Singlecut semi-hollow body

[Jisch]

It looks like I'm going to have to make a tailpiece that holds the strings closer to the body. The longest strings I can find have full windings of 38" long, I need 38.5" to make this distance. I'll have to look around more, maybe if I just go for flatwounds I can find something.

 

[dwizum]

I just ordered strings for my project, but my scale length is 32". I was shopping for black tapewounds, too. I still have the browser windows open. Rotosound makes the 88's in an extra long, RS88EL. And Labella makes the 760n in an extra long, 760N-XL

Edit because I see you're already aware of these and they're still not long enough!

 

[Jisch]

Thanks @dwizum

After extensive searching I can safely say that no one makes a flatwound string that has a ball to thread length that is over 38". I guess I could have Kallium make me a custom set, but I'd rather not go that route and stick to standard lengths. If I can get under 38" then the options open up a bit. Here's what my initial design looked like. I spent way too much time making this tailpiece look decent, dang it.

So I'm designing a new tailpiece that will move the ball ends in by over an inch. oh well.

 

[dwizum]

Can you keep that tailpiece but recess it deeper into the body?

 

[Jisch]

Can you keep that tailpiece but recess it deeper into the body?

I hadn't thought of that! I'll investigate. I started on the next one, but I still have the old one.

 

[Jisch]

I got v2.0 of the tailpiece done. I don't like it as much as v1.2, but I don't hate it. The good thing is it's replaceable, so I can make another one down the line if I feel so inclined. Now all the strings in the "Deep Talkin" set I have fit except the B! ugh. I don't understand how you could make a set that are different lengths ball to silk? weird, you'd think they would all be the same length. I'll order up some new strings today, though I'm probably going to have to go with silver strings, I've got to sift through the fifteen windows I have open to various string manufacturers.

 

[Jisch]

I was doing a little final forming on the tailpiece with a file while it was mounted in place. This body has a lot of resonance, more so than any other I've built. I am really curious to hear this thing plugged in. I wonder how much of that resonance will make it back into the strings (I ended up ordering D'Addario SL flatwounds). I don't think there is anyone making a five string set of extra long string nylon wound strings.

As I was forming the tailpiece I noticed how rough the body is, there's a lot of final sanding to be done.

 

[5tring]

This is looking great! Are you doing a pickup cover?

 

[Jisch]

This is looking great! Are you doing a pickup cover?

Not at this point. I have a big Bartolini pickup, it looks great as it (I think).

 

[SLivinghouse]

I'm thinking that the crack is a great candidate for the gold filling (as you mentioned above) from an aesthetic point of view. It's kind of got that lightening bolt scar on the forehead mojo that stuck fear into Voldemort's heart vibe to it. That's going to be a beautiful bass!

 

[Jisch]

Right now the crack is visible, but it's not indented. I'd have to get glue out of the crack to fill it in, something to think about I guess.

 

[Jisch]

I got back early from a business trip so I got a couple hours in the shop this afternoon. I did some work on the CF6, but I spent a bit of time on this one too.

I realized that I routed too much under the pickup, I needed to put some blocks in to have something to screw the pickup mounting screws into. The shim and block on top are acting as clamps to hold it against the back of the body.

I guess I didn't take any pics of this before, but I got the volute carved the other night.

Drilled the hole for the output jack.

I've never used epoxy on a body before, so I thought I should try it on a scrap, I did this while I was sanding and cutting, so it's got a lot of stuff in it, but wow, look at that color. This is going to be beautiful. I learned that the epoxy will flatten out, that's probably obvious, but I was trying really hard to spread it flat not realizing it would flatten out by itself. This is a pretty good representation of the color, it goes from very light/yellow to very dark red.

But most of it was sanding/nipping/tucking, I've got a lot more to do, but it's getting there. Standing it up under the bench light is always a good kick in the pants when I think I've made progress. The shadows are unforgiving.

and I got my D'addario Super Long flatwounds in, they fit easily. I should probably mount all five and make sure the tailpiece is going to handle the load, but I think I'll wait until later. Everything looks good from a height perspective though.

 

[5tring]

Looking awesome! Love the colour on that test piece.

I had that same sinking feeling last night. I’m working on a body at the moment where I’ve moved the pickup and doing a full repaint, so I’ve routed away the old pickup, plugged the hole, routed the new pickup position, and sanded it all back. Sprayed the first coat of primer last night and it looks terrible! Loads of dings and scratches I missed while sanding back. Time to keep working I guess!

 

[Jisch]

yeah, that's the next kick in the pants, the first coat of oil, all the scratches become very visible.

 

[Jisch]

I glued a skirt onto the bottom of the tailpiece, it covers up a bit of ugliness on the body and adds a little extra to it. Wenge is fun to work with once you clear out the sharp edges, it splinters easily and sharp!

I spent an hour or so sanding. Still more to go, but it's getting closer (I actually sanded a bit more after seeing this picture).

Probably another hour of sanding then I'll do the epoxy coat.

 

[Jisch]

I got a coat of epoxy on today, man it's ugly. I hope it sands out.

 

[Jisch]

Whew, that was FRUSTRATING! I put a coat of Zpoxy on the bass yesterday. I am sure this is all user error, but boy did it come out BAD. It seemed way too thick, it's about 62 degrees in my workshop, which in retrospect is probably too cold. I tried smoothing it out as best I could with a plastic scraper and my gloved hands, it was ugly when I hung it and it didn't get any better overnight. There were places where there was just a thin coating and other places where it was super thick.

I know we like to show our errors and fixes here on LC, I couldn't bring myself to take a pic of it.

I just sanded it all off, perhaps some remained down in the wood, but I don't think so. It took me a solid 2 hours to sand everything off, then another half hour to sand it smooth again. I wish I could say I was sanding with joy, there was a fair amount of anger.

Then I went forward with Tru Oil, ah Tru Oil, so easy. On my first coats of Tru Oil I always keep applying and rubbing it in until the wood won't take any more oil. The front (redwood) absorbed a ton of it, I have never put that much on at once. Between when I hung it up and when I took this picture it absorbed even more, but when it was shiny, this was beautiful. I can't wait to build up the coats. Back on track, I guess. I didn't take any pics but the neck wood is gorgeous too, this is going to be a nice instrument. The lightning bolt is still there, but you have to look closely to see it.

 

[5tring]

Oh well, you got a free arm workout and it looks great now

 

[Jisch]

I came upstairs to rant to my wife after holding the ROS for a solid half hour, and I couldn't feel my fingers. Quite a workout for the nerve endings as well. All good now.

 

[Beej]

Yikes, sounds like my early days with epoxy too.

Definitely have to put it on thinly and smear it back until it looks almost not there. You can also do just one side, then the other in a separate session. The bonus is the surface is much harder and more uniform when you're laying down the tru oil. Plus I find I need far fewer coats overall, in addition to the bonus of no shrink back. The downside is the sanding...