• 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.

Leafenbacker

#61
Willicious said:
Check out Gotoh's GB528 and GB528S tuners.
Click to expand...

I actually decided to use the Hipshot tuners, along with the redesigned headstock.

In other news, the remaining oak leaf onlays have shipped and should arrive in the coming week. I'm looking to buy a small table saw to cut the mahogany strips that will go between the neck and body sides. The Carvin neck comes with the lower portion of the neck flared outward toward the bottom.

261oo0k.jpg


The dotted lines is where I want to cut. At the headstock, I'll want to cut off the wings so I can add the mahogany as well. Looks like I'll have to add a bit of maple to the top, If I got the scale right.
 
#62
Once again, the Goddess of power tools, has seen fit to bestow upon me the gift of price reduction. There's been pretty slim pickings on Craig's List the last few weeks, so I'd been looking at a few Dewalt table top table saws, and saw a few between Lowes and Home Depot. The entry level model was about the same at both, but the step up model was cheaper at Lowes. So I went first to Home Depot to pick up some screws for my other project, and stopped by the tools section.

I had remembered seeing a Dewalt table saw for like $279.00, and apparently, it was still there. I don't know why it was cheaper in the store. I figured since I was getting a discount on the saw, I'd buy a better blade - smaller and more teeth for a finer cut. When I checked out, I saw that the scanner had punched in $229.00 for the saw. A significant savings.

2mdic8h.jpg


Setup went smoothly, with pretty much all the factory adjustments right on, and started cutting. I had to cut some mahogany for the body/neck joints, and slim down the body wings themselves. The Dewalt cuts like - for lack of a better term, "buttah".

I also trimmed down the control cavity cover to just oversized - I'll sand it to fit once I'm further along.

28smp08.jpg


I'll have to wait another couple of weeks to order the neck and bridge. I don't like to run up the credit card too high, in case of unforeseen circumstances.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SandCBass
#71
Are you going to inset the stray leafs into the border/edge? If so, I would spend more time positioning/composing them so they harmonize/balance/dance w/o worrying about 'fitting' and then inset where needed. In that regard you may need to incorporate more leafing. It'll look nice however you decide, but as it is a bit of an art composition now, better to play through instead of compromising.


I don't even want to look at or compare it to the Lemmy bass at this point - it should evolve as your bass and not a copy of his.
 
#72
JIO said:
Are you going to inset the stray leafs into the border/edge? If so, I would spend more time positioning/composing them so they harmonize/balance/dance w/o worrying about 'fitting' and then inset where needed. In that regard you may need to incorporate more leafing. It'll look nice however you decide, but as it is a bit of an art composition now, better to play through instead of compromising.


I don't even want to look at or compare it to the Lemmy bass at this point - it should evolve as your bass and not a copy of his.
Click to expand...

It does look like I'll need at least one or two more leaf sets as some areas do look a little thin.
 
#73
Big fan of Ric 4k1's, and I had never seen the Lemmy bass until this thread. This build is turning into a true work of art, and I can't wait to see it completed. I agree with JIO, make it yours, you've already deviated from the original with the headstock (and that looks awesome) to fit the mechanical aspects of your design so I say go all Michelangelo with the leaf insets. Have you thought of using the leaf inset motif on the fret board instead of the standard blocks?
 
#74
JIO said:
Are you going to inset the stray leafs into the border/edge? If so, I would spend more time positioning/composing them so they harmonize/balance/dance w/o worrying about 'fitting' and then inset where needed. In that regard you may need to incorporate more leafing. It'll look nice however you decide, but as it is a bit of an art composition now, better to play through instead of compromising.


I don't even want to look at or compare it to the Lemmy bass at this point - it should evolve as your bass and not a copy of his.
Click to expand...

I think the idea of allowing the leaves to occasionally 'break' the border around the guitar and the central area would work really well. It would give them more of an organic, part of the wood appearance as opposed to simply being ornamentation - if you get my meaning?

