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I'm talking about this little hook tool.
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Like I said though, I'm not educated enough in this field to have a real opinion, I'm just saying what it looks like from my point of view.
Each piece is 24"X9 3/4"X1 7/8", so that should leave me with a nice amount of scrap to do other things with.
I just need to source my laminate top wood now.
you have some killer figured Walnut, and you're going to put some kind of top over this?
seriously - this is your first body. save that Walnut for your third/fourth body build, for when you have a good grip on what you're making. source an Alder, Poplar, Pine, etc ... blank and build away (and forgetting any kind of fancy wood top as well) ... unless you have an experienced builder working this with/for you, you'll be better off financially and you'll also have this piece of killer wood to use on a bass you'll play because everything is done right
WAAAAAAYYYY too many first-time novices utilize fancy woods in thier builds due to ignorance (and to some extent, ego) - they haven't built a bass before, they have little (or no) experience working to precise tolerances with tools they have not honed their skills on, they make multiple mistakes along the way ... and that killer piece of wood becomes something wasted and quickly forgotten because the body/neck is unusable.
hone your building skills on inexpensive, but stable wood. get your crafting skills to where you can repeatedly build a body without significant errors/flaws, learn how to read the wood you're working with so you 'assemble' it in the most stable manner ... and ONLY THEN attempt to utilize some kind of figured wood.
this is definitely NOT a personal dig at you. this is simply a word of wisdom (written to all those novices reading this thread) that's repeated as nauseum by those who build instruments and look with hindsight to those nuggets spoken to us that we now wish we would have heeded when first starting out.
I wasted hundreds of $$ on woods I wish I could source now ... wood that hangs as 'grotesque objects of learning' on the "wall of shame" as an object lesson to all novices who visit my shop seeking building advice.
all the best,
R
I'm sure this probably comes up weekly, so I apologize if this is said ad-nauseam, however, I'm thinking about trying my hand at building a body, and I have a few questions for all the experienced luthiers and woodworkers here.
First off, where is a good source to get wood?
Tropical Exotic Hardwoods of Latin America, LLC was recommended to me, but they are a 90 mile drive. I've found several online suppliers, but most simply list the woods they stock and the price per-boardfoot. I'm looking for either a place I can visit near the Los Angeles area, or an online supplier, like Gilmerwood, that shows pictures of their actual stock.
I'm interested in a somewhat figured piece of Walnut (One or two pieces.) for the body core, or perhaps a nice piece of Padouk instead. As far as laminate tops, I'm open to anything that strikes my fancy, but I'm particularly interested in Amboyna Burl (Depending entirely on the price.
Does anyone foresee any problems with those wood combos? Perhaps I'm overlooking potential issues gluing the woods, or with the workability? If it makes any difference, I plan to put an oil finish of some sort on the body.
I do not own, or have access to a planer or jointer, and I really only have a handful of small wood clamps, so I will need to have someone prepare a body blank for me by planing to thickness, jointing, and gluing up the laminate top and core. Is this a service that a wood supplier could offer me? I might have to have a local woodworking shop do it. How much should I expect to pay for such a service?
Finally, who sells routing templates? StewMac has what I need, but they are notoriously expensive! Does anyone else have routing templates for less? Perhaps someone here would loan theirs out?
I need a rear-routed control cavity template (And a control cover.), a Stratocaster neck pocket template, direct-to-wood mount single coil and humbucker pickup templates and a recessed Floyd Rose bridge template.
I appreciate any responses.
)
