ya; sadistically waiting for you to 'f' it up ; so we gotta shot!
that thing is outrageous; and your actually pulling it off....damn you!!!!!!
that thing is outrageous; and your actually pulling it off....damn you!!!!!!
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Fretless five competition: Mad scientist edition
- Thread starter Big B.
- Start date
Dont know if this makes you happy or just more frustrated. This was a slip when routing the slot for the bass side carbon rod. The pencil line you see is the profile of the neck. 
Too close for comfort in my book.Fortunately this happened just past the point that the neck meets the singlecut side of the body. If I had to round the neck in that that spot it would very likely show through. I know one thing, feeling that router jump will definitely make the old sphincter clench up.
Just for the sake of learning from history I would like to mention something I thought of last night. Using the bandsaw for inlaying the fret markers was far more complicated and risky than it needed to be. If I do this in the future I will use a thin kerf tablesaw blade, perhaps even my fret slot blade depending on the size of the marker, and a miter gauge to cut the slots. This would leave you with very clean and consistent slots cut square to the fingerboard.
Lab Journal #14: Not so much action to report in the mad scientist department today. Instead I spent my day re-arching a fingerboard for a friends doublebass. Considering that this bass is from 1941 and still had the factory setup you can imagine what kind of grooves had been plowed into the fingerboard over the years. All things considered it turned out quite nicely. If you look closely you can see a table I am building for a customer in the background.
So what does all this have to do with building a bass guitar? Not a damn thing except that it paid for the Hipshot A type bridge that I ordered this morning. I have decided to go with satin chrome hardware as I think it will look great against the Ziricote top. I did accomplish one thing while I was toying with the doghouse today. I took a piece of Pale moon ebony that matches the nut end of the fingerboard and glued it to a stack of black fiber, maple and black fiber veneer to make it pop. Should make a nice truss rod cover.
After cutting it to shape on the bandsaw I used my edge sander to leave a nice bevel on the edges and the correct angle to butt squarely against the nut.
And the veneer lines underneath.
And now the waiting begins. Until my veneer arrives for the accent lines under the top I will be at somewhat of a standstill. Without knowing the exact final thickness of the top I dont know how much material to remove from the front of the neck blank to allow for the solid top. Before the wings are glued to the body, everything from the end of the fingerboard to the bridge end of the body needs to be cut down to the same thickness as the body wings. Once the wings are glued to the neck blank the solid top will be fit and attached.
Since I have a little time it's back to the symphony music and my much neglected paying projects. This build is so much fun I forget to work on the jobs that are paying for it.
So what does all this have to do with building a bass guitar? Not a damn thing except that it paid for the Hipshot A type bridge that I ordered this morning. I have decided to go with satin chrome hardware as I think it will look great against the Ziricote top. I did accomplish one thing while I was toying with the doghouse today. I took a piece of Pale moon ebony that matches the nut end of the fingerboard and glued it to a stack of black fiber, maple and black fiber veneer to make it pop. Should make a nice truss rod cover.
After cutting it to shape on the bandsaw I used my edge sander to leave a nice bevel on the edges and the correct angle to butt squarely against the nut.
And the veneer lines underneath.
And now the waiting begins. Until my veneer arrives for the accent lines under the top I will be at somewhat of a standstill. Without knowing the exact final thickness of the top I dont know how much material to remove from the front of the neck blank to allow for the solid top. Before the wings are glued to the body, everything from the end of the fingerboard to the bridge end of the body needs to be cut down to the same thickness as the body wings. Once the wings are glued to the neck blank the solid top will be fit and attached.
Since I have a little time it's back to the symphony music and my much neglected paying projects. This build is so much fun I forget to work on the jobs that are paying for it.
Lab Journal #15: Ah, the UPS man came bearing gifts of veneer so we shall continue.
I originally glued some thin wenge under the fingerboard as an accent stripe but it was entirely too prone to blow out at that thickness so instead I will be using black fiber veneer to create the accent line.
After gluing, the excess is trimmed on the router table and we are left with a nice clean accent line. For true contrast the fiber veneer really works great. Here is a pic against a piece of maple to show the contrast.
Once the fingerboard is done I can turn my attention to the top. The first step is to rough cut the profile of the top. At the moment I have a 3/4" blade on the bandsaw and dont want to change it so the profile is VERY rough.
Once the top is cut the white veneer (poplar I believe) can be cut out from the sheet. Once the pieces are cut out they are carefully seamed on the centerline and a few pieces of low strength (if not you could tear the veneer during removal) masking tape will hold the seam until the veneer is pressed in place.
Pressed and drying.
Once dry the tape is removed and the veneer is trimmed on the router table.
The same steps are repeated again for the black dyed poplar veneer. Once the veneer is trimmed again on the router table we are left with a nice pair of accents lines to really bring out the shaping of the top.
Now that the top is at it's final thickness I can proceed to cut the neck blank to receive the solid top. I have to hurry back to the lab now to continue to bring life to my creation but look for more pics later.
I originally glued some thin wenge under the fingerboard as an accent stripe but it was entirely too prone to blow out at that thickness so instead I will be using black fiber veneer to create the accent line.
After gluing, the excess is trimmed on the router table and we are left with a nice clean accent line. For true contrast the fiber veneer really works great. Here is a pic against a piece of maple to show the contrast.
Once the fingerboard is done I can turn my attention to the top. The first step is to rough cut the profile of the top. At the moment I have a 3/4" blade on the bandsaw and dont want to change it so the profile is VERY rough.
