steve-bbb Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 so ive decided to bodge together some sort of fretless Jazz bass type thingy - i have a slab of wood for the body but need to decided the best option for body construction - i have a slab 50mm thick of elm (and yes it is v heavy) which will ideally end up about 42 ish mm thick the single slab is big enough for the body shape to be cut in one single piece - are there pros/cons fo doing this compared to having a central section with two side pieces glued on making a 3 piece laminate body??? the single piece is very flat and stable and well seasoned - in fact it is still as flat as the day it was machined about 25 years ago with not a single crack in sight your thoughts please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 One piece will look better if clear or see through finish is applied.Why cut it up only to re-join again ? Multiple piece bodies ie on a regular guitar,are usually that way as a cost efficient way of making a body blank big enough,i would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1221071' date='May 5 2011, 02:16 PM']One piece will look better if clear or see through finish is applied.Why cut it up only to re-join again ? Multiple piece bodies ie on a regular guitar,are usually that way as a cost efficient way of making a body blank big enough,i would think.[/quote] my thoughts exactly but some people prefer laminating from the point of view of strength and helping to prevent any warping or twisting which might occur with a single slab - laminating can also look good imo as you can then bookmatch and get a symmetrical pattern but might be nice to have the individual one piece look - was planning on a transluscent colour and clear lacquer - i like the idea of a bright red/orange but want to be able to see the wood grain as it is very nice piece of hardwood this single slab is still perfectly flat and flawless after 25 years so i dont think that warping/twisting will be an issue unless i join some band that wants to tour the rainforests Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 (edited) [quote name='steve-bbb' post='1223375' date='May 7 2011, 05:23 PM']ok so first steps under way - visitto the local timber merchants (morgans of strood) where we confirmed that it is elm - planed down from 50mm to finished body thickness of 42mm - the grain looks ... well see for yourself! the vinyl template is missing the lower cutaway but at this stage its purely for positioning the cutting template guide so that i can lose that little dark knot in the bridge pickup cavity! next stage this week is off to specialized-cutting in strood with my slab of elm and a dxf file on memory stick to get the outline water-jet cut[/quote] Lookin' good. Are you sure an abrasive water jet is the way to go with your lovingly seasoned chunk of elm though? The wood would have to stay under the jet for a fair while for it to make it all the way through, which means more contact with the water. It won't 'unseason' it as such but water in any quantity is a no-no when it comes to well seasoned wood, so I would have thought a high pressure jet of it would only be worse. Couldn't you take your chunk and DXF to a place with a CNC router, or even have an MDF template laser cut then using it with a hand held router? Edited May 7, 2011 by henry norton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 (edited) [quote name='henry norton' post='1223679' date='May 7 2011, 09:18 PM']Lookin' good. Are you sure an abrasive water jet is the way to go with your lovingly seasoned chunk of elm though? The wood would have to stay under the jet for a fair while for it to make it all the way through, which means more contact with the water. It won't 'unseason' it as such but water in any quantity is a no-no when it comes to well seasoned wood, so I would have thought a high pressure jet of it would only be worse. Couldn't you take your chunk and DXF to a place with a CNC router, or even have an MDF template laser cut then using it with a hand held router?[/quote] well the guys at specialised cutting have told me they cut wood and mdf all the time and it isnt a problem - i will check some samples with them first - we have a good local plastics company where i can get a plexiglass template lasercut for hand routing but also trying to search out a cAD/CNC router solution (hopefully that might be cheaper than the watercut too?!) Edited May 9, 2011 by steve-bbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 [quote name='steve-bbb' post='1224769' date='May 9 2011, 09:32 AM']well the guys at specialised cutting have told me they cut wood and mdf all the time and it isnt a problem - i will check some samples with them first - we have a good local plastics company where i can get a plexiglass template lasercut for hand routing but also trying to search out a cAD/CNC router solution (hopefully that might be cheaper than the watercut too?!)[/quote] I'd just be a bit wary, that's all. I've had novelty wood samples sent to me from abrasive water jet cutters before but for a nice guitar body I would rather go for a dry option like CNC milling or, like you said, getting a template made (laser cut MDF is pretty good, unfortunately it scorches and doesn't go deep enough for doing an entire body). That said, if you're prepared to route around a template would you be prepared to go a step further and make the template itself using a jigsaw, sandpaper and a bit of 12mm MDF from Wickes??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 after a bit of local searching ive managed to find a wood machinging company with a flatbed machine who can cut my outline radius the edges and miull the cavities - stand by for the next photo update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 well no progress due to circumstances hitherto unforeseen if anybody is interested in taking on a nice slab of elm it is here for collection to any luthiers out there who would like to use it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldemar Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 PM'd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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