spacecowboy Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 50 minutes ago, owen said: I have a neck made of rosewood. No lacquer and it feels lovely every time! Yeah no doubt naked is best! I use a satin lacquer at the moment you can still feel the timber but it gets a nice Matt sheen, I used it on my last build for the first time and I love the stuff, smells great, goes on easy, buffs well and you still get that wood feel! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Love a satin finish.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 So I usually always post good news and it sometimes looks like nothing goes wrong during a build... but... I managed to totally balls up the fretboard glue up by not fitting my carbon rod properly and not realising until half of it was clamped up 😬! About a 3mm gap was visible! By the time I got the board off some of the glue had hardened so it wasn't going to be easy to clean up to glue straight back on so... That fretboard was binned as I couldn't trust it to be perfectly flat and this new one was made. Actually remembered to put the truss rod tool access in to the fretboard too before gluing it, something I forgot on the last one! Frets went in nice and easy, the last frets I used only had 2mm heads and they felt very small so I'm back to 2.7mm on this board. Going to leave the fretboard (currently backed on to a steel bar to keep flat) until tomorrow so I can see if any frets have popped up, and now that's done I can get the nut started! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 5, 2021 Author Share Posted June 5, 2021 Frets filed flush to the board, none of them had moved or tried to wriggle free so that's nice! Just waiting for some inlay material to arrive before doing the fret inlays then I can glue the board on! made a start on the nut and got the inserts installed, grub screws fit and raise the bridge up well, won't notch it until the strings are ready to go on and I'm setting all my heights. It's the same wood piece as the fingerboard so I assume they're happy being back together! And this handsome chap is my dog who is busy telling me I shouldn't be in the garage on such a nice day! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 On 05/06/2021 at 12:44, spacecowboy said: Frets filed flush to the board, none of them had moved or tried to wriggle free so that's nice! Just waiting for some inlay material to arrive before doing the fret inlays then I can glue the board on! made a start on the nut and got the inserts installed, grub screws fit and raise the bridge up well, won't notch it until the strings are ready to go on and I'm setting all my heights. It's the same wood piece as the fingerboard so I assume they're happy being back together! And this handsome chap is my dog who is busy telling me I shouldn't be in the garage on such a nice day! Barefoot in the garage? You're a braver man than me! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 7, 2021 Author Share Posted June 7, 2021 34 minutes ago, Bigwan said: Barefoot in the garage? You're a braver man than me! Well... You'd think I'd learned my lesson after dropping my fret press caul on my big toe... Lots of swearing for 5 minutes ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Just now, spacecowboy said: Well... You'd think I'd learned my lesson after dropping my fret press caul on my big toe... Lots of swearing for 5 minutes ... Ouch! It doesn't take much to cause that sort of reaction when whatever it is is dropped from a height! The bass looks lush by the way! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 7 minutes ago, spacecowboy said: Lots of swearing for 5 minutes ... Because the fret press caul was damaged ? 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 8, 2021 Author Share Posted June 8, 2021 Threaded inserts installed in the cover cavity and holes drilled for the bolts to sit in, thankfully all lines up well, did have springs to push the cover back up when the bolts where loosened but I've found foam to be a much nicer solution so I'll be installing two foam blocks to the underside of the cover between the bolts. I have 3D printed this little jig to help with getting my drill holes nice and aligned and consistent, the two dots on the left are the 24th fret, far right 12th and centre for the rest, there's an allignment groove in the middle of each so I can line them up with the measure between the fret. All markers done, need a good clean up to get rid of the glue but I'll do most of that work when it's glued up! Need a much better jig or setup for gluing the fretboard on, too many clamps, too time consuming! Will be able to start properly on the carve in the next couple of days and work on shaping the bass. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 11, 2021 Author Share Posted June 11, 2021 H'ok some updates! Started the body carve and shaping proper now the fingerboard is on. This one has plenty of shape and movement in the body so it's taking a while to balance out all the curves but it's getting there. I've rough cut the cavity cover and just need to sand and profile the edges, I'll be blending this in with the curves for a nice finish. The "groove" in the central wenge piece at the tail is so I can pop the bass between my legs when playing in a "classical" position, which makes it very comfy. Popped some white spirit on to clean away the grime and the ash is truly coming alive, the bass has only been sanded at 80grit so far so lots to go but the grain is lovely! Note the flat section on the upper horn this so I can lay my wrist flat against the bass while playing and that should help my sometimes awful "bass wrist" Lots of sanding to go and need to get the bridge and cavity cover sorted, oh and router the pickup slots in the cover, but well on its way. Thanks for looking! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 Looking good!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 15 minutes ago, spacecowboy said: The "groove" in the central wenge piece at the tail is so I can pop the bass between my legs when playing in a "classical" position, which makes it very comfy. I often play in this "classical" position too, so you have to think twice (or even more ) about the output jack placement ... to be ergonomic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 11, 2021 Author Share Posted June 11, 2021 6 minutes ago, Hellzero said: I often play in this "classical" position too, so you have to think twice (or even more ) about the output jack placement ... to be ergonomic. Yes! The output jack is going on the front by the knobs, I always thought it looked bad there, but then I realised my Marleaux has a jack there and looks great... Also if Fodera think it's a suitable place for it then who am I to argue! ☺️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 Lovely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 I really like the woods on this build, they just look right. Excellent build too, proper job! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 12, 2021 Author Share Posted June 12, 2021 1 hour ago, HazBeen said: I really like the woods on this build, they just look right. Excellent build too, proper job! Thank you Haz 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatcoupe432 Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 That looks awesome Great job If very successful will you take orders? 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 12, 2021 Author Share Posted June 12, 2021 1 hour ago, fiatcoupe432 said: That looks awesome Great job If very successful will you take orders? 😉 Funnily enough I do already have someone who wants the same bass making once I've made this one 🙂! Different woods but the same. I am going to build his for cost of parts only and I'll open that up to anyone else on here who wants this model too 👌 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 12, 2021 Author Share Posted June 12, 2021 Changes are afoot! I made the bridge with the neck through detailing running through to match the pickup cover but really didn't like it so made the blank again in Ash and then made a new pickup cover from the same piece and really love the look of it being just ash, looks a lot less "try hard" At least for the next one I can plan all these pieces to ensure they all sit seamlessly with each other, but they still don't look bad as they are! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 I prefer the original..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 12, 2021 Author Share Posted June 12, 2021 11 minutes ago, TheGreek said: I prefer the original..... Oooh... interesting I'll be keeping both I'll see what they both look like and see how I feel 😊 knowing me it'll be purple heart in a week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 For me the original allows the lines of the Wenge to flow through the body whereas the Ash breaks up the lines... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 13 minutes ago, TheGreek said: For me the original allows the lines of the Wenge to flow through the body whereas the Ash breaks up the lines... I agree - I prefer the go-faster stripe continuity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted June 12, 2021 Author Share Posted June 12, 2021 Well! That's two in favour of how it was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 I'm in favour of how it will be. 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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