Jabba_the_gut

Next task was to slot the two fretboards - good old StewMac jig.

Glued the two parts of each neck together and left to set. I used Titebond on one neck and Cascamite on the other just as an experiment to see how they would look when sanded. Next up was to route the truss rod slot. Once this was done I trimmed a little wood from the sides of the scarf joint to see how it looked. I checked the strength of the joint on the offcuts; the Titebond one was good but the Cascamite not so for some reason. I put the neck of the bench, pressed down on it hard and the joint separated cleanly. The picture below shows where a chunk came away cleanly from the joint. No idea why. I've used Cascamite enough in the past and this was a new tub. I resanded the join and made it again with Titebond - I'll investigate the Cascamite again later.

Cheers Andy!

Once the two parts of each neck were sanded I clamped them together prior to gluing.

First up, I cut two neck blanks at an angle for a scarf joint. I then sanded the joint flat using a jig a made for a previous build. Nothing clever here, just sanding and more sanding.... The sandpaper is just fixed to the work surface with double sided tape and the jig is just used to move the wood to sand the required face. Takes a little while but not too bad if you make an accurate cut when sawing the wood.

I'm also setting on an EMG MM TW with a BTC preamp for this headed build - hopefully will give quite a bit of tonal variation and will fit in the smallish cavity space on this bass. Strings for this will be source from Newtone - I've got a set already for the 25/5 neck and have ordered some for the 27" neck.

I settled on trying 25.5" and 27". I'm also going to make these necks with a scarf joint as I think that would look pretty decent and I've only tried that once before! I'm also thinking of making a 27" neck for one of the headless basses with a different string clamp. This is a mock up of a 27" headless and a 29" headed bass.

It's been quite a while but I have eventually had a bit of time to carry on with this. I've also looked at the possibility of a couple for different scale lengths for this. This started as I looked at the neck length for the headed bass vs the headless one and realised as the headed version bridge sits further back the scale length could be increased by a couple of inches (to 25.5") without changing the overall look. I then thought about 27" and 29" scales as well. So I made a few templates to see what it all looked like:

Cheers @Pea Turgh. I'm still tinkering with these short things - currently making a headed version that I'm trying 25 and 27" scales on. I'm also in the process of making a new neck for the headless version at 27" scale that I'll put on the other headless. I'll start to add the details to the build diary for these very soon in case anyone is interested. Cheers!

I quite like that too......

I’ll be there.

Found this at Thomann showing the three grooves for the E and A, and the four groves for D and G as @BreadBin suggested. https://m.thomann.de/gb/fender_american_deluxe_bass_bridge_4.htm

Nordstrand do a Big Splitman that has small staggered pole pieces in an mm shell. They also do a p with poles to match. Never tried them though so can’t comment on that. If you were to consider anything active Delano do a p with small poles and a hybrid pickup in an mm shell which is half large poles and half small. The hybrid is designed to work as a passive single coil but active as a humbucker. Mught be worth contacting Herrick pickups as they do an mm with single small poles pieces. I haven’t tried them but seen some good reviews.

Ah! Maybe - that would make sense. Just seemed strange to me!!

Interesting. This seller seems to use a minimal amount of letters in the titles of their things for sale and not even ones associated with it! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/her/164002074647?hash=item262f491017:g:jh0AAOSwslJcYB~4

Lovely, in particular the lines on the volute. Marvellous stuff!!

Just packing the car. See you at lunchtime!

That is really lovely - the binding really sets it off Very nice job indeed. Just a shame it has the wrong number of strings.....😉

Liking the look of this build! I like the look chrome pickups - was recently looking at those Lace Aluma pickups that are available as J and P types. Look completely different but not cheap!! https://lacemusic.com/products/aluma-p-bass-pickup

As others have suggested, I would be inclined to look at the heat and moisture approach. It is quite surprising how big a dent it can fix, and those on your neck are small. I've removed dents before with a soldering iron and a damp cloth though generally from bare wood. It does feel like a strange thing to do and is definitely worth practicing on another piece of wood to give yourself confidence!!! Some folk will use very fine abrasive such as 0000 wire wool or a very fine sanding pad to take the shine off the back of a neck to give a satin finish and make it feel a bit more silky. As usual there seem to be opposing views - there seems to be some people that like using wire wool and others that will say not to use it ever!! If you do use wire wool, just make sure you cover everything you don't want it getting in - pickups being magnetic are always a favourite! Again, you should find details of this on YouTube.

