Christine Posted May 26, 2018 Author Share Posted May 26, 2018 I manage to throw away some more sawdust today, yey!! First job this morning was to finish off the jig to enable routing the shape and the cavities. Doesn't look like much but it took ages Ah well done now! After that I took the body Mahogany out of clamps and cut it in half. Then I planed both sides diagonally both ways to flatten them, 2 passes in each direction was all it took, then with a sharp iron planed along the grain to smooth them, again a couple of passes wad all it took both blanks finished off at about 43.1 / 43.2mm so that's going to plan. too Next was to draw around the template and bandsaw the blank to shape. next I drew the cavity positions and rough drilled them out, I removed a bit of the waste with a chisel and that was me for the day, cream crackered! The pickups arrived too, yey!! Routing tomorrow perhaps, maybe a day off weather permitting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 I'll be interested to know what you think of the pickups - I was eyeing a pair of these for a project.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 26, 2018 Author Share Posted May 26, 2018 9 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: I'll be interested to know what you think of the pickups - I was eyeing a pair of these for a project.... I've been interested for a couple of years but I've had a supply of TB+s from the States that I've been stripping and recovering but I'm looking forward to plugging these in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Done a little bit this morning, just routed out the cavities. I'm leaving the outer edge for now, I've ordered a new cutter from Radian tools 4 Flute Dual Bearing Router Bit 19mm x 51mm seeing as it looks like we'll be leaving the wood showing. Some of you might recognise the router, if you do that's the Mk1 model, to give you an idea of how old it is, still on it's original motor whereas the Mk2 I have has had about 5. Funny seeing as they brought out to Mk2 replace the old unreliable motor! Routed in a channel between the switch and control cavity and stuck some shielding in. Planes the neck laminates and glued them together, well I glued two together, I had enough usable bits to make four necks so I'll glue up the other two in the morning and they can wait for the next job ( a pair of deluxe Thunderbirds ). I'd thought I'l lose more bits than I did but they all stayed pretty flat this time; I just lost three to winding, you can see them in one picture next to a decent piece on the bench Oh, just a note, when I glued the body up I mentioned that I didn't think that a surface from the planer was good enough for glueing so I planed them by hand with a slight hollow along their length if you remember. If I did that here I would have a total of eight curved surfaces stuck together which would leave a noticeable curve along the neck. What I did in this case was to use a cabinet scraper with two passes diagonally opposed which left a nice clean glueing surface and dead straight necks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 I'll be very interested to know how that Radian cutter performs. Had a look at the link you posted and it certainly sounds the business. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for and if it gives a nice finish, it would save a lot of hassle too. Cheers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 9 hours ago, Jabba_the_gut said: I'll be very interested to know how that Radian cutter performs. Had a look at the link you posted and it certainly sounds the business. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for and if it gives a nice finish, it would save a lot of hassle too. Cheers I have high hopes, I've yet to find a large bit like that which is a pleasure to use, my current one is a Trend which is the best I've used so far but it's horrible to use, maybe I'm trying to compare the procedure with a spindle moulder which is silky smooth to use? Still if it's well balanced and the quality of the carbide is as good as they elude to then the four flutes should hopefully make it better. It should be here later in the week so I'll post the results straight away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 This morning I opened the new bearing cutter, a very impressive looking thing it is, it has a split bearing at the shank end, I suppose it can be used in a restricted space? Who knows but it worked well enough, probably the best bearing cutter I've used so a bargain all in all I also re planed the wood for the top down to 21.25mm (I need 20mm eventually) and jointed it and glued it up. It is sat there now until the morning when I'll plane it flat on one side and glue them to the backs ready for the final bits of shaping etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Fretless blueburst one with an f-hole for me - when you get 5 minutes. impressive - following with great interest 👍🏻 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 36 minutes ago, AndyTravis said: Fretless blueburst one with an f-hole for me - when you get 5 minutes. impressive - following with great interest 👍🏻 My next builds will I think be a pair of posh Thunderbird IIs but a fretless F hole sounds very appealing, possibly over a maple top? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 47 minutes ago, Christine said: My next builds will I think be a pair of posh Thunderbird IIs but a fretless F hole sounds very appealing, possibly over a maple top? A fretless bass with a crossover of these features 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, AndyTravis said: A fretless bass with a crossover of these features 😉 That sounds very much ike a Blue Yamaha BEX4.