Most of the bodies I make are under 1.25". Just have to remember to take care with the routs, the pickup screws, and the neck screws. You don't want to screw through the back, or the fingerboard.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Winter Build Off 2025 - Cleo Fenderson
- Thread starter rojo412
- Start date
I've built two basses that were about 1.25" bodies. Standard pots work just fine, but stacked pots or push pull might be a tight fit. I also use 1" pickup screws to make sure they don't poke out the back.
Between the bitter cold and the other stuff coming across my bench, it's been slow going on this.
But today, I at least made some headway.
Oriented the woods the way I think is gonna look cool:
As opposed to "bookmatch," I think the "S" grain would fit this body shape really well.
So I marked and cut some stuff, lined up the layers and drilled some dowel holes in the waste areas to keep things lined up for glue time, then slathered it all in TB3!
And of course, clamps.
There's a "caul" of wood on the top and bottom of the "lasagna" of wood I just laid up, as well as a "mid layer" of plastic to keep each wing separate. And the drop cloth is an old shower curtain. It's too cold out there for good drying, so I moved this monster inside and will hopefully have something fun to pull apart tomorrow.
Oh, and I briefly had some time with a 30" scale bass and felt it almost could be "too small." Sounded good, but felt kinda weird. So I may change this to a 32" scale or something along those lines. Not totally sure, but still have plenty of time to change that spec without having to backpedal work I've done so far.
But today, I at least made some headway.
Oriented the woods the way I think is gonna look cool:
As opposed to "bookmatch," I think the "S" grain would fit this body shape really well.
So I marked and cut some stuff, lined up the layers and drilled some dowel holes in the waste areas to keep things lined up for glue time, then slathered it all in TB3!
And of course, clamps.
There's a "caul" of wood on the top and bottom of the "lasagna" of wood I just laid up, as well as a "mid layer" of plastic to keep each wing separate. And the drop cloth is an old shower curtain. It's too cold out there for good drying, so I moved this monster inside and will hopefully have something fun to pull apart tomorrow.
Oh, and I briefly had some time with a 30" scale bass and felt it almost could be "too small." Sounded good, but felt kinda weird. So I may change this to a 32" scale or something along those lines. Not totally sure, but still have plenty of time to change that spec without having to backpedal work I've done so far.
I like your use of the word "S" grain. Did you make it up?
Looks fabulous, by the way.
Looks fabulous, by the way.
I may have? The grain just kinda looked like an S in this configuration, so that's just what I thought made sense.
Why the tb3? I've been using that a lot at work lately, it's our go-to for outdoor joinery. I was wondering why I don't generally see it used in loothery, it seems like pretty good stuff, dries very hard and more of a brown colour than tb1.
I'm glad you asked...
I started with TB1. And the first few basses I built with it, STILL get glue creeping. I can't stand that and it is such a deal breaker for me, I won't even touch the stuff anymore.
Lo and behold, years back, I was watching a video with a factory tour of F Basses and saw them using TB3 to join the body halves together. I figured if it was good enough for them, it's good enough for me.
And it has been just fine since.
That said, I prefer West Systems epoxy whenever possible, especially if I need to make sure there is absolutely no glue line at all. But that stuff is EXPENSIVE. So it pretty much gets used for fingerboards and smaller applications.
TB3 is for everything else.
I started with TB1. And the first few basses I built with it, STILL get glue creeping. I can't stand that and it is such a deal breaker for me, I won't even touch the stuff anymore.
Lo and behold, years back, I was watching a video with a factory tour of F Basses and saw them using TB3 to join the body halves together. I figured if it was good enough for them, it's good enough for me.
And it has been just fine since.
That said, I prefer West Systems epoxy whenever possible, especially if I need to make sure there is absolutely no glue line at all. But that stuff is EXPENSIVE. So it pretty much gets used for fingerboards and smaller applications.
TB3 is for everything else.
The blank got glued up the other day and was ready to unclamp today:
Had to do a mix of template, trace/transfer, and freehand:
Then it was drill, cut, and spindle sander time!
Quite a bit of detail sanding to go, but I can make it all happen.
This was the fun first step to making this thing really pop. Very much looking forward to doing the contour work.
Still gotta work on the neck though. Probably should have that in place before I start carving this body up.
Had to do a mix of template, trace/transfer, and freehand:
Then it was drill, cut, and spindle sander time!
Quite a bit of detail sanding to go, but I can make it all happen.
This was the fun first step to making this thing really pop. Very much looking forward to doing the contour work.
Still gotta work on the neck though. Probably should have that in place before I start carving this body up.
Managed to sneak in a little bit of time to work on this today.
Glued up a neck blank:
The walnut middle piece will kind of serve as an homage to the Fender style neck stripe (sorta).
And as my favorite part of these basses is getting some practice making a cool looking scroll area, I started on that a bit as well. Did the Iwazaki file a bit, the rasp a bit, and some other basic files.
But it was getting a little tight on the inside portion. And I managed to find a little thin sanding drum to put into the drill... but that wasn't ideal.
So I went to HF and got a die grinder for the compressor. That seems to be a game changer!
Sure, it has a lot of hand sanding to do. Possibly even may go back for some of the attachments which could sand this area better?
Either way, I'm having some fun!
Glued up a neck blank:
The walnut middle piece will kind of serve as an homage to the Fender style neck stripe (sorta).
And as my favorite part of these basses is getting some practice making a cool looking scroll area, I started on that a bit as well. Did the Iwazaki file a bit, the rasp a bit, and some other basic files.
But it was getting a little tight on the inside portion. And I managed to find a little thin sanding drum to put into the drill... but that wasn't ideal.
So I went to HF and got a die grinder for the compressor. That seems to be a game changer!
