Andyjr1515

It's been a productive day. Amazing how much you can get done when you are ordered by your Prime Minister to stay at home. And it's amazing how much you can procrastinate about the decorating when you know you probably have thirteen more weeks of the same (so its rumoured) with a guaranteed no-one coming to visit in that time for any other reason than one where the decorating won't really matter anyway... Got the Yew and Sapele to their final thicknesses, the Yew cut out and also found a 6mm splice of Purpleheart for the neck! Here's the Yew, ready for final jointing (that will be just a skim on the handplane) and gluing together: Those who have seen my previous build threads will know that I'm a bit weird in that I will file and sand the top to its final outline and use the top itself as my routing template for the body once it has been glued on. My logic (and remember I simply tell you what I do and absolutely not that this is how it should be done) is that way, for the finish rout of the body outline, I don't then have to let the router blades go anywhere near those decorative horn tips because - for me, at least - that is the road to misery Tomorrow's job will be to assemble and glue the neck blank...

I had a single length of David Dyke neck timber - as usual a beautiful piece of quarter-cut mahogany. I always buy bass-length because of my slightly quirky way of doing things. With luck, I would be able to incorporate the headstock angle and the neck angle in the one blank to be able to flip one blank over and get the mirrored end grain pattern when the two are put together. There will be a 6mm centre splice of harder wood between the two in the finished 3-part assembly. For anything to do with through-necks, I always start with the physical bridge in my hand and draw the thing full-size, with the adjustment ranges of the bridge so that the angles are going to be right: You can see here why I buy the bass length. There is then enough extra length to allow for the extra depth each neck side is going to need for the neck angle (looking like 3 degrees) and the headstock angle (I always use 10 degrees). I wouldn't have had enough depth of blank to do this if it had been a guitar-length blank of this particular width (which is sold to be part of a multi-splice arrangement). Cut between the two sides: And checked that my 'upside down & back to front' stuff was correct in terms of end grain. And luckily it was A bit difficult to see with the saw marks, but hopefully you can see the V of the mirrored grain which should, in theory, give good stability of the finished neck and avoid twist, etc.. And then back in the shed to see if I've got anything suitable for a centre-splice. As always, thanks for looking and your encouraging feedback

I've used a similar veneer (I forget the species, but it's a type of birch) for a couple of projects - it's spectacular. Both of mine were stained but I have to say, they looked at their most impressive before staining I very much look forward to seeing this develop

That Pat Metheny one is through the K&K Pure Mini and an external Yamaha stereo mic into his DAW interface. With the Pure Mini, it's pretty much how it sounds unplugged. He's just published this, which is the LR Baggs Anthem (both systems are fitted with independent outputs) and the same Yamaha mic, again plugged directly into his DAW interface. He's a great player:

In between some domestic stuff, managed to start the thicknessing of the Yew and the Sapele. While you clearly have to flatten the top, for bookmatched wood you need to minimise the wood removal from the bookmatched face - just a few mm and you already start losing the match - so most of the removal to get it to the correct thickness is off the backs. And with Yew - there's no messing about. Hat, goggles, respirator, gloves. Every bit of a yew is poisonous except - I am told but do not take my word for it - the red fleshy bit of the berry (which is the bit that looks the most poisonous). The seeds are especially poisonous. And poisonous doesn't mean it make you sick. This is meet your maker poisonous. And so, with the tiny bits that throw off out the thicknesser, despite decent extraction, it's the full PPE approach. As it is ingestion or inhalation that is the particular risk, same precautions will be done for any routing and sanding. Does look nice, though:

That looks lovely

Drop a teeny drop of water off a pin or nail tip into the dint. Get a piece of cloth and wet it in a small area. Put the dampened area over the dint. Apply the tip of a hot iron to where the dint is. Don't hold it there more than a few seconds - you don't want to scorch the wood. Repeat a few times. The wood that's been crushed will expand to try to return the its original form and, with luck, completely refill the dint back to its original level

Sounds good. I'll PM you soon.

