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Reasonably Priced Source for Carbon Fiber Rods?

Gilmourisgod

Gilmourisgod

Jun 23, 2014
22,468
40,792
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Cape Cod MA
#1
I bought a set of 1/8" x 3/8" carbon fiber neck reinforcing rods for the Hossenfeffer Bass Build a couple years ago from Best Bass Gear. As I recall, the price including postage was around $25. Now it's up to around $40 including postage! This seems to be typical pricing + postage for all the sources I've checked. Did CF rod suddenly become a high demand item? Dragonplate has a minimum $50 order, so that's out unless I want to stock up on rods. Anybody else found a reasonable source for these rods?

Edit:
Best Price I've found so far, $10.97/rod plus $7.45 shipping.
 
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#3
They are certainly going up. I found some rods cheaper locally at a hobby/craft store, being sold as wing reinforcements for model airplanes. The only pain is they are only 24" long.

I've been trying @Bruce Johnson 's suggestion of 1/8 x 3/8" aluminum bar stock as stiffeners, and so far, I'm happy. I've been purchasing a single 1/8"x3/4"x36" length of bar stock for $6 CDN (like 4 bucks USD), and then cutting it in half lengthwise to get 2 9mm or 10mm wide bars. They are little less deep than 3/8" when in the neck. They are light, very easy to machine and work with hand tools and stiff enough for what I can tell. Just a thought... :)
 
#5
Yeah, I saw that, but didn’t need two sets of rods to make the Dragonplate minimum order. If I don’t see anything cheaper, I’ll probably order from Bitterroot. I re-read Bruce’s thread about carbon fibers and epoxy, may have to try that next time.
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#8
Gilmourisgod said:
Yeah, I saw that, but didn’t need two sets of rods to make the Dragonplate minimum order. If I don’t see anything cheaper, I’ll probably order from Bitterroot. I re-read Bruce’s thread about carbon fibers and epoxy, may have to try that next time.
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Click to expand...
Well if you're going to build one bass, chances are pretty good you're going to build another one...:D
 
#10
@Gilmourisgod I might have a deal you can't beat (which would not be in violation of the fact that I'm not a supporting member because it's not selling anything) on enough 24K TOW to get you done if you want to try @Bruce Johnson 's method. I kinda went for the bulk discount...even accounting for the ebay vendor fibbing slightly ("brand new" yet the gross weight is less than the net weight) I'm sitting on over a mile of it. I'd be open to extending that offer to anyone in the Winter Walnut Whackadoodle Workfest, though I don't know how difficult/expensive it would be to mail it to Denmark/Poland, and many folks are already done with their necks.

Have to figure out how to mail a small amount across the state but that may not be a serious problem, particularly if keeping it untwisted is not a big deal for this use (as packaged it makes much of having never been twisted, which matters more for some of the other applications, I think.)
 
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#11
Dragonplate is the manufacturer of most of the better carbon fiber that the other folks sell. They buy it from Dragonplate and then double or triple (or more) the cost when they put it on their website.

Dragonplate is a very cool US company, great people, extremely helpful, and sells it direct for very reasonable prices in thousands of shapes:

DragonPlate Carbon Fiber Composite Components - Carbon Fiber Sheets, carbon fiber tubes, carbon fiber structural, carbon fiber connectors, carbon fiber design
 
#12
Gilmourisgod said:
I bought a set of 1/8" x 3/8" carbon fiber neck reinforcing rods for the Hossenfeffer Bass Build a couple years ago from Best Bass Gear. As I recall, the price including postage was around $25. Now it's up to around $40 including postage! This seems to be typical pricing + postage for all the sources I've checked. Did CF rod suddenly become a high demand item? Dragonplate has a minimum $50 order, so that's out unless I want to stock up on rods. Anybody else found a reasonable source for these rods?

Edit:
Best Price I've found so far, $10.97/rod plus $7.45 shipping.
Click to expand...
I just checked the BBG site, and I can see $15 per rod (has not changed in the last couple of years). I’ve never paid postage (always order >$100) so I’m not sure where the $40 is coming from.

Regards,
Michael
 
#14
Did someone say "carbon rod"?

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#15
Beej said:
They are certainly going up. I found some rods cheaper locally at a hobby/craft store, being sold as wing reinforcements for model airplanes. The only pain is they are only 24" long.

I've been trying @Bruce Johnson 's suggestion of 1/8 x 3/8" aluminum bar stock as stiffeners, and so far, I'm happy. I've been purchasing a single 1/8"x3/4"x36" length of bar stock for $6 CDN (like 4 bucks USD), and then cutting it in half lengthwise to get 2 9mm or 10mm wide bars. They are little less deep than 3/8" when in the neck. They are light, very easy to machine and work with hand tools and stiff enough for what I can tell. Just a thought... :)
Click to expand...
How do you cut it? Where do you get it? I’m In Calgary. I’ve got a cheap Chinese DB that had a bent neck. I’ve cut off the fingerboard and straightened it over time with weights at the headstock. Now I need some stiffeners before making a new fingergerboard. 1/8” sounds like a nice dimension for cutting a slot. I would probably go with a deeper section than 3/8”. I’d have to measure.
 
#16
The CF rods are very nasty to cut, they produce tiny razor sharp fibers that get under your skin like metal splinters (personal experience) so avoid cutting them if possible. I used a hacksaw, never again! Bandsaw maybe? They are available in a few lengths standard, 24” good for most long scale basses. I ordered two from Bitterroot guitars, 1/8” x 24” x 5/16”, $10.97 each plus $7.95 postage, best price I could find after hours of searching. Dragonplate is still the best deal if you buy at least two sets, which I don’t need. If I was a pro producing lots of necks, I’d buy a bundle.
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#19
I got the Dragonplate ones and was pretty happy with how they look for $6 each. I was paying $14.50 each with the Allparts account and they are very close in looks and function, with the DP ones looking more finished off, as opposed to the rough AP ones.
They are going into the WBO bass, so when I get that finished, I'll have some test results.
 
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#20
Please excuse my ignorance, but would a CF tube work? I’ve made turnbuckles from both pultruded rod and woven tube with threaded inserts glued in and the tubes make for a much superior turnbuckle, stronger, lighter, and less flexy. I’ve used kite tubes, arrow shaft blanks, and ski pole blanks and they all work well. Since they don’t taper they are a continously woven tube of fabric (think chinese finger cuff) so there is no “spine” to deal with.
As for cutting CF, i have the best luck with a dremel running wide open loaded with their HD composite cutoff wheel, then smoothing the cut with the same tool with a sanding drum, also running wide open, then finish by hand. With the usual personal protection of course.
 
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