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There's another storm brewing!
- Thread starter pilotjones
- Start date
Thanks, guys. I was thinking along similar lines, that this plate is ok for knocking down a single high fret, but not for leveling a full fretboard.
True that the tension should bring the neck forward. The issue is that it has to be dead flat with no strings on, during board leveling and then fret leveling.
You can use straight metal bars that are the same lengths as the sides of the different fret rocker sides. Using double-stick tape, attach a small section of 220 sandpaper in the centre, flanked by pieces of upside down sandpaper (or boxboard the same thickness as the sandpaper). Then you can mark the high spots with a sharpie, and only knock those down. Removes much less material, meaning refrets are much farther apart. Then you crown and polish as you would normally.
You can always vac clamp it flat for the board levelling and fret levelling.
lowsound
You mean making perforated fixture of some sort to put behind the next and draw vacuum through, while the back side is still flat before it is shaped?
You could prop up the bass under the headstock (as close to the neck as possible) and the part of the body furthest away from the neck and then clamp down on the body as close to the neck as possible. That may be enough to force the neck flat while sanding. Seeing as this is a neckthrough there shouldn't be much risk doing this as far as I can see as long as the clamping points are well padded. It may help a bit to shape the neck more, though.
Alternatively you could add a C-clamp at the middle of the neck and. (clamping from the sides, leaving the spine of the clamp underneath the neck) you could then use that clamp as a strapping point to force the neck flat similar to the earlier mentioned method. This method may be difficult because there isn't much material for the clamp to grab on to.
Alternatively you could add a C-clamp at the middle of the neck and. (clamping from the sides, leaving the spine of the clamp underneath the neck) you could then use that clamp as a strapping point to force the neck flat similar to the earlier mentioned method. This method may be difficult because there isn't much material for the clamp to grab on to.
Ok, I suppose that's possible, but would have been easier before I took the corners off the back side of the neck, and if I didn't have the neck heel thing going on reducing the available contact area. I suppose a shop vac might draw enough suction to pull it down, I'd have to see.
Some good ideas, thank you.
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You'll have to forgive me for derailing this thread a bit, but I had a couple hardware questions that relate to some work I'm doing. (I'm sure I could find a lot of this information by going back a few pages, but I'm watching Netflix and that would take for-freaking-ever.)
First off, what model tuners are these, and why did you choose them?
My only (admittedly limited) experience with straight tuner shafts are on vintage/Fender-style instruments. I've always preferred tapered shafts myself, as the windings seem to wrap a little tighter to each other with minimal effort. I haven't noticed any functional difference, but aesthetically, I find them much neater. Is there a certain technique that you use while stringing, is it a matter of personal preference, or both?
Secondly, why choose a single-action truss rod? I've seen arguments among guitar players about how they improve the overall tone - along with the volume button material and pickguard screw count - but most every modern bass I've worked with featured a dual-action rod, even if it wasn't really necessary (like in graphite necks.) It just seems... the thing to do, you know?
(I always get nervous about sounding snarky or dismissive with questions like these - I assure you that is not my intent. But you're obviously more experienced than me, and I feel like I'd be missing an opportunity by not asking.)
First off, what model tuners are these, and why did you choose them?
My only (admittedly limited) experience with straight tuner shafts are on vintage/Fender-style instruments. I've always preferred tapered shafts myself, as the windings seem to wrap a little tighter to each other with minimal effort. I haven't noticed any functional difference, but aesthetically, I find them much neater. Is there a certain technique that you use while stringing, is it a matter of personal preference, or both?
Secondly, why choose a single-action truss rod? I've seen arguments among guitar players about how they improve the overall tone - along with the volume button material and pickguard screw count - but most every modern bass I've worked with featured a dual-action rod, even if it wasn't really necessary (like in graphite necks.) It just seems... the thing to do, you know?
(I always get nervous about sounding snarky or dismissive with questions like these - I assure you that is not my intent. But you're obviously more experienced than me, and I feel like I'd be missing an opportunity by not asking.)
Gotoh GB350's, which I like a lot on the previous bass and which are very light. Further, the key buttons complement the design well.
The only tuners with tapered shafts that I'm aware of are MusicMan, unless I'm missing something.
Read the rest of the thread, it's in detail. Nutshell: for this build I'm trying putting lightness over versatility.
Hopkins
Commercial User
The only time I have ever actually had to straighten out a back bow on a neck was to straighten out a very minor back bow to do the fret job, and it would have been pretty easy to work around that problem without it. I use dual action rods because they are bullet proof, easy to install and are inexpensive. But single action rods work just fine as well as long as its a quality rod. String tension will put enough forward bow in to the neck on its own.