Sure, it has a lot of hand sanding to do. Possibly even may go back for some of the attachments which could sand this area better?
Either way, I'm having some fun!
Last edited:
Dang you rojo! I've never before liked CT shape, but after following this thread and watching YT videos from Carl Thompson I've got an urge to build a CT inspired bass myself. I've got the neck blank glued and woods and parts for the body ordered. More on a separate thread when there's something to show.
Can’t wait to see it with its finish that will emphasize the color contrast between the different wood types !
Yesterday saw a lot of filing and sanding. But this is where it landed:
There is still SO much more to do. But it's shaping up!
Also did the neck blank:
So yeah, that's gonna help get me fur-
I've decided to make a 5 string to go along with this.
Not a Cleo theme, but just another bass to make my life more involved.
Just proving it was started AFTER Cleo was taking shape, here's some of the "wood pile"
Then...
The goal with this (aside from fulfilling the duality theme) is to just make this as fast as I can. I had the wood, an EMG 40DC pickup, and tuners here already. Gotta get a bridge.
Building is fun!
There is still SO much more to do. But it's shaping up!
Also did the neck blank:
So yeah, that's gonna help get me fur-
I've decided to make a 5 string to go along with this.
Not a Cleo theme, but just another bass to make my life more involved.
Just proving it was started AFTER Cleo was taking shape, here's some of the "wood pile"
Then...
The goal with this (aside from fulfilling the duality theme) is to just make this as fast as I can. I had the wood, an EMG 40DC pickup, and tuners here already. Gotta get a bridge.
Building is fun!
Today started off GREAT!
Neck pocket on #2:
More sanding and grinding:
And I even managed to make the neck for this almost half way to being a neck!
Got the purpleheart and TOW supports all glued in:
That meant it was time to make the Cleo neck do something similar.
I don't have a template to make this one, so it was being measured, marked, and cut accordingly.
Got all the way to cutting the truss channel...
As I was milling it, things started resisting me a bit, which I attributed to the dust maybe clogging things along the table.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
The bit was climbing out of the collet. Even though I SWEAR it was in there nice and tight, it was creeping upward.
The only indication I got of it came when it started touching my finger.
It's always REALLY freaky when a router bit makes contact with a body part. Fortunately, my reflexes are quick and the tip of this isn't razor sharp. So I managed to make it out with only a slight boo boo:
I've honestly done more serious damage to myself with less dangerous items than a 30,000 RPM router.
But yeah, that put an end to my productivity today.
PSA for the day:
ALWAYS TIGHTEN YOUR COLLET and DOUBLE CHECK IT.
DON'T put your hands anywhere near the path of a tool like this, even if there is little to no chance it could poke through the other side.
WEAR GLOVES IF YOU CAN.
Tomorrow, I guess I start a new neck blank for Cleo.
Neck pocket on #2:
More sanding and grinding:
And I even managed to make the neck for this almost half way to being a neck!
Got the purpleheart and TOW supports all glued in:
That meant it was time to make the Cleo neck do something similar.
I don't have a template to make this one, so it was being measured, marked, and cut accordingly.
Got all the way to cutting the truss channel...
As I was milling it, things started resisting me a bit, which I attributed to the dust maybe clogging things along the table.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
The bit was climbing out of the collet. Even though I SWEAR it was in there nice and tight, it was creeping upward.
The only indication I got of it came when it started touching my finger.
It's always REALLY freaky when a router bit makes contact with a body part. Fortunately, my reflexes are quick and the tip of this isn't razor sharp. So I managed to make it out with only a slight boo boo:
I've honestly done more serious damage to myself with less dangerous items than a 30,000 RPM router.
But yeah, that put an end to my productivity today.
PSA for the day:
ALWAYS TIGHTEN YOUR COLLET and DOUBLE CHECK IT.
DON'T put your hands anywhere near the path of a tool like this, even if there is little to no chance it could poke through the other side.
WEAR GLOVES IF YOU CAN.
Tomorrow, I guess I start a new neck blank for Cleo.
Sorry about the injury and the neck. Glad it wasn’t more serious.
And, you’ve made quick progress. Tomorrow is another day!
Past couple of days were spotty for work, at best. Finger is healing fine, so that's good. It was just life's interruptions. So here's the quick photo journey:
Granadillo for the FB -
Slotted -
Heel area cut for the truss wheel -
Prepped for glue up (epoxy up?) -
... and clamped for curing -
That's where it stands as of last night. Bridge showed up in the mail, need to find where I stashed the pickup, but this should be starting to materialize in the next couple days, as I'll basically be snowed/iced in.
Granadillo for the FB -
Slotted -
Heel area cut for the truss wheel -
Prepped for glue up (epoxy up?) -
... and clamped for curing -
That's where it stands as of last night. Bridge showed up in the mail, need to find where I stashed the pickup, but this should be starting to materialize in the next couple days, as I'll basically be snowed/iced in.
Looking more like a bass every day!
Kinda debating on pickup placement though. I'd initially wanted to go with the P pickup spot, but that moves it aesthetically to a place I don't like as much as the MM pickup spot.
I guess I'll think more on it as I radius the board.
Kinda debating on pickup placement though. I'd initially wanted to go with the P pickup spot, but that moves it aesthetically to a place I don't like as much as the MM pickup spot.
I guess I'll think more on it as I radius the board.
If it was a 4 string bass, I would put the pickup at the precision bass location to get that bass oomph but as it is a 5 string, the location nearer to the bridge makes sense to me because you will have plenty of low notes anyway and you may want some clarity to avoid that boomy and generic sound.
Dots were yesterday:
Decided to do neck inserts today:
Radius:
Then frets:
And of course, another mockup:
Decided to do neck inserts today:
Radius:
Then frets:
And of course, another mockup:
