Andyjr1515

The bass name came last, so the thread was called something very different It's here but it is a bit Andyjr1515 long and rambling... https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/302963-finished-a-bridge-too-far/

Me too

No - don't panic, it's just an optical illusion because of the infrequently seen phenomenon of a cast shadow . It's 0.75mm. I have some thicker ones at 0.82mm and they are noticeably stiffer to use! I do have a stonkingly thick one in an old Stanley No-80 scraper plane but that's far too brutal for necks. Thanks for the kind words about the neck carve It's the neck-through and thin-body combination that allows the neck to be so slim at the transition. It's a direction I've been exploring over a few builds. The epiphany for me was Tom's African build: # Then Mick ( @TheGreek )'s Psilos bass: And Pete's piccolo bass (that the present full-size bass design is heavily influenced by): It all stems from the ever niggling question in my head which is "Why do guitars and basses always seem to be so d****d heavy???!!"

Well - if you can get it up and running, it will be a great result Keep us posted

Bum link - copy and paste this description on ebay search and it will get you to the page I was just looking at: A2 Stainless Steel Socket Head Grub Set Screw Cup Point M1.6 M2 M2.5 M3 M3.5 M4

M3.5 isn't a common size but they sell them in various lengths here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_osacat=0&_odkw=m3.5+electrical+screws&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=m3.5+grub+screws&_sacat=0

I think they've given up on offering any common-sense suggestions to me

Looks great, Jez. I would be very surprised if you get any slippage. There is none on Mick's Psilos bass

Back to where I started, the permitted range of outside diameters for a M3.5 fine thread is between 3.396 to 3.481mm. As you can see on the chart below, the range for a M3 thread is 2.896mm to 2.981mm which would be too small. Your reading is 3.33mm which is pretty darned close to the bottom range of an M3.5. A M3.5mm grubscrew on ebay is going to be a few pence. I think it's worth a punt.

Yes - it won't be as big as this once I've finished, though

Looking at the pictures and potential weasel words in the specs, I'm pretty sure that the Legend has a veneered top but it looks like the Euro models are indeed solid tops. @spectoremg - is there a thin demarcation strip visible between the back wood and the top? If so then it is probably a solid top. You can usually check by taking the pickups out or neck off and having a look in the chambers/pocket for the two woods. If it is a solid top, then yes - it is definitely possible to strip down to the wood, re-stain and refinish. Depending on the finish on it at the moment, it could be hard work, though...

Doing the neck is best done outside for me if possible - more room than in my very small cellar space. And much more light! I took this shot to show my grandchildren when/if that time comes. They will already be eye-rollingly bored at grandpa's endless tales of 'when I used to build bass guitars', but will, I'm sure, point at this picture with wonder. "Oooooh. What's that bright bit, grandpa?" "It's called sunshine, Billy" "What's sunshine, grandpa?" "Well - if you wait until you are a BIG boy...and then wait some more until you are a MAN...and then wait some more until you are an OLD MAN... and all the time hope and hope and hope - you too might see something like that!" "What - in DERBY, grandpa???????" Anyway - the main neck carve. Once it's been roughed out, I do almost all of the rest of the carve with a humble cabinet scraper: Using the template I took from Neil's favourite Fender, checking the fit frequently. Here the haunches are still sitting too proud: And here it's sitting just right: As well as the template gauges, I play a lot of air-bass guitar. The neighbours think I'm bonkers, but sitting it over your knee and playing it is, on my view, one of the best ways of checking when it's 'right'. I will probably tweak it a few more times before I'm finished, but here it is pretty close: What I do like about going for the thin-body-neck-through approach is that you can get some quite elegant transitions neck to body:

It it's all solid wood (unlikely) then yes - as @Reggaebass says, it's a case of stripping and sanding down to clean wood. If the figuring is a veneer, then yes with some disclaimers...the veneer will only be 0.6mm thick so it is very easy to break through when stripping If the figuring is a photo application, then no - well, technically you could still go down to bare wood and stain that but all of the figuring will be sanded away.

Pretty much....and from the look of it, that will be the least of your problems You certainly like a challenge...

Oh...and this is absolutely splendid, by the way Great job!

As I found out in my journey of mods and builds, it's just a few extra steps up from the skills you've already gained. And neck carving is also one of the most satisfying part of a build If you want to lower the learning curve just a touch, buy a preslotted fretboard blank. David Dyke only charges £10 to slot the blanks he sells.

Superb

OK - I'm confused Just to clarify: I think your Tokai needs a 3.5mm metric fine thread grubscrew A Fender USA grubscrew will not fit because the threads on USA Fenders are imperial, not metric So if you get a 3.5mm metric fine thread grubscrew off ebay, it should fit your Tokai. A Fender USA grubscrew may be the same diameter but it won't fit on your Tokai because it will be the wrong thread pitch. Are we both saying the same thing?

Just weighed it - that neck carving has taken off a lot of weight. We might be looking below 6 1/2lbs finished weight …

Lot of carving still to do, but the neck is sized and roughed out:

Carve's done for the body ready for final sand. As usual, I give the wood a quick coat of tru-oil to show up any filing or sanding marks and any glue spills, etc.. It is also useful for keeping the body relatively clean while I move onto the next bit - carving the neck. The finish will be enhanced, but this is fairly representative of the colour shades that will be on the final product: Nice bit of quilting when it catches the light: This will be enhanced further when the final finish is applied. And for good measure, the back: ...and front-on: Next job - the neck carve

Fascinating thread - the one above and this one you are doing here, @jebroad Continuing to watch with great interest!

Wow ... that's some inlay!

The bottom bout is the one I'm still tweaking to balance out both the visuals and the practicalities, Mick. By ghe way, notice some ancestral familiarities to the psilos on that second shot?

The basic carve of the body is almost done. Just got to take a bit of thickness off the back of the lower bout and then I'll move to the neck. I'll finish sand it all at the same time. From the view above, it looks pretty conventional. But this gives a hint that it's not quite... :