Jabba_the_gut

Cheers Woody. Glad you like the bottom lip. I made another template with it slightly larger again but I prefer this one (I’ll post a picture later). Just thought I’d try a graded version - may or may not work but got to try these things! Cheers Andy. I’ve sourced some headless clamps which are really nice so that end isn’t an issue. It’s the other end where the choice is much more limited.. we’ll see how this goes!!

I'm looking at making a headed version of the mini bass. I'm planning on keeping it at 23" scale and the same body shape as the headless one (with a very slight tweak to the lower horn). I wasn't sure what to do with the headstock so I just went for the same design I have used on my recent semi hollow basses. To my eye, it seems to flow which is nice as it keeps something in common. This design would allow me plenty of options with regards to bridges which is always the difficult thing when going down the headless route.

Love this - especially the veneer layers creating the pinstripes. Nice complementary choice of woods.

I'll be taking these to the Midlands bash for anyone to try.

Really enjoying this little basses!! I'm going to make a couple more of these but also have a couple of other ideas I'll try at some point. I'll make a slightly longer scale one (27.5") and I'm also looking at a headed version. I've done a couple of scribbles for this and I think it could look rather nice (same body shape as before but a change to the neck pocket shape). Just need to find the time, which is the hard bit!!

I've got an American Basses book I'll add to the raffle. Will have a look to see what else I may have.

Possibly try lining the holes with wood veneer.

I had noisy pots on one once. John provides some fine spring that sat between the stacked knobs - I think this provided an electrical connection between the knobs and removed the noise. Did the job for me.

I've cut a new fretboard for this bass and this time I measured twice and cut once!! The previous neck was 31.5" with 24 frets, for the new neck is 29.5" and obviously has to fit in the same neck pocket and the bridge has to be in roughly the same place. So this works out as the replacement neck being 22 fret for it to fit correctly. As the chance of me getting the intonation exactly right having not tried this scale length before I think is minimal, I'm removing the original brass inserts for the bridge and filling the holes so I can repositioning it later. I'm also going to redrill the holes for the string anchors as I have a better version I'm going to install. This is done by widening the top 4mm of a 10mm hole to 12mm diameter. to do this I have a small piece of mdf with a 12mm hole in it that is placed over the original hole. One of the string anchors is used to centralise it before clamping the template in place. This is the body with the brass inserts removed Then this the body with the holed infilled The body had also picked up a very small dent which I sanded out. I tried refinishing but couldn't get it to match so I sanded the finish off the walnut and started to finish it again. Fussy, but I want it to be right This is the body with the topped sanded and the string anchors holes redrilled.

And a superb book if anyone hasn’t got a copy!!! Lovely bass build.!

I recently built a bass with magnetic covers - I used 0.5mm thick magnets in the cover and 3mm magnets in the body. Magnets are readily available on eBay. Here's the build diary for info - I think the magnets are on about page 4.

So time to cut the fret slots in the ebony fretboard for the short scale bass. I'm using a StewMac mitre block and a GW fret scale template. Here's a picture of the slotted fretboard and a Specsavers letter. Note to self 'measure twice, cut once, look at what your doing;.... Ended up cutting slots for 27.5" scale rather than 29.5". Still, will use the board to make an extended shortie bass at a later date. Time to cut a new board!!

You can get some cheap and cheerful drills off eBay such as these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7Pcs-Extra-Long-Wood-Drill-Bit-Set-12-300mm-Woodworking-Tool-4-5-6-7-8-10-12mm/162806105922?epid=4011493968&hash=item25e8000742:g:YJwAAOSwmWNclKKx if you are are running wires pretty much the length of the body you would be best routing a channel before you put the top on. You might also want to do something to protect the channel from glue ingress. There would be nothing worse than having the channel blocked by glue once the top is on. I have used things like milkshake straws for this - sounds daft but works for me!!

Love it!

And feels very long after my recent short scale and mini basses!!! I've never actually played a Thunderbird - must try one sometime.

The Overwater is lovely but feels very long due to the bridge placement and a 24 fret neck. Your neck is a 21 fret one so will sit further into the body - have you worked out how far back the bridge will be?

It's a similar-ish shape to my Overwater (I think this is the Deluxe model - I got it in the 1980's). Lovely shape but an absolute pain to get a gig bag for it!! Edit: I got this bass off another kid when I was at school. It had fallen off a stand and taken the head off. I was going to have a go at making a bass back then so I bought it for parts. My dad glued the head back on and it's remained like that since - perfectly usable! I keep threatening to get the finish redone by the guys at Overwater but have never got round to it. Not a bad bass for £60....

Totally agree with Rubis. Routers can be viscous. Try it on scrap first and only take a little off at a time. The router can snatch and launch things across the workshop (learnt by experience!!) Always make sure your workpiece is securely clamped too. I’ve had a few issues with some cheap cutters too - get a few decent cutters rather than a selection box full of stuff you won’t use!

Ah, not that close to me. Drop me a message if there is anything I can help with. if you get a chance, pop along to the Midlands Bass Bash. All the best Jez

Hope you enjoy the process! Whereabouts are you located?

Think of it as losing 8 litres of water....

Completely agree Andy - sycamore is lovely wood. It works and finishes beautifully. I've used it a couple of time before - I have one bass that I started a long time ago and still haven't got round to completing - that has two different shades of sycamore in the body. The two slabs of sycamore I started this thread about, were bought as a bit of a punt as they were cheap (I think about £20 each). They need drying and processing as they are around 3 1/2" thick and 18" wide so to big for any tools I have. I expect getting them processed will cost several times what the wood cost!! As with any rough sawn wood, it is a bit of a lucky dip as to what the finished wood may look like - I'm just pleasantly surprised by the rippling I have found on the one piece so far. I'll have to source some more...….!!! Edit: You can tell it was late when I posted this as I wrote ‘maple’ not ‘sycamore’ - doh!! Updated it now

Not sure yet! Each of the 2 slabs I bought should be big enough to make 2 bodies from. I will probably make a solid body bass the same shape as the semi hollow one I did recently, and I'm also thinking about a making a shorty from it as the ripple would look lovely. But nothing definite yet. What are you thinking by 'different'? Cheers

Unfortunately this one is too far for me but I would highly recommend going to anyone of any ability with any type of kit to go as these are really enjoyable social events. Always nice to meet fellow bass players and try out lots of different kit. Have a good day!

I bought a couple of slabs of sycamore from a local place in 2016. It was relatively fresh cut hence why I have been storing it to let it air dry. I weighed both pieces when I bought them so I decided to weigh them again today to see how much moisture has been lost. This one slab started at 24kg and now weighs 16.8kg. I've scraped the surface of it to get through the saw marks and there is a really nice tight ripple. You have no idea what the wood will be like until this point. Now I just want to turn it into something!! The other slab is still very nice but no signs of rippling - will still make something nice though. Just got to figure out how to get this wood processed....