First build: 5 string EUB

[SDB Guitars]

the string positions on the neck don't look like they will line up with your tuner slots...you're not going to get a straight string pull

As an aside, straight string pull is nice, but not entirely necessary. TONS of guitars and basses have strings that angle one way or the other after the nut. Doesn't seem to be as bit a deal on basses as it is on guitars, IMO, unless you are changing your tuning frequently.

 

[Rickett Customs]

As an aside, straight string pull is nice, but not entirely necessary. TONS of guitars and basses have strings that angle one way or the other after the nut. Doesn't seem to be as bit a deal on basses as it is on guitars, IMO, unless you are changing your tuning frequently.

I know of 1 example to that, my Spector Euro 5, most of the strings *almost* pull straight, the A string pulls more to the right, than the rest. My others pull straight. The one thing that I did find is, the Euro is the only one that is a bit "touchier" with the tuning than the others.

 

[Rickett Customs]

This time I traced it with olive paper and transferred it to a 3/8" piece of sheet oak with carbon paper:

I should be running the necessary pieces through a band saw, right around thanksgiving.

 

[pilotjones]

That is a very scary picture.

 

[Rickett Customs]

That is a very scary picture.

Yeah, my web cam at work, had to mask off the background.

 

[pilotjones]

BTW, what's olive paper?

 

[Rickett Customs]

I had gotten a little from work, back in the day, the meteorologists used to use it (before today's computers took over) to trace maps , by hand, for updated weather patterns (IIRC, they did this hourly).

It's like a brownish colored "transparent" paper, though it's more tougher that regular tracing paper and comes in a much bigger size.

 

[pilotjones]

Sounds like vellum maybe.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Maybe it is vellum,

Think the tuners i'm going with are gotoh "compacts". I had one handy and It almost was a good fit for the flat spot on the template, plus it has the length i'm looking for (small foot print). just a fewmore "tweaks" to the template.......

Where the red lines are, "roughly" need to change. The length fof the flat parts need to be about 1/8" or so longer and the flat spots will be slightly "inset", so I can get the peg further in.

 

[SDB Guitars]

If you want a decent open-gear tuner (they are actually like the "half-open" tuners... they look a lot like the HipShot Ultralites) I'd look on ebay for Wilkinson open gear tuners like these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Wilkinson-Bass-...ryZ41434QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They tune very smoothly, appear to be very well made, and are inexpensive. I like them a lot, at least as well as *most* of the Gotoh tuners (with the exception of the 510's w/ the oval buttons)...

I say this because they appear to have a reasonably long tuning shaft, which would work well in your application, I think...

 

[Rickett Customs]

Ok, got it cut out on the band saw and had some spare to use
on the next project too.

rough cut for now, I did at least level the back of the neck though.

I'll get to it after the "holiday" stuff is over.

 

[Rickett Customs]

While I have not ordered any parts yet (Get some gig money raised), I did however rough cut a fingerboard out of cherry, on my new bandsaw.This is some of the same cherry I used for the neck lams. It even stil has stain on it, at least on one side.

Of course, I'll need to radius it still.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

A couple of things I would have done differently is to splice the headstock with a scarf joint on instead of band sawing it.. that would have given you more length too, and I always taper my fingerboard first, and then use that as a pattern to shape the neck taper.

But it's looking good. NS makes a standard length Bass-cello, so it is a valid idea.

 

[Rickett Customs]

A couple of things I would have done differently is to splice the headstock with a scarf joint on instead of band sawing it.. that would have given you more length too, and I always taper my fingerboard first, and then use that as a pattern to shape the neck taper.

But it's looking good. NS makes a standard length Bass-cello, so it is a valid idea.

Luckily, I have another length,cut off of this one to make an electric which i'll give a shot at the ole scarf.
Sometimes I tend to be slightly backwards when doing other things, obviously this is no exception
I'll also try tapering the fingerboard before the neck on the next build, sounds like it'd be easier. It's getting there, very slowly. That is one thing i've been working on is, taking my time. Sometimes I find myself not exactly rushing, but not taking enough ("thinking") time, before the action parts. Oh well, we all need improvement somewhere

 

[Rickett Customs]

Gave the fingerboard radius a shot. I only used a router (with a guide), a rasp and a belt sander.



First, I started with the router, doing "step" increments:

And after rasping and sanding:

A little "small" accident, a piece chipped off the bottm, when rasping had to glue it back on:

Still got alot of sanding to do to this one, but no fear..... I have many board feet of cherry, just in case something goes wrong.

 

[Willy2911]

Sweet - Can't wait to see it finished Brotha.

 

[vbasscustom]

yeah, i wouldnt have thought of doin the fretboard like that, i was plannin on makin an EUB my self and wasnt sure how i was going to go about radiusing, i should really buy one, but i like my work to be MY WORK, then i can say, yeah, i built this all myself.

 

[Rickett Customs]

yeah, i wouldnt have thought of doin the fretboard like that, i was plannin on makin an EUB my self and wasnt sure how i was going to go about radiusing, i should really buy one, but i like my work to be MY WORK, then i can say, yeah, i built this all myself.

It also came down to making it with the tools that I currently have. All things considered, it's coming out pretty good for a first time. Tuners, trussrods and the electronics are the parts i'll be buying.

 

[vbasscustom]

Yeah, i have quite an assortment or tools where i work on my basses. so i could probably find a better way of doing it. but ill deffinetly use yours this time

 

[Rickett Customs]

Time to start taking the route lines off now.

I ended up using a vibrating sander (with 80 grit paper) and an "old school" stanley hand planer:

I used double sided tape, on a 2x2 piece of poplar I had lying around, used the planer to take out the router lines, until I reached only a slight line:

Once that it was surfaced, I used a straight edge to make sure that the board was level from both ends:

Penciled in the spots that needed to come down, had to do this several times until it was flush all the way across, on the top, topside and both side edges:

Looking much better now, later I'll use higher grits to smooth it out some more:

Here it is on it:

Certainly more to come, at least once I order the t-rods and tuners