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G1's bass build

#46
right on man, I like how you used little strips of brass (easier to work with) and how you avoided buying a tap and die set by using inserts. Gave me good ideas. next one im doing im using african blackwood with solid Brass saddles, should be sweet !!! what kind og glue did you use? I find it weird that it cracked.... good job on the build ! and wish you luck in finishing it.
 
#47
T2W: I used super glue of some variety

Tuners fitted (unfortunately there was a mishap with the D-tuner, I guess I'll have to use some filler / glue and saw dust)
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You can also see where I doused the neck in epoxy at the back of the neck (I must stop making so many mistakes ;-) )

General progress shot:
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#49
The neck is actually quite smooth just that rough patch where I've added the epoxy, but I'll smooth that out :)

My jewellers saw arrived yesterday so I've started with some of the inlays.

Opinion time, what do you think of these fret markers? I'm undecided.
Do they dominate to much?
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(obviously the 12th and 24th inlays havn't been cut yet)
They haven't been routed / glued yet.
 
#53
Nice work so far. I like the design. Good choice on the fb inlay. Those ovals were too distracting. The general rule in design is no more than three dominant elements to compete for attention. Your elements are that curving upper horn, the wood layering, and the contours. The gold hardware is in competition, too, but it works ok. The ovals were overkill.

I'm not surprised the volute was problematic. It doesn't appear like there's much wood behind there (though the pic can be deceiving.) If you're friendly with your local guitar dealer, bring a dial caliper in and take some precise measurements on instruments you like. I have a plastic dial caliper, which won't mar the neck.

Hey, but, don't sweat your mistakes. Getting around errors is part of the fun. If working with wood were just executing a recipe, it wouldn't be rewarding. Keep posting pics, too. I really like the look of this one (and I'm glad you dropped that little pointy nipple on the upper horn. It bugged me in the original posting.)
 
#54
Also, your headstock layout looks crowded (especially from the rear, but who cares...) I think the D string is going to have to come in to the nut at an angle off the tuner. Not a huge deal, but I like a straight line. Consider a little graphite in the nut slot to help the string move, which ain't a bad idea in any case.
 
#55
Yeah live and learn :-)
I'll have a better idea for the next one...

Next time I'll definitely leave more wood for the volute.

Also, your headstock layout looks crowded (especially from the rear, but who cares...) I think the D string is going to have to come in to the nut at an angle off the tuner.
Click to expand...

The crowded headstock is a result of an assumption. I assumed the tuners would be a similar size to most basses, but they are actually quite large. Next time I'll get all the parts in my hand before I finalise the design. Again the strings were meant to go over the nut in straight lines but the larger tuners meant I had to move things slightly. It's quite a small angle though so it's not to bad.

tbh the "pointy nipple on the upper horn" was more me being lazy with photoshop. I never intended to include that detail.

The general rule in design is no more than three dominant elements to compete for attention.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely bare that in mind with future designs.
 
#56
Gone said:
The crowded headstock is a result of an assumption... (snip!)

tbh the "pointy nipple on the upper horn" was more me being lazy with photoshop. I never intended to include that detail.
Click to expand...

For a fresh design, you'll save a lot of time and potentially money if you wait for the hardware to arrive then create a 1/4" hardboard prototype. To my mind, there's nothing quite like holding a new shape on your knee to see if it's playable or attractive, and the process will definitely avoid any layout issues that come from designing as you go (such as the dreaded "But I wasn't nearly this fat when I designed it" syndrome.) Also, if you do it well, you end up with workable pieces that can be used for reproducible template routing.

I've never used Photoshop for project design, though - only to make humiliating pics of co-workers. I use TurboCAD to size and layout, since it's fairly precise, and I print to 100% size, so I can trace the layouts directly on to templates. It's a pretty easy and very reliable process. I know others who use SketchUp or other programs for the same purpose. The idea, though, is always the same - to work out the most difficult stuff in the cheapest media. Don't cut a piece of wood until you've finalized the design.

This is analogous to long standing schools of sofware design, and there are counter-arguments. And, frankly, part of the fun is to work through some of this stuff in your hands, not on a computer. But fine wood is becoming a rare and expensive element, and we owe it to our brethren to treat it with respect (Well, ok, hack up all the poplar your want. I can't stand that stuff.)

So, lay it out as accurately as you can on the computer, fine tune it in super-cheap hardboard, then buy and shape your lumber. That's my recommendation.
 
#58
polyurethane is a lacquer not a varnish, as far as I know. I'm currently doing a Tru-oil varnish on a zebrawood bass. I first put a couple of layers of shellac sealer down to fill up the grain a bit and then hit it with the tru-oil and then I wetsanded it with Micro-Mesh. the neck is gorgeously smooth and the rest shines really nicely. I only had a minor couple of sandthroughs on the edges on the top, so I put another layer on there just to seal that up, might do another layer later. but it looks great and it's really easy to do, no booths or filtermasks needed, just make sure you're well ventilated and don't hang about in the oil fumes for too long.
 
#60
Last posts on this thread. Time to start thinking about the next :)


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The bridge will have to be redone and the knobs aren't finished yet but with the start of a new job I'm not sure when I'll get round to it.

Thanks for the help/info everyone!
-Jeff
 

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