Thanks!
Former CNC programmer? Uh oh, that sounds depressing. Do you lay awake at night just thinking about the machines, and how you miss them?
I know I would!
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New bass build
- Thread starter CholisGuitars
- Start date
Thanks!
Former CNC programmer? Uh oh, that sounds depressing. Do you lay awake at night just thinking about the machines, and how you miss them?
I know I would!
Before I committed to purchasing the more substantial machine, I actually designed and built a small cnc from the ground up to make sure I didn't hit any road blocks. It cost me around 300 dollars, and was great for learning the ins and outs of getting everything to work. I was obsessed with CNC for a couple of years before I pulled the trigger, and I couldn't imagine going back to doing stuff the old way.
It's a nice feeling to be able to scrutinize every piece of the instrument in the computer until you get it just the way you want it, and then have the machine replicate it for you over and over. For example, I always had a hard time hand shaping the back of necks to a level of consistency I was happy with. Now I can ensure that every single neck feels exactly the same.
Another example, when I chamber the body, in the computer, I cut the body along the center line and compute the volume of each half including the control cavities, etc. I then chamber the side opposite the control cavity so that each half of the body will weigh the same. Cutting the specific chambers I have would be annoying by hand.
Anyways, if you already have CAD software, you're a third of the way there. Starting to look into CNC is a dangerous thing.You get to a point where you just have to have one.
Fortunately, I don't have a good enough computer at home to run the design software that I want to, so that saves me a little bit
A CNC is something that I would like to have in next five years, hopefully by that time I can pick one up for around $1500-2000.
lowsound
While I wait a couple days for the sealer to harden more, I went ahead and cut out the headstock logo inlay. More green abalone. These are pretty tiny intricate pieces.
I've cut shell once by hand and it didn't go so great. These were cut on the cnc in 15 minutes.
Here it is in the test pine neck.
I've cut shell once by hand and it didn't go so great. These were cut on the cnc in 15 minutes.
Here it is in the test pine neck.
Thanks!
Former CNC programmer? Uh oh, that sounds depressing. Do you lay awake at night just thinking about the machines, and how you miss them?
It was years ago, I am now an application engineer for SolidWorks CAD software.
They are amazing machines!
I have a feeling Pine isn't too good for a neck, but it is a tests neck. Will they be hard maple later?
A friend who is an amazing artist designed the logo. he came up with multiple ideas and I loved this one from the first time I saw it.
Holy cow! It would be amazing to use solidworks! You guys looking for any enthusiastic software engineers?
Lol yeah. What's funny though is that the neck was pretty floppy, but after I glued on the fingerboard, it became significantly stiffer. I think if it had cf stiffeners and a truss rod you could use it for a guitar neck.
Yeah sorry for all the ugly pine pictures. The neck is mahogany and curly maple. I'm going to start on it next week after I finish spraying the body.
I need to have this thing done in 4 Weeks.
Thank you!
I've been spraying the finish for the last several days. I think tonight will be my last coat. Then the body will sit for two weeks. In that time I'll begin the neck. Look out for more updates soon.
Hopkins
Commercial User
What kind of finish are you using? Forgive me if its already been said and I just missed it. This bass is going to be absolutely beautiful.
I wish you lived closer to me, I would be giving you a lot of business CNCing inlays for some of my projects. That's such a cool process, but I don't have the funding or the patience to do it myself. I'm not very good at learning software, I think trying to learn CAD would make whats left of my hair fall out
I wish you lived closer to me, I would be giving you a lot of business CNCing inlays for some of my projects. That's such a cool process, but I don't have the funding or the patience to do it myself. I'm not very good at learning software, I think trying to learn CAD would make whats left of my hair fall out
What kind of finish are you using? Forgive me if its already been said and I just missed it. This bass is going to be absolutely beautiful.
I wish you lived closer to me, I would be giving you a lot of business CNCing inlays for some of my projects. That's such a cool process, but I don't have the funding or the patience to do it myself. I'm not very good at learning software, I think trying to learn CAD would make whats left of my hair fall out
I use cardinal nitro vinyl sealer and lacquer. I like the way it sprays after adding a bit more thinner to it. It hardens pretty fast too.
The gun I use holds 4 Oz of material. I put around 3.5 Oz of lacquer with around .25 Oz of thinner in the cup and stir it. I can get nice wet coats without runs using that combo. I get two coats on the body with that amount of finish. I spray 3 coats a day then wait 24 hours, sand and do it as many times as necessary to get everything looking smooth. That usually takes around 5 coats of sealer and 9-12 coats of lacquer. The less the better of course.
Awesome lol! Ask and you shall receive.
I finished spraying the other night. The back is nice and smooth.
I then wet sanded everything to 800 grit. I spent a good 2 hours at least doing that. This shot shows some of the nice transitions of top.
Tonight I thinned the neck blank to a hair over .875 thick, then used a 100 grit disc on an orbital sander to smooth it out. 100 grit helps give a nice looking glue joint between the neck and fingerboard.
Then I rough cut the neck on the bandsaw using one of the test blanks I made as a template to trace a line.
Tomorrow I'll machine the neck and glue in the carbon fiber strips.
