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Cepheid 5: Ripthorn Builds a Bass
- Thread starter Ripthorn
- Start date
I like 3 as well, I just wanted to make sure it didn't look too crowded.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,021
- 1
- 31,742
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Brother Maynard, bring forth the triple knobs of Antioch! "Book of armaments..."
EDIT: three being the third number counted... five is right out!
EDIT: three being the third number counted... five is right out!
Last edited:
Are the pickup adjustment screws steel? Might want to consider brass, as they are inside the coil and a conduit for external magnetic fields (hum and noise) to enter the coil, especially seeing how long they are. Also entirely possibly not a big deal, I'd just have some brass backups in case of weirdness.
Interesting thought. These are whatever Philadelphia luthier supplies sells as soap bar p90 screws. I'll keep it in mind, but as a guitarist, I may not know what a weird bass sound is if it bit me...
On a side note, I figured out the knobs and will post about them soon.
Lots of progress has been made. I decided where I wanted my controls, drilled for them, and then decided on a control cavity size and layout, made a cover, and made it so that it would mount with magnets. I also created a little slant to one corner so that I can press down on the corner and the cover pops up enough to remove it.
Then I drilled the bridge ground and pickup channels. For the neck pickup, I drilled from the neck pocket and purposely made it so that it was low in the cavity.
I also finished the knobs. I'll go over the whole process here. I was inspired by the wood and metal ring idea posted earlier in the thread. So I started thinking about how I could do it with multiple rings of material. I resolved on the idea of a bottom piece with a stud, a top piece with a stud, and rings that fit over the studs, with a small gap for excess epoxy.
So I started by making the aluminum rings. One per knob, they are 3/4" OD with a 1/2" ID. They are .075" thick, same as the thickness of my maple material. Then I take my maple material and drill 1/2" holes for the six discs (2 per knob). This gives us this:
Here we are with all the materials. The studs on the top and bottom pieces are .497" diameter and .1" long.
We're going to epoxy these guys together to produce the pattern thusly:
After the epoxy set, I put them in lathe and turned them true, rough shaped the tops, flipped them around and drilled for the pot shaft and did a counter bore for the pot nut to sit in. Then drill and tap for a set screw. I also made a little mandrel out of 1/4" brass with a flat filed on it for the set screw to bit into. Work some of that magic and hit it with some matte clear coat and we get these:
You will note that the maple is a little grayish. That is because maple takes on color super easy and aluminum produces a dark gray powder that will stain anything. By their powers combined, they did this. I did find that after turning with the tool, I could give it a couple quick coats of CA to lock in as much of the maple color as possible. With careful final sanding and shaping it's ok, but not perfect. That's alright, I'm rather happy with how they turned out (pun totally intended!).
Next up is finish sanding of the body, fretting the neck, finishing the body, and winding the pickups.
Then I drilled the bridge ground and pickup channels. For the neck pickup, I drilled from the neck pocket and purposely made it so that it was low in the cavity.
I also finished the knobs. I'll go over the whole process here. I was inspired by the wood and metal ring idea posted earlier in the thread. So I started thinking about how I could do it with multiple rings of material. I resolved on the idea of a bottom piece with a stud, a top piece with a stud, and rings that fit over the studs, with a small gap for excess epoxy.
So I started by making the aluminum rings. One per knob, they are 3/4" OD with a 1/2" ID. They are .075" thick, same as the thickness of my maple material. Then I take my maple material and drill 1/2" holes for the six discs (2 per knob). This gives us this:
Here we are with all the materials. The studs on the top and bottom pieces are .497" diameter and .1" long.
We're going to epoxy these guys together to produce the pattern thusly:
After the epoxy set, I put them in lathe and turned them true, rough shaped the tops, flipped them around and drilled for the pot shaft and did a counter bore for the pot nut to sit in. Then drill and tap for a set screw. I also made a little mandrel out of 1/4" brass with a flat filed on it for the set screw to bit into. Work some of that magic and hit it with some matte clear coat and we get these:
You will note that the maple is a little grayish. That is because maple takes on color super easy and aluminum produces a dark gray powder that will stain anything. By their powers combined, they did this. I did find that after turning with the tool, I could give it a couple quick coats of CA to lock in as much of the maple color as possible. With careful final sanding and shaping it's ok, but not perfect. That's alright, I'm rather happy with how they turned out (pun totally intended!).
Next up is finish sanding of the body, fretting the neck, finishing the body, and winding the pickups.
Mind blown. Those are the nicest looking knobs I have ever seen. Not joking.
And here I thought I was doing well making knobs out of mere wood! Oh well, a metal lathe isn’t in the budget.... or is it? 
Seriously, great work.
Seriously, great work.
Amazing work! I was hoping you would take that idea on the knobs and run with it, and I’m not disappointed. Absolutely fantastic!
Thanks for the kind words, guys! I routinely make knobs, but this is probably the most ambitious set.
I also had the thought that it would be cool if someone offered parts for one to make their own knobs in the same way. I thought of a really simple way that would allow people to mix and match a bunch of parts to make their own unique knobs, but my machine is not quite good enough to allow for that without some error...Still, it would be really cool and would allow a whole new world of customized knobs.
I also had the thought that it would be cool if someone offered parts for one to make their own knobs in the same way. I thought of a really simple way that would allow people to mix and match a bunch of parts to make their own unique knobs, but my machine is not quite good enough to allow for that without some error...Still, it would be really cool and would allow a whole new world of customized knobs.
That would be sweet. Could range from various MOP to wood to different metals.
That's the idea. My idea is to have the top and bottom pieces be threaded so that you would just put on your chosen materials and thread them together. Use thread locker or epoxy to keep them together, and then it's CUSTOM KNOBS FOR THE MASSES! If I had the entrepreneurial spirit, I would probably have at it, but seeing as I don't really, I can just dream
EDIT: Just think about it, titanium with bloodwood, or ebony, maple, and MOP, or whatever!
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,021
- 1
- 31,742
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
