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Lady 5Jane - Headless, Fretless 5 String Prototype (With Piano Pins)

#21
michaelwayneharwood said:
You machinist types probably already know this, but I found out today that using a disc grinder on aluminum is more trouble than it's worth. The metal is soft, so the disc gets gummed up and needs to be cleaned often enough to make it more work than it's worth. On the up side I have relatives on my wife's side of the family that have a full shop setup for aluminum (e.g. CNC, computer controlled lathes, etc.) and I may be able to get my headpiece machined to spec for little or no financial outlay.
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Yeah, aluminum is different to work with- loads up disks and files quickly.
Great you've got a shop avail for that, too.
BTW: seems that tea cup has gotten fuller as you go along, rather than emptier...
 
#23
Fascinating project! I think the weight is going to be a major issue. I've built a few pieces of furniture all out of q-sawn white oak, and that stuff is HEAVY, really tough on the tools too because it's so hard. Maybe i missed a thread, but why a 2" thick body? Is it the piano tuners driving the thickness?
 
#24
Gilmourisgod said:
Maybe i missed a thread, but why a 2" thick body? Is it the piano tuners driving the thickness?
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The floor boards I used to make the boards ended up being that thickness for the middle section, but the "wings" are more around the 1 3/4" mark. I am planning on planing them down to at least 1 3/4" this evening before I do the final glue up.
 
#25
Rather than slimming down the body it was decided to place some strips of oak in between the wings and the center of the body. The idea of using a different species of wood was briefly considered then abandoned in favor of keeping the wood in the build 100% oak. The strips were glued and clamped to the body center, and tomorrow night the wings will be glued and clamped to the center assembly. It's planned to free the body from it's wooden prison Wednesday or Thursday.

I need to take almost all of the clamps I have back to Harbor Freight and see if they will exchange them - the bars are bending to the point where they getting to be more trouble than they are worth. You get what you pay for I guess. They were great for this amateur builder to get started inexpensively.

I got news from the machinist at my in-law's shop and as soon as I can provide a drawing with measurements they can bust out a few headpieces, which will save me a ton of time.

Happy happy, joy joy!

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#26
The center and wings were planed down to 1 3/4" thickness and glued up. I did my best to line the grain up, but the "quartersawn" strips create a very obvious break in the continuity. This body blank is HEAVY. I am thinking that chambering of some sort is going to be mandatory, but I am reserving judgement until after it sees some time on the band saw. If I do chamber it will most likely be from the back, and I may or may not cover the work. It might be an interesting aesthetic to have the chambers visible from the back. Thinking about it spurred some interesting ideas that I may pursue in a future prototype build.

I went to Harbor Freight today with my eight clamps that had bent bars to inquire about the possibility of exchange without a receipt, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a lifetime guarantee for their bar clamps. I came home with all eight 6" clamps replaced, and picked up a pair of 24" as well.

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#36
BioWeapon said:
You're making my LP copy jealous!
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*grin* Thanks! I am still working on shoring up the black burst with a mix of Tru Oil and black artist colors, and hopefully I will be ready to get hardware and electronics installed in a week or so. Building up the finish is a long process, but so far I am in love with the results I am getting with the Tru Oil - it's my first time using it.
 
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#37
Even though I stated I would be putting this on hold while the guitar finish is...err...finished, I could not resist breaking out my rasps and files and start the process of cleaning up the sides last night. I am 90% done with the rough shaping at this point, though there are still a couple of areas that need a little attention. Hopefully I will have the time to get fully roughed out this evening, and over the weekend I can route the neck channel and other cavities. This will depend on the amount of scope creep I allow into the process as I am considering doing a very simple carved top rather than a roundover. The end grain reminds me of a cutting board.

In the picture you can see one of the single coil J pups I have out of it's cover. Oak pickup covers are being considered, and a potential magnet swap. The pups I am using are cheap Chinese generics with a ceramic magnet glued to the bottom, and I wondering if replacing them with neodynium magnets might not be fun. Does anyone have experience doing that? Am I insane for considering it?

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#40
As hopefully conveyed by the moniker "prototype" this bass is somewhat of a playground from some ideas I have had kicking around in my head for some time, as well as a project to be able to hone some skills needed for three builds I have lined up over the next few months. With that being said the initial plan has changed somewhat...

I spent some time last night marking up Lady 5Jane's face with some measurements and pondering next moves. The single string bridges originally scoped will be replaced with a wooden bridge, and the fingerboard will extend all the way down to 33 1/4" providing a continuous playing surface akin to finger ramps. Piezo transducers will be placed in the neck pocket, and in the bridge. Placement of single coil transducers will come later if the piezo's end up sounding bad. I have not yet been able to produce a configuration using piezo's that I liked the sound of - usually they sound way too "clanky". I am hoping that "potting" the transducer will mellow out the attack a bit.

This weekend's plan is to route the neck pocket and shape the "heel" of the neck to the angle depicted in the pic and drawing below, and get started on material removal for a carved top, a belly cut, and the neck to body transition.

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