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 10 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: That sounds very much ike a Blue Yamaha BEX4.... Does. I had a fretted blue one. I sold it when I thought I didn’t like it. Now it’s gone I’m fuming. The body was a bit big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Christine said: My next builds will I think be a pair of posh Thunderbird IIs but a fretless F hole sounds very appealing, possibly over a maple top? I’m just intrigued what a posh Thunderbird looks like opposed to a common one? Edited May 31, 2018 by Jimothey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 23 minutes ago, AndyTravis said: A fretless bass with a crossover of these features 😉 Bound and blocked or just bound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 Just now, Jimothey said: I’m just intrigued what a posh Thunderbird looks like opposed to a normal one? Gold hardware maybe Macassar ebony veneered body or a transparent red over curly maple, bound and blocked neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Just now, Christine said: Gold hardware maybe Macassar ebony veneered body or a transparent red over curly maple, bound and blocked neck I thought maybe a posh one might have a cravat and paisley smoking jacket and a common one is just wearing Burberry check (sorry I’m just being facetious) The macassar ebony veneer does sound really nice (that’s what I’ve got planned for my 5 string single cut build) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 48 minutes ago, Christine said: Bound and blocked or just bound? Just bound, it’d look glorious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 These are the two fretboards I'll be using on the twins. As I mentioned before they are not wood but Rocklite a wood substitute made from wood fibres impregnated with resin. One is an Ebony and the other Rosewood substitutes, I think they are very impressive, they even have actual grain just like the real thing. I've wet the Rosewood version to show how it will react to an oil finish 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 6 minutes ago, Christine said: These are the two fretboards I'll be using on the twins. As I mentioned before they are not wood but Rocklite a wood substitute made from wood fibres impregnated with resin. One is an Ebony and the other Rosewood substitutes, I think they are very impressive, they even have actual grain just like the real thing. I've wet the Rosewood version to show how it will react to an oil finish I’ve seen them advertised but never actually known of anyone who’s used them How are they weight wise? And how easy do you reckon they going to be slot for the frets?......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 1 minute ago, Jimothey said: I’ve seen them advertised but never actually known of anyone who’s used them How are they weight wise? And how easy do you reckon they going to be slot for the frets?......... Very slightly lighter than the real thing, the Ebano floats but only just, the rosewood is lighter, I did weigh them, the Ebony weighed in at 437g and the Sundari (Rosewood) at 391g. Those are 9mm thick so will be thinned down some too. I haven't cut into them yet but I'm told the Ebano is very like the real thing to work and seems to have very similar physical properties and sound wise is identical. Even better you can ship the stuff anywhere with no risk of getting your bass confiscated by customs upholding the CITES stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 1 minute ago, Christine said: Very slightly lighter than the real thing, the Ebano floats but only just, the rosewood is lighter, I did weigh them, the Ebony weighed in at 437g and the Sundari (Rosewood) at 391g. Those are 9mm thick so will be thinned down some too. I haven't cut into them yet but I'm told the Ebano is very like the real thing to work and seems to have very similar physical properties and sound wise is identical. Even better you can ship the stuff anywhere with no risk of getting your bass confiscated by customs upholding the CITES stuff They sound really good, I was looking at the Ebano one for my next builds, also they are quite a bit cheaper than real ebony too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 1 minute ago, Jimothey said: They sound really good, I was looking at the Ebano one for my next builds, also they are quite a bit cheaper than real ebony too There's a good thread on them on TalkBass in the Luthiers Corner that's worth checking out, I won't post a link in case that breaches forum rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhay Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Looks like these are coming along nicely. Thanks for the pointer to the TalkBass thread. Hadn't seen the new Rocklite rosewood alternative, which looks very cool. Also, if you are looking for the 'hidden' Rocklite page, try: https://www.rocklite.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/1848?opendocument&part=9 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 15 minutes ago, samhay said: Looks like these are coming along nicely. Thanks for the pointer to the TalkBass thread. Hadn't seen the new Rocklite rosewood alternative, which looks very cool. Also, if you are looking for the 'hidden' Rocklite page, try: https://www.rocklite.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/1848?opendocument&part=9 You're a dream!!! Thank you How did you find that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 Not in the most enthusiastic mood today but got a bit done. Flattened the board for the top with the try plane and cut the shape out a fair bit oversize. Marked the position of the back on it and then pinned in some panel pins outside of the perimeter to prevent major slippage when clamping the glued surfaces together. I marked the position of the cable rout and applied some shielding tape to that, the rout on the back has a shallow recess to allow for the thickness of this tape if you noticed the other day when i taped that up.. Spread some glue and clamped them both up. Ho Hum, wait until tomorrow now This afternoon I'm going to work out the jig for the neck joint and the pickup routs or at least I hope to; I'm expecting a delivery from StewMac with some springs and some pickup foam, I'll decide which to use when they get here. I'm going to rout the neck pocket and the pickup sockets at the same angle as the neck angle. Then there's the bridge, I'm not sure what to do there, either rout them flat or to rout at the approximate angle of the body carve, I'm thinking flat as it allows a little bit of extra clearance to access the adjusting screws and to put strings in. What would you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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