Help me Visualize a Home Depot Bass

[PauFerro]

For years, I've been thinking about making a Home Depot bass. This is one that has as many parts as possible sourced from the Home Depot. It might even be Orange just to carry the theme. It would be a novelty. For me, the novelty is in the materials used from the Home Depot.

Body wood could be poplar, since others have done it, but what would you make the rest of it out of? What parts would have to be sourced outside of the Home Depot? Use your imagination...

I know this is a recipe for a lot of jokes, but it is something that might be possible...btw, I took formal training from a luthier years ago in electric solidbody basses, and I have all the equipment I need...

 

[Scoops]

Hmmmmmmmm......

That one time I made a bass out of Home Depot poplar

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Take a read through this thread: You Can Build It

@alder is a champ at HD instruments. I like the radiata pine for a body. It's the right thickness, just have to glue a number of pieces together to get the width. The poplar at the HD's near me is 3/4" thick and would require more cutting or gluing two thicknesses together.

 

[PauFerro]

I was talking about more than just the body -- the neck, the fingerboard, the neck mounting screws, maybe a home made bridge, the knobs, maybe even the tuners if that can be figured out. And of course, the finish.

All wet cement at this phase....

 

[mapleglo]

Here's a set of Home Depot tuners:

 

[Tom0Blam0]

I was talking about more than just the body -- the neck, the fingerboard, the neck mounting screws, maybe a home made bridge, the knobs, maybe even the tuners if that can be figured out. And of course, the finish.

All wet cement at this phase....

Like Matt said, check out alder’s thread. He makes a lotta that stuff

 

[ReasonablyHappy]

I have a handful of HD solutions lined up for the build off. The bridge can be done somewhat simply. The tuners I have revised a design about 6 times. Nuts, bolts, friction and leverage. It can be done.

 

[celeste hall]

For years, I've been thinking about making a Home Depot bass. This is one that has as many parts as possible sourced from the Home Depot. It might even be Orange just to carry the theme. It would be a novelty. For me, the novelty is in the materials used from the Home Depot.

Body wood could be poplar, since others have done it, but what would you make the rest of it out of? What parts would have to be sourced outside of the Home Depot? Use your imagination...

I know this is a recipe for a lot of jokes, but it is something that might be possible...btw, I took formal training from a luthier years ago in electric solidbody basses, and I have all the equipment I need...

what jumps to mind is kitchen counter body, pick guard preinstalled

 

[Reedt2000]

You could bind the body with orange plastic taken from those HD buckets

 

[charlie monroe]

This is kind of odd.

We get a lot of ‘critique my design’ threads.

I don’t recall seeing a ‘design a bass for me’ thread.

Subbed.

 

[PauFerro]

The neck could be made of maple and so could the fingerboard. Side dots could be cut from brass dowel, as could the dot markers on the face of the fingerboard. Go fretless to avoid having to use any specialized fretwire, and fill the slots with the veneer they sell in small rolls. Nut could also be made of oak. I was thinking of making it like this body concept...with the plywood as simply the outline of the bass, not bent but simply shaped with a router and the excess thrown away.

Yamaha SLG200S Silent Guitar - Natural

 

[74hc]

Take a read through this thread: You Can Build It

@alder is a champ at HD instruments. I like the radiata pine for a body. It's the right thickness, just have to glue a number of pieces together to get the width. The poplar at the HD's near me is 3/4" thick and would require more cutting or gluing two thicknesses together.

There's a difference between getting Home Depot wood for free, and paying for it. There was not enough substantial difference between the price @alder said it sold for, and what I can get a body blank for (without knots too).

When I am doing my thing in church, nobody is going to know it's source from Home Depot. Therefore, I don't get the Home Depot thing if I'm paying retail.

 

[PauFerro]

There's a difference between getting Home Depot wood for free, and paying for it. There was not enough substantial difference between the price @alder said it sold for, and what I can get a body blank for (without knots too).

When I am doing my thing in church, nobody is going to know it's source from Home Depot. Therefore, I don't get the Home Depot thing if I'm paying retail.

For this one, my interest is one of novelty -- building a bass with commonly available materials, rather than going to guitar hardware or even exotic wood places.

I am thinking of simply using a steel bar for the truss rod, so it will not be adjustable, and using my stewmac neck jig to get the fingerboard sand properly for optimal whine and mwah...with a steel bar, the neck won't likely move at all, although weight is a consideration.

 

[PauFerro]

Here is a cool video -- the guy used store bought hardware in spots, though...



Used what appears to be a plywood top, and it doesn't look all that bad.

 

[Beej]

I like to come up with novel ways of creating hardware, or using off the shelf parts in different ways, so for those reasons, I like the home depot build idea. That said, when it comes to wood, it's quite a bit more expensive than my local lumberyard. Run of the mill maple (saccharum) is less than half price of what I'd pay at Home Depot. That may be due to my being in Canada - perhaps they are importing stock at the HD here, whereas my local supplier gets it pretty locally.

On the HD materials ideas front, look through the electrical and plumbing sections for things that can be worked into hardware solutions. I also have a cutoff of a piece of solid jatoba flooring that I got at the local HD - it's enough for two fingerboards. I think he let me have it for 5.00?

 

[rwkeating]

Don't forget the section with aluminum square rods, round rods, angles and channels. On my builds I've used aluminum like that for bridges and such. Although I didn't get the aluminum from Home Depot, they probably had the sizes I used. Note the fret wire I used in this bridge obviously didn't come from HD but the rest probably could have.

 

[PauFerro]

Don't forget the section with aluminum square rods, round rods, angles and channels. On my builds I've used aluminum like that for bridges and such. Although I didn't get the aluminum from Home Depot, they probably had the sizes I used. Note the fret wire I used in this bridge obviously didn't come from HD but the rest probably could have.

View attachment 3246860

How did you attach the aluminum sides to the base of the bridge?

 

[rwkeating]

The base of the bridge is a "U" channel so there was nothing that I had to attach. You can see more pictures and a bit of an explanation starting here: Build #4 (still mostly hand tools, 8 string tapping inst.)

 

[Reedt2000]

Don't forget the section with aluminum square rods, round rods, angles and channels. On my builds I've used aluminum like that for bridges and such. Although I didn't get the aluminum from Home Depot, they probably had the sizes I used. Note the fret wire I used in this bridge obviously didn't come from HD but the rest probably could have.

View attachment 3246860

Very cool and really clever! There are probably lots of similar products at HD that could be modified like that. I just searched "brass" on their website and came up with a bunch of fittings and things like this

Arctic Cove 3/8 in. Brass Slip Lock End Plug-MAC150 - The Home Depot

That could be drilled, tapped, and slotted for saddles.

 

[grisezd]

Buy a relay for each string and a pack of button magnets. Bust the relays open and out pops a coil. Stick a magnet on each coil, wire them together in series, and you have a pickup. I did this with kids on a science day, worked like a charm.