Jabba_the_gut Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 Just now, TheGreek said: The company I work for just bought a Lazar engraving machine - we haven't had it up and running yet but when it is I'm sure we can come to some arrangement about putting logos on veneers... That would be interesting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 53 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: One very last little bit to this build, I made a truss rod cover from a leftover piece of ebony. As I decide not to put a logo on the headstock as I think it would have been too much, I decided to put a little mother of pearl logo on the truss rod cover. That's it, job done. On to the next! Cheers for the comments and feedback - much appreciated! Take care. Man that’s classy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Can you recommend a source of not-to-expensive-in-case-I-screw-up timber for a first ground-up build. I was thinking body - something fairly vanilla, neck maple, fingerboard anything dark and nice veneer for the front of the body. I've got everything else I need except a bridge, and I can make one as my hobby is metalworking. I even stole a bone off the do so I can make a bone nut. But if definitely needs to be both cheap and easily obtained otherwise I'll end up ordering a kit! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 On 10/05/2020 at 22:04, Stub Mandrel said: Can you recommend a source of not-to-expensive-in-case-I-screw-up timber for a first ground-up build. I was thinking body - something fairly vanilla, neck maple, fingerboard anything dark and nice veneer for the front of the body. I've got everything else I need except a bridge, and I can make one as my hobby is metalworking. I even stole a bone off the do so I can make a bone nut. But if definitely needs to be both cheap and easily obtained otherwise I'll end up ordering a kit! @Stub Mandrel Sorry - missed this post. I quite like the Wood Veneer Hub for veneers - they have some nice stuff and quite reasonably priced I think. Fancy wood tops are quite pricey - it isn't difficult to spend £100+ on some exotic top. As for body woods, there often isn't a particularly cheap option if you go down the route of the usual luthier supplies (typically £50+ for a body blank, £25+ for a neck blank). There are generally some decent UK wood suppliers that sell neck and body blanks that are already at the right thickness and are dry. The other option is if you have some form of timber/diy shop nearby (not the big chains). I'm quite lucky as I have a handyman diy shop locally that stocks woods like sapele and sometimes things like ash that is reasonably priced. Always worth a look to see if you have a saw mill or timber supplier local to you - these can be quite well hidden - I've come across a couple of places right on my doorstep which I knew nothing about (turned out a guy who works for one of them lived a few doors down my road!!). The other place I came across was a local cabinet maker - again worth a shout as they might be able to help you out or point you in the right direction. Someone did once suggest to try the local recycling centre as they has seen some quite nice wood there!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 On 10/05/2020 at 22:04, Stub Mandrel said: Can you recommend a source of not-to-expensive-in-case-I-screw-up timber for a first ground-up build. 20 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: Always worth a look to see if you have a saw mill or timber supplier local to you I found Harlows quite good in Derby.. There is a BoT branch too: Harlows Branch Finder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 Also in Staffordshire is https://www.woodwiseuk.co.uk/home/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Ah! I've been to Harlows in the past, I thought they only did building timber. There's a place in Fradley too. I've ordered a cheap Harley Benton kit, might wait and do that first - finishing the timber will be my biggest challenge 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 If you can find an old park bench they're normally built of Mahogany and over an inch thick. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 I've got my eye on an old piano... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Madinter has instrument woods, too. Their blackwood was my choice for the fretless fretboard. Hard and black. It is actually tinted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 22 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said: I've got my eye on an old piano... You've seen this I suppose? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 51 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said: You've seen this I suppose? Yep! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) So after quite a while, back to the body and neck I first starting building 18 months ago!! They've been sat in a box doing nothing other that getting looked at occasionally and put away again. There are a couple of holes in the original wood that I filled with dowels but I wasn't happy that one was on the front of the bass which is probably why I lost a bit of interest as I do like things to be perfect. I was going through the veneers I have and found a couple of pieces of cherry that would be big enough to cover the body. I glued these together to make one sheet (only 0.6mm thick but you can still join it and it's quite strong) and, once dry, glued this and a contrasting maple veneer to the front of the body. I used another piece of veneer for the face of the headstock too. I've got a big block of sycamore in the garage that I cut a slice off and thicknessed to be used for the fretboard. I originally though of fitting a peizo but in the end I've opted for an EMG MM and chrome hardware as I've got those going spare. I'm also thinking of making this bass with a set neck rather than bolt on for no other reason than I haven't tried that before. Might still change my mind but we'll see how it goes! Slotted the fretboard using the Stewmac jig I bought off here a while ago (and one of the best things I have ever bought). Lined everything up with the neck ready for gluing Neck glued and put next to the body to get some idea what this will look like I've used the same template as for the other mini basses so cut neck and bridge pockets. I've also used the neck template and trimmed that to size. The neck fits nice and snugly in the pocket and the strings align nicely with the bridge. Next task will be routing the pickup pocket then shaping and sanding (lots of...). Cheers. Edited December 24, 2020 by Jabba_the_gut 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Excellent 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted December 26, 2020 Author Share Posted December 26, 2020 Decided to go for an EMG MM pickup so next job was to route the pocket for that as usual starting off by removing the bulk with a Forstner bit (there is a plastic film on this to save the veneer on the from from getting scratched which can be seen in the picture): Once the bulk is removed then the router can be used to tidy everything up using a template to get some nice sharp edges to the pocket. After that I started rounding the edges which clearly shows the maple veneer layer producing a light coloured line around the shape if the bass. More rounding: I've decided I'm not going to have a forearm carve on this as it will take away from the veneer line I think but it will have a tummy carve. Out with the Shinto and other rasps to remove the bulk and to shape - something really satisfying about this. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted December 26, 2020 Author Share Posted December 26, 2020 The only shame with this is that the main body wood was from a pew and has some holes in it that were dowelled. One of the dowels can still be seen on the back of the body. Not a real issue and just part of the story of the wood used. The neck is made from two pieces of wood cut from a piece that @Rich gave me a while back. I glued it so the grain runs mirror image on the two halves of the neck - I quite like how it has turned out so far. I'm also quite please with the contrast of the woods used, especially as this bass is a bit of a wood recycling job. And a rough try out of where the controls will be - just a volume and tone on this one. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 White pin stripe looks very classy... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 5 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: The only shame with this is that the main body wood was from a pew and has some holes in it that were dowelled. One of the dowels can still be seen on the back of the body. Not a real issue and just part of the story of the wood used. Not a shame in the slightest, just part of the character and history of the wood used, I'd pay extra for pew wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 Garishly unsightly... Like Quasimodo's brother...😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 God I’ve missed these builds!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 I've had a look at the side dots for this and I want to keep the colour simple. White obviously doesn't go on maple, black dots just don't look right and I don't think alabone would look right either. I decided to make some dowels from an offcut of the neck wood. I used a piece of metal sheet with a 2.5mm hole drilled in it then cut some wooden rods to roughly the right size. The wooden sticks are then hammered through the hole in the metal sheet to make them round. These are then fitted into the holes drilled in the neck and sanded flush. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 And the holes drilled for the tuners. I'm using a set of Schaller tuners I was given on this build - (sorry, can't remember who it was on here but thanks again!). The holes are in a slightly different position to the Gotoh ones I've generally used with this shape of headstock as the string posts are different diameters. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Done a bit more on this build. Fretboard has been radiused and the fretslot ends filled with offcuts from the board to give a neat finish to the edges. I've also done a bit more sanding but also made a logo for the headstock 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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