I will try to keep it transparent, if possible. I definitely want to be able to clearly see the grain.
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Double Bass Resuming a build that was set aside years ago.
- Thread starter 1st Bass
- Start date
Scraping is complete, for the outside of the back plate: time to start carving the interior.
The outer edges (1" perimeter) will get reworked after I install the purfling, which is why they don't look quite as "finished" as the rest.
The outer edges (1" perimeter) will get reworked after I install the purfling, which is why they don't look quite as "finished" as the rest.
Working on graduating the back plate for this five-string double bass, today. The palm plane is working well for smoothing the ridges left by the scrub plane.
Nope. Initially I had it there to clear the occasional chip-jam out of the planes, but that virtually never happens now. In the meantime it turned out that it makes a very handy "bench-brush:" it is light, and the point clears the cradle-blocks so the plate fits back in place. And I don't get splinters from using my hands, as I used to do.
A number of years back I had begun a couple of kitchen knives, made of heavy bandsaw blade. I ended up setting them aside without having made handles or finished polishing the blades or anything. That is one of the two. The other is in my toolbox. Maybe I will finally finish them.
Here the two knives are... still just the blanks I cut from a large bandsaw blade:
And here is the back plate interior, nearly complete:
And here are all the parts except the fingerboard (which I have not yet cut out, even) and other fittings (ditto), pretty much ready for assembly.
There is still a long, long way to go, but it is starting to look more like a bass.
The carbon-fiber reinforcement bars arrived today, so perhaps tomorrow I will install them.
And here is the back plate interior, nearly complete:
And here are all the parts except the fingerboard (which I have not yet cut out, even) and other fittings (ditto), pretty much ready for assembly.
There is still a long, long way to go, but it is starting to look more like a bass.
The carbon-fiber reinforcement bars arrived today, so perhaps tomorrow I will install them.
Waiting for the epoxy to cure sufficiently, so that I can saw off the ends of the carbon reinforcement rods. (15 minute epoxy does not harden in 15 minutes... it just becomes unworkable by that time. No idea how long it takes to cure.)
Anyway... one step closer to completion.
Anyway... one step closer to completion.
I installed the front plate today. At the moment, I am planing the fingerboard to shape, so I can glue it to the neck.
5/16" I think. I haven't measured them in years.
Some were actual bolts, salvaged from the 1200 lb. spools of welding wire they used to buy at work. But the better ones are all-thread, with spools made of closet rod, drilled and padded with cork. I'm not near them now, but I believe they were 5/16" as you suggested.
One caveat... learned the hard way: you want to at least shellac that steel, so it can't react with the tannins in the wood, and make black marks. Today I went and bought 16 feet of clear vinyl tubing, and slid 2" onto each end of each clamp, so that the only things that could contact the instruments are the wooden spools padded with cork, or the plastic tubing.
Some were actual bolts, salvaged from the 1200 lb. spools of welding wire they used to buy at work. But the better ones are all-thread, with spools made of closet rod, drilled and padded with cork. I'm not near them now, but I believe they were 5/16" as you suggested.
One caveat... learned the hard way: you want to at least shellac that steel, so it can't react with the tannins in the wood, and make black marks. Today I went and bought 16 feet of clear vinyl tubing, and slid 2" onto each end of each clamp, so that the only things that could contact the instruments are the wooden spools padded with cork, or the plastic tubing.
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I continue to learn from and be entertained by this thread. Thanks for keeping us up to date on your progress!
Clamps off!
And here is the back plate just sitting on the rib garland, not bent to shape, obviously, and not glued. I will complete the purfling after the plate is installed, to ensure that the overhang is correct first, so that the purfling is following the edge exactly.
The carbon fiber rods, bedded in epoxy, have been trimmed off.
There is still a long way to go, but it is looking hopeful.
Getting pretty tired, so here is today's progress:
Ipé fingerboard and tailpiece. Still a fair amount of scraping to do, on both, and I will inlay a transverse "fret" across the end of the tailpiece to establish a hard, definite stop for the afterlength. (I'm not sure why that matters, since the bridge is the "real" stop, but an awful lot of Violin-family tailpieces have it, so... I will comply.)
The fingerboard and neck shaping are next on my agenda.
For those unfamiliar with Ipé, it is a very dense, hard wood, like ebony but not endangered, and it finishes a medium dark brown, not black. The dust from working it is bright yellow.
Ipé fingerboard and tailpiece. Still a fair amount of scraping to do, on both, and I will inlay a transverse "fret" across the end of the tailpiece to establish a hard, definite stop for the afterlength. (I'm not sure why that matters, since the bridge is the "real" stop, but an awful lot of Violin-family tailpieces have it, so... I will comply.)
The fingerboard and neck shaping are next on my agenda.
For those unfamiliar with Ipé, it is a very dense, hard wood, like ebony but not endangered, and it finishes a medium dark brown, not black. The dust from working it is bright yellow.
All I managed to accomplish today was to finish shaping the fingerboard and tailpiece, and shape the neck and heel...partly.
