Andyjr1515

Sounds like a plan. With a bass, it is likely that the intonation will be pretty consistent across the two types. That said, if you have a thought of the flats you might use, you could send me a set and I can build that into the final heel-height tweaking.

Good point about the strings but that's my understanding (I'm sure @Happy Jack will let me know if not ) And yes - the fretless will have a bar or Wal-type retainer. Jack has also asked me to investigate if it is possible to change the Lull retainers for something similar, although the steep drop of a Fender-type headstock from the nut does make that a little more difficult.

Yes - against all the odds, it is in the plan It is one of the reasons that fixing the depth (and possibly angle) of the heel will be one of the last things I do, which is a bit...er...how shall I put it... 'unconventional'

The nice thing about really long steel rules is that they are easier to find amongst the inevitable guitar-making detritus With the nut position measured, I am able to position the fretless board nut edge in exactly the same place, slim the maple to fit and triple check that the centre line and outer string runs are going to be where they should be: And so - goes Andyjr1515's logic - as long as the action can be made the same - the bass should intonate the same whichever neck is fitted. Well...that's the theory One more job before I can fit the truss-rod and glue the board on - planing that moderate headstock angle. All being well, I should be able to have the board gluing before the end of the day

Yes, @Maude - @briansbrew is right, that is beautiful.

This job is a little bit like the modern masterchef trend of 'deconstructed dishes'. Basically, the sequence that I need to do things is quite different to a 'normal' build. The challenge is that, ideally, we are trying to get a solution where @Happy Jack can unscrew the fretted neck, screw on the fretless and everything (intonation, saddle heights, etc) is pretty much unchanged. And so the sequence of what I do when has to be pretty specific. And the next job in that sequence is sort the neck pocket sides, even though the neck heel depth hasn't yet been calculated or cut. It's fine work because it not only has to fit well, it has to be also pointing in the right direction. Slow, but a job for my little disk sander that will keep the sides absolutely square as I edge close to the fitting line: I'm sure it wouldn't get me entry to any Master Builder society, but probably 'close enough for jazz' : ...and, according to the middle string, at least it's straight: Next is going to be to fix the screw holes. I use a brad-bit drill as a punch to give me accurate drilling holes and I fix two of the screws on the diagonal, check the straightness and then mark the centres for the other two screws : And all four in. The screws' positions won't be affected when I finally reduce the neck heel thickness to the correct level further down the sequence as long as I keep everything square and flat. And so the next job is going to be to determine the exact position that the nut-end of the fretboard needs to be at to intonate with the same bridge saddle positions as on the fretted neck and that will let me plane the fretboard down to its final taper and then glue it to the neck. But before gluing that, I will have to get that small angle planed on the headstock. And then (at last) I will be able to work out how deep the heel needs to be. Told you it was an unusual sequence.. And, because that means putting the fretted neck back on to measure it, that's a job for tomorrow

Hmmm...I know that I veneer anything that stands still for more than a few seconds... ...but I'm with @Maude on this one. To me, the joy of these basses is the visible neck-through. And, as @briansbrew says, the body finish is original. Personally, I think it would be nice to find a solution that retains those elements.

Not necessarily This afternoon was Buxton's (relatively close to home) sterling effort to get to the next round of the FA Cup (they didn't ) Those who've seen my previous builds will know that I detest routers. But - there are some jobs where, really, only a router will do. And one of those is the truss rod slot. And done: So next will be planing a small angle for the headstock and then doing a Fender-style carve on it. The billet isn't deep enough to be able to do a proper angled stock and dispense with the break angle compromise of the Fender design but it will probably give me a couple of degrees of help which might mean that I can more easily fit a Wal type or bar type of string retainer rather than the button type fitted on the fretted neck. Visually, it will pretty much look the same as the Lull. And then hand-fitting the heel end to the body neck pocket, after which I will fit the fretboard and start the neck carve.

It is well recognised in guitar and bass building circles that hand radiussing ebony fretboards is: - the quickest way to insanity (takes days but insanity is assured) - likely to result in a tapered or skewed profile down the board however hard you try I built myself a router rig a few years ago - better but not perfect - then invested in the excellent G&W router jig a year or so ago. It's b****y wonderful After about 25 minutes, I'd got the shape roughed out over two passes Then another 15 minutes with a radius block to just remove the router cutter lines: And done

