SBO 23 Frankenbass

[trevorpell0]

This is a Scratch Bass Build entry for 2023 Summer Build-off.

This thread's intention is to build a fretless, 4-string, 34" scale bass, with a fun surprise at the end.

I haven't quite figured out what will go with what yet, in fact, I'm doing two builds at once that will hopefully use most of this up.

 

[Crawforde]

Sounds like a solid plan. I bet there is a sketch or something on the back of one of those sticky notes.

 

[trevorpell0]

I had originally planned on cutting parallel strips to glue together long-ways from the scraps, but I found that a lot of the scrap curves fit fairly closely together. I cut out some templates from some scrap wood and I was able to get the curves to fit together pretty nicely.

It looks like this one will be a walnut + zebrawood combo.

I think I will probably make some plugs to go between sections before I glue everything up for a bit of stability.

I think it looks a bit like a turkey ready for the oven at the moment.

 

[Flamingo21]

That looks deliciously outrageous. Carry on, I'll be reading with interest.

 

[trevorpell0]

I've never built with purpleheart nor mahogany before, I figured this project was a good time to try it.

I'm a bit limited with tools - I have a few basic things but generally I borrow some of the heavier-duty stuff from ::North Seattle Tool Library::, they have been one of the main reasons I've been able to build anything this past year.

I was going to borrow a thickness planar from them this weekend to get these strips cleaned up and glued together, but they were all either checked out or in repair, hopefully I'll get ahold of one soon.

 

[trevorpell0]

The tool library sent me an email at the last minute that someone brought their planar back. I ran down to pick it up and I was able to plane down the strips and get the neck laminates gluing up.

Over the winter/spring, I would glue up in the house since it is wet and cold in the shack that I do most of my work in in my backyard. I got in the habit of putting a chair on top of the clamps to indicate a "no fly zone" so my partner and I don't get a metal bar between the toes.

 

[Flamingo21]

The tool library sent me an email at the last minute that someone brought their planar back.

Good service still exists. I got here straight from the latest UPS complaint thread, so reading this was refreshing.

 

[trevorpell0]

Good service still exists.

yeah, tell me about it. They are a real cool place, they have been so helpful.

 

[trevorpell0]

Got some more progress on this guy, plus a bit more about by overall plans. I got the neck blank glued and planed, routed the cavities, and I've currently got it on my living room floor with the fingerboard gluing on. Second picture is how things will line up with my body plan/pickup.

 

[trevorpell0]

I got the fingerboard cut down to a proper neck-blank. I had some router issues, both with neck shaping and fingerboard tear-out, hopefully nothing I can't fix with a bit shaping.

A question - I've seen some other threads about purpleheart fingerboards, and I'm curious about what you all think - How should I treat the fingerboard?

Maintaining the purple color would be great, but I know that is difficult long-term, that is a bit secondary. Thinking of the way's I've treated fingerboards before, I wonder what you all would do?

Super glue coating? Tru-oil/Varish? Bit-o-Beeswax?

I plan on using round-wound strings.

 

[trevorpell0]

I also got some work done on the body. I'm being a bit cautious with gluing all of the pieces together, I've made dowels to fit between the main sections for a bit of stability. I've got to decide what to do about chambering and tops for the two halves - I'm all in for a bit of mayhem with whatever scraps I can find.

 

[trevorpell0]

A lot of this project so far has been kind of a "give it a shot and see what happens" kind of thing, and "skeptical" is too strong of a word, I'll admit that things have seemed a bit wacky, at least compared to the things I've done in the past. That being said, I got the body shapes cut down and a general outline sanded with a belt sander, and things have really started to seem like they are coming together.

I mixed some epoxy to fill up some of the larger gaps in the joints. I'll be gone over the weekend, so that can have some time to set and I can resume work next week.

The wings are about 3/4 inch beneath the surface of the center block. My plan is to make a top out of something (maybe some Wenge and Purpleheart scraps? Maybe Zebrawood scraps? something else?) and chamber the top wing a little, and leave plenty of room for an electronics cavity on the bottom.

