• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Holly and Ebony Rick

#101
Scoops said:
Is this too much?
Rick28.jpg
Click to expand...

Not in my world. Bring it on.
 
#102
@charlie monroe , @Dean N @Stevorebob @Gilmourisgod and @Jonny5bass

Thanks for the comps.
I think I stumbled onto something here.

My post last Thursday night was me goofing around a bit, and I wasn't totally serious about using the patterned limba boards as extensively on the FB as pictured. But with some of the positive feedback, I thought I'd give it a serious shot because it's easy enough to do mock ups right now. I got plenty of scrap. so let's give this a shot

Then I thought, let me take this just a bit further....make the whole neck the limba patterned tiles

reverendrally said:
Depends upon what you use for the top of the body. There is such a thing as too much grain and colour.
Click to expand...

This! And I totally get what you are saying (I personally think the neck is a little too busy).

My design co-coordinator seems to think it's fine, and I just need to find the right combo of pieces. Remember, Limba will turn darker once I star putting a finish on it, and i think that will impact the overall look. Also, just to refresh this idea, I will be doing epoxy on the FB, so I can do just about anything I'd like.

So I thought, why not try to plan it out so that some of the main features in the figure align with fret positions. I'd try to work it so that the juncture of pieces 3 and 6 as a 12th fret locator. I could trim other boards for other key locations. 3,5,7,9 and 12.

@Dean N - The vast majority African black wood I have worked with is for finger boards. This is the first time I'm using it for stringers. It's incredibly dense and oily. It clogs up sandpaper quicker that any thing else I've ever worked on. Because my work is limited to FB's I can't give a full accounting of how tools stand up to it. My Ibex planers seem to hold their edge when I detail out a FB. Just have to find the right direction to plane in.

Thanks for looking.


Rick29.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Stevorebob
#107
pilotjones said:
Is the limba dense enough to hold a fret properly, and reliably over time? It's not normally used as a fretboard wood.
Click to expand...

pilotjones said:
Duh. I think that's the second time I forgot that that was this build.
Click to expand...

I think this is a perfect example of Deja Vu :)

But to answer your question about the Limba's ability to hold a fret. This highly figured stuff, probably not. It's somewhat on the soft side.But there's always super glue

The heartwood, which is what I used for the neck and body center section is bit harder, so I think it might, but I don't know if I would go there.
 
#108
Been trying to figure out how I want to do the FB on this one. Cut more Limba cross sections just to see what I can get. The image between frets 7 and 9 looks like an unhappy space alien. I'm leaning towards just doing some inlays.
Also, I haven't glues up the wings to the center section because it's not quite square. I found an old Jointer/Planer on Craigslist that I'm off to get right now. Pics later today.
I'm not totally happy with the taper in the neck, so the jointer/planer will help me get the center section a little narrower.

Cheers
Rick30.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris_Toot, Duder and Will_White
#110
OK,

Just tried out the new piece of machinery.
The bed goes up and down quite smoothly.
The blades......well, I'll just replace them
The fence is a little hinky, but with some TLC, it'll be as good as new.
 
#114
buldog5151bass said:
That is some spectacular $!#$%&%$&$#- ing grain.
Click to expand...
Nose Hit!

bobdabilder said:
Sears still carries those blades (for mine but they look the same) but amazon was cheaper. I have to tru the fence on mine before each use but it still works like a champ.
Click to expand...
Bob, as far as the blades go, my searches have yielded me the same as you indicate. I'll be ordering a set shortly. The fence is kinda wonky. Once I get it set, it seems to work pretty well, but I see how one might have to reset the fence if you picked it up or moved it. I have some ideas for getting it so that it's a little more stable. I love the little pointer arrow on the side of the fence tellin me what angle the fence is at. I really like the cast iron base too. Maybe I'll have to polish it up like Gilly suggests

Gilmourisgod said:
Might have to polish up the bed on that jointer a little, heh! I got a set of magnetic widgets to hold the blade flush with outfeed table, much easier than dial indicators or other nonsense.
Lathes, Jointers & Routers - Woodstock Jointer Pal Polycarbonate Setting Jig W1210A
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip but doesn't StewMac sell these things for alot more money$$$$!!!!?

On a more serious side this seems to be a clever device. I was reading the manual and they give a blurb on how to do this with a straight edge. Didn't know exactly how accurate their methodology is. All I know is, I have some clean up to do on this, and maybe a set up jig is what I'll be adding to the ever-expanding tool box. Thanks

I did a little research on this model. Seems there weren't a lot of them made. I saw one guy had his posted on evil bay without a stand or motor. Asking $200

I do need to do some more reasearch to find out what the max speed of the head should be. With the current motor, it "seems" a little slow
 
#115
I have had good luck setting blade height by installing the blades and tightening the screws just enough to hold the blades in place (a little higher than they should be) and then rotating the cutter head in position and setting a straight edge on the table which overlaps the blades. This pushes the blade down into place. Then I tighten the blade. To each their own, but this is how I get it done without buying more stuff.

edit: might need to use 2 straightedges if you don't have a wide one. I use a large chunk of oak that's really wide.
 
#116
Update

Got my joiner set and I'm stoked with the results. In the past, I would use my router table. Before I got the joiner, I had a .017" gap on the joints, and the boards weren't exactly square. Now I have no gaps and the boards are square.:bassist:

Victory #2 came today when I upgraded my computer to an SSD, and went 64bit on my DAW. This process usually took me a day and a half to 2 days to get everything loaded. Got it all done in 6 hours

Cheers, and thanks for looking

Rick32.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: kaoskater08 and RBS_Johnson
#117
Update,

Before I go to much further, I've decide what I am going to name the Limba bass. Because all the wood comes from Africa, I will be calling it the Africanbacker :woot:

Last night, I glued up the wings. This morning I planed it out and got it looking pretty good.

Because of my design on the fly tendencies, I have a little gotcha. In machining the center strip so that it is square with the wings, I reduced the center strip to a thickness where I don't think I'll be able to use the bridge I was planning on using. Before machining, the center was 2.5" wide. It's now 2.3. The bridge I have is .75 string spacing. My rough calculations indicate that I'll have about .125" from the string center, to the edge of the finger board for both the E and G strings. I usually like to get that in the .225 to.250 range. Not the end of the world, but with a headless, my bridge options are limited.

Fun part about that though....I get to work on the Hollybacker today!!!!!!

Cheers
Rick33.jpg


Rick34.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: mapleglo, kaoskater08 and bobdabilder

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back