First Build - "Lucifer"

[Rôckhewer]

You just use a fixed base for pup and control cavities? Hog it out with the forstner and then fixed base router?

Fixed base just takes longer to adjust between passes. (But not much)
I like a plunge router because it's quick and easy to drop the bit into position in the bottom of a prepped cavity... & lock in place. (Fixed)
( after aforementioned hogged out with a forstner.)
... but I rarely... "plunge" with it.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Started carving some bevels...

So much Shinto and file action.....

 

[TerribleTim68]

I must be on the right track, as soon as Ms. Terrible saw it she said “Ooooo! Oh wow!”

 

[5tring]

My router has a little staircase thing on the depth stop, so you can set the final pass depth on the lowest step, and then start routing on the top step. Then you do a pass, move to the next step, do another pass and so on until you’ve gone all the way down the stairs to final depth.
Simple but works really well.

 

[dwizum]

Yup. I aim for the forstner bit to stop about 1/16" short of the cavity floor, then start taking shallow router passes with a short pattern bit - probably 1/8" deep for the first pass and 1/4" deep for others. I don't measure, I just do a first pass at about 1/8" and then drop the router down a few clicks and repeat until I can tell I'm right near the bottom. When I get to the last pass to cut full depth, I measure the depth of cut to get it just right, then I place the router such that it's tipped up from being flat against the surface - so the base is only touching on one edge, and the bit is raised up enough so it's not hitting the bottom. You don't want the bit way up in the air, only high enough to stay off the workpiece. And the one contact point gives you a solid anchor so you're not totally freehanding it (which would be terrifying). Then I start the router, and slowly tip the router back to flat. So you sort of "manually" plunge the bit for that last 1/16".

Light passes help a lot. For a typical humbucker pickup cavity, I might circle the cavity 4 or 5 times before a "final" pass with the bearing actually touching the template. I've never counted though, and for a cavity you're cutting through the odd-shaped swiss cheese left by the forstner so it's a bit different from cutting a more-or-less consistent slice of waste off a body perimeter. It sounds like a lot of routing, but light passes can be very quick - you can take off the same amount of wood per second as a thick cut, but you're taking it off in long thin slivers instead of thicker pieces, so it's much less likely to cause tearout.

 

[BishopJP]

Lookin' sharp! I like seeing the zebra wood grain transition from the face to the side/end grain!

Do you have a plan for the finish, yet? Curious how you are going to treat the zebra wood.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Lookin' sharp! I like seeing the zebra wood grain transition from the face to the side/end grain!

Do you have a plan for the finish, yet? Curious how you are going to treat the zebra wood.

I always love seeing the grain transition from face to side/end, that's where it starts to come alive.
I'm going back and forth on the extents of the bevel where the small "horns" are. I know ESP/LTD bevel off those horns too, making the actual "width" of the horn less pronounced. Shows pretty good here -

I'm just not sure if I want to bevel them off like that or keep them more "pointy". The more I look at the width of the points (from front to back face) the less I like them and the more I'm leaning toward how ESP bevels them off. I'm also really starting to like a "wider" bevel at the arm than what I've carved so far, so I may go back and re-sketch that. It would also add more grain transition. So many decisions, it's funny how the design changes as you move through it, but I'm also willing to let it blossom too.

Regarding finish, I'm really not sure yet to be honest. I do know it will be basically transparent and won't alter the color much. Ms. Terrible is VERY fond of wood grain being seen and I don't think she will let me "cover this one up" too much. I mentioned doing a purple transparent stain (because purple is my favorite color) and she said she would club me to death. So whatever I do, it'll be something along the lines of Tru-Oil or such and not much else as far as tinting goes. I'm okay with that, I like the big contrast between the wenge-purpleheart neck-thru and the zebrawood wings. I also spent a lot of time choosing specific sections of the wood that had the most interesting grain patterns, so I'm fine with really trying to show that off. I just don't know, I need to do some serious research on finishes and decide what I like. I already own a Tru-Oil kit (this one) so that's an option I have on hand. I'm just curious how dark it will color that zebrawood, and of course I left the wing off-cuts (which would be perfect test samples) at the woodshed. But finish is a long ways off still, so I got time here.

