First project: Folk Bass DIY upright

[Bruce Johnson]

Yeah, I agree with those numbers. When I'm laying out the string spacing at the nut, I prefer to leave 0.100" from the edge of the fingerboard to the side of the bass string. I usually go 0.080" on the treble side, from the edge of the fingerboard to the side of the string. That's a comfortable spacing for most bassists. Particularly if the fingerboard edges are rounded off some.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

You can look at the last picture here for what a commercially-made URB did for nut/string spacing.

DIY EUB project

Of course, that's a longer set of strings than 34", too.

 

[NKBassman]

Thanks everyone! Very helpful!

 

[NKBassman]

Gluing the headstock scroll block to the neck, @Bruce Johnson style.

 

[NKBassman]

Cleaned up the sides of the headstock with a borrowed hand plane. Glue up looks ok, but not exactly invisible either. Acceptable.


Attached the template (not pictured) and start cutting away some excess to make routing easier. Then I ran the template bit over both sides before removing the template. Only made one little oops with the saw where I let it wander over the line a little bit, and I see a few little oopsies from the router where it dipped a little while cutting the perimeter. Not really a big deal.


Marked out the neck taper and cut just off the line with the jig saw and hand saw. I'll clean this up to the line with the router. It's kinda starting to look like something! The orange handled “Japanese Utility saw” was an impulse purchase from a recent visit to Lee Valley and I do not regret that one bit. It’s already come in handy several times. Eddie approves.



Then it was time for some forstnering. Is that a word? It is now. The way I designed my template, the attachment screw holes became pilot holes for the forstner bits. The diameter of the forstner bit was used to define my work points for the neck shape at the nut end of the neck. 1 inch diameter holes on either side define the nut width and the lower end of the headstock, and 2” holes through the back define the thickness at the nut, and the top and bottom of the headstock volute. Almost kinda/sorta starting to look like a neck now!


My template routing bit was a little too short to do the full thickness of the headstock, but I can finish that off manually. A lot of that will be removed when I cut out the interior of the headstock anyway... which I'm now realizing I maybe should have done on the drill press while the back of the headstock was still square ... oh well.

 

[NKBassman]

I think “next time” (I’m not necessarily planning on there being a next time for this design), I would try to find a way to build up the scroll block from an off cut of the same neck blank so there is not such a disparity in the grain pattern.

The scroll circle dimension has changed many times over the course of my design. Originally the circle was larger and projected forward beyond the plane of the neck, so an L-shaped block was necessary. Then I reduced the diameter of the circle to suit the pre-made Kay scrolls that I bought, but didn't revisit the design to see if I could optimize it. Looking at it now, since the circle no longer projects so far forward, I could have just lopped off a suitable length from the top end of the neck blank and glued it on underneath for more visual consistency in the grain.

Oh well... There's no going back now. I’m not too worried about it at any rate, just an observation. As long as people are criticizing the wood grain, maybe they won’t criticize my playing .

 

[NKBassman]

So, sooner or later I'm going to have to glue the fingerboard to the neck. I have a few questions, and any input would be much appreciated:

1. Any special considerations for gluing Ebony to other woods? I'm intending to use basic yellow carpenters glue if we think that'll work, and I'd really rather not buy a $50 thing of epoxy at this stage in the game. If I'm left to my own devices, I'll give the gluing surfaces a quick swipe with some 60 grit sandpaper or a steel bristle brush to roughen it up and hope for the best.
2. Any hot tips on ways to prevent the fingerboard from slipping or shifting during glue-up? I'm thinking a few small pre-drilled pin holes and some finishing nails at either end of the board probably wouldn't be too noticeable. If I can lay the holes out accurately enough the pins could straddle the outside of the neck and get trimmed off and/or lost in the round over. One more pin at the heel end of the board would hold it in place in the long direction.
   
3. I plan to set the base of the truss rod (heel end) in a small blob of epoxy to secure it in place before gluing on the fret board. Good idea or bad idea? I should be able to do this cleanly without risking getting any on the moving parts.
4. I assume that a strip of painters masking tape over the TR will be good enough to isolate the truss rod when gluing on the fingerboard?

 

[T_Bone_TL]

pre-drilled pin holes and some finishing nails

Give thought to the possibility it might ever come off again and choose brass, aluminum, solid copper wire, or toothpicks rather than steel nails.

Done with short enough blind holes in the FB, it shouldn't show at all, since I gather the "do it outside of the finished neck area" ship either sailed, or more likely was never in harbor to begin with.

 

[Max Bogosity]

I've used a finishing nail running diagonally so the hole ends up hidden in the nut slot, like so:


You can do something similar at the other end, coming up through the back corner of the neck into the bottom of the fingerboard. Then just pull the nails when you're done.

 

[NKBassman]

Give thought to the possibility it might ever come off again and choose brass, aluminum, solid copper wire, or toothpicks rather than steel nails.

Done with short enough blind holes in the FB, it shouldn't show at all, since I gather the "do it outside of the finished neck area" ship either sailed, or more likely was never in harbor to begin with.

That particular ship was lost at sea with all hands.

