No. 5 - Fifth scratch build, first 5 string

[BishopJP]

Yes, Lee Valley polymerized tung oil. The build thread is here if you are interested.

Oh, dang, my next build was gonna be a P-bass! I remember following that thread; gorgeous bass!

Double dang; if that's the color of limba with an oil finish, it may not contrast enough with the cypress stripes! i may have to try a different finish that is clearer.

Or, I guess, finish a test piece before I slap oil on the actual instrument...

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Oh, dang, my next build was gonna be a P-bass! I remember following that thread; gorgeous bass!

Double dang; if that's the color of limba with an oil finish, it may not contrast enough with the cypress stripes! i may have to try a different finish that is clearer.

Or, I guess, finish a test piece before I slap oil on the actual instrument...

Thanks!

But don't let the fact that I made a P-bass discourage you from making your own.

Regarding the oil, yes, it really darkened a lot. However, brightness and white balance of some of those pictures make it look even darker/more amber than it appears in real life. YMMV, so I would recommend testing on a piece of scrap so you don't end up with any surprises. This post has some pics from before and after the first coat of oil.

 

[BishopJP]

Thanks!

But don't let the fact that I made a P-bass discourage you from making your own.

Regarding the oil, yes, it really darkened a lot. However, brightness and white balance of some of those pictures make it look even darker/more amber than it appears in real life. YMMV, so I would recommend testing on a piece of scrap so you don't end up with any surprises. This post has some pics from before and after the first coat of oil.

Nah, I'll still build the P Bass. I already have the body wood and the fretboard milled and a neck blank glued up!

I will definitely do some finish tests. Maybe sooner rather than waiting till it's time to finish the build!

 

[BishopJP]

Despite not updating this thread, this project has been creeping along! Currently working on getting the body complete.

I routed wiring channels into the body...

before gluing-up, I tied a couple small scraps of rag with string, stuffed them into the wiring channels. When the pieces are clamped, I can pull the string and clear out any epoxy that squeezed into the channels. Theoretically...

I put the last piece of bread on the sandwich...

After gluing, I trimmed the edges and flattened on the router planing jig.

I flattened the back as well, thinned the body a little while I was at it. Total thickness is now at 1-3/4", though in retrospect I could have gone little thinner.

Started chamfering the edges.

I plan to go about 1/2" down with the chamfer so the core of limba will be visible from the front and back when looking straight-on.

I've been wanting try chamfered edges for a while, so I am very excited with how this is progressing!

I have already made the neck pocket template (not pictured) so that and pick-up templates will be next. Still waiting on my truss rod, but I am told it is en route so hopefully I will see that soon!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Nice. I’ve done a couple of chamfered edge bodies. I wouldn’t want to do that exclusively but I do like it.

 

[BishopJP]

Got the neck pocket finished (maybe?) this weekend...

using the standard drill-out-the-bulk-with-a-forstner-bit approach

...and finished with the router

that'll do

not quite happy with the way the various stripes converge, I figured from the start that this would be the case. Thinking I might add a thin block of wenge to the bottom of the neck pocket to separate the stripes. I know it's not functionally important, but I want the instrument to look nice from the back as well as the front.

and here we have the mock-up. Not quite sure about the pick-up placement; my inclination is to make them equidistant from the bridge, neck heel and each other.

I have also added chamfers to the top, I will take better pics of that when I get a little further along. I have seen some other instruments done this way and I liked the look, so I thought I would try putting a cove on the inside of the horns, instead of a chamfer.

My truss rod should be here any day now!

 

[BishopJP]

aaaand... my truss rod was waiting for me when I got home yesterday! Huzzah!

It is pretty nice, but I did have to file some welding slag off the sides to get it flush. No big deal. the LMI instructions mention this may be necessary.

So, naturally, I spent some time in the shop before work this morning. Snug as a bug...!

Theoretically, if you route a straight 1/4" channel like I did, the truss rod can be removed should you need to for any reason. However, this means the round nut has to sit in a square hole! Functionally, I guess this doesn't matter, but aesthetically I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Anyhoo, I can now proceed to gluing on the fret board and hopefully remembering to install threaded inserts before I do...

 

[BishopJP]

Last week's progress...

Installed threaded inserts...

...and recessed washers in the back...

...then glued on the fretboard!

I waxed the screws and threaded them into the inserts to keep glue out.

Looks a bit like a bass!

The grain around the 11th/12th fret looks like a sunset!

Stay tuned, more to come shortly...

 

[BishopJP]

Routing the pick-up cavities. Again, drill out with a forstner, finish with the router.

I have a customer at my shop that was getting rid of some tools, so I was able to pick up a new-to-me plunge router in exchange for bike parts and labor. I think we both got a great deal.

I set up the plunge router with the 1/2" bearing bit and the old, trusty PC router (had it for about 15 years, I think?) with a 1/4" bit to chase the corners the bearing bit can't get. Nice to be able to use both bits with out swapping!

not deep enough yet...

here you can see the "mouse holes" where I routed channels for the wiring, before I glued on the top.

