That's my method too. It works.
But, it will change soon because Grandpa had 3 buffer wheels for the ShopSmith, so I'll be taking a good look at that on the next one.
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The Hossenfeffer III Build
- Thread starter Gilmourisgod
- Start date
But, it will change soon because Grandpa had 3 buffer wheels for the ShopSmith, so I'll be taking a good look at that on the next one.
Bondo Boy: The Movie
That's a little better, should be a nice friction fit for the tailpiece with this template. It takes me a ridiculous amount of time to get this stuff right. I may have to use the same technique for the bridge saddle piece itself, per usual, my hand-cut templates just aren't good enough for really close-tolerance routing.
Got the Rocklite Ebano flush-cut to the neck. I stole an idea off the internet and I'm using plastic side-dot material pinned through fret slots to register the board. So far/so good. One thing about this stuff though, the dust is really coal-black, and gets all over everything, including getting ground into the maple a little, which I didn't anticipate. Hopefully it just sands away as I'm working on the neck. So this will get ivory binding and the MOP oval inlays (when I work up the nerve to cut them). I'm hoping I can infill any tiny gaps around the inlays with Ebano dust and CA glue, gotta try a test route on offcuts.
I'm going to try to route a binding "ledge" on the board bottom edge, similar to this one on my HFI and HFII builds. It's a cool detail, but a bit risky, as this board is much thinner than the standard 3/8" Ric dimension. The exposed strip of fingerboard below the binding will only be about 1/16" thick, but it's too cool not to shoot for it anyway. I have some of the Stewmac binding cutters, and it seems to work on fingerboard offcuts, so..... Gonna be some creative jiggery to do this cleanly, since the board is pre-radiused to 10" dia.
That's a little better, should be a nice friction fit for the tailpiece with this template. It takes me a ridiculous amount of time to get this stuff right. I may have to use the same technique for the bridge saddle piece itself, per usual, my hand-cut templates just aren't good enough for really close-tolerance routing.
Got the Rocklite Ebano flush-cut to the neck. I stole an idea off the internet and I'm using plastic side-dot material pinned through fret slots to register the board. So far/so good. One thing about this stuff though, the dust is really coal-black, and gets all over everything, including getting ground into the maple a little, which I didn't anticipate. Hopefully it just sands away as I'm working on the neck. So this will get ivory binding and the MOP oval inlays (when I work up the nerve to cut them). I'm hoping I can infill any tiny gaps around the inlays with Ebano dust and CA glue, gotta try a test route on offcuts.
I'm going to try to route a binding "ledge" on the board bottom edge, similar to this one on my HFI and HFII builds. It's a cool detail, but a bit risky, as this board is much thinner than the standard 3/8" Ric dimension. The exposed strip of fingerboard below the binding will only be about 1/16" thick, but it's too cool not to shoot for it anyway. I have some of the Stewmac binding cutters, and it seems to work on fingerboard offcuts, so..... Gonna be some creative jiggery to do this cleanly, since the board is pre-radiused to 10" dia.
The Jankiest Jigs, my specialty. I probably could have done this on my router sled, but the freehand aspect made me a little nervous, so Bring on The jank....
I am not a huge fan of Stewmac's "creative" pricing scams, but I'll admit these binding cutters are worth every penny, works flawlessly every time, with no chipout.
The goal was to leave a thin strip of exposed Ebano under the binding, in this case only about 1/16", the end product looking something like this:
Mitered corners, spooged in with binding disolved in acetone
Next up: cutting oval inlay recesses in the board = FEAR
I am not a huge fan of Stewmac's "creative" pricing scams, but I'll admit these binding cutters are worth every penny, works flawlessly every time, with no chipout.
The goal was to leave a thin strip of exposed Ebano under the binding, in this case only about 1/16", the end product looking something like this:
Mitered corners, spooged in with binding disolved in acetone
Next up: cutting oval inlay recesses in the board = FEAR
It machines beautifully, but dang, what a mess! How black is it?: None more black.
I’ve got faith in you! I’ve done a couple of instrument building and work things that scared the heck out of me in the last year or so but they all worked out... sure some had creative use of profanity involved like the dad on “A Christmas Story” but things worked out and all the fingers and toes are still where they started.
This template is shocked at your jankiness
Good work on the binding jig!
Good work on the binding jig!
Agree with you 100% on the StewMac binding cutter, highly overpriced but works amazing!
Please don't give yourself a hard time on the template... it did the job it was intended to do and the results are beautiful! You get a full 10 points from the Olympic Judges!!
Neck Binding and side dots in, so I've run out of reasons not to attempt the oval inlays.....
I've been watching a bunch of videos on inlay, and settled on the Crimson Guitars method, using the "masking tape and CA glue Trick". I had about 2" of extra board cutoff to practice on. The inlays are backed with masking tape, which is then attached to a layer of tape on the board and scribed around with an Xacto.
