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Winter Build Off 2022: 5 String Fretless Neck Through

#41
Gary_M said:
Qüïmsgëfääërdën ÏÏ (rëvïsïtëd): Wööd pïle (rëvïsëd)

Wow, I really need to get moving on this project. I'm still feeling crappy from my covid bout in December... which has now morphed into a chronic bronchitis situation. I have been coughing since December 22 and I'm so tired of it; my ribs ache. :thumbsdown: On top of that, it's been really cold, which is true for a lot of the country, I know.

Anyway I got my butt out to the garage today to finalize wood choices. In a nutshell, I've added padauk to the mix. At a minimum, I plan to use it as the rear laminate, but may add another layer under the top. I haven't decided yet.

Here is the potential order from the top down:
  • Quilt maple
  • Padauk
  • Mahogany core
  • Padauk
There will likely be black poplar veneers separating those layers as well.

I really need to get the fingerboard in progress so that I have that thickness finalized. The fingerboard thickness will allow me to determine all the rest of the geometry which will allow me to finalize body thickness (because there is a limit with the neck blank) and in turn, determine the thickness of each layer that goes into the body.

Having said that, I wanted to start breaking down the raw materials for the body and get them in progress so that they can settle in while I work on the fingerboard.

I started things off by choosing the best end of this 8/4 mahogany board for this project.
View attachment 4563161

Cut off a chunk with a crosscut saw.
View attachment 4563162

Next up was the padauk. This board has a gorgeous ribbon figure to it. Should look killer on the back of the bass.
View attachment 4563163

And finally, the revised wood pile. :)
View attachment 4563164

Now, I gotta get back out to the garage for some resawing, etc.

More soon, I hope! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your bronchitis. That must suck.

Thankfully my only affliction right now is chronic drooling over your wood pile!

:drool:
 
#42
I made a little more progress tonight. Most of what I did was double checking dimensions on the plans, etc. But I did resaw the fingerboard down to just over final thickness. It's going to be a thick board at around .30" when complete. I also trued up the quilted maple billet and got it ready to slice.

This Gabon ebony has some wild coloration. I'll save that offcut for headstock other projects.
6F179so.jpg


I'm going to embrace the coloration in this board as shown here in this initial layout. I may scootch the whole thing towards the end of the board to pick up more of that speckled area, I'm not sure yet.
1eDIdNb.jpg
 
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#43
Matt Liebenau said:
Well, I bet cutting that mahogany with a hand saw helped you to stay warm! :D

The wood on top of the pile is the fingerboard? What are you using for that again?
Click to expand...

That's figured Gabon ebony. It's some pretty wild stuff for sure. Ever since I bought that board, I wanted to use some for a fretless, so here we are. :D
 
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#48
Now you'd think that with an entire weekend to work on this project, I'd make some real progress. But again, not so much. It's not that I wasted much time, but there was just a lot of back and forth and re-checking things. A bit like yesterday. I decided today that much of was what holding me back is that I continued to put off re-making the headstock templates. So, I finally broke down and did that.

Smoothing out the curves with files.
eI3733a.jpg


Collect the whole set!
lclDywg.jpg


So, I will get back to the fingerboard soon, but I need to get my headstock angle cut, headstock wings attached and truss rod slot laid out and routed. I'm using a spoke wheel truss rod on this one, so I need to decide if I'm going to do anything fancy and tricky, or if I'm just going to do a basic but functional installation.

I did take a couple of days off this week, but those are earmarked for attending some medical procedures with my wife. Nothing life-threatening, thank goodness, but most of those days off will be otherwise occupied.

Note: I drafted this post last night and forgot to hit the post button. :D
 
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#49
A small update today, but decent progress for the small amount of time that I had.

I got the headtstock angle cut on the neck beam at the bandsaw, then flattened the face with planes and ensmoothened with a sanding beam.
AHxVHRA.jpg


I cut some headstock wings from maple and glued them in place.
9JnjI1Q.jpg


I bit the bullet and cut down the fingerboard to an oversized blank. Ready for further processing.
IchCYBN.jpg


Feels good to make some actual progress! More soon. :thumbsup:
 
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#52
Gary_M said:
All credit for that term goes to Matt at Texas Toast Guitars. Cracks me up every time. :laugh:
Click to expand...
I really want to like Matt, I kept trying to watch his videos and even some of the lives. But the more I watched him and tried to interact with him, the more I learned that it's really a private club and if you're not in his Patreon group then he treats you like crap. So I finally gave up and unsubscribed and stopped watching his videos. I just don't need that in my life.
 
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#53
A little more headway was made today... baby steps, you might say. Or, really, more like just resawing and sanding some wood. :D

First, I started off by sawing up some Oompa Loompas, errrr, I mean padauk. :roflmao:
3vIiWye.jpg


I know it's going to dull down, but padauk looks so nice when freshly cut. And man, I think it smells amazing. A lot like Brazilian rosewood. Anyone else like the smell?
BVXeEb0.jpg


The first cut always makes me nervous.
YU0yfg5.jpg


It came out great though. That should make a nice looking top.
3RdHvqD.jpg


The center is a little darker than the outer few inches, but there is also a little scorching there as well... I really need to change the sandpaper in my drum sander.
jnnhY8z.jpg


We're battening down the hatches tonight in preparation for what should be 12-18" of snow over the next 24 hours. Right now it's the calm before the storm... rainy and strangely warm. I did plan ahead and brought the generator up from the shed and put it on the patio, just in case. Oh, and the snow blower is full of gas and at the ready.:thumbsup:

I may not have any bass building photos tomorrow, but I'll post some snow blowing action if I can. ;)
 
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#57
TerribleTim68 said:
I have band saw envy.
Click to expand...

Bent77 said:
I was thinking the same thing
Click to expand...

I love that saw. I’d like to have a bigger one for sure but this one does surprisingly well with resawing and I’m using it more and more to rip and break down lumber. I’m giving serious thought to getting rid of my table saw. Although I may need a track saw for sheet goods.
 
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