Andyjr1515

For anyone interested but for whom the above made no sense, I've 'borrowed' this shot from someone's YouTube video: Basically, the left hand fence is brought forward a mm or so (using a shim or similar) Then the fence is positioned so that the router bit is EXACTLY in line with the left hand fence So as the board is pulled across - flush with the right hand fence - the cutter takes that mm or so off and the board remains in contact with now both left hand and right hand fence sides. Works a treat!

I remember now you bringing this to the Midlands Bass Bash! Thanks for the reminder - I'd clean forgotten about it!

Yes - exactly that. You put a 1 or 2mm spacer behind the trailing side of the fence and line the router bit flush with that. As long as the fence is spot on where it is supposed to be, it works a treat. I'll try and find a diagram in the morning that illustrates it better than my dodgy description

They are looking outstadingly good. On the stands or hanging in the wardrobe!

That Schaller jobee looks very neat as a pickup and a fixing, although the cable exit is maybe an issue, even if you didn't mind an external cable @owen ? What does the fingerboard extension look like @owen?

Rock hopping a little on the sequence of the build, but the top wood has arrived so I've planed the joining edges using the 'offset fence' technique on the router table and now am gluing it prior to thicknessing it from 5mm to 2.5 - 3mm. Now it's down in the cellar being glued: The only clamps applying any pressure are the three sash clamps - two on the bottom and one on the top. The rest of the clamps are just gently holding the cauls, top and bottom to prevent it bowing or twisting. I will be doing the thicknessing using hand planes and cabinet scrapers (gulp) once the glue has fully dried overnight. I think this afternoon will be taken up with me honing plane blades and burnishing scrapers!

Black for me. It's going to look really good whatever

I'm not certain yet that I will go for the maple neck but have started to work on it. First time in real terms using the router table. Fantastic! Neatest truss rod channel yet (small beginnings, but beginnings nevertheless ) And then the side profile band-sawn: The heel will have to have an extension added whatever, but the maple blank isn't deep enough to do that with just one - it will end up being a three piece heel. I'll have a think whether I can add a contrasting wood in there or whether that would look naff. If so, I'll revert to the mahogany / walnut blank I've also got and which is a touch deeper and would do achieve a two piece heel. I tell you what, after neck through basses, these necks are TIDDLY!

First time I went over this (soon after it was put in so wasn't aware of it in advance) it was pelting down with rain and none of the white lines or arrows were visible. I was vaguely aware of going over what I took to be speedbumps (in reality, the mini roundabout circles) and went round it like a standard roundabout. Swindon kindly stopped to let me through.

That's a nice grain pattern

It wouldn't all fit onto a dvd. It would have to be a streaming service

Yes - very nice. Good call

Hi I know you are moving on but, as a bass builder, just to put your mind at rest: it is exceptionally unlikely that the twist problem is anything you've done. My reasons for saying this: As folks above have said - with a single truss rod neck - in my view, the truss rod does not do anything about twist. It does not cause it and it cannot cure it. I'm pretty sure the Jazzus is a single truss rod neck. The truss rod adjustment is a routine event - especially with changing weather conditions. Adrian M explains this himself in Part 1 of his YouTube set-up guidance videos (which are good, by the way). He himself in that video adjusts the truss rod under full string tension. Adjusting with no string tension is also OK. Unless a bass has been left in exceptionally poor storage conditions (eg, I make an assumption it hasn't been left in a car in full sun in recent weather or anything of similar extremes) twist is usually an issue whose causes would have been already present in the timbers or construction at the time of building. It is entirely possible that this would have been undetectable at the time of making so it is not necessarily a sign of poor quality control. As the neck moves, through playing or through weather changes, those underlying issues can sometimes start to show. On a relatively new bass, therefore, I'm surprised that there is any argument other than to replace the neck FOC (I think the neck is bolt-on?). It is usually no-one's fault - but it is, in most likelihood, a fault in the bass.