In any case, this is looking gorgeous :)
 
#75
Skarsoul said:
Big fan of Ric 4k1's, and I had never seen the Lemmy bass until this thread. This build is turning into a true work of art, and I can't wait to see it completed. I agree with JIO, make it yours, you've already deviated from the original with the headstock (and that looks awesome) to fit the mechanical aspects of your design so I say go all Michelangelo with the leaf insets. Have you thought of using the leaf inset motif on the fret board instead of the standard blocks?
Click to expand...

Wow, thank you for your kind words. I'm actually using a Carvin pre-made neck for this, so it will be black dot markers. Perhaps on the next build, I'll attempt to build my own neck.

pedrodelawasp said:
I think the idea of allowing the leaves to occasionally 'break' the border around the guitar and the central area would work really well. It would give them more of an organic, part of the wood appearance as opposed to simply being ornamentation - if you get my meaning?

In any case, this is looking gorgeous :)
Click to expand...

Thank you :)

I think I get your meaning - so, actually cutting the leaf to fit the curve of the larger inset, to allow a tighter fit. Yes, I agree. I plan on ordering a couple more leaf sets. There are actually three different ones available, and I've so far used all three. I'm going to go with the "middle" version for the next, and hopefully, final order:

2zrq2at.jpg


This one seems to have the best layout for separating each leaf from the whole and using it for fill in those areas that seem less dense.
 
#76
mapleglo said:
Wow, thank you for your kind words. I'm actually using a Carvin pre-made neck for this, so it will be black dot markers. Perhaps on the next build, I'll attempt to build my own neck.



Thank you :)

I think I get your meaning - so, actually cutting the leaf to fit the curve of the larger inset, to allow a tighter fit. Yes, I agree. I plan on ordering a couple more leaf sets. There are actually three different ones available, and I've so far used all three. I'm going to go with the "middle" version for the next, and hopefully, final order:

2zrq2at.jpg


This one seems to have the best layout for separating each leaf from the whole and using it for fill in those areas that seem less dense.
Click to expand...


tracing around the leaf and carving out the inside of the curve/border to inset the leaf tip into - like a jigsaw puzzle
 
#78
mapleglo said:
so, actually cutting the leaf to fit the curve of the larger inset, to allow a tighter fit.
Click to expand...

I agree, cut the leaf, not the border as some suggest... I think that would give the whole gestalt a much cleaner look, while still being very ornate and detailed. Carving room out of the border for the leaves would make it visually too messy I think.
 
#79
I remember seeing those deco-leaf-sets when you first posted em' on page 1 and thinking: "I'd cut those apart".

So, I would cut the leaves off the acorns, first snap a photo and import that into your drawing proggy and play out a nice composition. Like, arrange them along the curve of the "recess" in a zig-zag pattern (like a laurel wreath), and put the acorns in a row along the strings. Or something.

I like the idea of a leaf cutting the edge of the inset as well, a little twist in your sobriety.

Thanks for sharing, nice thread!
 
#80
Thanks for all the suggestions and input!

For the time being, I think I'll leave the border of the inset portion of the body as is, and fill it in with the "triplets" of leaves/acorns, and buy a few more to cut apart for fill. I'll also shave some of the leaves to fit closely against the inset sides in some areas. While allowing some leaves to "cross over" beyond the inset border portion of the body is a pretty cool idea, I'm a little scared to even try it. One error, and it's back to square one. I get nervous just routing for pickups :eek:

I did give a little more thought to Skarsoul's comment about the leaf fretboard markers. I could order the neck totally unfinished (comes standard with an oil finish fretboard), and lay on leaf fret markers. They'd have to be black, as I only have a black and white laser printer, but standard is a black dot anyway. I may start working on that. I suppose I could lay nitro over that? Or Poly? What would one use to finish a fretboard that has slide decals?

Another question - what would you think is the best way to attach the leaves? Titebond and clamps, epoxy, or superglue? The leaves are a little fragile, and I'm concerned about clamping them. Super glue would allow me to just press them on and hold for a minute or so. I'm also concerned about the leakage from clamps and glue. It might be a little tight in the inset areas around the leaves. Sanding around that to get rid of the excess glue may be difficult at best.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back