Wenge Chambered Blingray build

[rubis]

This build was originally going to be a slab bodied P-bass for a competition being run over on Talkbass, here's the links

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f57/3-wood-build-challenge-887238/"]http://www.talkbass....allenge-887238/[/url]

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f57/3-wood-challenge-african-queen-894093/"]http://www.talkbass....n-queen-894093/[/url]

For various reasons, mainly to do with time, I wasn't going to be able to finish it but then they have extended the deadline to November so I thought I'd have a go, however, it has taken a change in direction, I will still be using the Wenge and Tambooti but I will now be using Sycamore veneer for an accent line instead of spalted walnut (allegedly!) and more importantly it will not be a P-bass because having thought about it, I decided that a P-bass looks more suitable (to me anyway) with less exotic woods.
I will do a P-bass build at a later stage but not with these woods.


So, the details of this build will now be as follows

A Wenge Blingray

A 4 string fretted St***ray style bass with a couple of personal twists (to me thats the whole point of building your own!)
1 piece chambered Tambooti body
Sycamore accent line
Wenge top
Quarter sawn Wenge neck with Sycamore accent line beneath the fingerboard (no carbon rods!)
Duncan SMB4 pickup
MM Sabre clone preamp (thanks Tommo!)
Series/parrallel switch and a bright switch (I've read that Wenge can darken the tone somewhat)
String through option on bridge
Schaller BM's

I will probably put an oil finish or Rustins Plastic coat on the body for speed, but leave the neck bare (I am open to suggestions based on the experience of others with Wenge necks)

I know it will look quite dark and with little in the way of contrast, but that's exactly the look I am aiming for

Edited October 6, 2012 by rubis

[Rumple]

Sounds interesting, especially the chambered body idea.

[rubis]

Here is the body blank, one piece Tambooti, with a priliminary sketch up for the chambering, I may simplify the lower chambering by just routing from the top and then dropping the pre-amp in through the control plate cutout in the way that a MM Stingray is.

[attachment=120349:Picture 009.jpg]

Here is the Wenge top, at present it's 18mm thick. I did briefly toy with the idea of a carved top, but I have neither the time, skill or confidence to attempt that although it might have been interesting!
[attachment=120350:Picture 007.jpg]



There will be a light coloured sycamore veneer between the Tambooti and the Wenge top

Here is the neck blank, definately quartersawn!
[attachment=120351:Picture 004.jpg]

I took it into the school where I work and sliced off what (I hope!) will become the fingerboard and headstock veneer. There will be a contrasting sycamore veneer running underneath the fingerboard and then following the headstock curve which will be capped with the rest of the Wenge from the fingerboard (no waste here !).
[attachment=120352:Picture 005.jpg]
[attachment=120353:Picture 006.jpg]
If all goes well it should flow nicely together and look quite co-ordinated.

I've got a cunning plan for putting the 'Rubis' name on the front of the headstock, if I can practice on a few bits of scrap and get it aligned right I will cut the logo out of the Wenge veneer with the school laser cutter before glueing it on so that the name shows through in the light colour of the sycamore veneer beneath. Fingers crossed!

[Darkstrike]

This is gonna be amazing!

[4 Strings]

Very interesting build! How do you think the chambers will affect the sound? Will they be created by being right through the tambooti capped by the wenge? Will you be putting sound (f) holes?

(Do you think it has been suggested that wenge darkens tone because it is dark in colour? A hardwood isn't it?)

[rubis]

Hi 4 Strings
thanks for raising an interesting argument
I don't know about you but it seems that the more I read about the tonal properties of different woods and or chambering the more confused I become.
I guess until someone builds two identical instruments, one chambered, one not and then swaps hardware from one to another to compare them, then the whole subject is open to conjecture. In the case of this build I'm doing it mostly because the tambooti is heavier than I'd like it to be and I have a problem with my right shoulder so a lighter bass would be preferable. I've done chambered telecasters before so I thought I'd give it a go on this one. Also, I wanted this Blingray and my previoius one to be something that is not available from Musicman, otherwise it would be easier just to buy one!

I won't be putting "F" holes on it, I know most opinions are that they accentuate the effect of chambering, because I don't think it would look quite right on this style and also because the top chamber isn't large enough due to the wood which had to be left in place for the tummy cut at the back.
I'll post a pic to expain this shortly
I would say Wenge is a hard wood, very brittle and splintery, apparently excellent for necks, although I 've never tried one, another reason for using it and also the fact that MM have never done a bass with a Wenge neck..........we all like to be different!
I know Wal used it as a body top wood and it is quite a popular option so there must be some good qualities other than its looks!
I honestly don't know how much a top wood affects the sound althouth this one will be thicker than usual

cheers

Harry

[Darkstrike]

Wenge necks are fantastic, very solid and feel great.

[rubis]

I'm looking forward to getting to grips with the neck. The grain on the blank is 90 degrees so it should be really stiff. I was going to use carbon rods again but under advice I won't be, they would be OTT
I've read that Wenge necks can be left just wire-woolled, is that what you do, or do you apply some oil?

[Darkstrike]

I'm not sure if anyting was applied to my bass stock, but it doesn't feel like it, I tried the conditioner stuff that I use on fretboards, but it made it feel awful.

[4 Strings]

Thanks Rubis, hope you put up plenty of posts, looking forward to following this.

I wonder if retro-chambering could be done! Kept to the wings it could make a number of heavy basses much more comfortable. Routed from the back, could be painted and left open.

[Rumple]

Is there a exact science to getting the balance right or is it down to guesstimation? I like the idea of getting a body as light as possible using chambers but I expect at some point neck dive becomes a problem?

