily make a good neck.

 

[Arsafraz]

I like to build oddball short scale basses. You can't buy them. You can't even buy parts for them. If you want one, you're going to have to start with lumber and work your way up. That can involve some fairly precision work, the kind that requires specialized tooling. I thought I'd post some of the creations from my garage workshop for others to see and perhaps copy or improve on.

Almost everything here can be made from parts and materials from your local hardware store, with a few exceptions noted.

Good sources:

McMaster-Carr
Woodworking Tools Supplies Hardware Plans Finishing - Rockler.com
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed - for those Danelectro truss-head screws !

Home Depot, Lowes, your local hardware store, paint store, and lumberyard

and of course, eBay and Amazon.

And all you high school kids - take wood shop. You can make all of this stuff easily there. Man do I envy you for that. I wish I'd taken wood shop instead of French. Would have been a lot more useful.

Hey Mate, A VERY COOL design, indeed! Was about to purchase plans for a similar project, when I found yours. A much preferred tool due to the Upper, (outside), as well as the Lower, (inside) Radius cutting capability for creating sanding blocks. I know it's been a long time since 2014, but if you're still out there I would appreciate, (IMMENSLEY) having the plans, (if available) for this "Gizmo"? Gb bg

 

[Arsafraz]

I like to build oddball short scale basses. You can't buy them. You can't even buy parts for them. If you want one, you're going to have to start with lumber and work your way up. That can involve some fairly precision work, the kind that requires specialized tooling. I thought I'd post some of the creations from my garage workshop for others to see and perhaps copy or improve on.

Almost everything here can be made from parts and materials from your local hardware store, with a few exceptions noted.

Good sources:

McMaster-Carr
Woodworking Tools Supplies Hardware Plans Finishing - Rockler.com
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed - for those Danelectro truss-head screws !

Home Depot, Lowes, your local hardware store, paint store, and lumberyard

and of course, eBay and Amazon.

And all you high school kids - take wood shop. You can make all of this stuff easily there. Man do I envy you for that. I wish I'd taken wood shop instead of French. Would have been a lot more useful.

Me again! What pivot bearings (McMaster Carr) did you use for this? The Pillow-Block type? Thanx Gb bg

 

[Arsafraz]

Field Guardian 120 ft. 14-Gauge Aluminum Wire-AF14120 - The Home Depot

This is what Danelectro was using, has to be. In the 60s, this stuff was used for electrical wire, you could buy it anywhere. Caused more than a few fires, mainly because people treated it like copper, and you can't do that.

Don't know why I didn't think of this before. I was fixated on the word 'rod', and forgot that at these sizes, 'wire' is more appropriate. ( Now let's see if there are any adults on this board who can pass that one by ... heh heh ... ' he said ... ')

Speaking of copper, I have lots of 14 gauge copper scrap from house-wiring, so I can add that to my luthiery kit as well. Copper should look nice under a clear-coat to prevent oxidation, or let it turn green - why not?

So, from the hardware/hobby store:

• brass (golden)
• aluminum (silvery)
• copper (coppery)
• 'aged' copper (green)
• wood dowels & toothpicks

and in real luthiery supplies:

• white plastic
• black plastic
• glow-in-the dark plastic
• real pearl

BTW:

• 1/16" = 0.06250" ~ 14 gauge wire = 0.06410" diameter ( exact drill size 51, 0.064" )
• 5/64" = 0.07813" ~ 12 gauge wire = 0.08080" diameter ( exact drill size 46, 0.081" )
• 3/32" = 0.09375" ~ 10 gauge wire = 0.10190" diameter ( exact drill size 38, 0.102" )

These are all common drill sizes, and the wire should be a good press-fit - no glue needed. The exact-size bits are something only a machinist would have, and not necessary for this, I just thought I'd add them.

Another idea I've seen is to use those little red straws that come with spray cans, and fill the hole with white spackle or caulk, for a little bull's-eye. I just measured one, and it comes out to 0.0845" ~ 5/64".

Aluminum welding rod also comes in 1/16" and other sizes, if you know someone you can get a couple of pieces from, otherwise it is only sold in bulk. In fact, almost anything that will match up with a 1/16" or 5/64" or 3/32" drill bit.

So many choices, and so many of them cheap and easy.

Real pearl is a waste of money - they're expensive and too small to tell the difference.