I cut a "fret" for the tailpiece and bent it to fit the curvature of the tailpiece itself, then clamped it in place to allow it to cool in that shape.
Monday, I hope to inlay the fret and drill all the holes for the tailpiece. Then I hope to bet working toward the neck-set.
I cut a "fret" for the tailpiece and bent it to fit the curvature of the tailpiece itself, then clamped it in place to allow it to cool in that shape.
Monday, I hope to inlay the fret and drill all the holes for the tailpiece. Then I hope to bet working toward the neck-set.
A question to all you master bass-makers out there: If there something inherently "wrong-headed" about my plan to use an access port to reach the bolts for a removable neck? I could go the other way, and have the bolts coming from the outside (and many do), but I don't like the looks, as a rule, and I do like the idea of having easier access to the "innards" when needing to repair or adjust things. Is there an alternative that I am missing?
I don't want to make a serious faux pas, here... That was my plan, but the current thread over in "Set-up and repair" gave me pause. Anyone care to share your thoughts? (Not trying to start an argument; trying to avoid a mistake.)
I don't want to make a serious faux pas, here... That was my plan, but the current thread over in "Set-up and repair" gave me pause. Anyone care to share your thoughts? (Not trying to start an argument; trying to avoid a mistake.)
Please excuse my speaking out of turn, since I'm definitely not any kind of bass-maker...
As a simple owner of a double bass which has an access port that came with the instrument and which I didn't ask for, in using it I've grown to love the concept. If I were commissioning any kind of double bass, it would have an access port which would at least allow access to the sound post, even if it didn't look perfect (although I've seen some extremely discrete access ports). This is just a must for me, as there are too many times when a very simple sound post adjustment might be the exact answer to a tone problem. An adjustable-length sound post would also be a very nice additional feature.
Obviously I'd love to have a removable neck too, so if the access port also addresses neck adjustment, that's wonderful icing on the cake.
(Which raises an interesting question, hopefully not being too forward about it... Is this wonderful 5-string double bass going to be for personal use, or is it going to be for sale???)
As a simple owner of a double bass which has an access port that came with the instrument and which I didn't ask for, in using it I've grown to love the concept. If I were commissioning any kind of double bass, it would have an access port which would at least allow access to the sound post, even if it didn't look perfect (although I've seen some extremely discrete access ports). This is just a must for me, as there are too many times when a very simple sound post adjustment might be the exact answer to a tone problem. An adjustable-length sound post would also be a very nice additional feature.
Obviously I'd love to have a removable neck too, so if the access port also addresses neck adjustment, that's wonderful icing on the cake.
(Which raises an interesting question, hopefully not being too forward about it... Is this wonderful 5-string double bass going to be for personal use, or is it going to be for sale???)
Ah, Don!
You are a little early to pronounce it a "wonderful" anything!
But, especially since I am not a player, yes, it will be for sale.... and I will begin another, of the same wood. A fellow gave me a log, years ago, and I should be able to get a number of basses out of it.
This is only my second attempt at a double bass, and my own design, to boot, so I am still pretty anxious about what the result may be.
But I truly am grateful for your reply, both for the personal insight from a player's perspective, and the "vote of confidence," regarding the bass itself.
Blessings upon you!
You are a little early to pronounce it a "wonderful" anything!
But, especially since I am not a player, yes, it will be for sale.... and I will begin another, of the same wood. A fellow gave me a log, years ago, and I should be able to get a number of basses out of it.
This is only my second attempt at a double bass, and my own design, to boot, so I am still pretty anxious about what the result may be.
But I truly am grateful for your reply, both for the personal insight from a player's perspective, and the "vote of confidence," regarding the bass itself.
Blessings upon you!
I didn't feel as though I got much done Monday:
I wrote a blog post for the fivestringfiddles.com site, then I completed the tailpiece... holes and slots all drilled and sawn, and the fret let into the leading edge. (Glue failed to bond though... I had chosen superglue for the fret, and it did not work. I will try again today.)
I completed the shaping of the neck heel, so that it is ready for the neck-set process, and I laid out the neck-set mortise on the neck block.
Finally, I went online and ordered lotsa tiny neodymium magnets, as closure for the planned access port.
Anyway... it doesn't look like much, but it took up the entire day. Ah, well. Some jobs are like that.
I wrote a blog post for the fivestringfiddles.com site, then I completed the tailpiece... holes and slots all drilled and sawn, and the fret let into the leading edge. (Glue failed to bond though... I had chosen superglue for the fret, and it did not work. I will try again today.)
I completed the shaping of the neck heel, so that it is ready for the neck-set process, and I laid out the neck-set mortise on the neck block.
Finally, I went online and ordered lotsa tiny neodymium magnets, as closure for the planned access port.
Anyway... it doesn't look like much, but it took up the entire day. Ah, well. Some jobs are like that.
Yup... Just like a huge building project, the 80/20 rule applies... It takes ~20% of the time to get the first ~80% of the job completed, then it takes ~80% of the time to get the last ~20% of the job completed.
Love that wood for the fingerboard and the tailpiece!!!
Love that wood for the fingerboard and the tailpiece!!!
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