Jabba_the_gut

Hi Andy, Cheers - it's getting there! As soon as I get a neck blank made I can cut the neck pocket and get the edges rounded which always makes it look like progress. All the routing on this is just with a basic Black and Decker router with 1/4" collet. I think I used a Trend template cutter about 25mm long and about 18mm diameter. I would have gone round in three passes I'd like to get one of those four flute cutters @Christine recently bought - they look really useful, but not cheap!! The control cavity and cover recesses were also cut using Trend cutters both 12mm diameter, one 25mm long the other 12mm long. I did try some cheap cutters from Amazon but they are a waste of money!! I recently found the Tewkesbury Saw Company - didn't realise I had a supplier of quality tools right on my doorstep. Only trouble is they have loads of good stuff, routers, planers, bandsaws for which I have neither the money or space!! Cheers Jez

These are moving on okay - I'll post some proper details later. At the moment, there are two bodies and lots of holes... And a neck for the spalted top one...

I tried a little bit of oil on a couple of offcuts of the burl top. Think this will look good after a few coats. Both pieces have been oiled but using two different types of oil - one remains pretty much as it was, the other darkens a bit. I prefer the darker one as I think the grain and colours show up more.

I've also drilled the neck mounting bolt holes. As the neck is so short and there is going to be a radius on the top horn down the centre of the neck, I'm going to try using cap head bolts rather than neck ferrules as they are a smaller diameter.

I have been doing quite a few bits and pieces and progress should increase soon! I have started making a neck for another bass, which I wanted to do so I could use the offcuts for the neck on one of these two. In the meantime I have routed the control cavity and battery compartment. I decided to try recessing the top of the battery box to see if it looks a better, which I think it will. It's not decided what pickups or electronics I'll use yet but the bodies have been drilled for wires so they should cater for a few options. This is the neck for the other bass - I'll use the two side offcuts for one of these two headless things..

Cheers for the details Christine. I know nothing about Gibson basses so always good to learn and that picture shows it all. Jez

Really liking this thread. Just out of interest, the bridge and tailpiece are closer to the neck than on other basses I’ve seen with Warwick parts. What scale are these basses? Cheers Jez

That sounds very much ike a Blue Yamaha BEX4....

I had an old Kay P bass in natural too. My first bass. Seem to remember it being chunky and heavy!! Enjoying watching the progress of this project. Cheers

This is how these two look at the moment. Quite a lot of the dark wood will be removed from the burl top when the routing is done for the bridge. I'm hoping the layers will look nice when the edges are rounded - I'll use the offcuts to try a couple of different cutters with different radii. But that will have to happen after I earn garage time after doing more DIY.....

I hadn't tried this before but I used dust from the burl top mixed into a small quantity of Cascamite glue. Seems ok so far. I do like the look of poplar - be interested to see how you get on with it. Cheers

I'll be very interested to know how that Radian cutter performs. Had a look at the link you posted and it certainly sounds the business. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for and if it gives a nice finish, it would save a lot of hassle too. Cheers

Here's the first pile of wood for the next one of these..... And the second pile of wood!

Not done that much on these (as I'm building four basses at the same time at the moment - two of these short things and two more semi hollow basses) but have glued on the burl and joined the two halves . On the basis that I'm quite slow at building anyway, this could take a while!! Think the top of this short thing should look quite nice when it is oiled. It needed quite a but of filling so some sanding dust and wood glue mix was used to fill the holes. This is what the layers look like from the side so these should look nice once the body edges have been rounded over. Next step is to cut this to shape and trip it with the router. After that, the various pockets can be routed.

I'll be interested to know what you think of the pickups - I was eyeing a pair of these for a project....

That has turned out beautifully!!

I like the Warwick bridges and have used a few on my builds. I made templates for routing both parts but have found slight differences in sizes between tail pieces (I do tend to be very tight with my templates and leave very little tolerance). I have a bass I built to have chrome hardware and changed my mind, so I bought some black hardware instead but the new tail piece wouldn't fit. It won't take much to fix but must give myself a bit more room next time!! Just thought I'd mention it as you are making a pair of basses.

Got to be honest, I really like the natural finish much more than the red!! Very nice project this.

Got plenty of my own dust, thanks anyway!! I've got about a third of my garage as a workshop and I know what you mean about wheeling things around to use them. Looking forward to seeing these builds progress. Cheers

Very jealous of your workshop!!

Cheers for the positive comments - very much appreciated! I'm planning two more of these in the near future. The first will be the same as this one but fretted, the second will be maple bodied with a walnut top and fretless. I'll stick build diaries up for these once I get started! Cheers again Jez

This maple topped one will have something similar to bubinga, the other will probably be ebony..

The top is quite thin - only about 4mm. I’ll try different radius cutters on the offcuts to see what looks best. Ive tried to do this top so the rougher sections will be removed when the bridge and pickup is fitted. Hope it works!

Absolutely! I’m supposed to be decorating the downstairs toilet but that seems to be taking longer than expected....

Here's the second one. This is going to have a sapele body, ash veneer, wenge veneer then a thin burl top Almost a shame to veneer over the ash as it has quite a nice grain.