Winter Build Off 2024 - Scalawag 5: Best Bass to Replace the Best Bass for Me

#21
Flying B said:
Did I miss where you showed how you did that body radius?
Click to expand...
I didn't show my work well. :D I mount the body in a routing fixture and go over it with a wide sled that has 50" radius boards screwed to the sides. I go over it in long passes until it's all uniform. I use a 1.25" wide bottom cutting router bit, same one I leave mounted in the sled on it's dedicated router.

I'm sick as a dog today, but I'll force myself to get some fresh air and get some pics. :smug:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flying B
#24
I just can't force myself outside, sorry. So I searched my old threads here and here's a shot of the radius jig in use:
full


I've made 34" radius (like NS designs), 40", 50" and 60", IIRC. The 60 has been repurposed into other MDF items, but I've still got the others. I used the 50" on the current bass. :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 13ghosts, MonetBass, definenredefine and 5 others
#25
I'm interested how you make the curved rails of the jig? Is it as simple as a pencil tied to the right length piece of string to get the curve? Or a router attached to the right length bit of wood to rout the curve?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Beej
#26
Flying B said:
I'm interested how you make the curved rails of the jig? Is it as simple as a pencil tied to the right length piece of string to get the curve? Or a router attached to the right length bit of wood to rout the curve?
Click to expand...
You nailed it, sort of. :D I built a little jig that positioned a pivot screw 50" away from my bandsaw blade (attached to a workbench closeby at the same height as the bandsaw table). I then mounted the cauls to a long board that pivoted on the screw and ran them through the bandsaw to make a uniform 50" radius (or 40, 60, etc). I think I did one board and then used it to make the second board, but I may have run them stacked together. I thought I had some pics of that jig somewhere in my media files on TB, but I can't find it. It was pretty easy to make them work well. I've done similar things to make fingerboard radius attachments for my sleds too. :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Andyman001, Evan38109, JFlo and 3 others
#27
I forced myself into the workshop to find a maple headstock veneer, but everything I could find was either too plain or the wrong colour (too yellow or too pink). So I figured I'd make a veneer out of the offcut from the maple top. I saved that offcut to have as figured maple material in my cutoff box, but might as well use it now.

I used the CA glue/masking tape trick to secure the cutoff into a flat router planing fixture and took it down from 6mm thick to just over 1mm thick. Here's it's being planed.
headstock face veneer

headstock face veneer

headstock face veneer

And the final product, rough sanded.
headstock face veneer

headstock face veneer

headstock face veneer
headstock face veneer

headstock face veneer

headstock face veneer

I also worked on the new control cavity cover dummy so I can make the routing template, but I didn't take a pic. More updates on that coming.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Siddall, 41Hz To Go, rwkeating and 10 others
#30
Dave Higham said:
Remind me again how the CA/masking tape trick works.
Click to expand...

Flying B said:
Masking tape on both pieces, glue together with ca glue, easier to pull apart than double sided tape with no horrible residue to clean up.
Click to expand...
That's it - I put the glue on one side and spray the other side with activator so that when I put them together, they bond quickly.

I also use a lot of double sided tape, but since masking tape is lower tack, it peels up a little easier. On really thin or brittle parts like this veneer, there's less risk of cracking or splitting the piece when removing it. :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dave Higham, 13ghosts, Matt Liebenau and 2 others
#32
It's been a bit but it will still be a bit more before I can get back on this thing. I had vacation away, followed by sick at home, followed by more vacation away and now I'm back at work. Plus it's very cold here for the wet coast, so I'm hoping to wait until it warms up a bit to bang out the rest of it. At work, our team just opened a service that is the first of it's kind worldwide and it's been a huge thing. I'm also responsible for it, so the pressure's on. It's a pretty contentious service, like for example my job would literally be a felony in the US. :D PM me if you're curious - I can't really discuss it openly in a public forum. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: lbridenstine, Gary_M, Mickey666 and 4 others
#33
Beej said:
It's been a bit but it will still be a bit more before I can get back on this thing. I had vacation away, followed by sick at home, followed by more vacation away and now I'm back at work. Plus it's very cold here for the wet coast, so I'm hoping to wait until it warms up a bit to bang out the rest of it. At work, our team just opened a service that is the first of it's kind worldwide and it's been a huge thing. I'm also responsible for it, so the pressure's on. It's a pretty contentious service, like for example my job would literally be a felony in the US. :D PM me if you're curious - I can't really discuss it openly in a public forum. :)
Click to expand...
Im just a border, a bit of water and a couple islands from you. Its warming up here finally. Snows melting… its not stoopid cold anymore (for now).
Stay warm and dry if you can!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Beej and JRA
#34
I glued down the headstock veneer with yellow carpenter's glue and trimmed it off flush where the string spacer / nut will sit. Then I routed for the truss rod and aluminum stiffeners. I glued in the bars with general use epoxy from system three. The flat bar I used is supposed to be 1/8" x 3/8", which would be 9.525 mm tall, but for some reason, they were 9mm exactly.
Birds eye vyoo

Birds eye vyoo

Check in
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Siddall, joover, MonetBass and 12 others
#39
I wedged in some time to get a few things done in the last week.

I trimmed the headstock veneer and prepared for the template.
headstock veneer

headstock veneer

neck work

I fitted the furniture bolt inserts and glued them in before flushing them with the neck. I also slotted the fretboard.
neck inserts and slotted board

neck inserts and slotted board

neck work

And radiused the fretboard to 15".
fretboard radius

fretboard radius

neck work

Deciding on whether or not to put a veneer over the back of the headstock. I think I still may - you can see the scarf joint pretty clearly.
headstock back

headstock back

neck work

I also planed down the back of the neck and back of headstock and sanded in the volute. I plane the neck to the final thickness so that only the sides need rounding once complete. This lets me get the neck as thin as possible, which I personally like and this bass is for me. :)
neck volute

neck volute

neck work

I used the bondo trick to make a very tight fitting template. It looks like a pencil line in this shot.
control cavity dummy and rout

control cavity dummy and rout

control cavity dummy and rout

But it's just a very tight fitting template.
control cavity dummy and rout

control cavity dummy and rout

control cavity dummy and rout

Which I used to rout the control cavity cover recess.
control cavity

control cavity

control cavity

I also rough trimmed the headstock outline and made the pickup and bridge block templates, but I guess I didn't snap pics.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Siddall, lbridenstine, definenredefine and 14 others
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back