spacecowboy Posted May 21, 2021 Author Share Posted May 21, 2021 Ok so I had a thought... And may have done something I'll regret... But it may also look good... I'll reveal it once it's done... Or I won't and I'll abandon another build! 😂 Yes that's in the volute! 😬 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 2 hours ago, spacecowboy said: Ok so I had a thought... And may have done something I'll regret... But it may also look good... I'll reveal it once it's done... Or I won't and I'll abandon another build! Yes that's in the volute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 21, 2021 Author Share Posted May 21, 2021 Why I can't just be happy making a bass without indulging one of my stupid ideas when it pops in my head is beyond me, last night I saw the back of a Ken Smith headstock and thought... Mmmm what if I did something similar to their weird spiky thing but softer and with the contrasting ash 😩... Cue hours of careful chiselling in to a perfectly good volute... Just to satisfy an itch... It does look pretty cool though, and if anything it'll strengthen the headstock neck relationship having this as a brace, my plan is to blend this in to the volute on both sides to get it perfectly flush and then to reduce the thickness of the part on the back of the headstock to a couple of mm and this will be where I can etch in the model or bass name or my epitaph... Looks nice now as a solid block but I'll have to see what it looks like when blended and cut. I've got to leave it well alone now, no more off piste shenanigans. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 The good thing about building is that you can change your mind .... looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 23 hours ago, spacecowboy said: Aww, you've made a pair of Nessies 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 21, 2021 Author Share Posted May 21, 2021 48 minutes ago, Si600 said: Aww, you've made a pair of Nessies Think they'd float if I put them in a pool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 49 minutes ago, spacecowboy said: Think they'd float if I put them in a pool? I imagine they would. It may mess up the dryness of your body wings though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 13 hours ago, spacecowboy said: Think they'd float if I put them in a pool? Put them in a pool of mineral oil... 😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 19 hours ago, SpondonBassed said: Hang on...is that dog made of Wenge?? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 22, 2021 Author Share Posted May 22, 2021 So it didn't go too badly at all, nice fit just need to continue to blend it down and in to the volute, hindsight would have been to sink it in to the headstock a couple of mm and sanded it flush... I know for the next one! Routed the cavity cover recess and started a finger groove to remove the cover I'll only be able to finish this when the wing is glued on... Got the hole drilled for the pickup cables pre glue as it's so much easier! Jobs list is building up best get cracking! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 Hang on...is that Wenge made of dog?? Did you see what I did there?? Didja?? Didja?? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 That is a beautiful lump of wood. How easy is it to work with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 22, 2021 Author Share Posted May 22, 2021 Started to roughly improve the profiles of the wings prior to gluing to the neck, I want these as rounded as I can get them however the lower horn has a sharper point which I really like, it'll make sense later on! Another check to make sure I'm not taking too much off prior to glue up! Started tapping away on the upper horn to start the weird taper down to the neck con cave feature most single cuts have! 40mm bowled down to 20mm will take a while but this is a start! Felt like I had enough of the bottom wing down to get it glued on, it will help me decide where I want the scoop on the upper wing before I glue that on too, I don't have so much a belly... Rather ribs... They need a tummy scoop too! That's it for today though, got a Chinese on its way (2 hour wait mind!!!) And me and the missus have lots of Fargo to catch up on! Thanks for looking! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 22, 2021 Author Share Posted May 22, 2021 9 minutes ago, Si600 said: That is a beautiful lump of wood. How easy is it to work with? The Wenge? I find it very nice to work with, not too hard, the worst bit is how brittle and splintery it is when you first cut and carve in to it! But it smoothes down wonderfully and isn't hard to shape, I don't find it dulls any of my machines or tools any quicker than other wood either! It's my favourite wood, it's why I use it all the time! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 16 hours ago, spacecowboy said: The Wenge? I find it very nice to work with, not too hard, the worst bit is how brittle and splintery it is when you first cut and carve in to it! But it smoothes down wonderfully and isn't hard to shape, I don't find it dulls any of my machines or tools any quicker than other wood either! It's my favourite wood, it's why I use it all the time! 😉 I would say the only drawback of wenge is that it is quite varied in hardness. Some of the grain is surprisingly soft, some quite hard. So you do need to be mindful of that, especially on intricate carves. Other than that, great wood to shape and work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 23, 2021 Author Share Posted May 23, 2021 Not a huge amount done today but I managed to get an hour and a bit in, trimmed the fret board down to profile and got the frets in, thinner fret profiles than usual to help with the spaces between frets on this 30" scale, no headaches should be able to get the other wing glued on soon! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 Got the fretboard side inlays installed and trimmed flush... I did a quick check to make sure everything was still lining up and what needed to be square was and... ...Glued the top wing on so I can move on to finishing the routing on pup cover and bridge, then carving and shaping properly begins! Excited to have a rough bass come out the clamps tomorrow and sit it on my knee, the 30" scale seems amazingly comfy reach wise so I think this is going to be a fun bass. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 Bass is out the clamps and the bridge slot was finished. Then time to remove some meat from the wings for the pickup cover / ramp, forstner bit comes in very handy as always. One side of the cover / ramp is done, and I'll get the other half done tomorrow! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Lovely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Yes - exactly what ^ he said 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Yep. Exactly what ∆∆ they said. 👌👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 27, 2021 Author Share Posted May 27, 2021 Got t'ther side of the pickup cavity routed, thats pretty much all of the work done for the router now on the body and neck! Hooray! I'm fitting Bartolini Original Quad soapbars to this bass and currently have 3 pre's I can wire in to, think it'll either be a Glockenklang 2 band or EMG 3 band... the Bart's will be housed in the pickup cover in their own routed slots and then I can move the entire cover / ramp assembly up and down with the hex screws. Got a bit more of the carving done on the back, this will be enough for now and I'll finish it properly once the fingerboard is on and I'm blending the radius' in, but happy with how it's going so far! I have the pickup cover / ramp gluing now and will be able to shape and fit that after work tomorrow, and I will be aiming to get the fretboard on the neck by tomorrow night! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 28, 2021 Author Share Posted May 28, 2021 Pickup cover and ramp cut and shaped ready for routing I had 4 ideas for this cover, solid ash or wenge, or reverse the ash / wenge splits but felt this option looked the best. Installed the inserts for the bridge in the bridge slot. Wiped the bass down with some white spirit before thinking about the next list of jobs to be getting on with! But for now the sun's out and I want a beer! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 Weather has been very very good here in the toon so not alot is getting done, but I did have a go at the headstock volute thing I decided to put in, I personally think it looks ace and I'll be able to etch the bass name or my name on it, or something! Still got blending and rounding to go and the volute isn't the final shape but the idea works for now. This batch of wenge is very very dark when some white spirit is on it, it'll look lovely lacquered! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 2 minutes ago, spacecowboy said: This batch of wenge is very very dark when some white spirit is on it, it'll look lovely lacquered! I have a neck made of rosewood. No lacquer and it feels lovely every time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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