GOODNESS !!! The last picture already looks totally insane although far from being complete !
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Winter Build Off 2025 - Cleo Fenderson
- Thread starter rojo412
- Start date
Wow, two (three, counting MPU's) CT-inspired builds going at once! The LC is just a candy store right now
Well, if you liked it yesterday, this should make you happy (it worked for me)...
Pickup rout -
Neck carving -
Heel sculpting -
And bridge pilot holes cut (with mockup)
Now it basically boils down to whether I want to do a control plate on the top or do the rear cavity.
Never done the plate before, could be fun!
But this does look pretty sleek as it sits.
Decisions, decisions...
(And yes, I realize that Cleo is being left behind at the moment, but I've got momentum on this, so I'm riding it.)
Pickup rout -
Neck carving -
Heel sculpting -
And bridge pilot holes cut (with mockup)
Now it basically boils down to whether I want to do a control plate on the top or do the rear cavity.
Never done the plate before, could be fun!
But this does look pretty sleek as it sits.
Decisions, decisions...
(And yes, I realize that Cleo is being left behind at the moment, but I've got momentum on this, so I'm riding it.)
Top rout with plate it is!
And while I'm at it, may as well shield...
Pretty excited to see this one become a full bass (if you couldn't tell already).
And while I'm at it, may as well shield...
Pretty excited to see this one become a full bass (if you couldn't tell already).
I'm looking forward to taking glamour shots of this beauty for you soon. 
I'll do what I can to make it camera-ready, @petch!
Starting like this:
And with all of this drying, I guess it's time to get back to Cleo's neck.
Also, not 100% sure on this at the moment, but I may just call this one "THOM CARLSON."
No real meaning behind it aside from mixing up the parts of his name, but it made me laugh when I came up with it.
Starting like this:
And with all of this drying, I guess it's time to get back to Cleo's neck.
Also, not 100% sure on this at the moment, but I may just call this one "THOM CARLSON."
No real meaning behind it aside from mixing up the parts of his name, but it made me laugh when I came up with it.
Holly Molly !
Did you put a layer of teint or that magic happened just with the first layer of Tru Oil ???!!!
That body came to life in a very impressive way !
Straight up Tru-Oil. That's why I love it so darn much.
I did manage to do some work on making another Cleo neck. There happened to be a board of birdseye that was long and looked pretty nice.
Did the scarf cut (using the old neck as a sacrificial piece, in hopes it would cut nicer at the end):
It really didn't help.
Then I remembered a jig that I'd put up on the high shelf, which was likely something akin to what I saw Bruce using.
That worked so much better and faster than a flat sanding bar did.
And since I want something interesting with this, I decided to add a walnut accent line where the scarf joint will land.
Come tomorrow, I'll have something resembling a neck blank about to happen (again).
Did the scarf cut (using the old neck as a sacrificial piece, in hopes it would cut nicer at the end):
It really didn't help.
Then I remembered a jig that I'd put up on the high shelf, which was likely something akin to what I saw Bruce using.
That worked so much better and faster than a flat sanding bar did.
And since I want something interesting with this, I decided to add a walnut accent line where the scarf joint will land.
Come tomorrow, I'll have something resembling a neck blank about to happen (again).
So something is amiss with either the router or the bit or both... I'm honestly not 100% sure.
Had the neck ready for the truss channel. Lined it up and ran the first pass, no problem.
Went to the deeper cut and again, it started to struggle. So I shut it down and flipped it over and found this:
The bit is crawling out of the collet. It's a spiral cut bit, so I wonder if the collet is bad and only presents this issue when it's being used with a bit which could be using some kind of upward pressure. Because with any of my straight bits, there is no issue at all. Or at least, I haven't encountered one.
Either way, I'm kinda worried about my future expenses, be they a rather costly collet replacement or a much more costly 1/2" router replacement.
In the meantime, with really nothing to lose by attempting this, I used another 1/4" bit to cut the channel to a uniform depth.
Cut a section of walnut to fit into the channel.
Got everything all glued and pressed into place to hopefully become a successful "skunk stripe" when this is all done.
Once it cures in, I can rout it again (hopefully!) and then even have the chance to do the TOW support that Bruce has mentioned. I'll go a little extra deep, inlay TOW and epoxy (which will also help support the walnut stripe), then have a channel which will be extra supportive for the neck as a whole.
If it goes according to plan, this mistake could end up being a benefit.
As for the other bass... well, today is gonna be rather fruitful, so I just need to get my stuff together and make that happen. More pics to come later, if all goes well.
Had the neck ready for the truss channel. Lined it up and ran the first pass, no problem.
Went to the deeper cut and again, it started to struggle. So I shut it down and flipped it over and found this:
The bit is crawling out of the collet. It's a spiral cut bit, so I wonder if the collet is bad and only presents this issue when it's being used with a bit which could be using some kind of upward pressure. Because with any of my straight bits, there is no issue at all. Or at least, I haven't encountered one.
Either way, I'm kinda worried about my future expenses, be they a rather costly collet replacement or a much more costly 1/2" router replacement.
In the meantime, with really nothing to lose by attempting this, I used another 1/4" bit to cut the channel to a uniform depth.