There’s still room to do pins at the heel end as I’m already looking at having an overhang (for 34” scale), and there’s no chance in hell I’ll ever be playing up there on this thing anyway . So cutting off half an inch of fingerboard wouldn't bother me one bit... but at the nut end I didn’t leave myself anything to work with.

I was picturing something more like the sketch below anyway, so the nails would just straddle the outside of the board to keep it centered, and then get removed after glue up, and the holes would largely disappear with the trimming of the fingerboard and the shaping of the neck. Not much room for error with laying out those holes though.

Let’s also keep in mind that the neck beam is made from an old wall stud from a lathe and plaster house, so it’s like 50% nail holes already. Heck, I could just unapologetically leave a nail in the centerline of the dang fingerboard between the nut and first position and I'd lol about it with anyone I showed it to. Or maybe a countersunk toothpick would be enough to hold it steady during glue-up, and then drill it out and fill the hole with some ebony sanding dust and CA glue. I'm not intentionally going out of my way to do a hack job here, but I need to balance perfectionism with some pragmatism every now and then.

 

[definenredefine]

I saw @JIO post about using an old bike inner tube to wrap around the neck and fingerboard during glue up. Maybe that would work?

 

[JIO]

I saw @JIO post about using an old bike inner tube to wrap around the neck and fingerboard during glue up. Maybe that would work?

Actually works really well. I use a 700x23 road-bike inner-tube w/the stem section cut out. It's easier to deal with than a wider mountain-bike tube. You can wrap it really tight by stretching the tube and secure it (as in pic) by weaving it under a tight band. Easy, and being a normally discarded tube after multiple flats - free! If you're not a cyclist, a cyclist friend will be more than happy for you to make use of one in their pile of tubes "to be patched!"

 

[Flamingo21]

I'm not intentionally going out of my way to do a hack job here, but I need to balance perfectionism with some pragmatism every now and then.

Wisdom.

 

[NKBassman]

Actually works really well. I use a 700x23 road-bike inner-tube w/the stem section cut out. It's easier to deal with than a wider mountain-bike tube. You can wrap it really tight by stretching the tube and secure it (as in pic) by weaving it under a tight band. Easy, and being a normally discarded tube after multiple flats - free! If you're not a cyclist, a cyclist friend will be more than happy for you to make use of one in their pile of tubes "to be patched!"

View attachment 5100717

With this method do you taper the fretboard before gluing it to the neck?

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Heck, I could just unapologetically leave a nail in the centerline of the dang fingerboard between the nut and first position and I'd lol about it with anyone I showed it to.

6-8 mm / 1/4"-5/16" rods, right though the FB, between frets at 3,5,7,9,2 at 12, etc and it's pinned and supplied with location markers all in one go. Or roofing nails if you really want to. Countersunk flathead brass screws?

 

[NKBassman]

6-8 mm / 1/4"-5/16" rods, right though the FB, between frets at 3,5,7,9,2 at 12, etc and it's pinned and supplied with location markers all in one go. Or roofing nails if you really want to. Countersunk flathead brass screws?

Roofing nails! LOL now there's an idea!
I do have half a box of black drywall screws around here somewhere too...

Also, Note To Self: DO NOT INSTALL PINS ON THE CENTERLINE OF THE FINGERBOARD! There's a truss rod under there.
(this is totally something I would do)

 

[NKBassman]

Very cool project, would love to hear some sound clips of it working.
How about mounting some wheels up on one side so you can just put the neck over your shoulder and drag it home after a few beers....

This idea has been stuck in my head since you posted it. I was at Princess Auto yesterday and picked up a single 8" dia. pneumatic swivel wheel "caster" for $20. If I can find a way to easily mount and dismount the wheel for transport I'm going to do that!

Also I'll try to get some video clips while I'm at the festival next month, new neck ready or not.

 

[Max Bogosity]

Will it have an end pin? They make wheels for double basses that plug into the end pin socket.


Even if you aren’t using an end pin, maybe you could still rig up something similar with a large diameter wooden dowel.

 

[NKBassman]

Will it have an end pin? They make wheels for double basses that plug into the end pin socket.
View attachment 5100864

Even if you aren’t using an end pin, maybe you could still rig up something similar with a large diameter wooden dowel.

I had a removable end pin on the first iteration, made from threaded rod which threaded into an insert in the bottom of the tail piece. Could definitely do something similar for the wheel if I have time.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Re: Pinning the fingerboard in place while gluing it on.

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it, but a classic way to keep fingerboards in place while gluing is...staples! Use your handy staple gun to fire a staple into the neck wood somewhere up near the nut. Another one down near the heel. Not flush, just partway in. Then clip off the staples, removing the hoop, leaving the sharp little legs there, sticking up maybe 1/16". Slap on your glue, and position the fingerboard on there. It'll be sitting up on the points. Line it up real carefully, check it twice, and squeeze the fingerboard down. The points of the staple legs will embed in the fingerboard, pinning it in position. Then take your time putting on a row of clamps or wrapping it with the inner tube.

This is a classic technique when you are putting a fingerboard on that is already trimmed to exact size. Such as replacing a fingerboard when repairing an old neck. But it works fine on new builds too, if there's some reason that you want to trim the fingerboard to the final width before gluing.