Foo Bass

[Elias Graves]

And trimmed for width and length. It still sits just a little proud but I'll fix that later.
I'm not gluing this one in yet or the 12th fret marker. I will use those slots for registry pins to keep the fretboard aligned as I glue.

 

[Elias Graves]

Hey all. We are back with an update.
It's been cold, mom's been sick, I've been busy, etc. etc. etc.......

At any rate, today is the Gluing Of The Fretboard so I though I'd post the affair live, as it were. Working at my brother's house, so the tailgate becomes a workbench.

I've spent the last hour measuring, re-measuring, double and triple checking the alignment and have put in some locator screws.

And a dry run for the glue up.

 

[Elias Graves]

It worked. Looks like we have a neck with a board now.

 

[Elias Graves]

Alright, with the fretboard on, I can get busy shaping the neck.

Man, these bass necks are long! A lot of carving to be done.
My brother likes the shape of Fender necks, so I'm basing the profile on his 73 Jazz Bass neck.
One tricky part is that most necks with a glued on fretboard have a shoulder to them. The fretboard sides are generally flat. I'm going to taper the "C" carve all the way up to the edge like on his all maple Jazz. Hope it works.

 

[Barbaric.Eric]

it's looking great!!

 

[Elias Graves]

Thanks. A few more shots of the carving.
At 1" even at the first fret.

And at .91". The goal is around .85" or so. The volute is beginning to take shape.

The maple is working easily. It's hard but predictable. It's not bad about ripping or chunking out like some more brittle woods.

 

[Elias Graves]

We're back!

Been busy finishing this project up.

That's my new "tele." The body was originally cut by Gretsch in 66 to be an Astro Jet but was never completed. A whole stash of these bodies have been sitting in a warehouse for 50 years and I got one. It's some really light old Honduran mahogany. Made a killer guitar.

Anyway, on the the bass. I've finished shaping the shaft of the neck and I'm on the headstock carve now. Tedious.

If you're wondering why it's yellow....
I have an old habit of throwing some lacquer on the finished bits to protect it as I work. Since the neck only gets yellow dye and clear, I went ahead and applied the dye to the wood. That'll be the final color on the neck.

 

[Elias Graves]

Working on the headstock.

 

[Elias Graves]

The headstock shape is pretty much there. A little cleanup and it'll be ready for the binding.

But right now, Kevin and I are working on the other end.

 

[Elias Graves]

We have a 9 1/2" fretboard now with complete inlays.

This is my first go round with ebony. Man, it's like cutting steel and the dust makes a horrible mess. Looks great, though.
I hope I can pull off the finish idea I have for the neck. I plan to lacquer only the inlays. This could get interesting.
Right now it's time to order binding for the headstock and start making holes for the tuners.

 

[Elias Graves]

The final headstock shape.

And the neck tenon getting sorted out.

Anyone have experience with Duncan NYC pickups?

 

[charlie monroe]

Nice. Looking good. Glad to see you still plugging away at this.

 

[ctmullins]

9 1/2"? It looks much longer in the pics.

Nice work!

 

[DerekW]

9 1/2"? It looks much longer in the pics.

That's what she said.

 

[Elias Graves]

Nice. Looking good. Glad to see you still plugging away at this.

I work on projects as time permits and my limited shop space means many operations normally done with power tools are done with hand powered versions. That slows things down a lot.
Wait til you see how I make the body for this. It won't be a quick thing but should be worth it.

9 1/2"? It looks much longer in the pics.

Nice work!

The camera adds at least 5". Everyone knows that.

 

[Elias Graves]

The nyc pickups. Anyone use them before? Can you answer some questions?

 

[Elias Graves]

With the neck mostly complete, I begin to turn to the body.
Last night, my brother and I worked on the shape and got it mostly sussed out. It's a slightly enlarged ES-339 shape with an extended upper horn. 15" total width.
Yes, I know the F holes don't match. We were trying different designs. The one on the right of the pic is the chosen design.

Although the top will be dominated by the ebony pickguard, here's what we'll be using under it. A nice piece of bookmatch Honduran mahogany. Im not a fan of the mineral streaks but my brother likes em.

 

[charlie monroe]

Can't help with the pickups, Elias. Not my forte. Pop in to the pickups/electronics forum. Plenty of helpful folks there.

The HM looks good to me as well. Foo will be a happy bassist.

 

[wraub]

This is shaping up nicely, and the neck/inlays look great.

Watching for sure...

 

[Elias Graves]

Can't help with the pickups, Elias. Not my forte. Pop in to the pickups/electronics forum. Plenty of helpful folks there.

The HM looks good to me as well. Foo will be a happy bassist.

Thanks. Some searches of that forum have answered my questions.
Plus answered questions I didn't even know to ask lol. Some knowledgeable folks.

This is shaping up nicely, and the neck/inlays look great.

Watching for sure...

Thanks.
Last night, as we were laying everything out and the body shape began to emerge, my brother began drooling a little, I think. Caught him wiping the corner of his mouth over and over. He's getting excited.