SBO22 - Wiggle stick V

[ctmullins]

Okay, let’s get this going! I’ve been down with COVID this week, so I’m a few days late getting started. But I’m hoping this will be a pretty straightforward build.

A number of years ago I built my first V bass. Since then I’ve learned quite a few things about building, and about my own personal preferences as well. So it’s time to do another! And to add to the wow factor, this time I’ll be using a Kahler vibrato (the world needs to stop calling them tremolos). Never had one before, should be fun!

Wood pile shot:

Maple for the body, maybe solid, and maybe chambered with a figured top. Maple/walnut/maple/walnut/maple neck. I forgot to add the Ovangkol fretboard to the photo, slotted by LMII at 33” scale.

I’ll have to pick some electronics out of my big box of stuff. Nothing too fancy. Maybe just a single pickup.

I can’t decide how to finish it. Part of me wants to do something wacky, and part of me wants to play it safe. TBD.

Next up: neck glue-up.

 

[Flamingo21]

the world needs to stop calling them tremolos

 

[RichterScale]

I prefer whammy bar

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Talent bar.

 

[RichterScale]

I hereby remove "tremolo" and it shall be henceforth known as:
Super magic happy fun time bar.

 

[TFM94]

Okay, let’s get this going! I’ve been down with COVID this week, so I’m a few days late getting started. But I’m hoping this will be a pretty straightforward build.

A number of years ago I built my first V bass. Since then I’ve learned quite a few things about building, and about my own personal preferences as well. So it’s time to do another! And to add to the wow factor, this time I’ll be using a Kahler vibrato (the world needs to stop calling them tremolos). Never had one before, should be fun!

Wood pile shot:

Maple for the body, maybe solid, and maybe chambered with a figured top. Maple/walnut/maple/walnut/maple neck. I forgot to add the Ovangkol fretboard to the photo, slotted by LMII at 33” scale.

I’ll have to pick some electronics out of my big box of stuff. Nothing too fancy. Maybe just a single pickup.

I can’t decide how to finish it. Part of me wants to do something wacky, and part of me wants to play it safe. TBD.

Next up: neck glue-up.

A single pickup V sounds like a great bass for rocking out, and you can never go wrong with a maple-walnut laminate neck. Any chance this is gonna be neck-thru?

 

[Flamingo21]

I hereby remove "tremolo" and it shall be henceforth known as:
Super magic happy fun time bar.

But isn't that the place we all go after a long day of dusty work building basses?

 

[ctmullins]

A single pickup V sounds like a great bass for rocking out, and you can never go wrong with a maple-walnut laminate neck. Any chance this is gonna be neck-thru?

Probably not. The Kahler will need a bit of neck angle, and while it’s possible to do that with a neck-thru, it’s easier as a set-neck.

But I could change my mind on that score….

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Probably not. The Kahler will need a bit of neck angle, and while it’s possible to do that with a neck-thru, it’s easier as a set-neck.

But I could change my mind on that score….

As long as you change on the fly with no planning or preparation.

 

[ardgedee]

I want a fretless with a string-bendy-bridge because then my intonation can always be perfect.

 

[ctmullins]

Neck glued up.

Also found a three-piece sapele blank that I might want to use instead of the maple in the wood pile shot. Mostly for thickness purposes. The Kahler requires a 1" deep route, and the maple in the photo is right at 1" thick, necessitating a drop top. I'm musing various inlay options for the top, and if I do that, I wouldn't want to "waste" a nice flamey drop-top for that. So I may just use the sapele instead, and plane it down to 1.5" thick or so.

 

[J Posega]

I prefer the term "wang bar"

 

[ctmullins]

Aaaaand this is why I am not drawn to opaque finishes.

 

[TFM94]

Aaaaand this is why I am not drawn to opaque finishes.

View attachment 4734285

The little discoloration? I actually like these kind of defects (terrible word, let's call them features from now on) and even highlight them on some of my builds. I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[ctmullins]

The little discoloration? I actually like these kind of defects (terrible word, let's call them features from now on) and even highlight them on some of my builds. I wouldn't sweat it.

No, sorry. I meant to convey how much I enjoy just natural wood, without paint slathered all over it.

 

[TFM94]

No, sorry. I meant to convey how much I enjoy just natural wood, without paint slathered all over it.

Oh, I misunderstood. Looks great.

 

[Snert]

It took me all the way until post 11 to realise you meant Flying V shaped not 5 string.
Looks good.

 

[ARandGenUsrName]

It took me all the way until post 11 to realise you meant Flying V shaped not 5 string.
Looks good.

I've avoided this thread because I thought it was the fifth installation of Wiggle Stick. I hadn't seen the first four and didn't want spoilers.

 

[ctmullins]

It's a three-day weekend in the US, which means some free time to get some work done!

I have been waffling on what to do with the body. I found another body blank that I had stashed away, and I've decided to use it instead. So here's a fresh "slogan" shot:

This is a wedge-shaped piece of curly cherry that I pulled out of my scrap pile, along with a blank that I purchased quite a number of years ago from someone here on the TB Classifieds; can't remember who. It's a center section of rosewood, flanked by hard maple capped with yellowheart. The blank is incredibly heavy, and quite a bit thicker than it needs to be. But we're going to address that....

First step - make a diagonal cut down the rosewood, to yield two trapezoidal mirror image pieces.

Once this cut is made, the two pieces are narrow enough to feed through my planer, to get the thickness down enough to match the 1.375" of the cherry wedge. Then I can flip one of the halves, and arrange the pieces into something vaguely V-shaped.

Only I failed to correctly visualize the geometry, and one of the halves has the yellowheart on the bottom, and not the top. Oops.

Nothing a quick table-saw rip and flip can't fix though.

That's better!

Now it's time for a series of glue-ups, which is far too boring to photograph....

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Took me a minute to latch on to what you’re doing but I like it. Should look good.