Double Bass Glue bass bar

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

The problem with a top-on repair is that the bar is sprung. It can be done, but you really don’t want to.

Just pull the top. Use the bar’s spring to push the top back into round and, as James suggests, apply fabric patches soaked in hide glue over the ends of the bar.

I’ve done it with 4” squares of old denim.

When it’s time to put the top back on, don’t bother trying to get it all done at once. Glue it down to the neck and bottom blocks, then the corners, finally the rest of the ribs. Use very thin glue for this part.

 

[GretschWretch]

So what's the current going rate for installation of an access panel?

 

[SAlcott]

".......it's for gigs that require ok sound and looks more than anything else."

I've never had one of these.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

$1000 for a couple of hours work???? I need to move to Norway.

Not a couple, but a few. Like 10 hours.

 

[jsf729]

After using a bass with an access panel for the last decade: the idea of having a 7 foot tall incredibly fragile wooden eggshell that is constantly broken and in need of adjustment with the only way to access the inside is through the stupid soundhole or ripping the top off...it is like building a car and then welding the hood shut...

I built my first access panel in a bass in 2009. It used screws, similar to one that Bob Ross built. Mathew Tucker then took that idea and used magnets. I've since used the magnetic design and refined it to what is now a standardized setup for me and one that I've used about a dozen times, and will likely keep using a similar design for the rest of my productive life. Here is a retrofit from last year on Unbroken chain'is old Kay:

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That's a BIG cookie jar!

 

[Don Hergert]

... Or dirty clothes hamper.

I get all kinds of suggestions, believe me.

 

[unbrokenchain]

Now I'm starting to think I can make a removable neck bass out of it. Somebody stop me, please.

The Kay that Condino posted is the one I bought from him after he suped it up, its neck is removable and the hardware is accessed through the access panel/cookie jar lid. Biased of course, but both those things to me are incredible advantages for an instrument that sees a lot of use and travel. It's a keeper, but if something dreadful happened and I had to get another ply bass, I'd prioritize those mods.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

After using a bass with an access panel for the last decade: the idea of having a 7 foot tall incredibly fragile wooden eggshell that is constantly broken and in need of adjustment with the only way to access the inside is through the stupid soundhole or ripping the top off...it is like building a car and then welding the hood shut...

I built my first access panel in a bass in 2009. It used screws, similar to one that Bob Ross built. Mathew Tucker then took that idea and used magnets. I've since used the magnetic design and refined it to what is now a standardized setup for me and one that I've used about a dozen times, and will likely keep using a similar design for the rest of my productive life. Here is a retrofit from last year on Unbroken chain'is old Kay:

View attachment 3506288 View attachment 3506289

What did you use to make the hole? One of these?

 

[unbrokenchain]

I think you want something more like a razor blade or exacto, the hole saw will remove too much wood and there'll be a big gap. Also 2" probably not enough to get a hand through unless you're a cat How to get a perfect circle on a curved c-bout? Therein lies the rub.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

I think you want something more like a razor blade or exacto, the hole saw will remove too much wood and there'll be a big gap. Also 2" probably not enough to get a hand through unless you're a cat How to get a perfect circle on a curved c-bout? Therein lies the rub.

Tape on a paper cut out?

 

[misterbadger]

Maybe James will weigh in here and give away a few of his secrets...I'm thinking 1/16" or 1/32" diameter router bit and some kind of template or jig that it can follow.

 

[unbrokenchain]

If I recall correctly I think it's a string tied to a center point and also to the blade... still not easy

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

If I recall correctly I think it's a string tied to a center point and also to the blade... still not easy

We don't buy double basses because it's easy, we do it because it's hard!