Rhiannon and Galadriel

[michaelwayneharwood]

Ah ok, I didn't think you would glue a fingerboard with a gap in the end That's one heck of a piece of maple

It's worth asking...you never know what other's are thinking unless you do. The fingerboard is one of the prettiest I have worked with, though it's a bit soft. It will clean up super nice, and 10 to 15 coats of CA will get that board ready to handle @rondodunbar's grooves.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Today while my children sold sodas in the driveway to wayward passerby's I did some sanding on the fingerboard and added a coat of brown dye. The dye will get sanded back and the already gorgeous grain should pop into a deep and lustrous chatoyancy.

 

[josiah goldfish]

Super cool

Going back to your Fleetwood Mac quote on page one, I got to see them in concert recently. Still awesome all these years later

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Last night saw some time spent in Inkscape making sure that everything lines up before more cutting occurs. So far so good, and the next steps can be realized. The bridge is being fashioned from Walnut scrap and parts gleaned from a $20 AllParts bridge.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

What would be the perfect balm to soothe a crappy day at a day job? Working in the shop, perhaps? Not tonight. Everything that could possibly go wrong did, with the exception of injury. Fortunately I was working on the wooden bridge, and the only things ruined were some scraps of walnut and my pride. Needless to say I am calling it a night and will pick things up on the morrow.

 

[Jisch]

Sometimes the best action is to stop, I've been there many times.

 

[ctmullins]

What would be the perfect balm to soothe a crappy day at a day job? Working in the shop, perhaps? Not tonight. Everything that could possibly go wrong did, with the exception of injury. Fortunately I was working on the wooden bridge, and the only things ruined were some scraps of walnut and my pride. Needless to say I am calling it a night and will pick things up on the morrow.

Happens. The best part about black days like that is that the following day is almost guaranteed to be better.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

After ruining about 1/4 board feet of walnut scrap, discovering that my router table's side measurements were off by 1/16", and general frustration I finally managed to get a decent bridge blank produced. There's a lot of work yet to be done to get it smoothed out, rounded over, and generally prepared to receive the ABM style bridge saddles, but I am feeling at peace with things for the moment. I still need to route a bot more out on the side channels to optimize the saddles at their lowest position in accommodation of the 7 1/4" radius on the fingerboard, but I am feeling much better.

For something that seems so *simple* is was a lot more work than I expected.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

There's a lot of sanding ahead for the weekend, but here's a sneak peek. We now have two walnut bridges.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Getting there slowly...but no more for tonight. I am wiped.

 

[JustForSport]

Nice!
Can't wait to see them with the finish- great idea.
Those are side-locking saddles? I think I would've oriented the grain 90 degrees (for strength, but maybe that's not best in this case), but this certainly will look better.
Your bass designs have an organic look that sets them apart from the rest.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Nice!
Can't wait to see them with the finish- great idea.
Those are side-locking saddles? I think I would've oriented the grain 90 degrees (for strength, but maybe that's not best in this case), but this certainly will look better.
Your bass designs have an organic look that sets them apart from the rest.

Thanks so much!

They are side locking saddles pulled from this bridge from AllParts. I looked around trying to find a place that sells just the saddle assemblies, but this seemed the best and most affordable option. The goal is to fashion a bridge that fits with the build, but allows for intonation adjustment. This is my wooden take on an ETS MK III bridge.

I considered orienting the grain forward rather that horizontally, but chose this direction to provide strength for the base of the bridge to keep it from snapping in half. The side walls will not see a lot of stress unless there is over zealous tightening of the saddles, and even then I think that it will be fine.

 

[JustForSport]

Good logic.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Tonight saw some chambering for weight relief, and though the lines are not perfect due to doing a freehand router job, it came out pretty decent all things considered. I used a bowl bit for fun to make the bottom of the route nice and smooth, and fell in love with the bit. Chambering one side provided enough relief that the core and top together weigh in at 5 pounds, so I am going to call that good. Tomorrow night will see some wire channels routed and the top will then be glued down.

 

[PDX Rich]

Coming along nicely!

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Wire channels are routed, and the top is officially clamped. I recently picked up an inexpensive trim router, and I am finding myself using it a lot more than I initially expected to. If all goes well I will be trimming the top and applying a 1/2" round-over tomorrow evening.

 

[Hamish MacCleod]

Beauty!
Rondo

 

[2groggy]

They are side locking saddles pulled from this bridge from AllParts. I looked around trying to find a place that sells just the saddle assemblies, but this seemed the best and most affordable option. The goal is to fashion a bridge that fits with the build, but allows for intonation adjustment. This is my wooden take on an ETS MK III bridge.

I can't see from the pictures of the bridges... once a string has been intonated, what stops the saddles from sliding in the slots?

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

I can't see from the pictures of the bridges... once a string has been intonated, what stops the saddles from sliding in the slots?

The saddle assemblies have set screws in the sides that tighten against the walls of the bridge. Once you set your intonation you tighten the screws and the bridge will stay put in its slot during tuning.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

A bit of trimming, and a 1/2" roundover later...magic! She is looking more and more like a bass.