Making a Bass with Hand Tools

[Barnaby]

Hi. My name is Barnaby, and I am an amateur guitar builder in Tokyo. Some of you may know me from another forum. Because I am working in a small apartment, I can only use hand tools, such as eggbeater drills, router planes and all the rest. My landlady doesn’t like me making noise and lives right next door.


Therefore, I did a ‘stealth build’. This is a bass guitar, constructed entirely with hand tools, that I was able to throw together at the times when the landlady was out, and, as I used a spraypaint and oil finish, could nip down to the park to apply extra coats. It took a while, but I was able to knock something out.


Anyway, I also put together a video diary of the build, and I hope you don’t mind me posting it here. It might be of some interest to people working in limited spaces or with limited tools. All nine vids are below, although a demo may follow in a while too, once I actually learn how to play the darn thing:

 

[Barnaby]

Some more...

 

[Barnaby]

...and the last ones...

 

[Barnaby]

There will be another demo video, as I said, and I also have one on hand tools in general that I am preparing, should anyone be interested. Cheers!

 

[Teacher]

Very nice!

 

[onlyclave]

Hey Barnaby, this is awesome!

 

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Hi Barnaby! Nice to see you over here. That's great looking bass. Thanks for going to all the effort of making the videos, they're very interesting.

 

[Stripes]

Didn't you build a Les Paul guitar before? I remember coming across a black one build in an apartment with hand tools as well. When I get home I'll check the videos because I'm quite curious how you did it

 

[ChefKen]

A true labour of LOVE

 

[Barnaby]

Very nice!

Many thanks!!!

Hey Barnaby, this is awesome!

Cheers!

Hi Barnaby! Nice to see you over here. That's great looking bass. Thanks for going to all the effort of making the videos, they're very interesting.

Glad you like them - I hope they're of some help to someone.

Didn't you build a Les Paul guitar before? I remember coming across a black one build in an apartment with hand tools as well. When I get home I'll check the videos because I'm quite curious how you did it

Hey! Yes, I did several builds like that. I've done three LP-type guitars from scratch (Invalid Link Removed a thread on one) and an LPJR, which has a video series as well. Here's the first in that series:

A true labour of LOVE

Cheers - perhaps it has to be, as it's not really a rational process. Power tools are faster and probably do a much better job, and, realistically, it would be cheaper just to buy a bass, but this still feels better somehow. I'm not sure why!

 

[flameworker]

I saw your build on a different forum, great work,welcome!

 

[LowEndConfusion]

Great stuff Barnaby. Thanks for sharing

 

[Hopkins]

You are a much more patient man than I am, that bass came out lovely. I have also seen a Les Paul build you did that was linked to this forum, very nice work indeed. I could probably live with out a lot of my power tools, but definitely not my router.

A bit of advice though, the way you sprayed your finish could be improved. An overlapping fan pattern will give you a much better result, and the numerous light mist coats strategy makes for much more work in the end. In my experience a full wet coat will lay down better with less orange peel. A good coat of paint should be just on the verge of sagging without doing so. I don't know exactly what type of paint you are using, so my advice may be worthless, but every type of finish I have sprayed, be it nitro, acrylic enamel, 2k urethane, or water based have all had this in common.

 

[Barnaby]

You are a much more patient man than I am, that bass came out lovely. I have also seen a Les Paul build you did that was linked to this forum, very nice work indeed. I could probably live with out a lot of my power tools, but definitely not my router.

Many thanks! To be honest, I'd love certain power tools - a drill press, bandsaw and router would make life considerably easier, as would a large belt sander. When I started out, using hand tools was kind of a quest at the same time as being a practical solution to my situation. After 10 or so guitars, however, I hope I have a bit more of an idea of which parts of a build benefit from hand tools, and which would be done more efficiently by power tools.

A bit of advice though, the way you sprayed your finish could be improved. An overlapping fan pattern will give you a much better result, and the numerous light mist coats strategy makes for much more work in the end. In my experience a full wet coat will lay down better with less orange peel. A good coat of paint should be just on the verge of sagging without doing so. I don't know exactly what type of paint you are using, so my advice may be worthless, but every type of finish I have sprayed, be it nitro, acrylic enamel, 2k urethane, or water based have all had this in common.

Thank you! Your advice is spot on, and much appreciated.

Yes, finishing is currently the biggest single issue for me. I have no space for it here, and laying down heavy coats would be a problem. I have to spray outside, with lots of bugs around, so light, quick-drying coats are really the only way I can go. I also couldn't leave the instrument hanging up very long afterwards. My first video showed me doing a session in front of the house, as the landlady had gone out, but I had to tear down that whole setup very quickly afterwards (literally within minutes), and every other coat was done by me walking to the park with the body on a hanger, misting it on and walking back.

Even oil finishing can cause issues. I tried Watco on some plane handles once and the people above me rang the apartment manager to complain about the smell!

 

[Barnaby]

I saw your build on a different forum, great work,welcome!

Many thanks - weird to think that my work is out there on teh Interwebz and being seen so widely. Originally, I joined because I wanted to post this on here a week ago, but the site rules wouldn't let me!

Great stuff Barnaby. Thanks for sharing

Happy to put the vids up. I hope that they are useful for anyone considering the same thing.

 

[lbridenstine]

I'm only done with the second video so far, but it's looking good and I like the way you explain all the steps. I'll have to find some time to watch the rest!

 

[Barnaby]

I'm only done with the second video so far, but it's looking good and I like the way you explain all the steps. I'll have to find some time to watch the rest!

Thank you! I first encountered your work on here and think it is incredible. I am very happy to have some positive feedback from you.

 

[Barnaby]

By the way, yesterday I made a video about which hand tools I use and suggest, as I seem to get asked this pretty frequently. Obviously, Im only an amateur builder, not a pro, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but here's the vid in any case...



...oh, and the bass I just finished is used in the music for the opening and closing of the video, as is a guitar I knocked together.

I should also mention that I don't cover soldering or finishing equipment in the vid.

 

[joselorellano]

That's a great video. Thanks for posting.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Even oil finishing can cause issues. I tried Watco on some plane handles once and the people above me rang the apartment manager to complain about the smell!

If you use pure tung oil (available at most specialist woodworking stores and online), you won't have that solventy smell. Pure tung oil smells pretty nice and nutty, because it's pressed from the seed from the nut of a Tung tree.

http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html