Andyjr1515

Really something very, very special. Brilliant!

I'm not at all sure how I've missed this thread before, but that is a [i]stunning [/i]restoration. Top job. Pleased you did the update - not only that you've sorted the electrics but because I'd have missed this otherwise!

[quote name='Bastav' timestamp='1448714604' post='2917593'] I like that headstock shape. Goes real with the body [/quote] Thanks, Bastav

With a few days of rain forecast, I have been sorting some jobs that I will be able to do indoors in the spare room ("Yes, dear, that's what I said...it's not a spare room, it's the guest bedroom. Building guitars? Well, I don't think you'd let me do that in the [i]guest bedroom[/i]..."). Re-wording it a little, I have been sorting some jobs that I will be able to do indoors in the spare room when Mrs Andyjr1515 is out. I've got approval from FuNkShUi for the design of the headstock - a very nice indoor job. What he was aiming for was a non-symmetrical, medium-sized ebony plated shape that would 'fit in' with the vibe of the body. This is the design we've firmed up on: and this is what it will look like in proportion: What it is trying to do is offer a passing nod to the shape of the body, with the scoop-out exposing the mahogany and walnut to balance the colours between the head and body. I know I'm somewhat biased on this, but I think it looks tickety-boo Andy

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1448558208' post='2916467'] Looking good! For the uninitiated, would you mind describing what the "flossing" entails? I assume it's a technique for fine adjustment of the joint prior to joining? [/quote] Yes - it's seen more when you are building an acoustic and trying to get the neck heel butting up exactly to the guitar sides. In my case, this joint needs to close up a bit: All I do is put a strip of emery cloth between the two joint faces and pull - repeated until the neck face exactly matches the body face. In reality, of course - as the only bits seen after the fretboard is on are the two small side joints - I could have just cut it away in between the extreme ends and nobody would know or care (no structural significance of this mating surface at all)...but I would!

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1448542302' post='2916280'] Bet the wife hasn't seen that in the spare room! Wet glue / Light Carpet your livin' on the edge my friend [/quote] ..and no, she hasn't Let it be our little secret!

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1448542302' post='2916280'] Bet the wife hasn't seen that in the spare room! Wet glue / Light Carpet your livin' on the edge my friend [/quote] It adds the thrill of danger.... Actually - the router does that, too....

With the fretboard now profiled, I checked and double checked the projected action height and I am sure it will be just right with a totally flat-angled neck. So flossed the body/neck join and on it goes... The pickups and EQ are on their way, so I will be able to do the routing of the control chambers and pickups. Then the fretboard can be glued on after installing the truss rod. As always, thanks for looking Andy

[quote name='deepbass5' timestamp='1448520302' post='2916035'] Yep - the same, looks like tortoise shell when glossed up [/quote] Fantastic. Can't wait I hadn't seen a bass or guitar with a camphor top before and am delighted with how yours looks.

Thanks all! That's a lovely looking Shuker, deepbass5. What is the top wood on that one? Is it camphor too?

[quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1448449248' post='2915456'] Ay Caramba! This just keeps on getting better. More sunny days required. [/quote]

Oooh - that's better Yes - like that

No problem, Matt. As far as I know, I'm not going anywhere, so I should still be here Andy[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1448288682' post='2914158'] How do you do the neck angle to get the strings to the bridge height without a 'flying' fingerboard? Ian Oh i think i get it now (Can't see the neck/body join in the photos). [/quote] I think you're probably already there, Ian, but in case any other readers are wondering the same thing, this is the joint (prior to 'flossing' of the mating faces) Basically, it's flat. So, depending on the measured clearance of a straight edge from nut to bridge, then I can predict the action height and the adjustability range of the saddles:[list] [*]If the predicted action is OK as it is, the fretboard will be flat across the joint. At the moment, I think that will do it [*]If the predicted action is high, I can shim the nut end of the neck body join and just sand the resulting edge of the camphor for it to sit snugly against the fretboard [*]If the predicted action is too low, I can shim the tailstock end and again sand the camphor for a snug fit of the fretboard against it. [/list] It's a bit like when you are fitting an acoustic guitar neck where, apart from very small tweaks by sanding the saddle, the bridge height is pretty much fixed. Andy