If anyone has zebrawood they finished in whatever manner, post up pics and I'll take a look. It might help me decide what I like and what I don't...or at least what Ms. Terrible doesn't like.

 

[Reedt2000]

I always love seeing the grain transition from face to side/end, that's where it starts to come alive.
I'm going back and forth on the extents of the bevel where the small "horns" are. I know ESP/LTD bevel off those horns too, making the actual "width" of the horn less pronounced. Shows pretty good here -
View attachment 3984377
I'm just not sure if I want to bevel them off like that or keep them more "pointy". The more I look at the width of the points (from front to back face) the less I like them and the more I'm leaning toward how ESP bevels them off. I'm also really starting to like a "wider" bevel at the arm than what I've carved so far, so I may go back and re-sketch that. It would also add more grain transition. So many decisions, it's funny how the design changes as you move through it, but I'm also willing to let it blossom too.

Regarding finish, I'm really not sure yet to be honest. I do know it will be basically transparent and won't alter the color much. Ms. Terrible is VERY fond of wood grain being seen and I don't think she will let me "cover this one up" too much. I mentioned doing a purple transparent stain (because purple is my favorite color) and she said she would club me to death. So whatever I do, it'll be something along the lines of Tru-Oil or such and not much else as far as tinting goes. I'm okay with that, I like the big contrast between the wenge-purpleheart neck-thru and the zebrawood wings. I also spent a lot of time choosing specific sections of the wood that had the most interesting grain patterns, so I'm fine with really trying to show that off. I just don't know, I need to do some serious research on finishes and decide what I like. I already own a Tru-Oil kit (this one) so that's an option I have on hand. I'm just curious how dark it will color that zebrawood, and of course I left the wing off-cuts (which would be perfect test samples) at the woodshed. But finish is a long ways off still, so I got time here.

If anyone has zebrawood they finished in whatever manner, post up pics and I'll take a look. It might help me decide what I like and what I don't...or at least what Ms. Terrible doesn't like.

I had this Spector Euro with zebra wood finished in gloss poly

SOLD - Spector euro 6lx ex exotic zebra wood 6 string super clean w ohsc PRICE DROP AGAIN

It looked awesome but weighed almost 13lbs...

 

[BishopJP]

I think I like the wider bevels, FWIW; either way, it's gonna be hot %&$# when you're done!

I used zebra wood for the fret board on my Lacey build. The oil finish colored/darkened the wood quite a bit. I like how it turned out, but it was darker than I anticipated.

 

[TerribleTim68]

I had this Spector Euro with zebra wood finished in gloss poly

SOLD - Spector euro 6lx ex exotic zebra wood 6 string super clean w ohsc PRICE DROP AGAIN
...

Yeah, I'm thinking something along those lines, no darker.

....It looked awesome but weighed almost 13lbs...

And yeah, I'm beginning to get super worried about weight on this thing. I checked it the other day and it was about 9.5lbs as it sits before I routed the body edges and started carving bevels. I still have pup routs and control cavity, but I don't think those are gonna take much weight off once you add back the hardware.
I'm not against a 9.5lb bass, personally I don't think that's horrible. But I know many on here balk at anything over 6lbs or whatever.
I only own one bass I'd consider "heavy" and that's my 6-string LTD B-206sm weighing in at a svelte 12.5lbs. Luckily, I'm not really good enough to play it much and usually am sitting.

 

[Reedt2000]

Yeah, I'm thinking something along those lines, no darker.


And yeah, I'm beginning to get super worried about weight on this thing. I checked it the other day and it was about 9.5lbs as it sits before I routed the body edges and started carving bevels. I still have pup routs and control cavity, but I don't think those are gonna take much weight off once you add back the hardware.
I'm not against a 9.5lb bass, personally I don't think that's horrible. But I know many on here balk at anything over 6lbs or whatever.
I only own one bass I'd consider "heavy" and that's my 6-string LTD B-206sm weighing in at a svelte 12.5lbs. Luckily, I'm not really good enough to play it much and usually am sitting.