Attendees and gear! 01. Silverfoxnik - BC Rich Eagle, Ander van der End JB5, RBV5, Ampeg V4BH head and matching cabs. 02. Hamster - Tea, Coffee, Pastries, the Wife - might bring a bass! 03. @Frank Blank 's Acoustic Corner - Rob Allen Mouse, Godin A4, FRFR setup (QSC K12.2, HX Stomp and HX Edit). 04. RodFunnell - '78 Stingray, Assorted Warwicks, Vanderkley Spartan, Mesa Prodigy 4:88, Barefaced Big Twin T and it's still a few months away so maybe more! 05. obbm - only items for sale 06. Cetera - Spector USA NS2, Spector USA NS2X 'Spectorbird', Spector Euro LT, Hamer Impact, Hagstrom Super Swede, Italia Imola GP, Fender FSR PJ, Fender FSR 70's Ash P, 80's Gallien Krueger 400RB, GenzBenz Neox 2x12 07. @NancyJohnson - Lull JAX/NRT5, Spector Euro LT, Darkglass A/O Head, Barefaced Big One (the #000) 08. Rumblefish - Rumblefish bass,Wal Bass, MB Mpulse 600,Berg CN212 09. Steve Browning - SVL & Fender Precisions, Mesa Walkabout 15 10. @Stingray5 - MM Stingray5, MM Stingray fretless, Tune TWB-6, Tune SWB-4; Trace Elliot GP12SMX or Eden EC15 combos; Boss GT-6B. 11. ChunkyMunky - Builds of mine (P5, J5 etc), SWR SM900, a Greenboy/Fearful build or two and some other assorted goodies.  12. samcrabtree00 - Warwick Streamer Stage II, USA MM Sub, Genzler Magallen 800, Barefaced BB2, Various effects 13. TrevorR - Wal Custom and Pro, Aria SB700, MarkBass LMII & Traveler 2x10 14. @Graemeross - 4 Ps, 3 Js, 2 Aria SBs , Darkglass MT900, 2x Barefaced BB2, HX Effects with Line 6 G75 wireless. 15. prowla - Rics, Warwicks, Statii (whatever I chuck in the car!), Markbass EVO 1 & 1x12. Maybe a Minitaur & 12-step (if I've got 'round to figuring out the 12-step by then). 16. OrangeFriday - Third build - J bass - may contain LEDs... 17. Wolverinebass - haven't decided what to bring yet. 18. MacDaddy - custom Shuker/s, Snapdragon Folding Bass, Rob Allen Mouse. 19. G-77 - [Possible attendee] Can bring 2 of the following, D-Bird (purple shift) Anaconda Crusher CXE (green), Status King Bass Prototype #4 (left in photo) or Status Streamline. "If anyone got a preference let me know." 20. bassace - Kolstein travel EUB (ex Clarky, ex Dave Swift). Plus a Genz Benz combo. 21. thestick - Ken Smith, Wal and Markbass ninja head and ninja cab. 22. pete.young - Yamaha BBNE2 Nathan East, Duesenberg Starplayer, Yamaha BB800, HH Studio 60 Bass combo 23. @mangotango - Spector Legend Classic 5, Spectorcore fretless 5, Aria SWB-04 EUB, GenzBenz Streamliner 900, Barefaced Compact One Ten 24. JHK Yamaha trb6p,GBSpitfire 5,.USA stingray 5 fretless,USA sterling 4, EBS hd350,EBS neo 15 cab 25. Jabba_the_gut - A couple of semi-hollow own builds, RH450 and RS112 Cabs, and whatever else I have to hand! I'm hoping to get there even if only for a couple of hours - cheers.

Location was really good as it seems accessible to a good number - attendance of the event was excellent as was the venue itself. Weekends either side would be good in my opinion.

Rothko and Frost look like they do custom inlays, might be worth a look. I seem to remember @Norris getting some inlay made somewhere that looked really good.

I'm quite looking forward t getting this one done. Just trying it with the neck template in the pocket it feels quite comfortable. It's the first time I've tried using a solid slab of spalted beech for a body and, so far, the grain looks interesting where the body has been rounded. I will shape this one a bit so it will be contoured for tummy/belly and forearm. I've also got the Sapele one to continue with. I will probably stick with a 23" scale for that for comparison - if I prefer the 25.5" scale I can always make another neck later.