Starting to carve the inside of the front plate. I am having difficulty reading the dial of the caliper as the reading changes as I move the dial closer to my eye.
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Double Bass Carving the Inside of the Front
- Thread starter Ned Smith
- Start date
RCWilliams
Commercial User
- Apr 23, 2007
- 299
- 81
- 4,736
- Disclosures
- owner RC Williams Co. LLC
If you have a map of your graduation, sketch it on your plate, then, if you have a drill press create a rounded button to clamp on your drill press table and set your drill so it will leave a bit more room than your thicknesses in each zone and drill holes so you can carve to the depths of the holes and once completed then finger plane to the final depths and smooth transition areas.
You have to look at a dial caliper or gauge straight on, not off to one side as in your photo to avoid parallax errors. If you see any part of the sides of the gauge, you're not straight on.
Or you can change to a digital readout dial gauge. It looks likely your caliper could have the gauge itself (McMaster seems to call them "plunger style variance indicator" - "dial indicator" is what I recall them being called in the pre-digital era) swapped out, not having to buy a whole new caliper.
Well, it looks to me like you need a long travel gauge. You've got a 10 mm travel gauge there and you're trying to gauge a piece of wood that starts out 30+ mm thick and you're trying to take it down to something like 8 mm with contour.
I'd look at MSC Supply for long travel digital drop gauges. I see you're in Tennessee, so I'll talk in 'Murican units for a bit (apologies for those of you on the other side of the pond) - I'd say you probably need a 2" travel gauge. MSC sells some el cheapo measurement tools that I wouldn't rely on for high precision manufacturing work, but will be more than fine for wood working. The digital readout saves you the trouble and potential errors of miscounting revolutions.
Digital gauges will almost all have a hold feature, as well. Keeping the thing square to the workpiece is going to be your first challenge. I also think that big aluminum caliper really ought to have a button on the side opposite the gauge stem, so you can wiggle it around and get the measurement square. Plus I think it would give you better measurements in the recurved part of the top near the edges.
I'd look at MSC Supply for long travel digital drop gauges. I see you're in Tennessee, so I'll talk in 'Murican units for a bit (apologies for those of you on the other side of the pond) - I'd say you probably need a 2" travel gauge. MSC sells some el cheapo measurement tools that I wouldn't rely on for high precision manufacturing work, but will be more than fine for wood working. The digital readout saves you the trouble and potential errors of miscounting revolutions.
Digital gauges will almost all have a hold feature, as well. Keeping the thing square to the workpiece is going to be your first challenge. I also think that big aluminum caliper really ought to have a button on the side opposite the gauge stem, so you can wiggle it around and get the measurement square. Plus I think it would give you better measurements in the recurved part of the top near the edges.
Is this similar to what you are talking about (see photo)? My drill press has a throat of only 6". Is there a way to overcome this?
Here's a Strad article that covers it a bit. Might be locked behind a paywall.
Alternatively, Roger Hargrave talkes about how huge one would be if he made one for bass work in this article. Page 86. And goes over a lot of other bass making stuff besides.
EDIT: I forgot, he didn't actually make one. It would've been too big he said. I thought I knew of someone who had, but I must be mistaken.
Alternatively, Roger Hargrave talkes about how huge one would be if he made one for bass work in this article. Page 86. And goes over a lot of other bass making stuff besides.
EDIT: I forgot, he didn't actually make one. It would've been too big he said. I thought I knew of someone who had, but I must be mistaken.
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Run the drill in reverse if you do that: the wood has a tendency to “run up the twist,” and can drill right through before you can react.
(Ask me how I know…)
(Ask me how I know…)
Nope, the right tool for the job is a ball nose end mill, straight flutes if you can find it. The least flute helix angle you can find, at any rate.
Personally, I use this tool:
Notice the yellow highlighted spots. I used a gouge to carve the dots to the desired thickness, and the curved scrub plane to rapidly do the rough carving.
Notice the yellow highlighted spots. I used a gouge to carve the dots to the desired thickness, and the curved scrub plane to rapidly do the rough carving.
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I don't know anything about ball end mills. Could you look up them in Amazon or whereever they are sold and reccommend one like you use?
A much less expensive way to get a straight flute drill bit is to buy a star drill for rock/masonry. End mills are precision metalworking tools and priced to match.
Amazon apparently thinks star drill is a torx bit, which might work crudely, but is not the correct tool or term.
However, a much easier to find modern masonry bit might work just as well for you, since the helix does not start for some distance back from the cutting edge, which is a short straight bit of carbide, as is not designed to engage the sides of the hole.
All above would be rather crude in terms of hole finish.
Not really sure how they would behave running 10X slower than intended, but a ball-end or ball-nose router bit is at least intended for use on wood and more reasonably priced than an end mill, with typically little if any helix angle.
Amazon apparently thinks star drill is a torx bit, which might work crudely, but is not the correct tool or term.
However, a much easier to find modern masonry bit might work just as well for you, since the helix does not start for some distance back from the cutting edge, which is a short straight bit of carbide, as is not designed to engage the sides of the hole.
All above would be rather crude in terms of hole finish.
Not really sure how they would behave running 10X slower than intended, but a ball-end or ball-nose router bit is at least intended for use on wood and more reasonably priced than an end mill, with typically little if any helix angle.
Buying cutting tools from Amazon seems like a spectacularly bad idea. Go to MSC Supply or McMaster-Carr.
Or Woodcraft or Rockler's since we're talking about cutting wood.
For that matter, go, physically, to the nearest Woodcraft or Rockler's and explain what you're trying to do. The clerks there may have some good ideas.
Or Woodcraft or Rockler's since we're talking about cutting wood.
For that matter, go, physically, to the nearest Woodcraft or Rockler's and explain what you're trying to do. The clerks there may have some good ideas.