Cut a section of walnut to fit into the channel.
Got everything all glued and pressed into place to hopefully become a successful "skunk stripe" when this is all done.
Once it cures in, I can rout it again (hopefully!) and then even have the chance to do the TOW support that Bruce has mentioned. I'll go a little extra deep, inlay TOW and epoxy (which will also help support the walnut stripe), then have a channel which will be extra supportive for the neck as a whole.
If it goes according to plan, this mistake could end up being a benefit.
As for the other bass... well, today is gonna be rather fruitful, so I just need to get my stuff together and make that happen. More pics to come later, if all goes well.
I actually have another collet. Got it years back, but the nut isn't the same size as the original one, so I have to use a crescent wrench for it. I actually forgot about it until today, as it were. I'll just put that one in and test a piece to see if it does the same thing.
If so, BAD BIT.
If not, BAD COLLET.
And yeah, thank you @boxerrider I checked and saw there are plenty out there. I think prices came down since I last shopped for one, so I'll probably snag the right thing, should I need it after this test.
Meanwhile, today was quite productive...
After curing the last coat, I think the body has all the TruOil it needs. So I buffed it all down to a nice satin.
Then I populated the body:
I did end up cutting the pickup height screws about 1/4" shorter. Still plenty of grip in the body.
That left the nut, plotting and drilling the headstock, and stringing up for a test....
Roughed that in for the string lines. Once those were plotted, I drilled out for the tuners.
Atypical placement for this kind of headstock, I know. But I like straight string paths. The last CT-style build I did, I almost ran the A string along the D tuner. And frankly this headstock has been a bit improvised anyway.
That said, it worked.
Finalized the nut slots and shape, then strung it up for a test.
PLENTY of output. Sounds like a bass!
But the headstock... too much. I thought it might be the right kind of weird, but it really wasn't.
So I shortened it.
Little bit of fine tuning and some more TruOil and it's looking decent. Plenty of room left for a badge.
I'm gonna let it settle in under tension, do the fretwork and logo, then this is done.
And I can finally go back to dealing with Cleo again.
If so, BAD BIT.
If not, BAD COLLET.
And yeah, thank you @boxerrider I checked and saw there are plenty out there. I think prices came down since I last shopped for one, so I'll probably snag the right thing, should I need it after this test.
Meanwhile, today was quite productive...
After curing the last coat, I think the body has all the TruOil it needs. So I buffed it all down to a nice satin.
Then I populated the body:
I did end up cutting the pickup height screws about 1/4" shorter. Still plenty of grip in the body.
That left the nut, plotting and drilling the headstock, and stringing up for a test....
Roughed that in for the string lines. Once those were plotted, I drilled out for the tuners.
Atypical placement for this kind of headstock, I know. But I like straight string paths. The last CT-style build I did, I almost ran the A string along the D tuner. And frankly this headstock has been a bit improvised anyway.
That said, it worked.
Finalized the nut slots and shape, then strung it up for a test.
PLENTY of output. Sounds like a bass!
But the headstock... too much. I thought it might be the right kind of weird, but it really wasn't.
So I shortened it.
Little bit of fine tuning and some more TruOil and it's looking decent. Plenty of room left for a badge.
I'm gonna let it settle in under tension, do the fretwork and logo, then this is done.
And I can finally go back to dealing with Cleo again.
Last edited:
I'm relieved you shortened that headstock, much improved!
Frets leveled and polished:
Whimsical logo plate crafted:
... and placed:
So this one should be pretty much set to jet. Gonna bring it to band tonight and see how it performs. But judging by the sound here at the house, it's gonna work fine. It's got beastly output and a nice tonality for rocking out.
Whimsical logo plate crafted:
... and placed:
So this one should be pretty much set to jet. Gonna bring it to band tonight and see how it performs. But judging by the sound here at the house, it's gonna work fine. It's got beastly output and a nice tonality for rocking out.
There's no denying it: this thing is a beast.
The pickup has a ton of output and sounds really good in this spot. The bass balances very well (though I wouldn't hate to have a set of Resolites because that would make it absolutely perfect). It's very comfortable to play. Pedals were loving the signal it was providing.
Hoping Cleo can be a proper compliment to Thom. I better move my buns! Only 3 weeks left!
The pickup has a ton of output and sounds really good in this spot. The bass balances very well (though I wouldn't hate to have a set of Resolites because that would make it absolutely perfect). It's very comfortable to play. Pedals were loving the signal it was providing.
Hoping Cleo can be a proper compliment to Thom. I better move my buns! Only 3 weeks left!
So... yeah. The reality is, I couldn't make Cleo work in time. Other things in life took precedence and I ran out of time.
Thom isn't really what I set out to enter into this build-off, more just an added benefit.
That means I'm bowing out of this competition, unfortunately.
I love seeing what everyone else did and I'll be watching and voting over the course of the next few days.
Some day, I'll update this thread with the end results though!
Thom isn't really what I set out to enter into this build-off, more just an added benefit.
That means I'm bowing out of this competition, unfortunately.
I love seeing what everyone else did and I'll be watching and voting over the course of the next few days.
Some day, I'll update this thread with the end results though!
