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Practice build: 5-string multi-scale, HD woods

#1,121
This was an awesome thread to follow, thank you very much! Your bass turned out to be beautiful, a real work of art. Enjoy it!

And by the way, if you ever come across the Westmalle Triple on a menu, it's a must taste, my personal favorite. And if you ever see a bottle of Westvleteren, do whatever it takes to obtain it, they're rare even in Belgium. If you ever decide to cross the pond and come to the land of beer, I'd be glad to guide you around a bit.
 
#1,122
Thanks for the comments.

I've had a Westmalle, don't remember whether it was the dubbel or the tripel. The other I haven't seen yet, but I'll look out for it.


Smilodon, where would I get started with etching? I know you can get a PCB kit, but that's only for removing a thousandth or two. A burning die would have to be relieved at least 1/32, probably better to have at least 1/16, which is a fair bit of etching. And the etching can't undercut for either a burning or a stamping die.
 
#1,123
pilotjones said:
The logo is still problematic. I haven't been able to execute my main idea by hand, and have yet to find a CNC vendor who can do what I'd like. (Second choice) Inlay on maple is considered very difficult, and my attempts with x-acto and the dremel that I've got on hand were not good enough. (Third choice) A wood burning die is more expensive than I'd hoped, but I may go that way.

The stains, from filling gaps with a mixture of wood dust and CA, are now done. In ten years of reading this and other forums, no one had mentioned that doing this would leave a CA penetration stain in the surrounding wood that would not disappear when putting on a finish afterward. I set up a test piece identical to my bass body - CA, followed by shellac scratch coat, followed by shellac removal - to try doing a "CA blend" in the surrounding area, and to try various solvents. Nothing worked.

In the end I just scraped and sanded until I seem to have gotten past the CA penetration layer. Hopefully this bears out when a finish goes on, and the problem is solved. Otherwise, it will have to be one of those less-than-perfect items on a first bass.

Really, if anyone has some parallel experience with this situation, please share.
Click to expand...

I have even less expierence than you do, but I'd say scraping and sanding past the CA is the way to go (at least that's what I've been doing on my build) I guess it helps to try and apply as little CA as possible...

most of the inlays I've seen, other than dots, if examined closely you'll be able to see that there are small imperfections, mainly that the wood can not be cut perfect to fit the inlay.
I think the real expertise lies in being able to hide these imperfections (for example making the wood dust fill with CA match the sorrounding wood)

I'm no expert so I might be completely off though... :hiding:
 
#1,124
pilotjones said:
Thanks for the comments.

I've had a Westmalle, don't remember whether it was the dubbel or the tripel. The other I haven't seen yet, but I'll look out for it.


Smilodon, where would I get started with etching? I know you can get a PCB kit, but that's only for removing a thousandth or two. A burning die would have to be relieved at least 1/32, probably better to have at least 1/16, which is a fair bit of etching. And the etching can't undercut for either a burning or a stamping die.
Click to expand...

Etching may be the wrong word for it. :o

I mean get a small piece of a soft metal (Aluminum is perfect) and use a Dremel to grind away the areas you don't want burned/stamped. You don't need to cut all the way through but there must be good clearance in the areas that are not going to be stamped/burned . Just make sure the metal piece is thick enough for it not to bend. Especially if you are going for stamping.

If you are burning the wood I would suggest drilling some holes to vent the areas that are not going to be burned.
 
#1,126
Smilodon said:
Etching may be the wrong word for it. :o

I mean get a small piece of a soft metal (Aluminum is perfect) and use a Dremel to grind away the areas you don't want burned/stamped. You don't need to cut all the way through but there must be good clearance in the areas that are not going to be stamped/burned . Just make sure the metal piece is thick enough for it not to bend. Especially if you are going for stamping.

If you are burning the wood I would suggest drilling some holes to vent the areas that are not going to be burned.
Click to expand...

I suppose I should give that a try. I haven't been happy with my work in wood, but aluminum or brass may be more controllable.
 
#1,127
Hopkins said:
What was your idea with the CNC?
Click to expand...

Well I'd rather not give it away, to keep the surprise factor if I get it to work out.

But the difficulty in execution is getting someone willing to cut wood, which rules out most machine shops (due to the mess wood makes, and the need to keep the wood clean), and rule out laser curing because this is on a headstock of a neck-thru, and the lasers all seem to have enclosed boxes which are too small.

I found a place in Brooklyn that seems perfect for the job, as there business includes CNCing wood. But beyond the initial phone call, they haven't responded to subsequent phone calls or my emailed data file and RFQ.
 
#1,128
pilotjones said:
Well I'd rather not give it away, to keep the surprise factor if I get it to work out.

But the difficulty in execution is getting someone willing to cut wood, which rules out most machine shops (due to the mess wood makes, and the need to keep the wood clean), and rule out laser curing because this is on a headstock of a neck-thru, and the lasers all seem to have enclosed boxes which are too small.

I found a place in Brooklyn that seems perfect for the job, as there business includes CNCing wood. But beyond the initial phone call, they haven't responded to subsequent phone calls or my emailed data file and RFQ.
Click to expand...

http://www.carvewright.com/2010CWweb/index.php

My brother in law has one. With the correct attachments, its reputed to have very fine tolerances. Still its kinda consumer grade....so ymmv.
 
#1,129
I have followed this thread, it has been so good I didn't want to mess it with a bad suggestion. Here goes though..... two things, craft stores sell those wood burning irons similar to soldering irons. You could place a piece of carbon paper on the spot on the bass you choose and trace over a perfect logo leaving a carbon of the logo. You would then use the wood burning tool to remove the carbon. Hope that makes sense to you. Sears sells a low end carving cnc. I saw one at a tool rental store once, if you don't want to invest in your own. Your work is really good. If I had need of an engineer you're the kind of guy i'd be looking for. Keep up the good work. Thanks for posting this plethora of good bass building. I would offer you a beer but all I have is Bud light.:hmm::hmm:
I will just add that with that simple little wood burning tool you could do repeated passes. That will leave a trench fill that using a syringe with some kind of epoxy and wa-la.
 
#1,130
This has been one of the coolest things I have read on the internet...It took me a couple days to get through it all but it was well worth it!! I am so inspired to build a bass its driving me (and my wife) crazy..haha. I have a HUGE list of beers to try now too...This is awesome!!
 
#1,132
I have finally found something both acceptable, available, and OK in cost to do the logo. Now that that's accounted for, I've started stripping the shellac, and final shaping and sanding.


Here's my test piece (one of my jigs). I tried two related processes that I don't think I've seen used on an instrument yet.
f234986e.jpg

The one that finally worked well is on the upper left. (The kerning will be fixed!) I'll detail the process when I do it for real.



Rather than reward myself with a beer, Tyrannocookie Rex got a treat.
0136c16e.jpg
 
#1,134
Thanks for the previous responses that I hadn't acknowledged.


Rob, yes the third one down in particular looks nice being semitransparent over the tighter grain lines, I hadn't noticed that. Something to consider, as while I can't get full opacity with this method. I can vary it to between maybe 40-70%.

It might even be possible to get it close to 100% with more experimentation and practice. But you can see from the second one down that it is not a quick and easy task.
 

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