The Crimson guy peels this tape outline off, but that seems like a waste of a perfectly good high-contrast background to sneak up on, so I left it on the practice piece.
Probably should have sucked it up and bought the Stewmac Dremel guide, but this one works OK with a little fiddling. I find it hard to get consistent fine depth changes, so it's a lot of trial and error on scrap to get it right. My eyes have deteriorated to the point that I need a lot of light to see any real fine detail. I worked out an odd technique for holding the light in one hand with both on the Dremel that seemed to work.
Not perfect by any means, but not a complete disaster for a practice cut either. I'll just have to be excruciatingly careful on the actual cuts. I have some Starbond black CA glue on order, hopefully that will hide any tiny gaps.
Same masking tape/CA glue trick on the fingerboard, mounted in my neck radius sanding jig, which exactly matches the width of my radius beam so it can't wander off center.
Second attempt at the 24th fret marker, which is probably going to give me trouble. I cracked this piece once aleady, CA glued it back together. Hopefully it will stay intact while I'm test fitting and glueing it in.
If anybody is cringing at my technique, and has suggestions to improve the outcome, by all means weigh in! This the usual Gilmour "Seat of the Pants" approach to Luthiery, rolling the dice on a good outcome.
I've been watching a bunch of videos on inlay, and settled on the Crimson Guitars method, using the "masking tape and CA glue Trick". I had about 2" of extra board cutoff to practice on. The inlays are backed with masking tape, which is then attached to a layer of tape on the board and scribed around with an Xacto.
The Crimson guy peels this tape outline off, but that seems like a waste of a perfectly good high-contrast background to sneak up on, so I left it on the practice piece.
Probably should have sucked it up and bought the Stewmac Dremel guide, but this one works OK with a little fiddling. I find it hard to get consistent fine depth changes, so it's a lot of trial and error on scrap to get it right. My eyes have deteriorated to the point that I need a lot of light to see any real fine detail. I worked out an odd technique for holding the light in one hand with both on the Dremel that seemed to work.
Not perfect by any means, but not a complete disaster for a practice cut either. I'll just have to be excruciatingly careful on the actual cuts. I have some Starbond black CA glue on order, hopefully that will hide any tiny gaps.
Same masking tape/CA glue trick on the fingerboard, mounted in my neck radius sanding jig, which exactly matches the width of my radius beam so it can't wander off center.
Second attempt at the 24th fret marker, which is probably going to give me trouble. I cracked this piece once aleady, CA glued it back together. Hopefully it will stay intact while I'm test fitting and glueing it in.
If anybody is cringing at my technique, and has suggestions to improve the outcome, by all means weigh in! This the usual Gilmour "Seat of the Pants" approach to Luthiery, rolling the dice on a good outcome.
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Your technique is just as good as any other one I have seen!
Here are a few suggestions, one is to "sneak" up on the line.. the Dremel with the the upcut bits can "grab", so approach from the direction that does not "pull" the bit into the line. I know it's subtle, but it makes a difference and will help you to get a nice clean line.
Next up is to make sure that you set up a "ramp" of sorts to keep the bit depth level across the fingerboard. If the inlay depth is radiused like the face of the fingerboard, the inlays themselves can break, especially log ones like your 24th fret marker.
BTW, I have a StewMac guide and would be happy to loan it to you if you want it!
I hope sharing my experience helps you in some way.
The Crimson guy mentioned that some people leave the mask and actually paint the inlay void white. That might acually be easier to see, then I'd be nibbling away white on a black background. I thought maybe some whiteout would work, but if it bleeds under the tape, it would just be a mess.
That's a good suggestion, so basically a "climb cut" as I sneak up on the edges. The cuts are level because the Dremel base rides on the two side rails of the jig. I had to set the depth of cut so the inlay is just proud of the board at the centerline, which means about 1/2 the depth of each inlay will get sanded down on the ends, with the 12th and 24th being the worst case scenario. Luckily the inlays are pretty thick, but it still makes me nervous. Sanding through the end of one inlay would SUCK.
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Wait, you're saying there's an alternative to this?!
I naturally assumed that all you people have all thus worked out ahead of time resulting in an endless stream of perfect basses. You mean that’s NOT how it works? I am appalled. 
I'm often an example of how not to do it!I naturally assumed that all you people have all thus worked out ahead of time resulting in an endless stream of perfect basses. You mean that’s NOT how it works? I am appalled.
This build is looking fantastic.
Not sure what y'all are ramblin on about, but I know everything and I'm never wrong.
I thought I was wrong once,... but I was mistaken.
I thought I was wrong once,... but I was mistaken.
I naturally assumed that all you people have all thus worked out ahead of time resulting in an endless stream of perfect basses. You mean that’s NOT how it works? I am appalled.
Best laid plans and all...
Anybody else have experience with this Rocklite Ebano? Should I fill any gaps with straight black CA, or mix it with Ebano dust? Science! This stuff really is JET black when you sand it to powder. I hope it doesn't get ground into the MOP when I'm sanding it down!