I had a look around, Luke, and here's at least four Andyjr1515 bloopers All covered in gory detail in their respective threads My first acoustic guitar build. Lovely neck blank. Was really pleased with it: Slight problem. Wrong size. Had to make another neck blank Mick's Psilos Bass. I knew what I meant. Unfortunately, I comprehensively failed to explain to Mick what I meant. Had to make another neck Tom's African Bass. "Hmmm...did you hear something like a cracking sound???" Tim's Alembic-esque electric. Fretted, through neck. Almost finished. Problem was that, once I'd strung it up, I realised that the fretboard was too narrow and the strings slipped over the edge. Result - I had to de-fret, add binding to either side of the fretboard, refret, re-shape the neck to fillet in the new binding...and every erroneous step followed avidly by the thread followers And there are many, many more examples. To be honest, there aren't actually many builds where there isn't at least one 'oops' moment. And usually it's a really obvious and avoidable error. The only difference to my earlier builds is that I now: triple check stuff that would render a bass or guitar complete scrap before I let sharp metal anywhere near the wood. I reckon I make as many errors, but they tend to be smaller ones. have got better at working round issues once I've c****d them up! Does that make everyone feel better?

My home made radiusing rig isn't brilliant, but it does the job. I've clearly got something horribly wrong with my geometry because I have to offset the blank by 10mm off centre to get it to rout evenly on both sides of the radius Still - with that tweak it works well enough to be able to just finish it off with 15mins of a radius block after 20 mins or so routing down to final size. Based on that it used to take me a couple of days to radius a fretboard - and the radius was often highly suspect even after that - it's still progress and was well worth the time to draw it out and make it Then onto the G&W mitre box. Theoretically the scale should be 25 3/8" but I have a 25 1/2" template already - should be close enough as the guitar is going to be for my own use. Folks may have seen one of my previous threads where I scrapped a fretboard using this rig the very first time (please note @LukeFRC ) but, now that I've found a decent method of setting it up and securing everything from moving, it works well. So, I have a radiused and slotted fretboard: Next job is the neck, using the maple/walnut/maple offcut I found. But first, I must amend the title of the thread to avoid being lynched when everyone realises this isn't a bass and think I've been hoping no one would notice!

Actually, I should point out - holding my head in shame, of course - that this is going to be a 6-string guitar and not a bass. Acoustic basses are too big both for my workshop and my abilities!

These are looking really good, Christine. What I love about a well applied clear coat is how it makes the underlying detail and form project out to the eye. Just look at those headstocks! And the quality of the top carves. It's a great looking spray job, but what that is illuminating is the quality of the build underneath. Top drawer stuff

Thanks! A mere king's ransom There is, of course, room to negotiate around which king and how badly we want him back - I'll pm you

Hmmm....I don't think so... It's actually a stretched version of this piccolo bass I designed and built for Pete, our band's bassist: Because of the longer neck, it meant the top horn needed extending but that's pretty much the shape. If Ric's have muscled in, they will be hearing from my solicitors!

Lightweight tuners, top horn in the Goldilocks zone near the 12/13 frets, bridge set well back reducing the projection of the neck, relatively small headstock, relatively heavy bridge

Well, with a nifty slip of a router, it could easily become a P. I'm sure @Len_derby wouldn't mind. He only had to wait three or four months for it, after all

Just found out that my recent build for @Len_derby (covered to sleep-inducing detail in the Build Diaries) has been awarded 'Bass Of The Week' in the excellent (not that I'm biased) US-based e-zine 'No Treble' I'm well chuffed - it's my fourth BOTW with them Here's the link: https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2018/08/06/bass-of-the-week-ajr-guitarmods-swift-lite-lightweight-bass/ I'm just off for a cold shower to deal with my nauseating smugness Andy

Just found out this has been voted 'Bass of the Week' in the excellent (well I would say that, wouldn't I) US e-zine 'No Treble' https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2018/08/06/bass-of-the-week-ajr-guitarmods-swift-lite-lightweight-bass/ Well chuffed. It's my fourth success with BOTW Andy Smug

I'll find at least one where I did

Ah...but I can turn nice wood and a budding instrument into BBQ fuel just as easily - and just as quickly!