idea for a buildoff?

[TinyE]

building a neck is still just beyond my skills, so i wouldn't know the time involved, but I was wondering what amount of time (total) you put into builds. What about something like a 24 hour build? where, of course it is not 24 consecutive hours, but 24 hours actively working on a project. This doesn't count finish drying time. Just time your hands are on the wood. Is that too much time? challenging enough?
just a thought!

 

[Beej]

building a neck is still just beyond my skills, so i wouldn't know the time involved, but I was wondering what amount of time (total) you put into builds. What about something like a 24 hour build? where, of course it is not 24 consecutive hours, but 24 hours actively working on a project. This doesn't count finish drying time. Just time your hands are on the wood. Is that too much time? challenging enough?
just a thought!

Sounds like someone is slowly becoming obsessed with the idea of building a bass, no? Well, creepy uncle beej is here to encourage you to come in, the water's fine.

If you're already tooled up, have jigs and templates and know what you're doing, then yes a complete instrument could be built within 24 hours. My most complex instrument ever was 76 hours. One would be limited by how complex it could be within those time constraints, but for a simple instrument, totally doable.

 

[TerribleTim68]

I wanted to meet @Beej until he became "Creepy Uncle Beej".

 

[Camaro69]

I wanted to meet @Beej until he became "Creepy Uncle Beej".

Free 10mm sockets...

 

[TerribleTim68]

Free 10mm sockets...

 

[Rôckhewer]

Well, creepy uncle beej is here to encourage you to come in, the water's fine.

"Do you think it's alright, to leave the boy with uncle Beej?"
He likes to *fiddle* about.

 

[Camaro69]

View attachment 4613137

I mean seriously. One sat on the floor of the shop for a year. No one missed it

 

[RichterScale]

I have an idea for a scratch build challenge.
Try to complete a bass before your thread gets to 20 pages.

 

[Flamingo21]

Then we'll all use your thread for a load of banter!

 

[RichterScale]

Yeah, there's no way I would consider entering that contest.
Just an idea for others.

 

[Flamingo21]

I can't see a twenty four hour challenge to be an option for a Build Off. It's just too easy to show your work and claim you spent no more than 24 hours.

Besides, I have a job where everything I do has a definite time frame. Submitting my hobby to the same constraint would kill the fun very quickly.

 

[RichterScale]

I think,....don't know,...think,....the OP meant a total of 24 man hours spent.
So, 4 hrs p/Saturday, over 6 Saturdays, etc.
I think it depends on a lot of factors.
If it is a relatively simple build, a lot of the work predone and we're not counting waiting for finish to dry or time between coats, I think a simple bass could easily be built in 24 man hours.
One of the things I wanted to do on my current build was keep track of the actual time spent working on it. I completely forgot about doing it, but I'd bet I don't actually have a lot of man hours into it yet.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Might make an idea for one of those dreadful not at all like "reality" TV shows with enough gobs of cash.

For a fun build-off - oh <bleep> no. People get stressed enough by 3 months.

And such would favor boring production-type builds, not the sort of creative explorations we have seen here.

Entirely apart from "who cheated, who thinks someone else cheated, etc." on the time front. Ew, yuck.

 

[TinyE]

yep! that's exactly what i was talking about. i did enter the $99 bass build, but somehow my bass didn't get added to the voting (i bought a neck, didn't build it - i figured that was why). i'll be entering another sometime soon, just need to watch some neck-makin videos!

I think,....don't know,...think,....the OP meant a total of 24 man hours spent.
So, 4 hrs p/Saturday, over 6 Saturdays, etc.
I think it depends on a lot of factors.
If it is a relatively simple build, a lot of the work predone and we're not counting waiting for finish to dry or time between coats, I think a simple bass could easily be built in 24 man hours.
One of the things I wanted to do on my current build was keep track of the actual time spent working on it. I completely forgot about doing it, but I'd bet I don't actually have a lot of man hours into it yet.

 

[RichterScale]

Now that I think about it, because I'm trying to do so much one-off custom stuff on this build and because I'm not already set up to build instruments, I'll bet I have more time invested in setting up tools and making jigs than I do in the bass itself at this point.
But 24 hrs is certainly doable.
Look at @dwizum. He built 2 basses in like 2 weeks, working on them for like 6 mins every morning. Now, those were scratch builds and that was due to experience, being set up and possibly some type of substance abuse (not judging), but if you're buying a premade neck, premade FB and all the electronics and hardware, you can easily make a body and even a neck in 4 hr spurts over a few weekends. Especially if you're not counting finish work.
And if it's something like a $99 build like you described, that should be no problem for a 3 mo build off. And fun.

As far as stress goes, it's actually part of the fun. I mean, it's a challenge/competition. For me and I assume most of us, it's more challenging and competing with ourselves than everyone else, but the challenge is part of the fun.

 

[JamesDeGrandis]

I wanted to meet @Beej until he became "Creepy Uncle Beej".

I actually want to meet him more now.

 

[BishopJP]

24 hour build = 12 hours (cumulative) looking for a router bit + 12 hours (cumulative) remembering why I needed said router bit

 

[RichterScale]

24 hour build = 12 hours (cumulative) looking for a router bit + 12 hours (cumulative) remembering why I needed said router bit

Don't forget about all the stuff you were carrying around and set down somewhere, while looking for something else and now have to find again.
Or the new projects you will start because you found stuff in a box from 6 yrs ago, while looking for your router bit. And now you have to find the bit you need to finish that project you forgot about.
It goes in circles forever.
Squirrel.

 

[JamesDeGrandis]

building a neck is still just beyond my skills, so i wouldn't know the time involved, but I was wondering what amount of time (total) you put into builds. What about something like a 24 hour build? where, of course it is not 24 consecutive hours, but 24 hours actively working on a project. This doesn't count finish drying time. Just time your hands are on the wood. Is that too much time? challenging enough?
just a thought!

I have a suggestion...
How about a challenge for someone to buy the winning entry?
Like someone funds a specific challenge with the goal of getting the winning bass...
Have the person who puts up the money set the challenge...
Something like, "24 hours over 3 months to build a short-scale, 4 string."

Some people will do it for the challenge alone.
Others will do it for the payout.
Others just to sell a bass they built.

Another idea... a Classified section for people to buy challenge basses?
I don't build... this is coming from a person who loves viewing the challenges and has considered asking to purchase some of the contenders.

Just my $0.02 (I know it would require more to fund the challenge, but there it is...)

 

[RichterScale]

It kinda sorta goes against the concept of what the LC is based on in general, but I don't see any harm in sending someone a private message and asking if they'd be interested in building you a bass, or selling one they've built.