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Semi Hollow Bass (and another two...)


Jabba_the_gut

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, it doesn't look like I've done much but have been sanding, checking, sanding some more to get the neck how I want it. I've finished the neck profile and neck joint, now to radius and finish the headstock.

H7qMcIg.jpg

I'm also having a third go at making the control cavity cover as I just haven't been happy with the first two. The original one didn't match well enough to my eye and the second one had a slight bow to it. Third time lucky....

udS0Cke.jpg

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Hello Mr Spondon!

The piece top right is a laminate of veneer and several sheets of thin ply. This was a much better grain match to the body than the original cover (not shown) but it has a very slight dish to it and I want it nice and flat. So I made another, bottom right, using the next consecutive piece of veneer (luckily I had two pieces of this) and have tried again. This time it is looking much flatter, but I'll give it a couple of days to make sure it doesn't move.

The other two things are an mdf template, for trimming the cover and a Perspex template I use to make sure the holes/magnets are in the right place.

Hopefully, I won't be needing to make a fourth cover......

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58 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:
19 hours ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

udS0Cke.jpg

Can you explain what I'm looking at in this photo please?  I'm trying to understand how you are choosing the best matching grain.

The piece at bottom left is an almost perfect match for the worktop. 🤣

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Just now, SpondonBassed said:

I think it was the veneer on ply in the top right that confused me.  Thanks.  That's helped me understand it a lot better.  You are doing your hatches in veneered ply if I've understood correctly.

Yep - I've go some sheets of 1.5mm ply laminated to give the cover strength and to stop any warping of the cover. Well, that's the idea....

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A few more little jobs done today. I'm just finishing anything that may cause scratches etc. before I get round to the final sanding on the neck. Drilled the holes for the neck and cut the neck screws down in length as they were long enough to go all the way through the fretboard.

13rmGWC.jpg

No idea why but one of the screws decided to snap! I was quite lucky as there was enough showing in the neck that I could remove it carefully with pliers. Any less showing and it would have been a nightmare of having to drill it out.....

KJt3wto.jpg

The screw came out without too much fuss and, most importantly, without causing any damage or scratches. I had another screw which I trimmed then fitted the neck.

RNN85gS.jpg

I've also made the cavity cover template a little tighter fitting so there is a little less gap around it (wasn't masses around the original, I'm just being picky!!) so I'll make the new cover tomorrow.

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1 hour ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

I've also made the cavity cover template a little tighter fitting so there is a little less gap around it (wasn't masses around the original, I'm just being picky!!) so I'll make the new cover tomorrow.

Don’t stop being picky! It’s what makes your basses superb and me a customer.

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Screws aren't what they used to be, when I was an apprentice my boss had a huge store of screws and fittings he'd collected over the years, after he died I acquired them. To compare those with what's available today in an eye opener, the modern versions are either brittle or made of cheese, snapping a screw or chewing up the drive is so easy to do but on old screws you would have the be a idiot to do the same.

Lucky save @Jabba_the_gut that would have been a nightmare if it snapped below the neck surface

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11 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Were the screws bought as items in themselves or were they bundled with some other purchase?

These were just the standard screws that came with the neck ferrules. I've used them a few times before with no issues. They're hard enough to cut when I want to shorten them but must have been a weak point coupled with a slightly tight pilot hole. 

 

1 hour ago, Christine said:

Lucky save @Jabba_the_gut that would have been a nightmare if it snapped below the neck surface

Yes, very lucky! As soon as it snapped the was an immediate 'Oh @#£%!!'. Quite pleased that I had drilled the holes in the body to clear the screws else the snapped thread would be holding the two pieces screwed together leaving no choice but to drill it out. Lucky indeed!

I can well imagine there being a difference in the quality screws - I've used some for diy and the heads would have been better made from plasticine. Learnt a few lessons and tend to be quite selective these days about what I buy.

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Absolutely lovely. I very partial to the organic roundedness (new word there?) of your builds. I'm a bit that way inclined, (though I'm certainly not claiming to achieve your standard of work) so I know how much work goes into getting it right and having the curves flow smoothly and evenly. Those lovely rolled edges really allow the beauty of the grain to show itself to the max.Great work.

Noticing the fingerboard, is it flat, prior to being radiused, or is it going to remain flat? I keep thinking about doing a build with a flat board, maybe a fretless.? (If I don't like the feel it wouldn't take much to radius it.)

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