Well I have a piece of steel rod, some threaded steel rod and some aluminium tubing that I could use to reinforce it. I probably wont use the alu tubing as it will probably kink if it bends slightly.
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My first build
- Thread starter TomA1234
- Start date
The steel rod should work. It isn't as "ideal" as a truss rod, but it will at least reinforce the neck.
The biggest thing about a truss rod is the adjustability. If you're just using a steel rod, you'll want to take that into account and use a pretty adjustable bridge.
the bridge I have is very adjustable and the saddles can be raised up to about 14mm off the base plate
Updates!
I have cut out the horns of the body and left a small amount of wood around the neck pocket for if I need to slightly edit things, finished contouring the body (minus the neck pocket) and have sanded most of the body down to 240 grit sand paper but it still needs a bit more work.
Front:
Back:
The body of this bass is awesomely comfortable and I just love sitting with it in my lap!
Now I really do need to start making the neck (and sand some more!)
I have cut out the horns of the body and left a small amount of wood around the neck pocket for if I need to slightly edit things, finished contouring the body (minus the neck pocket) and have sanded most of the body down to 240 grit sand paper but it still needs a bit more work.
Front:
Back:
The body of this bass is awesomely comfortable and I just love sitting with it in my lap!
Now I really do need to start making the neck (and sand some more!)
mikeyswood
Inactive
Well someone has made the kind offer of donating me a truss rod for my project so hopefully I will soon have one!
That is often misunderstood IMO. A steel or carbon rod can help add rigidity, but really a truss rod just allows adjustments for tension, humidiy, temperature, etc.
IME anyway.
Updates!
The body of this bass is awesomely comfortable and I just love sitting with it in my lap!
:
.....
get back to work Tom.... :scowl:
headlikeahole
Commercial User
be careful how much shaping you do before you do all you're routering. It's always nice to have plenty of flat surface to attach your jigs to.
Updates!
Body sanded down to 400 grit, Electronic cavity template made and headstock designed.
The headstock design is a near copy of a stingray headstock and I will post pics tomorrow!
Body sanded down to 400 grit, Electronic cavity template made and headstock designed.
The headstock design is a near copy of a stingray headstock and I will post pics tomorrow!
Updates!
I have finished sanding the body (down to 1200 grit) and it has come out really well!
I have cut out the neck blank and sanded where the fretboard will be attached to down to 1200 grit. If only you could make softwood as shiny as hardwood!
Now I just have to trim the neck down to size (there is a thinner block on the back I have to somehow remove!) and shape it before attaching the headstock.
Neck blank before sanding:
Neck blank after sanding (the pictures don't show the shine enough so I have put up 2 pictures of the shininess!):
The body after sanding (again the pics don't show the shininess well enough so I put up 2 to compensate):
And finally the headstock design:
I have finished sanding the body (down to 1200 grit) and it has come out really well!
I have cut out the neck blank and sanded where the fretboard will be attached to down to 1200 grit. If only you could make softwood as shiny as hardwood!
Now I just have to trim the neck down to size (there is a thinner block on the back I have to somehow remove!) and shape it before attaching the headstock.
Neck blank before sanding:
Neck blank after sanding (the pictures don't show the shine enough so I have put up 2 pictures of the shininess!
):The body after sanding (again the pics don't show the shininess well enough so I put up 2 to compensate
):And finally the headstock design:
headlikeahole
Commercial User
You're doing alot of sanding way earlier than you probably should. If you hate sanding as much as I do then I would stick with 80 - 100 grits till pretty much the end. Otherwise you are gonna end up sanding the same areas countless times before its all said and done. and thats no good for anybody
Thanks for that tip, I can use info like that.
You're doing alot of sanding way earlier than you probably should. If you hate sanding as much as I do then I would stick with 80 - 100 grits till pretty much the end. Otherwise you are gonna end up sanding the same areas countless times before its all said and done. and thats no good for anybody
I actually mildly enjoy sanding and the neck blank actually only took about 7 minutes of sanding to get that shiny. I only sanded it so that I would have a smooth surface to draw the neck shape/taper on as well as glue the fretboard on.
Updates!
Today I have managed to angle the join for the headstock. I had a bit of misfortune with the neck. As my dad was cutting out the shape with a router (he won't let me use it) The blank moved in the jig and a large chunk was taken out of where the taper would be (this was on the last pass as well!)
Luckily I have enough spare wood for another attempt at the neck but this time I have thinned it down to size so I could try to cut it out with a jigsaw this time before adjusting it to the exact size by hand.
Today I have managed to angle the join for the headstock. I had a bit of misfortune with the neck. As my dad was cutting out the shape with a router (he won't let me use it
) The blank moved in the jig and a large chunk was taken out of where the taper would be (this was on the last pass as well!) Luckily I have enough spare wood for another attempt at the neck but this time I have thinned it down to size so I could try to cut it out with a jigsaw this time before adjusting it to the exact size by hand.
(late)Updates!
Yesterday I cut out the neck shape with the jigsaw and today I will be getting the sides smooth/flat.
Yesterday I cut out the neck shape with the jigsaw and today I will be getting the sides smooth/flat.
headlikeahole
Commercial User
