Double Bass The Luthier CSI, August 2021: Kay toppin'

[james condino]

This old 1950s Kay suffered some pretty heavy damage to the top insides. When I pulled on the bassbar with slight tension, the entire bar and two layers came crumbling off. BUT- the outside finish was very clean & original, so it was a good candidate for rebuilding. A trip in the heat press brought the arches back to original shape.

This is not the whole top, just the layers that came free:

Instead of recycling the old trash, I pulled everything off clean in about ten minutes.

It was a bit of crazy chaos gettin' the whole thing into the giant vacuum press and cnc'd molds dealing with heat & humidity & a crazy thunderstorm that showed up out of nowhere once we began the process, so I missed the photos.

After a nice long setup time, I pulled it out of the system. Here is is in the raw form with two new inside layers with factory new spec arches, before getting cleaned up.

The new inside:

 

[SAlcott]

Nice work.

 

[1st Bass]

Pretty amazing stuff, Maestro!

 

[james condino]

Thx for the support, but I'm not sure "maestro" and old plywood repairs belong in the same sentence! An equal part of my work is much more complicated modern new builds. I live in an area where there are literally thousands of these old basses and their owners tend to be very fun & easy going people, so I try to help them when I can. These remind me a lot more of my childhood spent restoring old Chris Craft mahogany boats every summer and they float almost as well....

Cleanin' up pretty well:

 

[1st Bass]

Well, my friend; "Maestro" means "teacher:"
When it comes to plywood basses, you have been a teacher to everyone around you, for years.

I taught welding-related classes for 30 years, and some of my latino students still address me as "maestro." When I told them they did not need to fo that, they politely informed me that, in their culture, if you have EVER been their teacher, you are "maestro" for life. (Guess I can live with that...)

 

[Don Hergert]

When it comes to plywood basses...

And aluminum basses...

And mandolins...

And guitars...

And...

 

[Keith Rawlings]

James you are the American Plywood Bass Whisperer!

 

[james condino]

Only to you guys, but thx for the support. Plenty of folks don't even know I play the bass and just think I'm a little old Italian guy that builds mandolins.....

 

[GretschWretch]

Only to you guys, but thx for the support. Plenty of folks don't even know I play the bass and just think I'm a little old Italian guy that builds mandolins.....

The last of the Italian masters from the original Gibson shop, no doubt.

 

[james condino]

The old bassbar was in good shape and I prefer half century seasoned wood, so it got a little bit of reshaping and then re-installed with hot hide glue:

Tip of the day: if you file the rivet off the end of a basic guitar builder's cam clamp, you can creatively use them in a lot more unexpected places like gluing giant bassbars without needing much more expensive clamps.

Gotta' say, it was sooooooooooooooooo much easier installing a traditional straight bassbar than the laminated flatback braces I made up a few weeks ago in the style of Matthew's "responsive back system" shown here:

 

[strigidae]

I really love your posts. Thank you for sharing!

 

[1st Bass]

Your posts are always educational and always encouraging. I read each one over and over, to absorb the thought that went into them and the concepts, practices and “pro tips,” so freely given.

Thanks again!

 

[james condino]

The local red spruce that grows in my neighborhood is some of the finest in the world. I grew up in the Adirondacks and have several hundred acres of family land where I can cut my own, but the winters are cold and long and the trees grow small, dense and tight grained, with very hard late wood. The even density, moderate climate trees that grow here at the very southern tip of the range for Picea Rubens tend to be some of my favorite that I have ever used. They make for killer mandolins and steel string guitars but are difficult to find in double bass size.

Since this bass had a good amount of top arch collapsing, it gets a "belly patch" of red spruce for a little more beef and support. It also tends to give a slight bit more focus to the bass. Here it is still in the cnc'd mold and getting the patch getting glued up on the "go-bar" deck; 20 of those in a tight space is over 2000+ lbs of pressure!

After glue up:

The final step before gluing the top back on to the rib garland is overlaying the ends of the bassbar; 100% organic and glued down with hot hide glue all tidy looking. It adds a ton (literally!) of additional shear strength but minimal mass so everything stays in place for another half century.

By Monday the box should be all closed up and back together.

 

[misterbadger]

Beautiful work!

 

[Keith Rawlings]

Brilliant!!!

 

[1st Bass]

I love these restoration journeys!

 

[james condino]

The new top is resurrected back on the bass with nice new arches; the photo makes them look a bit exaggerated. A bit of setup + a few details and it will be back on the job for another half century.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Boom. Another one rises from the ashes. Well done, my friend.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Beautiful work James! Care to share what you use to reinforce the ends of the bar? I use linen which I get from the local fabric store and looks to have a tighter weave but tends to not conform all that well.