Yeah for sure, that’s a really cool piece of wood! When I saw it down at Keim I knew I had to have it
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New headless build… might be a long thread :-)
- Thread starter Barticus
- Start date
The rough body routing is done, it only took 30min this time (human CNC ). Since I ran the body blank through a large sander to clean up the surface, there’s little sanding to smooth things out vs just shaping and carving (the fun part).
I’ll carve the outer body contours tomorrow and will have to rework the finger ramp template based on using the Aguilar DCBs, but that’s only a 30min task.
). Since I ran the body blank through a large sander to clean up the surface, there’s little sanding to smooth things out vs just shaping and carving (the fun part).I’ll carve the outer body contours tomorrow and will have to rework the finger ramp template based on using the Aguilar DCBs, but that’s only a 30min task.
Oh, and my gun case (AKA the perfect headless bass guitar case) showed up today, it is nicely padded and is the perfect size with plenty of pockets for accessories.
I only got in about two hours of working time this weekend for the project but I was still able to make some good progress I think.
I got the outer edges of the body routed and did a little bit of light saying it just to clean up the edges, but looks pretty smooth I don’t have any issues anywhere that I can see that would prevent me from getting to finish sanding pretty rapidly.
I cut a template for my finger ramp and had to do some thinking on how to actually execute the routing for this. I decided to go with a nesting doll type of approach.
so I popped the flamed maple out and hit it with an orbital sander to put a little bit of an arch on the top smooth it off and get the edges all cleaned up. It’s pretty much ready for a color at this point.
Tolerances are very close and line up perfectly with plenty of travel for the ramp so the pickup height can be adjusted up and down easily. I’ll have four corner screws and the whole system will be on springs to allow adjustments.
So for only a couple of hours of work this weekend I’m feeling pretty good about the progress at this point. And it’s starting to look as I had expected it to so far.
I was also able to brand my new gun case so it looks a little more like a bass case
I got the outer edges of the body routed and did a little bit of light saying it just to clean up the edges, but looks pretty smooth I don’t have any issues anywhere that I can see that would prevent me from getting to finish sanding pretty rapidly.
I cut a template for my finger ramp and had to do some thinking on how to actually execute the routing for this. I decided to go with a nesting doll type of approach.
- I cut my template with the inner and outer walls
- Then popped out both pieces from the main piece of MDF and used the outer peace to double tape onto my flamed maple and used a top bearing bit to cut the outside perimeter of the ramp
- Then I used the main MDF template to cut the cavity in the body
- And then I left it in place in the body, then I put the ramp in the cavity inside facing out and cut the cavity
so I popped the flamed maple out and hit it with an orbital sander to put a little bit of an arch on the top smooth it off and get the edges all cleaned up. It’s pretty much ready for a color at this point.
Tolerances are very close and line up perfectly with plenty of travel for the ramp so the pickup height can be adjusted up and down easily. I’ll have four corner screws and the whole system will be on springs to allow adjustments.
So for only a couple of hours of work this weekend I’m feeling pretty good about the progress at this point. And it’s starting to look as I had expected it to so far.
I was also able to brand my new gun case so it looks a little more like a bass case
Attachments
That looks cool. Did you just get an embroidery place to do it for you? Or the manufacturer?
I used iron on vinyl, cut it on my Cricut and heat applied it. Took me 30mins I had 2hrs working time today so I was able to make some solid progress. I made significant progress on the carving and the first stages of final sanding. I’m super happy with the grain and quality of this Zebrawood, it was really easy to work with and carved and sanded really well. I think the translucent colors are going to look magnificent on this body.
I’m planning to build out my tooling (a routing sled) this weekend for radiusing the finger board and carving the neck. So pretty excited to get that rolling, my wheel bearings showed up today so it’s gonna be pretty cool
I’m planning to build out my tooling (a routing sled) this weekend for radiusing the finger board and carving the neck. So pretty excited to get that rolling, my wheel bearings showed up today so it’s gonna be pretty cool
I had 2hrs working time today so I was able to make some solid progress. I made significant progress on the carving and the first stages of final sanding. I’m super happy with the grain and quality of this Zebrawood, it was really easy to work with and carved and sanded really well. I think the translucent colors are going to look magnificent on this body.
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I’m planning to build out my tooling (a routing sled) this weekend for radiusing the finger board and carving the neck. So pretty excited to get that rolling, my wheel bearings showed up today so it’s gonna be pretty cool
Your right, that wood grain is perfect for a stain, looks good
The ABM solid brass one-piece headpiece should arrive by the end of the week and the neck wood should also arrive this week.
I’m laser cutting the neck template today and the parts for the finger board radius sled. Hopefully I’ll have all of these done and tested prior to the weekend so should allow for some good production time to get the body route completed and neck shaped.
I’m laser cutting the neck template today and the parts for the finger board radius sled. Hopefully I’ll have all of these done and tested prior to the weekend so should allow for some good production time to get the body route completed and neck shaped.
Noooo!!!
(That's a long white dog hair and not a scratch, right?)
LOL no, definitely not a scratch
I found 2 potential culprits, that think they might be dogs but neither have owned up to the stray hair quite yet…
I can confirm that after the cats not being allowed in the garage, cleaning up the garage and cleaning oneself it is eminently possible to get a cat hair in an instrument finish.
They’re not allowed in the garage or the studio but definitely not ‘in the finish’ just a loose hair that was likely on the strap.
but definitely not ‘in the finish’ just a loose hair that was likely on the strap. Better late than never, I finally got around to recording a couple sound clips.. nothing fancy, just direct into Garage Band on my iPad and up to SoundCloud.Okay, okay… tough crowd here
agree this requires a sound clip
that’s a good task for Friday
Percussive playing sample (ghost notes)
Tappy Tappy (a little more percussive, double-thumbing, etc.)
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but wait, there's more
I added a couple more clips with some additional percussive playing and harmonic examples.
The brass bridge and headpiece really make the notes/harmonics come alive and the slanted pickups closer to the bridge remind me a bit of the growl I get from my Thumb bass.
It’s been an amazing day for components to show up with my headpiece and neck wood showing up today.
it’s funny how I can get so excited over just a hunk of brass
it’s funny how I can get so excited over just a hunk of brass
- Apr 18, 2008
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- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