Volute tryout
I've got a pretty good idea of how to deal with the neck backbow. Good enough that I figured I could do some more carving of the neck back shape. I haven't worked on the bass since I started my new job, and I've been itching to get back to it.
Once again, it was amazing to attack the neck, use a bunch of different tools, and suddenly it's a guitar neck! So rewarding.
The layers in the neck serve both to make it easier to see if your contours are even, and to make it unforgivable for it not be contoured completely evenly, since any variation in contour will show up as a bend in the layer-stripe which shouldn't be there.
Having shaped the neck, I set to work on the volute. It progressed through different shapes that suggested themselves. It is currently a double layer volute -- the lower level is similar to the shape on a violin, and to the volute on the first bass, while the upper level is tying in with the carve on the neck heel. The contours are rough now, and I'll refine them if I decide to keep it this way.
Carving wenge is a pain in the a**. I wants to splinter and split, and it also is made of hard and soft layers that don't want to play nice with your tools.
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This is an enjoyable coffee stout. Not as rich and deep as the better ones in this genre, but it is also more drinkable due to its being lighter. Not bad.
I've got a pretty good idea of how to deal with the neck backbow. Good enough that I figured I could do some more carving of the neck back shape. I haven't worked on the bass since I started my new job, and I've been itching to get back to it.
Once again, it was amazing to attack the neck, use a bunch of different tools, and suddenly it's a guitar neck! So rewarding.
The layers in the neck serve both to make it easier to see if your contours are even, and to make it unforgivable for it not be contoured completely evenly, since any variation in contour will show up as a bend in the layer-stripe which shouldn't be there.
Having shaped the neck, I set to work on the volute. It progressed through different shapes that suggested themselves. It is currently a double layer volute -- the lower level is similar to the shape on a violin, and to the volute on the first bass, while the upper level is tying in with the carve on the neck heel. The contours are rough now, and I'll refine them if I decide to keep it this way.
Carving wenge is a pain in the a**. I wants to splinter and split, and it also is made of hard and soft layers that don't want to play nice with your tools.
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This is an enjoyable coffee stout. Not as rich and deep as the better ones in this genre, but it is also more drinkable due to its being lighter. Not bad.
At what kind of scale - do you think more delicate work like the volute could be done, or is it more for larger things like belly contours?
I just came across this build, and I must echo what others have already said - my mind could not possibly be more blown than it has been by reading through all of this. Your vision is immense, and your execution incredibly precise. Hugely inspiring man, I cannot wait to see the final stage of this project. Definitely subbed. I was curious, unless I missed it somewhere, as to why you omitted violet in your color scheme - it being my favorite color, it nags at me to see it missing. Of course it being your bass, more power to you. It just seems like the perfect opportunity for some purple heart or something. Great work!
So a dude goes awol for a couple of years and comes back to find Peter finally building and Larry back in the game. Wow. Miracles DO happen 
Peter, I would expect nothing but the awesome complexity of a beast you got there. AWESOME!
Hi grandaddy Larry, remember me? Please don't yell at me, I won't ask for super-crazy-figure-cocobolo.
Peter, I would expect nothing but the awesome complexity of a beast you got there. AWESOME!
Hi grandaddy Larry, remember me? Please don't yell at me, I won't ask for super-crazy-figure-cocobolo.
Thickness a headstock? That's pretty surprising, I couldn't imagine using it for something requiring a flat surface as an end result - I guess someone's really good with it.
The volute will definitely need to be further shaped. I tried "playing" the bass, and found that it extends too far down the neck shaft. Also, I found that I'll need to carve a bit on the treble horn to open up the upper fret access. It turns out that the reason I had no problem with fret access on the first bass was that the out-of-scale body template problem had shifted the horn back a bit, giving more room there.
I may try gingerly using the belt sander on the volute, like I did on the heel transition. If I can be sure that I have enough arm support to have control of the cut. Or, it the setup allows, use the spindle sander. What would be very cool for this would be that inflatable drum/spilndle the sander that mounts on your portable drill. Who makes those, or where can you get them?
Good to see you around again, wils! build buiLD BUILD!So a dude goes awol for a couple of years and comes back to find Peter finally building and Larry back in the game. Wow. Miracles DO happen
Peter, I would expect nothing but the awesome complexity of a beast you got there. AWESOME!
Hi grandaddy Larry, remember me? Please don't yell at me, I won't ask for super-crazy-figure-cocobolo.
Thanks much, dude. Purple just doesn't do it for me, in wood-dominated objects. Doesn't seem to go well with wood tones, even if it's purpleheart, which I am not fond of. Just personal taste.
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