Once the top is cut the white veneer (poplar I believe) can be cut out from the sheet. Once the pieces are cut out they are carefully seamed on the centerline and a few pieces of low strength (if not you could tear the veneer during removal) masking tape will hold the seam until the veneer is pressed in place.
Pressed and drying.
Once dry the tape is removed and the veneer is trimmed on the router table.
The same steps are repeated again for the black dyed poplar veneer. Once the veneer is trimmed again on the router table we are left with a nice pair of accents lines to really bring out the shaping of the top.
Now that the top is at it's final thickness I can proceed to cut the neck blank to receive the solid top. I have to hurry back to the lab now to continue to bring life to my creation but look for more pics later.
Lab Journal #16: All right, back from the laboratory with a boatload of pics. I am getting to the fun part now where everything begins to take shape. After getting the top to it's final thickness the neck blank needed to be thinned by about 1/8" to get the final body thickness of 1 5/8". Fortunately I had enough forethought to rough profile the back of the neck before this step. Thanks to that I can run the blank through the planer. Simply run the blank until it stops feeding through.
Once it stops feeding turn off the machine and pull it through.
A few passes and the thickness is spot on. Once the neck is the proper thickness the front side needs to be routed down to the same thickness as the body wings to allow the top to go all the way across. The neck is clamped to my router table top and another board with a straight edge is clamped to the neck as an edge guide. With the router set at the proper depth begin removing material in small passes.
After the first pass the guide board gets moved up the neck and reclamped. This is not the time for hurrying as the cost of a mistake here could be build-ending.:scowl: I try not to remove more than a 1/4" to 1/2" at a time to cut down on the possibility of the router grabbing in the wood. Some pics as I work my way up the neck.
Now is where precutting the fingerboard to shape will come in handy on this build. The fingerboard is clamped in place on the neck and is used as an edge guide to trim the square neck down to the exact profile. The router is still set at the exact depth to thickness the body wings around the fingerboard. Once those parts are at the proper depth the rest of the neck is profiled to it's final shape.
A picture of the fingerboard clamped in place. I like to leave a little air under the ends of my fingerboards and I left a little more than usual under this one for an interesting look. Ultimately there will only be about 3/32" between the fingerboard and the top.
Now that that is done I can glue on the body wings, First the top wing:
And the bottom wing:
Here is a great shot of the back of the neck before being carved. The wavy lines should look wicked once the neck is profiled.
Once both wings are glued on a little work with a scraper and sanding block and the top of the body will be smooth and ready for the top to be fit and glued.
Whew! I think that is enough for one day. When next we meet it's the super fun and tedious job of fitting the top around the neck. Until then, happy routing to you all...
Once it stops feeding turn off the machine and pull it through.
A few passes and the thickness is spot on. Once the neck is the proper thickness the front side needs to be routed down to the same thickness as the body wings to allow the top to go all the way across. The neck is clamped to my router table top and another board with a straight edge is clamped to the neck as an edge guide. With the router set at the proper depth begin removing material in small passes.
After the first pass the guide board gets moved up the neck and reclamped. This is not the time for hurrying as the cost of a mistake here could be build-ending.:scowl: I try not to remove more than a 1/4" to 1/2" at a time to cut down on the possibility of the router grabbing in the wood. Some pics as I work my way up the neck.
Now is where precutting the fingerboard to shape will come in handy on this build. The fingerboard is clamped in place on the neck and is used as an edge guide to trim the square neck down to the exact profile. The router is still set at the exact depth to thickness the body wings around the fingerboard. Once those parts are at the proper depth the rest of the neck is profiled to it's final shape.
A picture of the fingerboard clamped in place. I like to leave a little air under the ends of my fingerboards and I left a little more than usual under this one for an interesting look. Ultimately there will only be about 3/32" between the fingerboard and the top.
Now that that is done I can glue on the body wings, First the top wing:
And the bottom wing:
Here is a great shot of the back of the neck before being carved. The wavy lines should look wicked once the neck is profiled.
Once both wings are glued on a little work with a scraper and sanding block and the top of the body will be smooth and ready for the top to be fit and glued.
Whew! I think that is enough for one day. When next we meet it's the super fun and tedious job of fitting the top around the neck. Until then, happy routing to you all...
I’m a traditionalist for the most part and like to keep things simple (I love Fenders)
But I just want to pop in here and say that this build is BLOWING MY MIND!!!!!!!
But I just want to pop in here and say that this build is BLOWING MY MIND!!!!!!!
great great great!! 
it starts looking like a bass ...or is it? come on! start shaping that neck already!!
it starts looking like a bass ...or is it? come on! start shaping that neck already!! 
You should have made this multi scale. Just looking at it would have caused seizures from visual input overload. It would be kind of like playing an M.C. Escher painting.
p.s., I mean that in the best way. I love the bass.
p.s., I mean that in the best way. I love the bass.
Reticle said:
Only if it were to be a fanned fret, you would have to make the fret board wavy as well.
lowsound
Fanned frets AND a wavy fingerboard? I think I would be the one having seizures while I try to play it. Just looking at it while laying out straight lines is enough to make my eyes cross.
But think of the opportunities to screw with people during the summer!
"What's up with that crazy bass, dude?"
"Oh, I left it in the car for a few hours earlier, and forgot to crack a window, kinda melted a bit....
"
"What's up with that crazy bass, dude?"
"Oh, I left it in the car for a few hours earlier, and forgot to crack a window, kinda melted a bit....
"Your base is looking great, but I think it's also giving me a headache... I like how you shaved down the neck with your router to match the body thickness.
adam.beauchene
Commercial User
