I've always thought that Alembic Stanley Clark bass shape is one of the best looking shapes. Neck heavy, propably yes at least a bit but still I want one. I started with some machining and started to make a brass bridge. I bought 10mm brass rod, 5mmx40mm, 8mmx40mm and 10mmx40mm brass square rod. I have drill press, hacksaw and files. Let's start!
First I had to cut two 10mmx17mm slugs from the round bar and make the ends perpendicular. I used sand paper and drill press.
Next was drilling holes for threads in the center of the slugs. With a lathe very easy but without one I had to get creative. I mounted a center drill on the chuck, carefully adjusted my small but very accurate cross feed table so that the drill was exactly in the slot in the jaws. After tightening the drill in the jaws I loosened the jaws and put a slug in the chuck and drilled center marks. Worked great!
I threaded the slugs with M4 tap.
Next I hacksawed two 11mm strips from 5mm brass. I needed them exactly 10mm wide so I used Dremel router bit and side feed table to machine them.
I sanded machining marks off with 400 grit paper.
Some drilling and countersinking and the bridge frame is beginning to come together.
Some sanding with sanding drum in the drill press and the shape is pretty much done.
Careful measuring and drilling for bridge saddles. I bolted the square pieces together for drilling.
Hacksaw, drill press machining, drilling and tapping for bridge saddles.
I mounted the bridge saddles on the bridge and used the bridge as a guide for the other holes in the saddles. Tomorrow I'm cutting pieces of 3mm stainless rod for guide pins. I need to order M3 stainless allen key screws, washers and nyloc nuts and replace the ones in the bridge with them.
Tailpiece and bridge blocks will be next, maybe tomorrow.
First I had to cut two 10mmx17mm slugs from the round bar and make the ends perpendicular. I used sand paper and drill press.
Next was drilling holes for threads in the center of the slugs. With a lathe very easy but without one I had to get creative. I mounted a center drill on the chuck, carefully adjusted my small but very accurate cross feed table so that the drill was exactly in the slot in the jaws. After tightening the drill in the jaws I loosened the jaws and put a slug in the chuck and drilled center marks. Worked great!
I threaded the slugs with M4 tap.
Next I hacksawed two 11mm strips from 5mm brass. I needed them exactly 10mm wide so I used Dremel router bit and side feed table to machine them.
I sanded machining marks off with 400 grit paper.
Some drilling and countersinking and the bridge frame is beginning to come together.
Some sanding with sanding drum in the drill press and the shape is pretty much done.
Careful measuring and drilling for bridge saddles. I bolted the square pieces together for drilling.
Hacksaw, drill press machining, drilling and tapping for bridge saddles.
I mounted the bridge saddles on the bridge and used the bridge as a guide for the other holes in the saddles. Tomorrow I'm cutting pieces of 3mm stainless rod for guide pins. I need to order M3 stainless allen key screws, washers and nyloc nuts and replace the ones in the bridge with them.
Tailpiece and bridge blocks will be next, maybe tomorrow.
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Alembic was, I believe, the first company to embed metal blocks in the body that the bridge attaches to with machine screws. A big advance in the technology of bass building. The Alembic guys were the pioneers of many advances in bass design that we use today. Your whole bridge/tailpiece assembly is almost an exact replica of Alembic's parts from the early '70's. I believe that our late friend Rick Turner was involved in a lot of that mechanical design.