You'll both make me blush....but keep building up the courage, Matt

Another dry morning, so attacked the 'real' fretboard. I first planed it to closer to final width, then used a 12" radius block to start the profile shaping. I put a central line down in pencil to give make sure that the profile retained its straightness up the length - when the pencil mark disappears, you know you've got the desired curve and any more sanding will simply make that area thinner! I always take the opportunity to collect the ebony dust - it's great mixed with epoxy used as a gap filler - particularly for mother-of-pearl logos on ebony plates and fretboards! Here's the profiled fretboard, down to 120 grit. Once it's glued onto the neck, it will have a final profiling and then sanded down to 1000grit before putting the frets in. Andy

[quote name='Mattpt85' timestamp='1448107600' post='2913086'] Not worth starting a new thread but I started again on a new body. [/quote] Is it just me? Can't see the photo...

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1448193226' post='2913520'] Gigged with it last night, it felt great not to have 8lb of wood and metal strapped to me! This may well become the go to bass, I have to sing and play flute , I have to pick up and put down the flute quickly during songs, It's so much easier with this bass. More thoughts on the hardware to follow.... [/quote] Sounds like a result! It's a good feeling when a project fully meets its design aims . Well done.

I'm probably 'pushing the envelope' as far as MrsAndyjr1515 is concerned with the reckless neglect of jobs around the house and in the garden, but when it's not raining, bass building is what has to be done! It's now starting to look like a bass proper - I got the bandsawing of the neck done. First of all, slimmed it down to body depth: and then within a mm or so deeper than the final neck depth, got the basic side shape of the neck and headstock cut: The fretboard shown is still the spare one and the headstock will have extra 'wings' and will also be ebony plated on the top. For the slotted blank of the real fretboard, I've thinned that down by 1.5mm based on my calcs to get down to the slimness of FuNkShUi's favourite Warwick bass - a slim 23mm non-tapered depth. The reason is simple - with the blank ebony being a generous 8.5mm, once you'd added the depth of the truss-rod slot, there would only have been 1.5mm or so of depth left under the truss rod. Slimming down the ebony a tad has helped get that to a functional and safe thickness even when fully replicating FuNkShUi's slim profile. There [i]should [/i]be no reason why I can't fully replicate the dimensions and shape of the Warwick... Now, for all of the reservations and downsides of my odd way of building, this is where is really comes into its own for me personally. Once I've finish sanded the top and sanded the straightness and radius on the fretboard, I can still final fit the neck depth and angle so that I know that the bridge is going to be in its optimum adjustment range for the correct action height of the finished bass. While you can calculate these things in advance and try to build exactly to plan, having glued the neck / top early, with hand tools and basic facilities, there are too many things that can be slightly different and which cumulatively can give you a problem. With a bolt-on neck, you just bung a shim in. But with a thru-neck that is already glued in, it can get a bit more complicated. I'm still enjoying this build enormously Thanks for looking! Andy

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1448047882' post='2912766'] Good progress. I'm a great believer in subconscious thinking. I'm a computer programmer by day, and with tough problems I just load up my brain with the facts and an answer pops up a day or two later [/quote] I had a tough computer programming problem about twenty years ago. I'm still waiting for that answer to pop up

Thanks for all of the encouraging feedback, folks! This morning was a bonus because it was dry and bright and we had someone coming to sort some of our windows which meant I had to be home Started the carve proper. I roughed it out with a rasp file, then moved to scrapers, and then to the first rough smoothing (if you know what I mean) with the sander. Here it is after the rasp and scrapers: And then after the first rough-sand: Note how quickly the originally skimmed to has already oxidised from the red / purple hues towards terracotta. Clearly, before finishing the body will be sanded all over so there won't be any demarcation of surfaces. What I normally do at this stage is leave it alone and let the shape concept sink in for a few days - then decide whether it needs further tweaks or not before final sanding. Sometimes these things have to gestate a while. I'm pleased with it already, however, and have high hopes. In the meantime, I have got back from FuNkShUi his favourite bass's neck dimensions and shape so will move onto making progress with the neck while my sub-conscience continues to cogitate over the body carve. Thanks again for looking Andy

