Andyjr1515

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1482063593' post='3197271'] I love watching you work........beautiful stuff [/quote] Thanks Funnily enough, a lot of my bosses over the years have said they love watching me work.... Another small one ticked off the list. I won't decide what colour to do the truss-rod cover until the finishing is done (or maybe even leave it natural), but it wants to be slightly contrasted to the fretboard and headstock:

The nice thing about the scarily long list of 'to do's' is that you can find the easy ones and tick a few of them off A bit of chestnut stain on the headstock and, once it is varnished and the fretboard is properly oiled, they will compliment each other pretty well:

Starting to get my head around the final building jobs. When you put them down on paper, there still seem to be an immense number left! The last one, 'Finish' isn't like the french cartoons 'Fin', it's actually 'Start the finishing process' . Not too bad, though...the trick is not to write this 'finishing' list too soon otherwise it really CAN be disheartening! I'm going to start routing the control chamber and pickup chambers soon so am talking to Nic about preferred knob positions. He sent me some very fancy knobs to fit, wherever we finally decide they should go:

Mahogany not yet stained, but the epoxy now sanded off:

Like the swifts in the fretboard, I used the Dremel on a precision router base with a 1.5mm and 0.8mm bit, cut freehand after tracing round the mother of pearl cut-out shapes: This gave a 'not perfect but quite tight' fit: Which, squeezed into epoxy mixed with some rosewood sanding dust, should look the business once sanded down and the mahogany stained to match the fretboard: Loads and loads still to do on the build, but not so many scary jobs left Thanks for looking

Another one of the remaining 'scary' bits sorted - drilling the holes for the tuners. I am fitting Schaller lightweight tuners - smooth as silk, very good fine-tune turn ratio and, with a combination of lightweight metals and GRP, 50% of the weight of standard tuners. Here they are on: They have pegs rather than positioning screws, similar to the original Fender guitar tuners - super for rock-solid positioning, but by heck you have to drill them in the right places! Luckily, my measuring and drilling skills are getting better with each project...: Now I've got those positioned, I can also sort the positioning of the logo swifts....something like this:

[quote name='roman_sub' timestamp='1481818171' post='3195437'] For some reason (i guess the awesome body shape and associated excesses!), this build made me think of the 80's Washburn EC29 and EC36 neck-carve: [url="http://images.postadsuk.com/2015/06/06/postadsuk.com-washburn-ec-29-japan-1988.JPG"]http://images.postad...-japan-1988.JPG[/url] not sure you'd want to attempt, but just to throw it out there as an idea [/quote] On the correct topic, this time That neck carve is also very similar to Stuart's Mockingbird which I did the recent refurb thread on. They are great but don't really work with the way I construct this type of build...I have a notch where the Washburn has a neck. The main thing to get right with this one is to account for how much further back the bottom wing is than the top wing. It could be left as I have it here, but there is the opportunity to have a 'half-round' along that length. Easier to describe it with a photo once I've done it

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1481818611' post='3195441'] Oh, wow! Happily, Nic wants cream [/quote] Ah...but you were talking about the neck carve.....

[quote name='roman_sub' timestamp='1481818171' post='3195437'] For some reason (i guess the awesome body shape and associated excesses!), this build made me think of the 80's Washburn EC29 and EC36 neck-carve: [url="http://images.postadsuk.com/2015/06/06/postadsuk.com-washburn-ec-29-japan-1988.JPG"]http://images.postad...-japan-1988.JPG[/url] not sure you'd want to attempt, but just to throw it out there as an idea [/quote] Oh, wow! Happily, Nic wants cream

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1481795281' post='3195149'] I love watching these come together [/quote] Thanks, cheddatom . To me, it all starts looking right once the neck is carved. Still got to tidy up the neck / body join area, but the rest of it is starting to look right. Still got a few scary bits to do, but not too many, to be honest.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1481745596' post='3194853'] Lovely work! [/quote] Thanks, White_Cloud

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1481738660' post='3194755'] Ah...too modern for me, them new fangled scarfe thingies In terms of the peak, I've always figured that is positioned directly beneath the angle break...certainly this is where there is the least amount of wood in the whole neck. In fact, if you draw a cross section, it is a tiny, tiny amount of wood here! [/quote] ....and if there is no scarfe, the grain direction is at its most vulnerable here...as the thousands of broken head stocks on Gibsons over the years will support

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1481738085' post='3194742'] On modern scarfed joints it's more of an end-stop isn't it? [/quote] Ah...too modern for me, them new fangled scarfe thingies In terms of the peak, I've always figured that is positioned directly beneath the angle break...certainly this is where there is the least amount of wood in the whole neck. In fact, if you draw a cross section, it is a tiny, tiny amount of wood here!

