dazza14 Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Been playing my cheapo Harley Benton/Palatino EUB for the last year or so but the G string has always sat too close to the fretboard for my liking - it doesn't touch the neck but it makes fingering a little difficult at times - so after adjusting the bridge height and using a 'spacer' to raise it without putting total trust in screw threads I've decided to take the plunge and craft a new one.... Armed only with simple tools and a basic knowledge of woodworking I've set about it with gusto. How it turns out, I've no idea, I keep reminding myself that the worst case scenario is I'll simply refit the current one so nothing wasted except time and, if recent sawing skills are anything to go by, a few sticky plasters. I'll post pics when I get them loaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 You may be able to find one with adjusters on fleabay. You'd just need to check widay and height etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 I couldn't find one. I found a company in Germany selling like-for-like ones but the price was just under half of what I paid for the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towack Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 I had a similar problem with mine, plus the bridge kept falling over which was really annoying. So, I fashoined one from an old 3/4 bass bridge I had spare. It works great. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 1 hour ago, dazza14 said: I couldn't find one. I found a company in Germany selling like-for-like ones but the price was just under half of what I paid for the bass. Let me look when I get home from work. I have one or two of which one has adjusters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Photo's so far.... This is the original piece of wood - sourced from a mate of mine who is currently repairing some hard wood flooring at his fathers house - and the template taken from the existing bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 The EUB has a flat bridge position so I've used the flattest part of the wood to be the base. Ignore the dodgy doodles on the wood (it's really to remind me which side of the wood needs the angle). Because the wood is bloody hard wood it's taking ages to cut so I'm having to do it in two axis, so I cut horizontally to the desired depth and then I cut 2-3mm vertically to remove the wood in stages. It's slow going but it puts less pressure on the saw blade and feels like I'm getting more done. BTW I'm using a combination of a wood saw and a coping saw and everything is being cut slightly over-sized so I can sand it back to a nicer finish afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 A slightly better angle to see my intended route with the coping saw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 Getting there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 A bit of extra sawing, carving and lots of sanding this weekend has resulted in this. You can clearly see the saw marks on the angled side but, like I said before, I've made it a few millimetres over-sized so it should sand out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornagainbass65 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 I wouldn't be surprised if your home made bridge works perfectly well. Fingers crossed. There's also a trick where you put a piece of bicycle inner tube under one of the bridge legs to give you more of a double bass tone. Seems unlikely but It worked on mine. If home made doesn't work, Gollihur in the US sell an adustable bridge for EUBs which they say is the same one as on the Eminence EUBs. It costs about 80 dollars, plus delivery, plus a 20 quid customs charge to Royal Mail, so all in somewhere around 120 quid, I think. You still need to cut it to size and sand/file it down to get the width you want. I've seen videos that say when you cut the grooves for the strings don't make them too deep and draw in them with a pencil, as the graphite helps the strings to move in the slots, and less likely to pull the bridge over when you tighten the strings up. The other thing to do to get a better sound is, of course, to put decent strings on, if you haven't already. Putting Innovation Honeys on mine made a big improvement. Oh, and practice! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 I have Innovation Honey's!!! What are the chances?? When I got my HB I read a load of forums and watched a few YouTube videos of the home improvements that can be done to them, the rubber strip under the bridge, a stress-relief ball under the tail and they all seem to work, it started off with a metallic sound but now it has a nice thump to it. But the bridge was too low and had a horizontal crack which, apparently was fine given that the crack was being compressed by the string tension, but I often looked at it with concern so it was a second reason to fit a new one. I paid £225 for mine so spending an extra £120 is something I'm trying to avoid... I'm hoping to get mine fitted by the end of the week. I just need to cut the 'wings' and grooves for the strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 Ok, update from the weekend... Managed to drill holes for the 'wings' and cut a rough line from the hole to the outside (the photo was taken prior to the sand papering). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 And then..... I'm using this as an example of dodging a bullet - much better to break now than with the strings running across it. Next step is to get some more wood and start over with a new, improved, design... still a pain in the donkey though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 36 minutes ago, dazza14 said: And then..... Oh dear..! That's a shame, after all that hard effort. It's all experience, of course, but still... I'm not an expert in these matters (far from it..!), but I would recommend, if you want to change the bridge, forking out the £70-100 for a bought one, and modifying it to suit. A second-hand one would be even better, from a cost point of view. If you're really set on a DIY version (good on yer..!), try to find a suitable piece of close-grained maple as a blank. It has to be a hard wood (maple is hard, usually...), but also with close fibres, for the reasons illustrated by the break you've now got. It's not an easy task, especially with only modest hand tools; it's not for nothing that these things cost so much..! Good luck, in any case, and thanks for the updates, they're very interesting and instructive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 I found an interesting article on TB about making a bridge and how the wood grain runs through. It may have snapped because of cutting with the grain instead of across it. I'm no expert, though. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/bridge-grain.615253/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 Yeah, the grain was running down the cuts rather than across - naive mistake - I won't be making that mistake again on Mk2... I've got a week in the sun coming up so I'll no doubt ponder the matter but I've been told wood is available so I might be taking a trip to my local tool shop to drool over some better tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted August 21, 2018 Author Share Posted August 21, 2018 .... Take two! After having a conversation regarding the bridge from an Allegro eub I decided it might be a safer bet to design the bridge with stability in mind. So here is Mk2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted August 21, 2018 Author Share Posted August 21, 2018 This time I positioned the template horizontally to the grain (stupid mistake on the last one going vertical...). I then cut the basic shape - note it's been cut over-sized again - with a basic position for the 'O' holes. Then I had to remove the stain from the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 Sanded and shaped, just need to add the string 'grooves' so lots of measuring and remeasuring in store for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 BOOM! Fitted it last night and then spent an hour or so playing it, the 'G' sits a little high (ironically as the G always sat too low - hence my reason, or one of, for getting a new bridge) but it should be a little tweak and then it should be fine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.7e18f76540598a8efc0e6ca9be453059.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.