Ebony build: WARNING NSFW! Wood porn inside!

[Spino]

Intriguing.I wish I had your wood stock !Subbed .

 

[thehess]

The chemical formula for this wonderful bass:
St6​Sc35​Sp19​EbMa

Or, as the alchemists know it: "Bass Gold".

Subbed....

 

[mikeyswood]

What nut's are those?

...Deese Nuts!!

Warwick Nuts.

 

[mikeyswood]

As someone who nearly bought that "black gold", do me a favour and build a long scale 6.

A 34" scale 4? Boring.
A 34" scale 5? Less boring.
A 35"scale ebony 4? Cool.
A 35" or more scale 6 made of ebony? You know you want to, Mr Pearson!!

You have some really rare stuff - don't spoil it by making a run of the mill 5 string

Hmmm.....

 

[mikeyswood]

non-luthier with a question: why was the ebony initially waxed, and why would it be left waxed while it was sitting up? wasn't the idea to let it do what it was going to do moisture and twist-wise before using it? wouldn't the wax reduce or prevent that from happening?

Woods with higher density will check more easily as the moisture escapes unevenly. The localized exit of moisture will cause the dry wood to separate from the wet wood. The wax allows the moisture to equilibrate as is slowly exits through the wax.

Kiln dried wood is nearly always better, but there aren't many lumber kilns in Nigeria. So the lumber cutters wax the logs and the sawyers wax the boards. It's then up to the customer to handle it from there. My preferred supplier (anexotichardwood.com) kilns their lumber and I have success with them from the moment it arrives. The board for this build was a huge risk.

 

[bassmanhamilton]

I'm indifferent as to the number of strings but that sure is a good looking neck you've got going there!

 

[mikeyswood]

Holy Cow!

Another piece of wide Ebony!! What is this one going to be??!!

 

[jmorbita]

oh come on! now you're just showing off!!!

where are the finished basses!?!?

 

[stepswork4me]

oh come on! now you're just showing off!!!

where are the finished basses!?!?

Mikey gets all the good wood.

 

[Musiclogic]

Mikey gets all the good wood.

Mike is like the rest of us, he gets scraps left to the general public. If we were Michael Tobias, we could all buy $60K worth of scrap burl from Volvo.....LMAO

 

[stepswork4me]

Mike is like the rest of us, he gets scraps left to the general public. If we were Michael Tobias, we could all buy $60K worth of scrap burl from Volvo.....LMAO

Love it.

 

[miziomix]

Great stuff, Mike! I love Ebony/Curly Maple combo and the final curl you picked is just perfect for the job. Very classy and gutsy. Looking forward to the next pictures.

 

[floydman]

Mike, what is the wood under/next to the bass in the very first photo of the thread? (the wood with the long, defined grain lines) It is very nice looking!

 

[mikeyswood]

That is a piece of EI Rosewood that is going into my Free Bass! for Matt. How could I pass up a board like that?!

 

[natw42]

and sub'd. Thars some sexiness in them thar boards.

 

[rythman6969]

I don't know how I didn't see this thread until now. That IS going to be exquisite.

 

[bassteban]

You sir, are EVIL. Subbing...

 

[trayner1]

Mike...are you compensating? This is too amazing.

 

[mikeyswood]

I'm about to get even more evil after this weekend...

 

[erikbojerik]

OUCH - IMO anything rare 7"+ wide and sufficiently check-free should be reserved for acoustic guitars where the type of wood actually has an obvious impact on the tone of the instrument. (this will still be a killer instrument!)

Any chance you got those billets from a place in southwestern PA (not West Penn)? I can't remember the name of the place, but I got some 8" wide Gabon ebony several years ago also coated all over in wax, I think I got 4 back & side sets out of it (3 of which I still have).