Two things have happened that should speed things up a bit. First is that the main build that is running alongside this job has got to the "apply finish and wait for it to dry" stage (isn't self-promotion a wonderful thing ). The second is that the truss rod has (eventually!) arrived and I can now cut the slot: It is a modern two-way rod and will be fitted with the hex adjuster at the rear in the same position as the fretted neck. A note for the observant, by the way - the rod when fitted will be the other way up, with the steel plate side uppermost otherwise there is a frequently suffered scenario of tighten rod, hmmm...still too much relief...tighten more...hmmm...doesn't seem any better...tighten...BANG (as the rod energetically bursts its way through the fretboard ). I say this because - for the same reason that I've photo'd it this way up as it won't balance on its correct side - many of the sales web sites (including much respected ones) show the rod the wrong way up and almost none provide fitting instructions...so often new builders fit them the wrong way round, at which point 'righty-tighty' becomes 'righty-CRIKEY!' The fretboard blank has been cut and planed to size... ...and next job is the radiussing. We are going for 12", the same as the fretted. The dastardly plan is that both the slot cut and the radiussing will be done before the footer comes on

Splendid

Thanks! That said, it's not for the faint-hearted

Well...for a mere king's ransom.... Thanks, Paul

Steinberger holes drilled - so time for a gratuitous mock-up When sanded and buffed, the fretboard and headstock plate will polish up to the same sort of satin finish as the ebony on the body. The remaining visible neck laminates will darken with the application of the Tru-oil but will buff up to a similar sheen. They don't do the Steinbergers in nickel but I think they are far enough away from the main body. Only a few jobs left on the basic build and then I can move onto the final sanding and finishing.

And so to the headstock plate. Before gluing, a vital thing not to be missed - cutting the access to the trussrod: The cunning plan is to use the cut out above as the cover, fitted flush with magnets: There will be a shallow scoop at the apex as a finger-nail access (this will be a snug fit!) And no, you can't have too many clamps! The plate is presently oversize at the edges and will be sanded flush with the headstock once the glue has fully cured.

OK - I think we are on the final furlong With grandparenting duties done for a few weeks I have a fairly uninterrupted run to finish this off. Jack and I have been doing some work on the headstock arrangement and he has come up with a shape that I think works beautifully. It gives a respectful nod to the original but is its very own. This is a mockup, but later today I will be cutting and gluing on the actual ebony plate. At the same time, I've been experimenting with some ebony offcuts from the top wood to see how well a 'no finish, just sanding & buffing' approach (think violin fretboard) works. The trials went well and so I did a quick and nasty to see how it works on the whole top. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but...I reckon it works

Well, it doesn't half make it easier when you have an exact scale template to hand The maple is AAA (top) grade from David Dyke - it's important for a single piece neck, especially a 5 string, that the grain is completely straight and the timber length is aberration-free. I've lined up the neck exactly to the grain direction - the green line at the top on the above photo is where I will plane the slight angle off so my datum is also exactly in line with the grain: With around a mm oversize, all except that datum length is cut out on the bandsaw. The extra lines you see here are David Dyke's pencil template lines for them to position and cut the blank to. Happily, I know which one's are mine (and hence the green pen!) : So why that datum face? This, being parallel to the centre line, is what I will use - running along the guide fence on the router table - to cut the truss rod slot Well then, pretty much done. Agreed it's a bit on the chunky side, but I think @Happy Jack will soon get used to it once I've hammered those 6" nails in...

And so, back from grandparenting duties, back to the necks and back to bare wood! And a second go, this time with the inks. Colour match isn't quite as close but it is much, much more even and still feels just as silky smooth: Time to move onto the fretless!

Nice job, done well

Lovely job

Interesting concept ref the string length. How short scale are you thinking?

I might, of course, be wrong. That said, all of the photos I've ever seen of that model have headstock adjustment with the plug and small hole. A single action headstock adjustable would have a bullet nut. I am a great fan of Squiers - stunning bang for the buck and excellent in absolute terms too, IMHO.

Apologies - I'm late to the party on this one! I'm pretty sure the Squier VM's have a modern 2-way truss rod and so, as said above, the washer fix isn't relevant as the adjusting nut on these rods are welded to the rod. The washer method only applies to single action trussrods with a removeable nut. If the rod is 'maxed out', there are things you can try, but they may or may not help. The first thing to try is to put a set 'backbow' into the neck by taking the neck off, putting the nut and heel end of the fretboard upside down on some blocks and, with the truss rod still tightened as it is now, putting some weight in the middle of the neck to bend the neck the opposite way from the way the strings are trying to pull it. A couple of 1kg bags of sugar or a single large (2.5kg) bag of flour is probably enough - but not too much - weight. This is left like this for a day or two. With luck, the wood will hold at least some of that bend when the weight is taken off and give you a little bit of a reduction of the neck relief when the neck and strings are back on.

This is going to look great!

Yes, it certainly will Going to be a beaut!