Winter 2017 Build Off - Vintagey Bass

#43
abarson said:
I'm not sure, but will it be comfortable to connect your instrument cable to the jack in that location? Somehow I'm thinking that its location with respect to the bridge will make it less than optimal.
Click to expand...
I'll have to try it out and see if I like it - it's intended to pitch the cord up over the strap button so I can loop it through my strap into the wireless pack. Or just drop to the floor behind me if I'm plugging in (how quaint :D). It's similar to how my old Ibanez sdgr throws the cable. It just floats over the bridge in the same way with the strat jack. I've stepped on cords and unplugged my guitars one too many times to leave it to chance. :) depending on where the jack is, I can get a big unnecessary loop by the time the cord gets through the strap and into the pack.

All that said, I'll definitely report on its success or not once I've tried it. :) thanks for the comments, keep em comin! :D
 
#44
abarson said:
I'm not sure, but will it be comfortable to connect your instrument cable to the jack in that location? Somehow I'm thinking that its location with respect to the bridge will make it less than optimal.
Click to expand...

It should work just fine - once installed (flipped from the mock-up shown obviously) the angle of the jack will arch the cord over the bridge and around the strap peg in a fluidly direct path. Out of the 3 jack options generally used on basses - face (most vintage-style basses), side (some modern-style basses), angled entry (as on Ibanez basses) it just depends on the plug being straight or angled for optimal function.

This jack location by a young Jack Cassidy however doesn't seem like a good idea…

IMG_0953_zpsw09ch6em.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Will_White
#47
Well it's been a little while and things are progressing slowly. Some parts should be arriving this week, and I should see some paint on the bass before the weekend. I wish I had more time to dedicate to it, but for now, it's just a few minutes on late nights and the odd stretch of a couple or three hours on Sundays. Not complainin'... just sayin'... :D

I started on the neck pocket and then realized it would be easiest to route the roundover before the pocket, so hence the forstner holes there. This is the body cut out and the edges sanded smooth and vertical in preparation for the 1/2" roundover.
front cut out and sanded

front cut out and sanded

front cut out and sanded


And the roundover itself on the front here. I'd forgotten how nicely poplar machines with power tools. Smooth and clean with no tearout.
front roundover

front roundover

front roundover


The back as well. Despite the screws around the edges to hold the back plate to the core, it moved a little and the centreline is off about 2mm at the pocket end of the bass. Won't matter on this one since it's getting painted anyway.
back roundover

back roundover

back roundover


Next up are the pocket routs, electronics access and jack routs. Then sanding, epoxy, more sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, sanding, clearcoating, sanding, clearcoating, sanding, etcetera until my arms fall off.

I also have some pics of the neck process but that can wait for the next installment... :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: afa3, Fat Freddy and JIO
#48
In case anyone is wondering, I weighed the body yesterday and as it stands it currently weighs 3.6 lbs. I still have the pockets to rout and cavity access to cut, but even with a heavy pickup and the pruned down neck I'm guessing this will be coming in at less than 7 lbs overall, which is a boon to my back and shoulder. :) It is a very light body, which is partly why I extended the upper horn so it reaches the 11th fret - a little something to help it balance on a strap...
 
  • Like
Reactions: wraub, lbridenstine and Fat Freddy
#51
I'm a little ahead of this, but I'm trying to keep up with pics and descriptions. :)

Here is the body with cured epoxy on it. I used system 3 rot fix, because I had it available. I use it on my driftwood tops to help make a more durable finish and harden them up a bit. Not sure if it's as useful on poplar/maple, but it seems to have imparted some durability to the top and back.
epoxied body

epoxied body

epoxied body

I should add that in the configuration above, all cut out with epoxy applied, but not sanded, totalled 3.2 lbs.
 
Last edited:
#52
And here's the epoxy mostly scraped and sanded back on the top to make a smooth surface for primer/paint. First I filed off the blobs and drips to get them level, then I sanded the sides with 220 until it was smooth and an even hazy sheen. Then worked on the body with a scraper to get it mostly flush, then block sanded the top with 220 to level it again.
epoxied and scraped

epoxied and scraped

epoxied and scraped
 
#53
So, the neck. After reviewing all of the options I'd generated plus ideas contributed by others and a few more, I landed on a simple trim off of the 80's portion of the headstock. The face will have a white pearl adhesive over it, save for a 1/8" wide strip along the bottom edge of the face and following the curve up to the top. That 1/8" wide strip will get the body colour for a slight accent.
headstock

headstock

headstock

The stock headstock has a thin layer of black plastic glued over it, so it will need to be first painted white to help pop the pearloid.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wraub and JIO
#55
I took a bunch of wood off the neck with a sanding disc on my angle grinder and then brought it smooth with files, scrapers and sandpaper. The profile is like a soft V and is about 3mm thinner in the centre than when I started. I also reshaped the heel section of the neck to better match the shape of the pocket in the body.
Neck

Neck

Neck

I've started priming the body, so that will likely be next. NO parts have yet arrived, so I'm a tiny bit displeased. This is the longest I've waited for an order from the US - not sure what is going on yet, I have some exploring to do today... :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: mapleglo, JIO, afa3 and 1 other person
#56
Beej said:
After I trimmed it to final shape, I cleaned up the edges with an orbital sander, files and finally 220 on a block. Then I sanded the back of the headstock down.
Click to expand...

So are you doing a pick-guard or a pu surround? (to address the router slip) Headstock shape looks good :thumbsup:
 
#57
JIO said:
So are you doing a pick-guard or a pu surround? (to address the router slip) Headstock shape looks good :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I'm doing a pickguard in white pearloid that fortunately will completely cover the slip up without having to redesign the shape. Oh, but I was angry. It still cheeses me off knowing its under there, but this bass is for me, so I'm testing myself by living with it. :D

Back at the beginning of the thread, I said I wasn't going to make any templates or jigs - I routed it with scraps of mahogany double-side taped to the body. On the upper piece that moved, I only applied one piece of DS tape, to the mahogany.

I should have taken pics of this part of the process, but overall, I did the routing by applying masking tape to the body all around where the pickup hole would be routed. Then applied DS tape onto the masking tape, followed by more DS tape on the mahogany scraps. I've found using DS tape on both sides reduces slip ups. That piece only had it on the mahogany because I'd damaged it on the masking tape side and removed it before pressing and routing. It even felt spongy to me but I didn't stop until I knew it had gone at least 1/4" too far. Duh, duh, and duh...
 
#58
Beej said:
I'm doing a pickguard in white pearloid that fortunately will completely cover the slip up without having to redesign the shape. Oh, but I was angry. It still cheeses me off knowing its under there, but this bass is for me, so I'm testing myself by living with it. :D
Click to expand...

Any pg designs yet?
 
#59
Yes, the original is back on the first page of this thread, but it's gone through a couple of iterations since and now is sort of a late 50's/60's kidney coffee table shape. I'll get a pic of the drawing up here in a bit...
 
  • Like
Reactions: JIO
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back