Winter 2018 Build Off - The Wingnut or Aint nut'n but a wang

[bastav]

If I finish this one in time it'll be a new record for me, but I have some hope as a wingbass is somewhat simpler than a full scale bass. And that is what I'm building, a fretless wingbass. Here's my woodpile:

And here's the basic design, front and back

I might throw some veneers in there but it's basically all walnut except for the fingerboard which is an offcut from my fleamarketfunkmachine-build.

 

[Beej]

I'll be watching... I find these things most intriguing...

 

[Novarocker]

@Beej has got it, never seen one myself, but the photos you got already have me hooked!

 

[Jisch]

I love my wing bass (I call it a stumpy to avoid copyright infringement, ha!), it's a fun instrument to mess around on. I do find that if I play it for more than an hour or so my left hand cramps up - the tiny spacing, I suppose. I need to find some thinner gauged strings, I got a set that is similar gauge to what is on the real wing basses, but I find them to be very stiff, perhaps a six string set and use the smallest four strings would be a good way to go.

Yours looks great, I look forward to seeing it come together.

 

[bastav]

So, not a lot has happened yet but I did put a few hours in today preparing parts of the puzzle for glue up. There are a lot of joints to prepare... I don't know why I keep making these puzzle bodies... just throw a slab together already!

It's a little frustrating only having one night a week to spend in the shop. I will glue some suff together now then I'll have to wait for next week and prepare for some more glue ups...

Anyway here are some pics. Slightly more bass-shaped than before

front

and the back (though seen from the front )

 

[bastav]

Body wings are together and mostly cut to shape.

Also got a matching cavity cover

 

[charlie monroe]

This is going to be classy. I like it.

 

[Jisch]

very nice!

 

[Beej]

Looking great so far!

 

[bastav]

Allright, another week, a little bit of progress.

First off, tapered the sides of the "neck"

Then went on to rout the cavity to depth and very nearly made a boo-boo when I thought the bearing bit was deep enough but the bearing went over the edge... but I think it'll be pretty much invisable

Next up will be fb glue up, and some more shaping before wing glue up. I'm making pretty good progress but don't know if I'll be able to finish in time. Also the fact that the shop is 5 kilometres away and I ride my bicycle to and from there in -20c and snow is starting to get to me. I looked like santa claus last time with my frosty beard.

 

[dragon68]

Even if you don't make this by the deadline, I urge you to continue until it's finished. It is looking great so far!

 

[bastav]

Even if you don't make this by the deadline, I urge you to continue until it's finished. It is looking great so far!

Thanks, yeah I'll finish it for sure!

 

[b3e]

That's turning into a beauty! )

 

[bastav]

FB glue-up

Doweled the wings and got the last veneers cut. They go between the wings and the "neck"

I've still got some carving to do before glueing the wings

 

[Hout]

Truly amazing pieces of wood! I think the look of the wood suits your design really well! (Or the other way around)

 

[bastav]

Truly amazing pieces of wood! I think the look of the wood suits your design really well! (Or the other way around)

Thanks yeah, I lucked out with this wood. When I bought it (off Ebay) all I knew was that it was walnut. The pics showed a dirty, cracked piece and none of the figure could be seen. When i worked it into usable blanks I was quite pleased to say the least

 

[bastav]

So, after some cringing at the sight of the "overlord of music"-logo, I decided to do something about it. I figured a piece of the fretbord wood would look class in its place. Said and done.

After some sanding

Did some carving on the back. I think I'm going to glue up the wings now.

 

[Hout]

That looks like a rediculously overengineered chunky bridge! Is it? Or is it just a tiny bass? Good idea too cover it up as much as possible..

 

[bastav]

That looks like a rediculously overengineered chunky bridge! Is it? Or is it just a tiny bass? Good idea too cover it up as much as possible..

Yeah it is pretty chunky. I think these pics doesn't do it any favours though. It looks like a pretty shameless copy of a steinberger bridge...

... so I'm guessing they're similar sizewise but I don't know for sure.

 

[Jisch]

Nice job removing that logo, I couldn't stand using one of those just because of that logo. I used the other China direct one which has gears in it, it's pretty much the same size as the overlord one (I think), it's a bit more expensive though. In the finished instrument I don't think it's size is overbearing though.