first build, chambered 5 string

[byronkowalski]

Hi all, so i just started a year college course on musical instrument making, and so have just begun my first build.

So the plan is this; 36" scale, 5 stringed, thru-neck with a chambered body. For pickups im gonna get a P/J set made frmom juicy pickups, and a graphtech ghost piezo assembly in the bridge. Wings will be made of sapele with (hopefully) a flamed redwood top and striped ebony fingerboard.

Some might say its an ambitious first project, but if i only get to make on instrument this year, its not gonna be an unremarkable one.

So far I've put together my neck section, which is a 3 piece laminate of maple and sapele, and marked the neck profile and tapper for cutting. Also i have designed my body shape and made templates for the wings.

I will be updating this regularly, and also adding photos of my progress if i manage to remember to bring my camera to college with me.

Any advice or criticism or anything really is more than welcome.

 

[byronkowalski]

Progress! WOOT!

Todat i cut the profile into my neck and headstock, its actually atrting to look like itll be a bass someday, instead of being just a plank. Included are photos of the neck blank before cutting, and after cutting the profile

 

[byronkowalski]

And here are the body templates and my headstock design.

 

[pilotjones]

Congratulations on starting the work!

A few points you may want to consider:
- Your treble side horn appears to curl back very close to the neck, making upper fret access difficult.
- Your headstock has very little wood alongside the tuners. It looks like it may be bad enough that the tuner bodies will be hanging out in space, with the ugly mounting surfaces of the tuners visible from the front. You should get your tuners or a scale measured drawing in hand and check before cutting any wood.

 

[byronkowalski]

Hey thanks for the input pilotjones, revised the headstock design, you were right, they wouldve ben hangin out a bit. I think the photo makes the hon look closer than it is though, seems fine in person.

Just been planing and stuff today, gonna be cutting the wings tomorrow though, and gettin started on the chambering. Will post more photos then.

 

[byronkowalski]

update: the redwood ill be using for my top and the neck with taper cut, and truss rod slot routed. also gonna put some small carbon rods in for extra strength.

 

[byronkowalski]

couple of close ups

 

[byronkowalski]

Lots of progress since last update, it looks like this now, its yet to be glued together, waiting till i have my bridge to do that.

 

[byronkowalski]

and the fingerboard as it is now. marking and slotting is quite an exacting task really, i dint realise how much so until now.

 

[Omarintintin]

You make already the plan for the chambers?

 

[byronkowalski]

wow totally forgot i had started this thread. well the bass is all done now has been for a while. heres pics of it all complete. pickups ended up being nordstrand split coil jazzes, which sound amazing, Bridge is a hipshot A-style, Machine heads are hipshot ultra-lites.

Neck is chunky but ive got big hands, she plays like a dream.
So very proud