View attachment 926333

In addition to the 3/32" brass, I've added a 3/32" aluminum, and a 1/16" copper that I scrounged out of the electrical parts box. Just drill the hole maybe 1/4" deep, and push in as much wire as will go. No messy glue. Clip it off, file smooth and polish.

Mind you, this picture is in no way finish-quality. I just drilled some quick holes in a piece of maple scrap, jammed some wire in and gave it a cursory smoothing. Inked the wood with a Sharpie for contrast. On a guitar, I would do a much better job.

I really like the copper. Going to Home Depot tomorrow to see what I can find. Website shows solid bare copper wire 10 gauge for 39 cents a foot. Home Depot is the best luthiers supply on earth.

I also got some 1/8" aluminum. That might look interesting on the front of a fretboard, instead of regular dots.

View attachment 926080
Hey Adler, I sure hope you are still active on Forum, and that I can get the plans of your Radius sanding machine??? Gb bg
This is what 'aged' copper looks like. Not sure how long it takes to turn completely green. The green patina can also be induced artificially, but most of the chemicals involved would probably mar the wood. Brass and aluminum should stay shiny forever.

 

[Marshall DeWitt]

I just registered. This is a truly great site. I started building acoustic guitars in the mid to late '70s. I have built a couple of electric guitars, no basses; however, this site is very good for any luthier.
DeWitt Guitar Inc.

 

[moonshinegtrs]

I just registered. This is a truly great site. I started building acoustic guitars in the mid to late '70s. I have built a couple of electric guitars, no basses; however, this site is very good for any luthier.
DeWitt Guitar Inc.

Welcome Marshall!

This is my favorite place... Lots of really cool & talented people frequent this place.

Reading this... "Not commercial. A charity giving free top-end guitars to vets suffering from PTSD"

Cheers to you Sir. That's pretty damn honorable.


Moonshine

 

[moonshinegtrs]

Well... Most of us, anyway.



Moonshine

 

[chinjazz]

Reverse Routing Jig

The Reverse Routing Jig holds a router above the workpiece, which is secured to a flat smooth surface below. I use an old piece of countertop, not a carpet, as in the picture. By sliding the router over the workpiece, you can mill the face of the piece. Height is adjustable by changing the legs. This jig is very useful for milling Fender-style headstocks. It is also possible to cut angled headstocks by blocking-up the workpiece and using the longer legs. This jig is basically an upside-down router table, with one great advantage - you can see what you are doing.

View attachment 486553
The plate is an old piece of phenolic I had lying around - very stiff stuff.
The 'legs' are pine scrap, in whatever width works.​

Edge Binding Jig

The Edge Binding Jig is inspired by StewMac's attachment for the Dremel, except that mine uses a real router, and is designed to fit into tight spaces like the inside of Fender horns, which StewMac's does not do well. The edge follower is a nylon cap nut on a 1/4-20 bolt threaded tightly through a block of maple. The jig is also useful with the follower removed for routing neck pockets, round-overs, etc. The length of the base plate, with the maple stiffeners, allows a large area of contact with the workpiece for stability, something that can be a real problem with a standard router base. The small DeWalt 611 router is easily controlled with one hand, while the other hand keeps the jig aligned on the workpiece. I sometimes even clamp the whole thing upside-down and use it as a quickie little router table.

View attachment 486558
​

The long narrow piece of polycarbonate was positively floppy compared to the phenolic above. The maple stiffeners were an absolute necessity. Maple is great for this sort of low-volume tooling, as you can work it with wood tools but treat it like metal. But it won't wear like metal.

Alder,

Thanks so much for sharing your jigs and fixtures here! Too bad this isn’t a
Sticky thread.. I’ve been following your LC threads as well .

I needed to do some fretboard binding channels and copied your design (again thanks!).

Happy to report that it came out fully functional! Saved me big time! Basically, cost wise I picked up a piece of 3/8” thick plexiglass from a local plastics supplier for $6.00, a few pieces of scrap maple and some 1/4 20 fittings, and a few metric screws to mount my MLCS Rocky trim router in.

Few pics:

Test piece worked like a charm.

I can think of one improvement which I’ll try soon. For the bottom guide piece I’ll replace it with a piece of “L” shaped aluminum which will be stronger and thinner for increased depth of cut.

Thanks so Much!

 

[bogyvet]

Thank you man, what to say.