Thinking ahead beyond that, I usually build electronics cavity access into the back of the bass, but I'm considering making a pick guard and electronics plate for the front this time. Maybe Wenge and Purpleheart top and then make a zebra wood and walnut faceplate? Hm, need more pondering.

 

[BishopJP]

A question - I've seen some other threads about purpleheart fingerboards, and I'm curious about what you all think - How should I treat the fingerboard?

Maintaining the purple color would be great, but I know that is difficult long-term, that is a bit secondary. Thinking of the way's I've treated fingerboards before, I wonder what you all would do?

Super glue coating? Tru-oil/Varish? Bit-o-Beeswax?

View attachment 5173439

Bass is looking awesome!

An oil finish will work fine on purple heart. I've used Tru-oil and Stew Mac fret board oil and both work fine.

Here's a PH fretboard I did 4-5 years ago with oil. Blue background might skew the color a bit...


And a bass with a PH top, finished with Tru-oil.
This one is affectionately referred to as "The Sinker"; PH and wenge do not make a light bass!

 

[trevorpell0]

Bass is looking awesome!

Thanks!

Wow what beautiful basses. I hear you about the heavy-bass thing. I'm thinking of the wenge and purple heart to just be a top. The bass body is relatively small, so lighter in that regard (and also, I seem to have a penchant for heavy basses). In the second picture, do you paint/stain the inside before putting the top on?

About purple heart fingerboard, I should clarify that I'm making it fretless, so wear is also a thing on my mind, too, if that makes a difference. I suppose I'm pondering whether Purpleheart is more like Ebony (which I just use beeswax oil) or whether its like maple (which i've used super glue), or some other kind of thing.

 

[BishopJP]

I did paint the inside of that one, but the back of the body is wenge and the cavity goes through to the back.

Not really qualified to speak on fretless finger boards, but as far PH goes, I don't think CA glue would be necessary. I treat my PH boards the same as ebony, FWIW.

Although....
If you oil the PH, when it starts to lose its color, you can re-sand it and bring the color back!

 

[trevorpell0]

I have a few days to try to make some significant progress. Today, I did some planing and gluing to try to get the body and headstock in shape.

The neck is purpleheart with mahogony stripes, so I used some of the scraps/leftover to make a top. I decided to try a diagonal scheme on the top and a vertical scheme on the bottom. I ran into a bit of router tear out, I think probably because I wasn't careful of router direction and grain angle. I think most of that part should get taken off when I shape the upper horn.

I'm doing an open headstock design, I like to reinforce it with a few layers of something. Here, I've got a bit of purpleheart reinforcement with a zebra wood front and walnut back. I didn't have a better way to do that so I cut off a slice of walnut with a handsaw. Like a block of cheese!

I'm hoping that tomorrow, I can get stuff to start looking more like its final form

 

[trevorpell0]

I got a lot of time in the shop (aka spider shack) today. I got a lot done on this and things seem to be shaping up pretty well.

Face glue up went well, shaping out the edges went well too. I'll likely need to do a bit more shaping of the body to cover up some of the missing bits.

 

[trevorpell0]

I also made some major headway on the headstock. I'm always surprised how much time it takes to do this. I start out with a big block, and this time I used a hole saw to try to salvage some interesting wood pieces for the knobs. Then I route everything even.

 

[trevorpell0]

Okay, we have a bass-shaped object. or really, two objects, that, when combined, are bass shaped.

I routed the neck pocket but went a little to wide, so I'm gluing a shim in and I'll try again tomorrow.

I also am trying to make a pick guard by casting a bunch of wood scraps in Epoxy. I haven't done any casting this large before, fingers crossed that things go okay with setting, shaping, planing, etc.

 

[Max Bogosity]

Okay, we have a bass-shaped object. or really, two objects, that, when combined, are bass shaped.

I routed the neck pocket but went a little to wide, so I'm gluing a shim in and I'll try again tomorrow.

I also am trying to make a pick guard by casting a bunch of wood scraps in Epoxy. I haven't done any casting this large before, fingers crossed that things go okay with setting, shaping, planing, etc.

View attachment 5187301 View attachment 5187302

Are your pick guard scraps held down? I have seen some similar ‘jigsaw puzzle’ castings go wrong because the pieces started to float in the resin.