First build - work in progress

[mapleglo]

Yes I made it I think it actually complements it quite nicely (in use it's on my other side haha), plus it is something less ordinary than you would normally see. The weight is just under 4,5 kg, not exactly light but for a single cut I'm surprised it's not more!

I usually post all the stuff I make here, if you're interested

I just looked through your FB page. Wow! You make some really beautiful straps!

 

[Frederiek]

Thanks all And agreed, though it was a big step up from anything I made before it really required the same approach... just a hundred times more intense haha.

 

[Frederiek]

Hear, hear Nothing special from my side but I hope you like it!

 

[Fat Freddy]

Hear, hear Nothing special from my side but I hope you like it!

Is that you singing too?......

 

[Frederiek]

I wish

 

[Fat Freddy]

I wish

It all sounds great regardless.....Nice job!....

 

[JIO]

Hear, hear Nothing special from my side but I hope you like it!

Nice playing/tone - I'll assume the singer is a pro. Did you do a recording session for her?

 

[I-Am-The-Slime]

Love it, great growl!

 

[Frederiek]

Thanks!! We're all just amateurs (she's good though huh?), except the man doing the recording and mixing who is in fact a pro bass player. This band adopted me last year when I started playing bass We rehearse about 25 times a year for an hour and have the occasional gig for fun. We're never well prepared somehow which forces us to always improvise to a certain extent. Something I both love and hate.

What you hear is us concluding the year with a one take live recording around midnight in the local studios. We also recorded Le Freak but I'm not sure if I'm ready to let you folks hear hahaha. Luckily there's no record of the drinking until early morning afterwards

 

[Frederiek]

Oh well

 

[Fat Freddy]

Oh well

......

 

[Frederiek]

I'm puzzled about the how or why Photobucket sometimes randomly keeps showing posted images - anyhoo, here are most images from this post all at once just in case they all disappear again!

 

[Frederiek]

 

[Frederiek]

 

[Frederiek]

 

[Frederiek]

 

[Fat Freddy]

Beautiful work.....

 

[JIO]

Outstanding in every way possible - thanks for posting the (also pro) step-by-step!

 

[Tom0Blam0]

This is amazing. What tools did you have available? I notice earlier on in the thread you said you wanted a bandsaw. I'm assuming you never had access to one throughout the build, so what did you do for cutting out the body? I'm using you as motivation and inspiration for my first build!

 

[Frederiek]

Thanks again guys Very nice that I can be of some inspiration!

All the tools I used can be seen in the pictures. To sum up the power tools: a router, a corded drill, a drill press, a dremel tool, a 1x30 belt sander, a jigsaw and an angle grinder. I bought the router new, it's a good one and for that I'm grateful, the rest is probably way older than I am and donated to me by my father and father in law or bought second-hand - basic but really useful. I have some cheap hand tools that aren't really worth mentioning. Drill and router bits are all as cheap as possible too for now, so that I know what to invest in in the future. My good (not necessarily expensive!) hand tools include a Japanese saw, chisels and gouges, two hand planes of which one was already used by my great-grandfather a spoke shave, some rasps (there's this big Hattori cabinet rasp that I love) and files. Special tools are a radius block and a top nut file (well, not so special after all, it's just a round needle file). Lots and lots of sandpaper, a dust mask and hearing protection. Oh and clamps! You really can't have too many Some measuring tools (good calipers and a straight edge can't be missed). My shop is a couple of square metres and I have to share it with 3½ book shelves (that I now covered in plastic!). I built the workbench for this like I said and I bought a nice vice too, you can see all of that in the very first post in this thread - be quick as I don't know how long they will remain

It may not seem much but it's already more than the basics. There are builds on here that use far less power tools. If you consider the time you will need for the whole building process, then sawing and rasping out a body shape is only marginal. There are a many power tools that can save you a lot of time and effort but especially for a first build there is quite some manual labour that you can do for the amount of money you need for equipment. Some jobs can be done in local workshops too of course and I would certainly not advise against this, I just wanted to do everything myself at home (although I must confess that it's a bit masochistic).

Other tips I can give you are to make a precise drawing before you start, whether that's on paper or digital, and a workplan with all the steps you plan to follow. That way you are forced to think through everything well before you actually start, because (at least in my opinion) that's where most mistakes are made. I love to come up with new designs just by sketching but that may not be everyone's thing Good luck to you in your first build!