All the gluing is finished (I think) so all the additive construction is complete. I still need fret and shape the neck; maybe I can finish that this weekend? We'll see, the weather has been nice here, I might not want to spend my day off hiding indoors, in what my wife calls my "Sawdust Kingdom".

 

[BishopJP]

Still chugging along!

Cutting the nut slot...

First I use the fret saw, with the depth-stop so I can cut the sides of the slot to a consistent depth. Then I use this little chisel to dig out the slot and clean-up/adjust the bottom with the nut-slot file. The file has safe sides and course/fine edges. Still manage to get it to deep or too wide most of the time...

Curious how others go about this, if anyone cares to share?

Thinning out the headstock with the router sled...

Benefit of thinning before final shaping is if there is any tear out, I can clean it up. For instance, if there is an inclusion in the wood that you didn't notice until the router bit knocks a chunk off one the ears...

Finalized the shape on the spindle/belt sander...

I'm pretty happy with this shape; slight modification of the shape I used for my last two basses.

Started radiusing (sp?) the fretboard, not that you can tell in this pic...

I think this board is gonna look nice!

Control cavity and cover...

In keeping with the theme, I put a slight chamfer on the cover.

Cover stands a little proud, I will need to thin it down a bit.


Time to start carving the neck!

 

[TerribleTim68]

This is looking great!

 

[BishopJP]

Ok, I didn't start the carving the neck, yet. Saving that for the weekend.

However, I did get the side dots installed...

1/8" aluminum tube from some online craft/hobby shop that I can't remember and 3/32 plastic side dot rods from StewMac. Super glued the plastic inside the aluminum and pre-cut into wee pieces. Drilled 1/8 holes in the neck about 3/16" deep.

Drip super glue into the holes and tap in the rods. After gluing my fingers together a couple times, I remembered that I can hold the bits with needle-nose pliers while I tap them in.
The clamp is there to keep the neck from tipping over.

Excess cut off, filed flat and sanded smooth!

I have previously used black plastic with the aluminum; I think the black looks better, but I think the white will be more visible.


NOW, it's time to carve the neck...!

 

[BishopJP]

First step, routing the taper into the neck.

The neck starts out at approx 1-3/16"; after routing, it is 7/8" at the 1st fret and 1" at the heel transition.

Then we start the faceting with the ubiquitous shinto saw rasp...

Once finished with the saw rasp, I use this dragon rasp for smoothing the transitions.

I also used the shinto and the dragon for shaping the belly carve.

I went minimal with the carve to keep it in line with the chamfers.

I also deepened the chamfers to make the different layers more visible from the top/back. The router bit I am using was not quite deep enough so there was a little lip at the top that had to be worked out. A little carving and sanding later...

I think the body is essentially finished. Except for the sanding....

...and the sanding...

one other little "oops" to fix...

Silly mistake.

The next chunk of work to be done is mostly smoothing and sanding so it will likely not be worth posting about. Hopefully, I will be ready for fretting, soon!

 

[BishopJP]

Well, some stuff happened while TB was down so it may seem like I am skipping ahead a bit...

Fretboard polished...

...sanded up to 2000grit...

...oiled, scuffed with ScotchBrite, burnished with brown paper (same as I am using for the drop cloth, above) then burnished with a scrap of old t-shirt on a foam block (never tried that before, hard to tell if it was better/different than the paper) and oiled again!

Ready for fretting!

 

[Videojunkie]

That's beautiful!

 

[Beej]

Hot damn!!!

 

[Jeff Siddall]

By a wide margin, that is the nicest looking pau ferro fretboard I have ever seen, and your polish job looks perfect!

 

[BishopJP]

The part of the process that I am always least happy with; fretting...

I am still trying to find a GOOD way to do this, this what I tried this time around.

Using an 18 gauge needle and a 5mL syringe (my wife is a nurse) I "injected" glue into the fret slot. I stopped shy of the ends of the slots so the glue would squeeze to the ends with minimal squeeze out.

I left whatever glue did squeeze out; after it dried and shrank a little, there was not much left that a bit of filing and sanding couldn't clean up.


My big issue here, I can't find a way to clean up the glue on the fretboard. I have tried TiteBond and super glue. I have tried waxing the fretboard. No matter what I do, there always seems to be some glue on the fretboard that I can't clean up without marring the finish! I am open to suggestions if anyone has a technique that works!


After I got the frets sorted out, I finished sanding the neck, then threw on some oil...

Also not super happy with the color difference in the sapele stringers on the headstock. They are the same piece of wood, I guess I didn't orient them correctly.

I also put some shielding paint in the pick-up and control cavities...

That is the last of the progress pics! The next post will be glamour shots of the completed instrument! Hopefully sometime this week...

 

[TerribleTim68]

The part of the process that I am always least happy with; fretting......

Don't fret over it!

 

[BishopJP]

Well, I guess someone had to say it!