Jabba_the_gut Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) Haven't managed to finish scratch built bass #2 yet as it's just too cold to get in the garage to start spraying so I've started thinking about the next build...... Got a pair of jazz bass pickups or a Delano Hybrid in the bit box so will use one of those. Have a Warwick bridge and some Schaller tuners in chrome. Currently think of making a 4 string the same shape as scratch built bass #2. It will be a while before I get to start on this but couldn't resist. Bought a piece of rippled sycamore from Tyler Hardwoods near Marlborough in Wiltshire [url="http://www.tylerhardwoods.com/"]http://www.tylerhardwoods.com/[/url] . As you buy the wood by the board, this peice is about 5 1/2 feet long so should be enough for three bass bodies.....we'll see. Edited December 12, 2012 by Jabba_the_gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) Still not managed to get into the garage to finish off Scratch Built Bass #2 so started this one instead. Got a few bits of wood to make a couple more basses - cut one body from a piece of elm I got off Basschat. Making it the same shape as bass #2 (in the foreground) but will be 4 string with jazz pickups [attachment=127595:DSC03980.JPG] Edited February 13, 2013 by Jabba_the_gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 That design is just so damn sexy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) Very nice, elm and sycamore are 2 of my favouritist woods. Looking forward to seeing them underway (and #2 finished). you have caught the bug ! Ian Edited February 14, 2013 by scojack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 [quote name='scojack' timestamp='1360843533' post='1977200'] Very nice, elm and sycamore are 2 of my favouritist woods. Looking forward to seeing them underway (and #2 finished). you have caught the bug ! Ian [/quote] Yep - think I have the bug. Just need more time and practice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 is elm stable enough for a bass body? I've a friend who has elm floorboards and they are renowned for moving quite a lot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1360959120' post='1979192'] is elm stable enough for a bass body? I've a friend who has elm floorboards and they are renowned for moving quite a lot... [/quote] I'm not sure to be honest - I have seen a couple of posts on the web that suggests the same but there some posts that reckong it is okay. I'm just going to give it a go and see. I got the wood off the 'Recycling' section on here so if it doesn't work at least it won't be an expensive loss! There's s few holes where some little wormy things have been - got to sort that first!! Couldn't see the holes until the wood was cut. I think this wood was an old table top or desk. It is really dry and (hopefully) won't move much once it is sealed. If it does move, I'll make another body and re-use the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1360959120' post='1979192'] is elm stable enough for a bass body? I've a friend who has elm floorboards and they are renowned for moving quite a lot... [/quote] Been used in furniture making for hundreds of years...im sure it will be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 8, 2013 Author Share Posted April 8, 2013 (edited) Done a little work on the elm bass. Decided to have a go at a maple neck with wenge block inlays and though it looked nice with the elm. It's all just rough sawn at the moment Edited June 15, 2013 by Jabba_the_gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 (edited) It's been a little while but I have done some more on this. Body is done, just got some shaping on the neck to do and the frets to fit. Couldn't resist putting it together though to make sure everything will line up ok. Edited June 17, 2013 by Jabba_the_gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Tasty What kind of bridge is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 [quote name='rubis' timestamp='1371331434' post='2112735'] Tasty What kind of bridge is that? [/quote] I'm not sure - I think it was off a Squier bass. It used to have a pair of saddles but I drilled it to accept four individual ones instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 Looks great, reminds me of my old Manson Merlin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 NIce classy look to that! Like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 (edited) Cheers - here's a slightly better picture. Thinking of sticking some of logo on the headstock so piece of paper fitted for size!! Edited September 22, 2013 by Jabba_the_gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 nice shape unyewsual the grain on the elm looks very nice and the natural hue has come up very warm looking whats the verdict on the elm with regard to tone? does the body ring smoothly when you hit the E and hold it by the top horn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 Finished! Must say the neck finished much nicer than I expected - really pleased with that. Finish was with water based satin lacquer and it's worked nicely. I'm more pleased with the neck than the body. I used Tru-Oil for the finish in the end and I'm just not that happy with it - it hasn't given the best finish no matter what I tried to do with it. Won't use it again - I'll stick with spraying instead. This project has been about practice and correction. I practised on this whilst I was making ‘scratch built bass #2’ and learned plenty from it. I made mistakes on it but decided to carry on to see what I could correct. The design changed a bit over time due to mistakes:[list] [*]put binding on the fret board to cover an accidental cut with the router where the bearing on the template cutter melted the acrylic template I’d made. This happened twice!! [*]practising with the oil finish and spray finish used. [*]headstock is the opposite hand to planned because someone was too impatient to get it cut....what was that...measure twice, cut once...!!! [/list] It plays nicely so job done. I’m planning on the next bass having a block inlay maple neck so this has been good practice. I'll stick a couple of photos up tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 waiting for photos !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1360959120' post='1979192'] is elm stable enough for a bass body? I've a friend who has elm floorboards and they are renowned for moving quite a lot... [/quote] it was sat in my shed since about mid 80s so has been well seasoned over 25+ years - i took it to local timber merchants who machine planed it flat for me and then i set about drawing up a CAD file to take it off to a local CnC router but alas things took a slightly different turn and as you can see jabba has made a rather nice job of it - and unique too, much more interesting than my plans for another boring old frankenJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted September 22, 2013 Author Share Posted September 22, 2013 [quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1379445339' post='2212870'] it was sat in my shed since about mid 80s so has been well seasoned over 25+ years - i took it to local timber merchants who machine planed it flat for me and then i set about drawing up a CAD file to take it off to a local CnC router but alas things took a slightly different turn and as you can see jabba has made a rather nice job of it - and unique too, much more interesting than my plans for another boring old frankenJ [/quote] Must say thanks to Steve for this piece of wood that he put in the ‘Recycled’ section of this site. Elm is something I wouldn’t have considered previously but I think it looks rather nice. I will have another at the finish at some point as I’m not entirely happy with how it looks but I am really chuffed with how it sounds. I didn’t have a Jazz bass before but I do now; it’s a bit different and it plays and sounds really nice!! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocket123 Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Nice looking basses mate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Thanks for letting me try these at the bass bash today. I thought the elm bass (#3) in particular played absolutely brilliantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Glad you liked it. Many thanks for the kind words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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