First Ever Build - Special Edition Build off

[Birdswing]

So I have never built a bass before and have decided to finally bite the bullet, I have acquired 4 lengths of mystery wood to attempt to learn (before I destroy the Ash and Maple I ordered today)

the struggles will be:
- I have no woodworking experience
- Limited supply of tools (but i do have a shiny new Shinto Rasp)

The positives
- During these times having a project to focus on
- I may get a new bass out of it

the initial plan is four a 4 string neck through bass, 34' scale, 20 frets or fretless

no clue at all at present about the pickup configuration, I have a set of mini humbuckers and some unbranded PJ pickups from a truly awful kit I picked up years ago but did nothing with.

I have the hardware from the aforementioned kit and a Wilkinson bridge too

I have some sneaky secret ideas for a through body, the bridge and nut too but there is also a chance I will never return or do anything and all that wood will end being shelving.

 

[dwizum]

Welcome to the forum! There's plenty of good reading in other build threads if you need step by step guidance. Ask any questions you have! If I could go back and give myself one tip during my first project, it would be to think everything through before doing it, and make sure you understand how each choice you make impacts the overall design and function. It's easy to spend a lot of time trying to solve problems you created for yourself!

 

[Birdswing]

Ty Dwizum, I've done so much thinking and imagining I have everything perfect but the reality will be me pestering everyone on here for advice in about 24 hours.

my first question wil be something like "is it normal for the wood to combust randomly when you are not looking

 

[Birdswing]

also it keeps saying I am a commercial user and I am not!

 

[Reedt2000]

Seems there are a bunch of us who joined this build off for inspiration. Welcome, your plan sounds cool. There are tons of very knowledgeable folks here, and the great majority are happy to help, so ask away

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with

 

[BioWeapon]

A first build! Nice! Can't wait to see what you come up with

 

[postalflunkie]

Best part of the "first build" is playing it and thinking "oh yea, I made this"
It's why we are all addicted to the LC
Welcome aboard!

 

[Scoops]

"is it normal for the wood to combust randomly when you are not looking

Welcome to the Luthiers Corner

With a question like this, I think you'll fit right in

 

[Beej]

my first question wil be something like "is it normal for the wood to combust randomly when you are not looking

It's probably all the lasers. You do have the laser shinto, right?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Welcome!
If you don't already have a full sized drawing, that's your first step. Paper is cheap! You can do it by hand with a ruler and some French curves, or with a drawing program, but don't even touch the wood until you are satisfied with the drawing. If you don't have access to a lot of tools, building templates may be a waste of time for you, they are mainly useful as router guides. You will need at least a jigsaw, drill, and some hand tools. Harbor Freight has some very cheap tools, but don't expect them to last more than a few projects. There are plenty of YT videos on building entirely with hand tools, watch a few and take inventory on what you have, and how you want to work before buying anything. Good luck, post photos and people will help you out, nice crowd here on LC.

 

[Birdswing]

I kinda got this building idea from watching people build bass guitars on youtube, from Ben at crimson to Woby Design making one out of old broken skateboards.

Thanks, for the advice, one of the first steps I wrote down was to build templates for my pickups. If I was drawing the bass it would end up being a stickbass lol, but I will try and you are correct paper is cheap and I don't have a massive amount of wood to work with.

I do have access to some powertools, plunge router, drill, angle grinder, jigsaw. but blades and bits that are suitable I don't really have. also the lack of experience makes me wary too.

 

[Birdswing]

It's probably all the lasers. You do have the laser shinto, right?

I'm not sure, I can't find a battery compartment on it so I'm wondering it's a solar powered one?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Ok, if you do have a router, then you should be building templates too. Use either MDF or plywood, at least 1/2" thick. Again, thats a lot cheaper than decent wood, and easier to shape because it's thin. It will feel like a waste of time at first, but it isn't. A full MDF or Plywood mockup gives you a quick read on proportion and ergonomics that nothing else will. If you want to use them as router guides, they really have to be as perfect as you can make them, a template bearing or flush trim bit will faithfully reproduce even the smallest bobble in your template. By full template I mean like this, not perfect by any means, but these got me through two Ric builds, and they are still intact if I ever decide to build another one. You can see I was less careful on stuff like pickup routes that are concealed by the pickguard, but I spent a LOT of time getting the body, neck and headstock templates right. My only regret on these is I should have made them thicker, like 5/8" MDF. The darker staining around the body template is from the CA glue I used to harden the edges, a tip I picked up here on TB.

 

[Birdswing]

would the templates be the same for a thru-neck design?

or will it just be pick up cavity and wings? planning a telestyle bass for the first build?

is there a minimum amount of router bits required?

 

[Birdswing]

Ok, if you do have a router, then you should be building templates too. Use either MDF or plywood, at least 1/2" thick. Again, thats a lot cheaper than decent wood, and easier to shape because it's thin. It will feel like a waste of time at first, but it isn't. A full MDF or Plywood mockup gives you a quick read on proportion and ergonomics that nothing else will. If you want to use them as router guides, they really have to be as perfect as you can make them, a template bearing or flush trim bit will faithfully reproduce even the smallest bobble in your template. By full template I mean like this, not perfect by any means, but these got me through two Ric builds, and they are still intact if I ever decide to build another one. You can see I was less careful on stuff like pickup routes that are concealed by the pickguard, but I spent a LOT of time getting the body, neck and headstock templates right. My only regret on these is I should have made them thicker, like 5/8" MDF. The darker staining around the body template is from the CA glue I used to harden the edges, a tip I picked up here on TB.
View attachment 3788976
View attachment 3788977

loving the Ricky look. building one could be the way ahead

 

[Birdswing]

my first cut and measurements, these are all preliminary just so I can do math relating whether I have enough material, for string spacing for my drawing.

yes my current workbench is 3 wheelie bins

 

[Gilmourisgod]

As far as router bits, you will need:

a straight cut/flat bottom bit for the pup, cavity, and neck pocket routes (If it's bolt-on)

A flush trim or template pattern following bit. I haven't had much luck using template bits on highly figured wood though. It tends to tear out someplace, usually on body curves where the grain changes direction. These days I bandsaw to close to my shape and then pattern sand to line using a Robosander, which is just a spindle sander pattern bearing drum chucked into a drillpress. It's slow, but no tearout.

A roundover bit. For a Tele style slab body, not much roundover, you could do it by hand.

The templates are even MORE important for neck through, you only get one chance to get it right, with bolt on you can eff it up and just make a new neck blank.

 

[Chuck Chill-Out]

"is it normal for the wood to combust randomly when you are not looking

Ahh, I see you have that rare Firewood...

 

[wintremute]

The most interesting part for me will be seeing how a Utah Raptor can build anything with those wingy fingers. I can see strumming a bass with them, but not holding tools and building one.

 

[BassUrges]

Random thoughts based on my approach:

I do all my drawing in Inkscape. I often send several versions to my phone so I can look at them at random times to decide which I like better.

I have my drawings printed at the local FedEx Office. It’s really cheap—less than $1/sq ft. I draw a square of known size on the drawing and tell them it must be that size or I will make them reprint it. Then I measure with a good ruler before I pay. 1/16” on a 2” square is 3/4” on a 24” drawing!

My local library has a laser cutter. I cut my templates out of 1/4” birch plywood. 1/2” would be preferable but it doesn’t cut cleanly. Using the laser cutter guarantees it matches the drawing very closely. But invest in void-free plywood—I’ve messed up wood when a bearing dropped into a void I didn’t spot.

For patterns that are larger than the laser cutter, I design them with dovetails and glue them up.