Winter 2017 Build Off - Padauk Single Cut

[lbridenstine]

I did the Illustrator thing (very roughly) and the first one wins. I like the lighter/more grey color of the other side of the board, but I guess that will be for a different build.

I forgot to ask, I like the way you taper the neck pieces, I guess I saw a similar approach on Wyn basses, is there a benefit in having the taper when it comes to strength/ stability, or is it aesthetical thing rather? Do you match or reverse the grain?

It's just aesthetic for me. I'll take a picture of the end grain when I get the neck cleaned up.

 

[lbridenstine]

Jig day 1.

I made a circle cutting jig for my router so I can make a radiusing jig, which is going to double as a truss rod/stiffening rod routing jig. I didn't have time for the scarf joint jig or to get these other ones screwed together today, but routing a perfect curve was very satisfying.

I glued the headstock layers together yesterday.

I taped the flatter side of the neck to a piece of mdf and ran it through the planer, then un-taped and flipped it over. It took about 2 passes on each side to get it perfect. I love having a planer!

 

[b3e]

Lovely results, nice contrast on those wood pieces!

 

[Slidlow]

Here is the paduak on my five string. It has darkened since but to a deep rich red with orange overtones. Didn't get brownish. This is a tung oil finish.

 

[lbridenstine]

View attachment 2876357
Here is the paduak on my five string. It has darkened since but to a deep rich red with orange overtones. Didn't get brownish. This is a tung oil finish.

That's great that yours didn't turn brown. Looks good.

 

[lbridenstine]

Question, because I don't remember the answer: Do stiffening rods NEED to be epoxied in? I have the pultruded kind from LMI. I'm wondering if I can just use dabs of silicone like in the truss rod route? That would save me from having to wait for epoxy to dry and having to scrape it flat...

I realize these neck woods probably don't need the extra rods, but I want to put them in just in case.

 

[Jon Clegg]

View attachment 2876357
Here is the paduak on my five string. It has darkened since but to a deep rich red with orange overtones. Didn't get brownish. This is a tung oil finish.

That's lovely.

 

[mapleglo]

Question, because I don't remember the answer: Do stiffening rods NEED to be epoxied in? I have the pultruded kind from LMI. I'm wondering if I can just use dabs of silicone like in the truss rod route? That would save me from having to wait for epoxy to dry and having to scrape it flat...

I've never epoxied mine in. I just put a few dabs of silicon in the slot, and glue the fretboard on top. Never has issues. I just make sure it's a tight fit.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I epoxied my carbon rods and just siliconed the trussrod. I guess I was thinking the neck would stay stiffer if the rods couldn’t move at all, but I was just guessing. I know @Bruce Johnson epoxies in carbon fiber strands instead of rods, and he seems to know what he’s doing!

 

[Slidlow]

Question, because I don't remember the answer: Do stiffening rods NEED to be epoxied in? I have the pultruded kind from LMI. I'm wondering if I can just use dabs of silicone like in the truss rod route? That would save me from having to wait for epoxy to dry and having to scrape it flat...

I realize these neck woods probably don't need the extra rods, but I want to put them in just in case.

My 5 string I sent a picture of has only one double acting truss rod with no stiffeners. Now I did let the rough cut neck blank sit for about two years to see what twisting/warping would occur before final sizing. Also the ebony neck blank was perfectly quartered with straight grain and little run-out so it was pretty stable anyway. I did not want to take out too much wood as the whole intent was to see what one piece of ebony would give me. I found out and I am starting a 6 string with similar one piece ebony neck. I will use two titanium truss rods in that one but no stiffeners. In my opinion I think you should be fine with a multi-lam neck blank. If you do add stiffeners do use epoxy so the stiffening rods couple properly to the neck wood, they have to be solidly glued.

 

[lbridenstine]

I don't remember exactly why I epoxied the steel rods on the 5 string buckeye burl bass. The main thing I'm questioning with these ones is that the rods I have are round, so there would be the little gap in the top corners of the rod, under the fretboard. I'm going to use a round nose bit to route, so the bottom of the channel is no issue.

 

[Slidlow]

Re:stiffening rods. They need to be epoxied to couple them to the wood to be effective. As a test get four 1/2" by 1/2" sticks 2 feet long. Put a dab of silicone on each end and in the middle of one pair and wood glue the other two together along the mating surface. Try bending them and it will be quickly apparent why the rods need to be completely glued.
As for the round rods you could route the edge of a filler board and glue on top of the rod and then trim flush.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Yes, if you put bars or rods into a neck to help stiffen it, a big portion of their strength to do that comes from being in tension and compression. They aren't that stiff in bending alone. So, you want the two ends to be anchored by the shear strength of the glue along the sides. If you leave them loose in the slot, or set them in a rubbery glue, you'll lose a big part of their effectiveness. This is particularly true if the bars are shallow in depth.

 

[lbridenstine]

Well, looks like I'll be using epoxy then. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[lbridenstine]

So, the fretboard will look something like this (except with the binding standing up)

I made this simple scarf joint jig.

It's just carpet taped to a 45° angle, then set the miter saw to 45-headstock angle, in this case it's set at 35 for a 10° angle.

I made a headstock template, but almost immediately caused a tearout with the router, so I had to use a sanding drum on my drill press to smooth out the rest.

Sorry the pictures are hazy, I had my phone in a ziplock bag to keep sawdust off.

 

[BassHappy]

LOVE the final fretboard you settled on. Nice very nice!

 

[lbridenstine]

I had to shorten the end of the headstock because of the tearout, but it turned out good. I added a little bevel around the top of it.

I made my radiusing jig and tested it out on a piece of birdseye maple.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Excellent radiusing jig!

 

[lbridenstine]

I guess I forgot to take a picture of radiusing the fretboard, but I used the jig and it worked well.

 

[chinjazz]

Looks Great! I really like that fretboard and the adjusted head stock shape is really nice.
Your radius jig makes me want to try my hand at crafting one, awesome job!