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Double Bass Matthew's Double Bass Building Project

#204
OK so we're back to square one ... I thought of using head gasket material a) because i've kept a small roll of it for about 15 years for my motorbike restoration, but since I sold my bike to buy my first double bass five years ago I have had no need for it any more but kept it anyway ...and b) because it is very slightly compressable.

I'll try that, and if the plug keeps falling out I'll use glue and maybe a respectable spiral bushing! I don't really feel like gluing something on the nice ebony plug just yet ...

I am starting to wonder about finishes and fillers.

I did some tests with tinted tung oil finish but it is SO penetrating it works right through the 2mm rib thickness and I'm not sure I want that. But as a finish, once the wood is sealed, it's quite nice. My favourite colour so far is tinting with Van Dyke brown as a first coat, then a couple of light coats using transparent brown.

The silky oak has quite an open grain. I tested some commercial "sanding sealer" but although i get a lovely smooth finish it rather dulls the look of the wood under the varnish.

I have some pumice and was going to test that as a filler with shellac. Any technique tips on how to do this? What do i rub it with? a cloth? fingertips? sandpaper?
 
#205
Matthew Tucker said:
OK so we're back to square one ... I thought of using head gasket material a) because i've kept a small roll of it for about 15 years for my motorbike restoration, but since I sold my bike to buy my first double bass five years ago I have had no need for it any more but kept it anyway ...and b) because it is very slightly compressable.
Click to expand...
(b) is what you do not want in the endpin hole.
 
#206
My thinking was that as the cone of the plug presses in under the weight of the bass, the gasket material (strong, thin, dense card, really) would conform very slightly to the shape of both hole and plug, resulting in a close and secure fit. This is how it works as a gasket, conforming itself to any irregularities in a the machined engine head and the longer it is there the better it fits.
 
#208
I was. On the whole if you count about an hour per post on that website, that's about average. I only get to work in short bursts before breakfast and after dinner and a bit on the weekends ... Its not the most efficient way of doing it, and I have to put everything away wood tools chemicals etc after each session.
 
#209
Matthew Tucker said:
My thinking was that as the cone of the plug presses in under the weight of the bass, the gasket material (strong, thin, dense card, really) would conform very slightly to the shape of both hole and plug, resulting in a close and secure fit. This is how it works as a gasket, conforming itself to any irregularities in a the machined engine head and the longer it is there the better it fits.
Click to expand...
The problem is that the tension from the tailpiece wire will tend to pull the large end of the socket toward to top and the small end of the socket will be pressed against the side toward the back of the bass. Since the tailpiece wire wraps around the endpin about 1/2" in front of the socket, there is leverage on the endpin. This occurs 24/7 regardless of the position of the bass.
 
#210
Now I have the neck fitted and the belly on its time to start my finishing. After fine sanding with a shellac ground I have put on my first amber colour coat

130470.jpg


It seems a bit bright and I am hoping it will tone down for subsequent coats.

What do you think?
 
#213
Bass looks nice. good going.

So let mee ask this what i the angle of the fingerboard arch. Ive been searching the net for to long for this tiny information. And I'm beginning to doubt "THE POWER OF THE NET" ( Is it rreally posible) .

Im building a five stringed eub and I need some kind of scematic for a finger board.

anyways thanks
 
#214
What's the angle of the fingerboard arch?

I don't understand what you need.

The arch shape of the fingerboard can be whatever you want it to be. It's arched because to use a bow you need to keep the strings separate. On a 5 string EUB - are you going to use a bow? If not you can make it as flat or round as you like.

Angle of the fingerboard? Well depends on the height of your bridge.

making your own? You need to draw it all out.

for a string length of 41" the FB is say about 900mm long, 90mm at the bottom, 45mm at the nut.
 

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