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1481736891' post='3194728'] Whenever I see volutes being carved I always wonder how a luthier decides on the shape and size, particularly how large does it have to be to offer enough strength to the neck head transition and where must the 'peak' sit under (the nut?). [/quote] Yes...me too

Lots of sanding still to do, but the volute is broadly shaped: Got visitors over the next couple of days so the progress will slow a tad - it'll give me time to think of what it is I've forgotten to do

For the neck carve, I use: [list] [*]A tiny little bit of the spokeshave - just to take off the corners, really [*]A fine microplane - I use this out of its handle (wearing gloves) to run along the neck length to take off reasonable quantities but in a very controllable fashion [*]A cabinet scraper - this is my tool of preference [*]The plasticard templates cut from Nic's measurements with the profile gauge [/list] The body is clamped to the bench and I work from the headstock end with a cloth against my chest to stop the sharp headstock end digging in! I also use a fine shinto rasp to carve the basic shape at the first fret - leaving it a bit oversize as a datum I like to 'creep up to' the final shape. It really doesn't take that long to get to this stage, although the volute and neck/body join take a little longer: I will still leave it a little oversize, albeit the right shape. I do the final shaping when I can feel what's going on - fully fretted and strings on! This evening I'll see of I can get the volute and neck/body transition done.

It's progressing well. I always make a mental tick when other builders describe a technique and I can think "yes...I do that too!" Example, clamping the fretboard at the sides and not the middle....

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1481703933' post='3194349'] Well I’ve definitely worked out the best way for me to go about the application of the metal flake. After initially putting it on top of a layer of Primer, I was happy, but perhaps a little underwhelmed by the depth of the “sparklyness”. I wanted a thicker covering. So I continued to finish the layer of primer and layer of flake on the sides and the wings. It did look good. Buuuuuuuuuut……I still wasn’t happy, and more than that, I had a lot of flake left! So I decided I would do the same again, but this time with a clear layer, and a far less stingy dose of flake. So that’s what I did. I think it looks much better. I did a few things different. Instead of hanging the bass up to dry over night, I only applied the clear coat to one side, then spooned the flake on (with a spoon funnily enough), then let it sit, and dry in the lacquer. This resulted in a far denser application of the flake, and much closer to the look I envisaged. I'm going to do the other side tonight, and once dried I’ll take some more pictures. I’m probably going to need another can of clear sealant because of this, but I don’t mind as I think it will make a substantial difference. [/quote] Sounds like a very measured iterative approach. Such an approach is very likely to produce the result you are after

Great stuff I'll pass your comments onto Pete - he will be delighted that it's gone to such an appreciative new home Andy

With the fretboard now securely glued to the neck, the next job is to carve the neck profile and volute. Here is how it came out of the clamps: With a reminder that what I describe is never 'this is how it should be done', but instead is a description of 'this is how I did it and why'. [list] [*]The reason I attach the fretboard before fitting the frets? Because there can be subtle shape changes when gluing the neck. Doing it first means that I can then sand the fretboard completely straight and radiused before the frets go on [*]The reason I carve the neck profile after fitting the fretboard? Because it is critical to get an absolutely gap-free join....this means huge clamping force with load-spreading cauls. It is almost impossible to get enough clamping force on a curved neck and very difficult indeed to use cauls. [/list] For the neck carve itself, I sent Nic a profile gauge and some instructions to make me a template of his favourite-feeling bass and the key depths and widths. He sent me this back: Although what a bass ACTUALLY feels like is always unique, the idea is to get a familiarity of feel that the player is immediately comfortable with My next job - hopefully tomorrow - is to cut some stiff plasti-card templates of these shapes and then hand-carve the neck to it's final shape. It's most builders favourite job

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1481567345' post='3193353'] Super quality work as always. How do you rate the Veritas pullshave? It looks really useful and I can envisage archtop carving with it. [/quote] I think it's excellent. I bought it with a mind to a carved top archtop and reckon it will be absolutely perfect for the job. It is very much a roughing out tool though - quite difficult to do accurate fine shaves with it, hence the Ibex.

Tomorrow is going to be full of distractions so I thought I'd crack on today. I have got the profile and thickness measurements of Nic's favourite bass. So first was getting the thickness of the neck right, including the transition between neck and body. I use a pullshave for this kind of work: ...and one of the great revelations in the tools world - the tiny but stunningly effective Ibex plane: This is starting to look right: Truss rod in, cap on and planed down: As a passing nod to Chris Squier's own graphics, I put an 'S' at the end of the fretboard: Then, before tackling the shaping of the neck, this is the time to properly clamp the fretboard. First some location drill holes were put in and a few panel pins to stop the fretboard floating around the neck on top of the wet glue! Then plenty of glue and even more clamps and cauls :

Wow.....that looks really, really good

[quote name='wmsheep' timestamp='1481407243' post='3192153'] Love that headstock design. [/quote] It's an evolution massively enhanced by the input of Tom, Kert and Nic (wwcringe; FuNkShUi; gelfin) Tom pushed for a cut out on his African bass, then Kert and I worked on reflecting the shape of his single cut using the cut out...then this exposed the lamination, and Nic pushed for a further development to reflect the stunning shape of the Mouradian. In the process, I may have stumbled on a 'signature' concept to go with the swifts logo...for which I will, of course claim total credit

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1481474970' post='3192536'] Nothing but praise for Andy - he brought a Yamaha bb604 to my house for me to try out, and it was lovely so I bought it! Top bloke, fantastic bass and he even restrung and set up for me. Pleasure doing business fella. [/quote] Thanks, Chris It was good to meet again - and put the face to the name from the last basschat Midlands Bash! Pete our bassist will also be very pleased it's gone to a good home