Hopkins
Commercial User
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New bass build
- Thread starter CholisGuitars
- Start date
Awesome build and great use of the CNC.
We have two large Thurmwood CNC's in our factory. I really need to learn some sort of CAM software so I can put that thing to use for non-work purposes!
We have two large Thurmwood CNC's in our factory. I really need to learn some sort of CAM software so I can put that thing to use for non-work purposes!
I've made some decent progress on the neck. I started out by using carpet tape to stick the blank to the machine. I use a lot of it. I machined the fingerboard side first.
Here's a shot of the profile, truss rod slot, and indexing holes.
Here, I roughed out the headstock transition with a .5" end mill. It looks like I need to clean and sharpen it a bit considering all the fraying in the cut. No big deal though since it's just an roughing operation. Oh, and I had cut out the tuning holes after I profiled it with a .25 end mill.
There it is all cleaned up with a .5" ball mill.
I missed taking a picture, but I also cut out the slots for the carbon fiber rods. I also cut out the pockets for the logo.
Then, I flipped it to my other template and stuck it down with a lot of tape. I used the indexing holes for alignment. I roughed out the back with the .5 end mill.
Then, I switched to the .5 ball mill to shape the back.
I couldn't resist inlaying the shell. I probably should have used white mother of pearl or ebony, because it's pretty hard to make out the green abalone. Oh well, next time
I glued in the carbon fiber rods using high strength epoxy.
Here's what it looks like.
I then moved on to the fingerboard. I first stuck it to the table and cut out the indexing holes that match up to the neck blank.
I unfortunately didn't snap many pictures, but basically the process was to cut the profile, radius it with the ball mill, cut the fret slots, cut the little flower inlay pockets.
Looks pretty good together.
Lastly, I glued in some curly maple blocks for the fret markers.
Thanks for looking,
Bobby
Here's a shot of the profile, truss rod slot, and indexing holes.
Here, I roughed out the headstock transition with a .5" end mill. It looks like I need to clean and sharpen it a bit considering all the fraying in the cut. No big deal though since it's just an roughing operation. Oh, and I had cut out the tuning holes after I profiled it with a .25 end mill.
There it is all cleaned up with a .5" ball mill.
I missed taking a picture, but I also cut out the slots for the carbon fiber rods. I also cut out the pockets for the logo.
Then, I flipped it to my other template and stuck it down with a lot of tape. I used the indexing holes for alignment. I roughed out the back with the .5 end mill.
Then, I switched to the .5 ball mill to shape the back.
I couldn't resist inlaying the shell. I probably should have used white mother of pearl or ebony, because it's pretty hard to make out the green abalone. Oh well, next time
I glued in the carbon fiber rods using high strength epoxy.
Here's what it looks like.
I then moved on to the fingerboard. I first stuck it to the table and cut out the indexing holes that match up to the neck blank.
I unfortunately didn't snap many pictures, but basically the process was to cut the profile, radius it with the ball mill, cut the fret slots, cut the little flower inlay pockets.
Looks pretty good together.
Lastly, I glued in some curly maple blocks for the fret markers.
Thanks for looking,
Bobby
I finished the inlays for the fingerboard, and smoothed the surface of the board as well.
The inlays also serve as side markers.
The inlays also serve as side markers.
The neck uses a standard nut, 1-5/8". The neck has been designed based off of the Hipshot bridge. I offset the 1st and 4th strings using the nut and bridge as a reference, so it shouldn't be that different than any other neck. I left the neck .016 inches wider than the neck pocket so that I could have room to shape the neck to get a super tight fit.
The neck feels very comfortable! What makes it look wider than normal?
Hopkins
Commercial User
The inlays on the neck. I noticed that the frets ended before the end of the side of the fretboard, and that the fretted area wasn't right in the middle.
I think maybe you are noticing things that aren't ?
edit:
- sorry - that came off rather blunt sounding rather than the joking manner I had intended.
All I can say is just wait until it is finished, and then you will see!
oh I see. I still need to do some cleanup work on the fret slots by the inlays to extend the slots even with the rest. Its too difficult to add the inlays and not close up the slots right there.
All of the slots are machined 1/8 short of the edge of the board in order to hide the tang. It gives the function of a bound board without having binding. The fingerboard is stronger too. The slots are also machined to follow the radius of the board as well. Makes for a nice board.
Geez, this just keeps getting better and better. Really looking forward to seeing the final product!
Some really interesting ideas here. I hope the bass isn't neck heavy as the upper horn is very short. This is why the Les Paul shape isn't common in bass world. The neck is looking fab and block inlays at the top makes so much sense. More pics?
What electronics and PUs are you using?
Davo
What electronics and PUs are you using?
Davo
I did some work on extending the fret slots where I had inlaid the maple blocks. I like to make little saws out of old razor blades for this. They're basically free, and work great. You can even deepen the slots with this little tool. I like that it's very small, so you have great control as well
Davo, yeah I hope it's not too neck heavy either. I'm using hipshot ultralites so that should help. The body's butt end is fairly big, so hopefully that helps as well. I'm using the brass Hipshot A style bridge, so again, I hope that helps with the balance. The battery is located at the butt end at the center line.
I needed to keep the cost down on this build, so I went with the EMG PJ-X set. No additional preamp. I'll be running it at 9v. The owner likes funk type music, and I thought the PJ-X set would be nice for that. Honestly, I have no experience with bass related PU's and electronics, so I just went off of the info I found online, and again wanting to keep it from getting too expensive. The PJ-X set comes with the pots, jack, wiring, etc, so everything is there to do the install. I've heard lots of good stuff about them.
I hope to have this thing finished by the end of the weekend, so we'll see how it comes out.
Davo, yeah I hope it's not too neck heavy either. I'm using hipshot ultralites so that should help. The body's butt end is fairly big, so hopefully that helps as well. I'm using the brass Hipshot A style bridge, so again, I hope that helps with the balance. The battery is located at the butt end at the center line.
I needed to keep the cost down on this build, so I went with the EMG PJ-X set. No additional preamp. I'll be running it at 9v. The owner likes funk type music, and I thought the PJ-X set would be nice for that. Honestly, I have no experience with bass related PU's and electronics, so I just went off of the info I found online, and again wanting to keep it from getting too expensive. The PJ-X set comes with the pots, jack, wiring, etc, so everything is there to do the install. I've heard lots of good stuff about them.
I hope to have this thing finished by the end of the weekend, so we'll see how it comes out.