[4 Strings]

I suppose rout a bit, see how it hangs (as it were), rout a bit more. Better still core drill plugs which can be replaced and make it adjustable.

[rubis]

I'd like to think its educated guesstimation

[spiritchaser]

Hi Rubis,

the pieces look great! This is going to be an awesome-looking bass.
Just be very careful when working with the wenge: its dust is very toxic and those tiny splinters that come off it and get in the skin will most likely inflame.
Greetz

[rubis]

"I wonder if retro-chambering could be done! Kept to the wings it could make a number of heavy basses much more comfortable. Routed from the back, could be painted and left open."

I have seen it done on a telecaster, it was quite successful in terms of reducing weight, here's a link

[url="http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/71878-weight-reduction-plan.html"]http://www.tdpri.com...ction-plan.html[/url]




Thanks spiritchaser
I did some work on the neck this weekend and was thankful for a mask

Edited October 14, 2012 by rubis

[4 Strings]

Thanks for the link, Rubis, he certainly went for the router, no experimental nibbling there!

I have feeling that, despite the 70s Fenders having a reputation for being heavy this lightening technique will only be carried out on copies. Shame.

Funny no comments on the sound.

[rubis]

It's been a little time since I posted any progress on this build, so here goes.

I have routed out the chambers on the body and lined the bottom chamber with copper shielding. It is now considerably lighter, although there is still a quite substantial topset to go on, there is also the contouring on the back and front so this should be a comfortable bass to wear ( I hope ! )
[attachment=122691:Picture 027.jpg]
I went for a simpler layout than I had originally intended with the chambering, which means that the battery access will be more like the MM Stingray and not via a large grain-matched lid like I did on my Blingray build
[attachment=122692:Picture 029.jpg]

Because the neck blank was not wide quite enough, in order to get the headstock fitted on I had to add a piece on each side. I glued them on slightly lower than the level of the neck
[attachment=122693:Picture 021.jpg]
so that when it was sanded, it would be flat without thining down the neck at all. It didn't matter being stepped down on the front because that had to be thinned down anyway.
[attachment=122694:Picture 023.jpg]
The headstock was then profiled and the veneer glued, I use a piece of scrap which has the same curve as the headstock and clamp it into submission! I'm not looking forward to doing this bit with the top veneer of Wenge as I've a feeling that even after microwaving it, it will not be very flexible at all and may just split
[attachment=122695:Picture 024.jpg]
The truss rod was fitted, the headstock cut roughly to shape and the fretboard cut using my Old MacDonald fret cutting contraption........not as flash as a Stew MacDonald device but considerably cheaper
[attachment=122696:Picture 020.jpg]
Then the veneer was added along the rest of the neck and some little lugs left in place when I rough cut the neck out. These lugs will allow the fretboard to be dry fitted and lined up properly with screw holes prior to glueing as I find it a bit tense when the bugger is sliding around like a buttered pig, the glue is curing and I have more glue on my hands than on the job
[attachment=122697:Picture 030.jpg]

So that's about it at the moment, I didn't get the logo cut at school before half term, but I'm hoping to get it done next week. The command team (my children Ruby and Lewis.....hence Rubis) decided on the style they prefer, it's the lower of these two.

I had to fart around ( edit ) with it for some time to make "bridges" that is to say on the 'R' and the 'b' letters you have to make sure that the centre pieces are not islands but are connected to the background if you know what I mean, otherwise when the laser cutter does it's thing, the middle of the letter will fall out and it may result in a messy cut as it does so. The lettering has to be in red ( I think! ) for a cut rather than black which is for engraving

[scojack]

Its all looking good

[rubis]

Thankyou kindly sir, how's that saucy little lacewood number coming along?

[scojack]

Very slowly Rubis !
'ere i like yer Old Macdonald fret cutter ..remarkably similar to mine !
IanM

[rubis]

It works for me mate!
Why boost the U.S. economy any more than we have to?
There's a bloke on the TDPRI forum, I'm sure you may have come across, called Scatterlee, who builds amazing Telecasters and LP Juniors often using stuff he get's out of a skip. He makes his own jigs and contraptions and I often think he's having the last laugh at those others who have a 'shop' crammed full of machinery and CNC cutters and the like.
His build threads are well worth a perusal even if it's just for the photos of gators in his back garden, but I guarantee you'll borrow at least one idea from him!

[nugget]

I personally love making jigs and stealing the ideas from TDPRI, it's a great site for hobby builders on a budget
Here's my take on a budget (Free) version of the stu mac's fret slot jig
Very quick to use and cuts slots dead parallel and vertical.
[IMG]http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd380/firecreekCustom/DSC04131.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd380/firecreekCustom/DSC04132.jpg[/IMG]

[scojack]

Looks good Nugget, handy for those blanks that are not square.
If I was trying to build for a living its definately something i would consider.

Edited November 6, 2012 by scojack

[rubis]

Very impressive, I made a useful router sled-device thicknesser-thingy using some good quality drawer runners left over from our kitchen refit. They're screwed parallel onto a thick board, there's no slack or wobble on them and the router just fits on a sled and glides over the work piece. It works so well I've worn it out!

[nugget]

[quote name='rubis' timestamp='1352227797' post='1860481']
Very impressive, I made a useful router sled-device thicknesser-thingy using some good quality drawer runners left over from our kitchen refit. They're screwed parallel onto a thick board, there's no slack or wobble on them and the router just fits on a sled and glides over the work piece. It works so well I've worn it out!
[/quote]

cool - I recently made a sled type router thicknesser and prefer it to my PT now! super accurate with a BIG end milling bit and handles any size of wood, much cheaper (again free) than buying a big PT.