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Janus Bifrons (Bass commission) Finished!

#21
Gilmourisgod said:
How do you cut those ovals for the inlays? Did you make a template, or is that CNC? I always liked the Alembic oval inlays, but an ellipse is nearly impossible to cut freehand. They look incredible. Silver outer ring?
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Thanks...
I have technology at my disposal, which I rarely use.... so MOST all of my build process is purely by hand.
BUT.... for inlay?....meh....

The metal surrounding rings: (these are brass, the ones I did on my last build were copper... I am planning to get some sterling silver sheet, to use in the future. )
I cut those on a CNC WATERJET

The abalone is real natural shell...BUT ...it is very thin sliced veneer & is sold as a 3" x 5" sheet. (Ebay)
Those I cut on a CNC LASER
To cut the pockets in the ebony, I also used the LASER.
I drew the entire fretboard up in CAD, Including the fret slots and outline... I programmed the laser to cut different depths for the metal and the abalone so that they were just slightly proud of flush & glued them in and sanded it all flat & up to 2000 grit to polish everything.
I laser "etched" the fret slots just deep enough to give a usable guide to finish the cut with a hand fret saw.

So...yes, I went automated on my inlays...
Which, as I get used to this technology...will allow me to do some really amazing inlay designs easily.
This is currently the ONLY area I am employing CNC tech. (Well...and my tailpieces).

Last build, I was etching in the pockets and someone turned off the computer while I had stepped away...so those I did actually cut freehand with a Dremel router base.
 
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#23
Beej said:
So I take it then that you either got away with murder entirely, or you successfully used a justification defense? :D

I'm seeing red on your behalf, so I can only imagine firsthand...
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Yeah I was pretty ticked off...but I learned a quick lesson on who I can trust at the co-op type shop space where I build. (myself only)...
But for the access to tools that I would probably never aquire for myself... the upsides still outweigh the down.
As far as the last one...it came out fine.
I have one of those magnifying bench lights to look through, which helps these old-ish eyeballs a lot.
20170322_132050.jpg
 
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#24
Got the cocobolo laminated onto the wings & used a flush cut bit to trim.

I finally broke down & bought a Shinto rasp...
Not sure what I was waiting for...glad I finally got it
Major props to Mr. Shintosan or whoever came up with this sucker....
Cut these 25°-ish varying width bevels in cocobolo with ease....EVEN inside radius' .....with a flat rasp?....damn!
Might even be tempted to set aside my angle grinder & flap wheel for shaping necks & go all old school manual on them.... (maybe) ;)
20170321_105050.jpg

I didn't take any pictures of the LED process...but it was almost exactly the same as my last build (Andromeda)... except for this one I put the acrylic dowel inside brass tubeing so the markers could be seen with the lights off.
Then after gluing on the fb I did the rounding of the back of the neck... (flap disk & palm sander)
20170323_111043.jpg

And got the veneers & caps on the headstock...& drilled the tuner holes & counterbored for the washers to sit flush.
And of course my happy little sigil inlay! :smug:
20170323_111009.jpg
20170313_142124.jpg
 
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#26
mapleglo said:
This one is coming together pretty quickly. I can tell you've done this sort of thing before :p
Click to expand...
I cheated..... waited to start the thread...
Actually been on it for about 3 weeks already.
(Although I was sick for most of one of those).
But yeah...I have built this bass 3 times before this.
Youd think I could do it in my sleep. :rollno:
 
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#30
Fretwork is done...
The customer specifically requested nickel-silver mediums....well shucks...that's great!
I'm used to working with stainless.
Plus, I recently got some fret dressing tips from luthiery legend Neal Moser when I visited his shop a while back....(more news on that visit later...  ) ;):hyper:
So my fret job speed has improved exponentially .
20170328_094252.jpg

Finally ready to attach the wings!! Hallelujah!
20170328_093221.jpg
 
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#31
Rock,
That is another badass masterpiece. I'm guessing that body design will be your bestseller long term. When I was building the Vinson neck jig, they had all this nonsense about mounting the dial indicators on carefully bent rod. I saw yours and thought "duh, why not just use straight rod and rotate the dials like Rock?" I am a believer in the jig method, it took all the stress and uncertainty out of the fret leveling process for me. I may eventually get enough confidence to scrap it, but for the next few builds it should come in handy. Do you bother adding any fallway on the last few frets?
 
#37
Aww shucks...:rolleyes:

But check this out....
The transformation from 9 individual trees....each with their own soul & personality....have begun the melding.....the quickening.....?:eyebrow:
Coming together as a cohesive unit of singular purpose....
Or ..... Apple pie with cheese... :wacky::cautious:
20170328_160321.jpg
I think it just might not look half bad.

Only thing I am not thrilled about is that dark patch that manifested only on the bass side of the lower bout....throwing off the bookmatch.
Once the bridge & pickups are installed...it will be ok though.
 
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