Stunning! Top quality stuff by any standard, let alone a first-build

The good news is that the neck slid out perfectly The other good news is that the forecast for today is [i]no rain[/i] The bad news is that the weather forecasters just tell porkies Anyway, made a bit of progress before it did start to rain. Here's the slotted body, trim-routed at the sides using the camphor as the template : I started also my favourite bit - the carving I started with a plane but the camphor is quite brittle under this kind of cut, so - to make sure a vital bit didn't go pinging off into the garden - I reverted to a rasp file. I hadn't got very far before the rain came, but what I did manage to do has got me very, very excited : Using files, the carve will take some time, but it will be worth it. Andy

Looks really, really special

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1447888964' post='2911343'] I was actually very pleased with myself when you commented on my Variax makeover. [/quote] Without turning this into a mutual appreciation thread, that variax is probably the most stylish and elegant paint job I can recall ever seeing. In my eyes, all you need is a slightly more dodgy neck joint and it would be bloody perfect

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1447876646' post='2911202'] My only concern with bonding the neck in last would be that you can only clamp it to the top as the two wings are now fixed, will not being able to clamp the neck to the wings be an issue, also if the gap for the neck is nice and snugg will the glue scrape off as you insert it? Or am I overthinking it all as usual? Certainly not knocking it as I've never built a guitar before, just curious . [/quote] Very logical and valid concerns, Maude, and quite right to ask. However, the above are not ones I've personally had any problem with (so far). My weird methods are, of course, why the decent luthiers on this and other forums often shake their heads in disbelief.... . Nor would I advocate this as the way it [i]should[/i] be done, especially if you have the tools and skills to do it the conventional way. But....this will be the 7th guitar or bass I've built like this (all of which are gigged and 4 of which are gigged multi-times a week by animals - actually great guys, but animals all the same ) and, so far, I haven't lost a neck. There is a logic for the approach not to be a recipe for disaster, which is this:[list] [*]The critical strength in a thru neck is just that...the neck. The bridge screws into the neck; the tuners are attached to the neck - both anchor points are therefore secure as long as the neck has been constructed correctly [*]The top helps to maintain the rigidity, and helps to maintain the structural integrity due to the little detail that the slots you have to cut for the pickups, actually cut 2/3 into the depth of the neck! [*]So the bond between the top and the neck is critical [*]The "hanger's on" (ie the alder wings in this case), on the other hand, serve many purposes but not actually much to do with strength or stiffness (think cigar-box guitars...) [*]...so as long as they don't actually drop off... [*]...and they aren't going to do that because they are extremely well bonded to the top [/list] The logic is probably deeply flawed, but it does work. Also, the neck will be pretty much smothered in titebond and, other than the danger of hydraulicing, there will be plenty of coverage in the slot sides. To be honest, you only have to look at the tiny, tiny stub of an original Gibson SG 6-string set neck, to realise how little glue (and wood!) is actually needed to hold a neck on. I don't know if you followed my "Tom's African Fretless Bass" thread last year (built for Tom, our very own wwcringe) but that was a fascinating project - convention said that it should not have held together at all. Tom and I, at one point, said it probably wouldn't hold together at all But it did - and it cemented my confidence that, providing the fit is accurate, through necks can bypass a lot of structural challenges a builder normally has to overcome I don't know if any of that makes any sense. Of course, when FuNkShUi posts the photos of the finished product after it has 'clapped hands' in the middle of his most prestigious gig, the decent luthiers on this and other forums will nod knowingly and mutter, '...told you so...' All - keep firing the questions. It helps, because at the very least one in three of them makes me think, 'Oh, cr*p!' Andy