I spent the day shaping my neck and got a couple sealer coats of shellac brushed on ahead of where the wings will attach. This is the third neck I've taken out of the same maple board and every one has looked this good and been dead stable.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
My third build, an homage to the Danelectro DC '59
- Thread starter TheBloodyBarber
- Start date
Today I finish sanded the neck, shot two coats of shellac on the neck and three on the fretboard. Tomorrow I'll wool and Howard's the fretboard, set my frets, drill and fill my side dots. I'm using epoxy with Eye Candy's Mizudori Green glow in the dark pigment for my dots. The pigment glows really well in the baggy. I'm hoping it'll still light up bright when mixed.
Frets! Before that, the board got sanded to 1000 grit then polished with 00000 steel wool and Howard's.
I ran out of time before I could get my dots drilled. That's tomorrow's job. We had an unseasonally warm, sunny day so I got some well lit photos and damn, this is really coming together.
I got my wings edge sanded and the little bit of top shaping done before drilling and pouring my dots. I used about 4g of pigment in less than an ounce of resin. At that concentration, it visibly glows blue in full sunlight and looks like a Timex indiglo watch in the dark. I shouldn't have any problem seeing them on a dark stage.
I'm home tomorrow but on Thursday we'll hopefully get the frets and dots dressed before gluing the wings onto the neck. It feels like we've got it on the run now.
I'm home tomorrow but on Thursday we'll hopefully get the frets and dots dressed before gluing the wings onto the neck. It feels like we've got it on the run now.
I got my dots and fret ends dressed, the body glued up, and the book matched burl panels cut straight and glued. Next up is chambering and gluing on the burl. I'm back to work after a little holiday vacation so it'll be a few days until I'm back in the shop.
I flattened and dressed my frets, sanded the bottom round, hollowed out the chambers, got the control cavity routed, and got the burl back panel glued on.
Today I got the back panel edge routed, shaped to the neck, and belt sanded the edges. I also made a shim for the headpiece since my fretboard is much thicker than it's designed for. Tomorrow I'm heading over to a CNC guy's shop to do the pickup, control cavity, and bridge relief routs. Getting close...
I don't think I'll hand rout pickups ever again. I spent a few hours in a friend's CNC shop while he routed my pickup cavities and access for my tuners, then laser cut my control cavity cover and my new maker's mark. The control cavity cover is a little stuck. I'll have to get creative trying to pop it free.
With the help of a razor blade, a little screwdriver, a hammer, and a block of wood, I persuaded the back cover free. It looks like we missed the mark during glue-up.
Is anyone else craving bourbon right now?
Great work! Looking great so far.
When I wrote it out, that’s the exact thought I had!Is anyone else craving bourbon right now?
Great work! Looking great so far.
I got my ground and controls drilled and dry fit. Then I got the whole thing finish sanded to 180. I ran out to the post office to pick up my jack plate and got in an accident so finish is waiting until hopefully tomorrow.
Oh yeah, we both walked away. The vehicles however, not so much. I wish fewer people thought stop signs were just suggestions.
I took a long lunch today to get down to the shop and shoot some shellac. This is after two coats with a quick scrub with 1000 grit between coats. I'm not back there until Monday. I need to drill the jack hole, scrub it down with Howard's and steel wool, mount the hardware, and set it up.
It was a tough decision but I figured I wanted the whole book matched pair visible. If I used it on the front, the best parts would have a bridge and pickups covering them up.
I'm always envious of my folks' green thumb with herbs.
I'm always envious of my folks' green thumb with herbs.
That's a wrap! A few things went sideways as I was crossing the finish line.
First, my preamp was cooked when I tried to wire it up. I put in a couple dummy pots to fill the extra holes and wired it up like a Jazz Bass. I thought it would be temporary but now I'm not so sure. It sounds really, really good. The rail pickups have a great Warwickesque growl and soloing the bridge pickup should cut through the mix like a chainsaw. I might swap out the dummy pots for a couple producer switches.
Then there's the setup... It's not perfect yet. My intonation is about 5-7 cents sharp at the twelfth fret and I don't have enough string left to get it right. It's serviceable as it is but I'll fix it right when I put new strings on it in a month or so. This headless arrangement is pretty merciless with starting short. In the future I'll be sure to set the bridge long.
I also want to move my rear strap lock higher so it hangs easier at the angle I like. This position still dives a little.
I think this is my last neck-through. It's just a little bit of a pain all the way through compared to a bolt-on. It's absolutely not my last headless with @Passini hardware. The build quality is great and I'm really digging the look. I'll continue using cheap Guitar Madness pickups. After three builds, I've yet to be disappointed. The scale length difference was a pretty fast adjustment and the sound of higher higher tension is a real improvement over a 34. I love this big fat neck too. It's like sitting on a big squishy couch instead of a bike seat.
First, my preamp was cooked when I tried to wire it up. I put in a couple dummy pots to fill the extra holes and wired it up like a Jazz Bass. I thought it would be temporary but now I'm not so sure. It sounds really, really good. The rail pickups have a great Warwickesque growl and soloing the bridge pickup should cut through the mix like a chainsaw. I might swap out the dummy pots for a couple producer switches.
Then there's the setup... It's not perfect yet. My intonation is about 5-7 cents sharp at the twelfth fret and I don't have enough string left to get it right. It's serviceable as it is but I'll fix it right when I put new strings on it in a month or so. This headless arrangement is pretty merciless with starting short. In the future I'll be sure to set the bridge long.
I also want to move my rear strap lock higher so it hangs easier at the angle I like. This position still dives a little.
I think this is my last neck-through. It's just a little bit of a pain all the way through compared to a bolt-on. It's absolutely not my last headless with @Passini hardware. The build quality is great and I'm really digging the look. I'll continue using cheap Guitar Madness pickups. After three builds, I've yet to be disappointed. The scale length difference was a pretty fast adjustment and the sound of higher higher tension is a real improvement over a 34. I love this big fat neck too. It's like sitting on a big squishy couch instead of a bike seat.
