1/2" is doable. I thought I had a 1/8" bit, too, which I would have used for cutting out the shape, but I guess not.
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Joiner "Rhapsody" Build Progress
- Thread starter teej
- Start date
OK, so maybe it's not significant progress, but it is progress, nonetheless. All I did was cut 22" from the 48" board. With the speed set to 5, and the depth to 1/4", the router cut through the walnut like butter. The only setback was that the bit wasn't long enough to do the whole job, so after I routed from both front and back, there was still ~1/4" of material holding the two halves of the board together in the center. That's where the jigsaw came into play. Perhaps it is significant progress. It will definitely make carrying the blank around a LOT easier.
And, of course, there are the obligatory photos. The first is a shot of my workshop.
I use that term VERY loosely, but hey... I get by. And then the second photo is of the cut blank. If you squint, you may be able to see the body outline. If you don't want to squint, though, check my Serenade SC-4 thread. I have a photo of both the single- and double-cut designs uploaded there.
And, of course, there are the obligatory photos. The first is a shot of my workshop.
I use that term VERY loosely, but hey... I get by. And then the second photo is of the cut blank. If you squint, you may be able to see the body outline. If you don't want to squint, though, check my Serenade SC-4 thread. I have a photo of both the single- and double-cut designs uploaded there.
Well, this is embarassing. I thought the walnut was 2" thick, but it's actually 1 3/4". 
Regardless, one side still needs to be surfaced by no more than 1/8" due to a slight depression.
Regardless, one side still needs to be surfaced by no more than 1/8" due to a slight depression.
Slight depression? Back! Belly cut, similar to Spector. Might be able to bowl-sand a nice profile into it...hey, it's just an idea!
I may go ahead and have that one side surfaced, and then put a thin (1/8") top on - perhaps spruce. These guys are big on acoustic guitars, so they would definitely dig the spruce top. And then maybe I could do a semi-hollow body.
As far as progress goes, some of you have seen my cutting implement thread. I'm in need of a cutting implement, preferably a bandsaw, to cut out the body, but because of space limitations, I may get a high-end jig saw.
As far as progress goes, some of you have seen my cutting implement thread. I'm in need of a cutting implement, preferably a bandsaw, to cut out the body, but because of space limitations, I may get a high-end jig saw.
This is a long overdue update, but...
- I got a NICE Bosch jigsaw a while back. It has 6.5 amps, and cuts through 2" walnut like it's nobody's business.
- The body is still walnut, but with poplar/rosewood/poplar in the middle. The rosewood fingerboard won't be dyed black, like I planned, so that it matches the rosewood in the body.
Updates to come!
- I got a NICE Bosch jigsaw a while back. It has 6.5 amps, and cuts through 2" walnut like it's nobody's business.
- The body is still walnut, but with poplar/rosewood/poplar in the middle. The rosewood fingerboard won't be dyed black, like I planned, so that it matches the rosewood in the body.
Updates to come!
I started gluing the poplar sections to the walnut this afternoon. Once that's dry, I can glue in the rosewood. And once that's dry, I can start shaping!!
The body, by the way, is going to be chambered and have a spruce top. I wasn't going to do that, originally, but the people I'm building this for are ga-ga over their acoustic guitars, so I thought I would incorporate that into this bass.
EDIT: By the way, I should mention that a couple weeks ago, I TOTALLY cleared out the storage unit... erm!... I mean workshop, and now I have a LOT more space (relatively speaking).
The body, by the way, is going to be chambered and have a spruce top. I wasn't going to do that, originally, but the people I'm building this for are ga-ga over their acoustic guitars, so I thought I would incorporate that into this bass.
EDIT: By the way, I should mention that a couple weeks ago, I TOTALLY cleared out the storage unit... erm!... I mean workshop, and now I have a LOT more space (relatively speaking).
I surfaced the left half of the body today. Thinning down with the router is causing some frustration, though. I haven't developed a working jig yet, so the router base sits atop the body, which means as I remove more and more of the material, I've got less and less surface, and that's causing some uneven routing. With this week's paycheck, though, I'm going to work on a jig where you've got two "fences" -- one on each side of my Workmate, so that the fences also act as a clamp to hold the body in place. Then, I'll have what I've decided to call the "shuttle," which will simply be a piece of lexan with a hole cut out of the center that will be mounted to the router base and slide along the top of the fences. This way, the router isn't resting on top of the material that I'm cutting away. I also can't get a flat surface on the polpar's sides for joining the two halves, but then again, I've only tried using a sanding block. I'll try out my new 2" straight bit, with the template bearing, tomorrow. That should work.
We'll see.
We'll see.
I finally got to use my hand plane yesterday. I bought it almost a year ago, but never really used it for anything until now. I used it to even out some high spots in the body since sandpaper wasn't doing it quickly enough. I did have some tearout along the edges, and in the surface, but luckily, I haven't cut out the final shap yet, so the edge tearout will be cut off. As for the surface tearout, it will either be cut out when I chamber the body or covered by the spruce top that's going on this.
And then, with much skepticism, I used my router, equipped with the 1 1/2" (the other day, I said it was 2" -- I was wrong) flush-cut bit to trim the poplar laminates for gluing. I had a few tearouts that meant trimming the poplar down a bit more than I wanted to, but the end result was two halves of a body, ready to be joined by a center strip of rosewood.
Speaking of rosewood, I thought the 1/4" piece of scrap would be thick enough, but it's not. The total body width of my Serenade design is ~13 3/4", but right now, with the current piece of rosewood, it's only ~13 1/4". There's no technical reason why it wouldn't work, as is, but a design is a design, and this one calls for a body width of 13 3/4". So Larry, if you're reading this, expect an order for 1" x 1 1/2" x 18" rosewood, as well as other woods for a body and neck blank, and maybe a top (myrtle?).
In related news, I've decided that my standard body width will be 1 1/2". Before I trimmed the body down, I realized that 1 3/4" was just too thick for me. I also realized that my other basses are 1 1/2", so that's just what I'm used to.
EDIT: Added a photo.
And then, with much skepticism, I used my router, equipped with the 1 1/2" (the other day, I said it was 2" -- I was wrong) flush-cut bit to trim the poplar laminates for gluing. I had a few tearouts that meant trimming the poplar down a bit more than I wanted to, but the end result was two halves of a body, ready to be joined by a center strip of rosewood.
Speaking of rosewood, I thought the 1/4" piece of scrap would be thick enough, but it's not. The total body width of my Serenade design is ~13 3/4", but right now, with the current piece of rosewood, it's only ~13 1/4". There's no technical reason why it wouldn't work, as is, but a design is a design, and this one calls for a body width of 13 3/4".
So Larry, if you're reading this, expect an order for 1" x 1 1/2" x 18" rosewood, as well as other woods for a body and neck blank, and maybe a top (myrtle?).In related news, I've decided that my standard body width will be 1 1/2". Before I trimmed the body down, I realized that 1 3/4" was just too thick for me. I also realized that my other basses are 1 1/2", so that's just what I'm used to.
EDIT: Added a photo.
It's back and has a new name and new look! A while back, I took my Serenade design and created a double-cutaway version, calling it the Serenade DC, but I've since renamed it the Rhapsody and skewed it a bit to make it a little more sleek. This particular one is going to have a smaller body and a shorter 30" or 32" scale.
- Chambered walnut/poplar body with sitka spruce top
- Maple neck with ebony fingerboard
- Piezo pickup?
- String-thru with ebony bridge
- 32" scale