You might wanna read up on the water based finish thread. Supposedly water based clear poly doesn't darken the wood as much as oil based, and it cures much faster. Then there is the Solarez UV cured stuff. I don't really know anything about it but I've seen it pop up in LC more and more.

 

[TerribleTim68]

...water based clear poly ...

That sounds like something you'd have to spray, and I'm not set up for that at all.

 

[RodRy]

I always love seeing the grain transition from face to side/end, that's where it starts to come alive.

Regarding finish, I'm really not sure yet to be honest. I do know it will be basically transparent and won't alter the color much. I mentioned doing a purple transparent stain (because purple is my favorite color) and she said she would club me to death.

If anyone has zebrawood they finished in whatever manner, post up pics and I'll take a look. It might help me decide what I like and what I don't...or at least what Ms. Terrible doesn't like.

When you talked about both liking purple (also my favorite color) and wanting the wood to shine through, I thought of the limited edition purple Schecter Stilettos.

I cut the bottom of it off in my pic, but I think you see how well a light purple stain can still highlight the wood. If I'd seen one of these 5-strings before I bought my ESP, it would have changed my decision!

 

[RodRy]

That sounds like something you'd have to spray, and I'm not set up for that at all.

Nah, I've used water based poly as a brush on, and it works pretty well. I rattle-can sprayed it on the headstock of my purple 5 when I restored that, and it was also super easy. A bit of fine wet-sanding with progressive grades of paper, and it looks pretty nice to me. Can hardly tell where it was broken.

 

[TerribleTim68]

When you talked about both liking purple (also my favorite color) and wanting the wood to shine through, I thought of the limited edition purple Schecter Stilettos.
View attachment 3984581
I cut the bottom of it off in my pic, but I think you see how well a light purple stain can still highlight the wood. If I'd seen one of these 5-strings before I bought my ESP, it would have changed my decision!

Yeah, something along those lines. But I don't think she's having any of it.
I will, however, be doing something like that on the flame maple top I have for the next one.

 

[Reedt2000]

That sounds like something you'd have to spray, and I'm not set up for that at all.

I'm pretty sure some of the Solarez products can be wiped on, there may be water based wipe-on poly too, that's why checking out that thread would be helpful, experienced builders like @Gilmourisgod and @Bruce Johnson share what they've experienced and really cover a lot of products and applications.

 

[TerribleTim68]

The Bevels Must Go On.....
Still defining those bevels. I decided to go back and reshape them. The "pointy bits" just weren't doing it for me. Now we have this -

Yeah, I like this a lot more. Which is good because unlike metal, there's no putting it back.
As you can see, I reshaped that upper bevel and made it bigger, plus carried it over the pointy bits. I also reshaped the lower bevel, carrying it across the pointy bits too.
Oh, and I took the Saburr bit to the scallops at the horns. I'm not sure how you guys do those, but I do know how I'm doing it. There's plenty of cleanup to do in there, but its a solid start.

I also started working on the rear bevels -

I got as far as the bigger upper bevel which will double as a belly carve when Ms. Terrible popped her head in and said "You're gonna vacuum all that up tonight, right?" For those who might be single, that's marriage speak for "Time to wrap it up and clean up your mess." So I stopped there for tonight.

I'll leave you with this -

 

[deff]

Great job on the bevels. Really looking great.

 

[dwizum]

That looks great. I really like the "smooth" bevel curve in contrast to the pointy perimeter.

 

[Tim Barber]

If anyone has zebrawood they finished in whatever manner, post up pics and I'll take a look. It might help me decide what I like and what I don't...or at least what Ms. Terrible doesn't like.

I just did a quick and dirty test with Varathane Ultimate for my current zebrawood build. This is L-R semigloss, gloss, and bare wood. Three coats brushed, cured about 12 hours, sanded to 600, hit with 0000 steel wool and rubbed with a paper towel. I think that's how Stradivari did it? I wasn't expecting the difference between the two. The gloss popped the color more but the semigloss seems tougher and easier to work with. YMMV and I'm new to water-base finishes.