If you ever wondered how they bookmatch…. (Assistant in bulk DIY store,"It's tree wood, sir. You can cut it, sand it, glue it drill it - just like plastic") Well - I broddled around in my bits box and the number of things I've bought and never used invested in over the past few years is a bit eye-watering. Certainly, these will do fine on the build - and even with a choice of roller ToM bridges! : And I even found a full set of chrome locking tuners! Except, I then realised they were 6-a-side and not 3+3. Never mind - I'll probably go for Axesrus's splendid lightweight ones.

Got the timbers out today. As I had hoped, I have: the Yew; the Sapele for the back wings; a lovely piece of quarter-sawn David Dyke mahogany for the neck. I’m pretty sure I also have a piece of bubinga somewhere that I can use for the centre splice on the neck. And I’ve also found all the original templates from Pete’s build! Assuming David Dyke is open, I will order a length of ebony for the fretboard and headstock face-plate on Monday – but that won’t hold up the start of the build. I’ll also have a broddle in my bits boxes over the next couple of days. I’m almost certain I have a tune-o-matic roller bridge somewhere and I may even have some locking tuners. I’ll see.

Actually, with the present relatively insane bulk buying going on, the value is going up even more

Probably got as far as I can go at this stage. Other than applying the finish to the neck maple (which will darken and amber it a touch) and fitting the trussrod cover, this is now pretty much just waiting for the hardware. Just for @SpondonBassed : The Osmo has come up nicely. Just one more slurry and wipe with 400 grit and then two more very thin applications wiped on with kitchen roll has given just the level of sheen I was after: The pickup rings will be properly lined up when the final install is ready to be done but this sort of gives the vibe: It's not over until, etc, etc, but I'm really pleased with how this has turned out

Lovely set of instruments

Glorious.

I think what impressed me when I finished the build off for @eude - it being the first 6 string bass I'd ever actually held in my hands in real life - was just how natural it felt and easy it was to play. I was genuinely surprised.

I know this is an old thread, but I did promise to post the link when Matt finally got round to doing a proper video playing his dreadnought. And here it is. As always with these things, best through headphones Assuming you do like it, remember to 'Like' it - pro & semi-pro musicians need all the help we can give them in these unusual times Thanks for looking

I think today is my last one on Tom's African bass until I get the hardware that he has ordered from the US (and which, I suspect, may be some time coming) so tomorrow I will be gathering together the timbers. The plan is to maximise the number of pieces of timber I already have lying around and other stuff I already have at hand. The guitar will be a through neck with the same basic construction as Pete's red one: I'll make it thinner than Pete's which will make the neck heel even more unobtrusive than this one. The control chamber cover will be matching Sapele in a recess for flush fitting with magnets. Matt will be making his own humbuckers for it and I'll be using as much hardware out of my 'bits box' as I can.

How's the Rascal Mk II doing? Hopefully you're getting plenty of practice in with the lockdown

The spec @eude gave me for his 6 string bass save was, IIRC, flat. Any input, @eude ?

Well, for a mere king's ransom, Mike...

With Tom's African Bass Mk2 getting pretty close, it's time to start thinking about the next full build. And I'm a bit excited about this one. But first, the sack-cloth and ashes stuff. "I solemnly swear that I will try to concentrate on the true and original instrument, that is called Bass (hallowed be its name), and I confess that I am a weak and miserable sinner to even contemplate drifting to the dark side but... "...but, heck! This is going to be FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!" Does anyone remember this SG-influenced neck-through build I did a few years back for one of our band members, Pete? : And those with REALLY long memories, anyone remember this own-design I built for myself in Yew? Well, both guitars are still in use. Pete & I are still playing (or were until the recent lockdown!) - him lead and me vocals & sax. And at one of the places we regularly play, another player - Matt - has started making pickups. And for his first attempt at humbuckers I offered the Yew guitar above as the test bed. So Matt has been playing it for the past few weeks. Matt has drooled over Pete's SG for some time. But he was also a bit bowled over by how good Yew can look once it's been carved and varnished. So the new project is an SG-style guitar made for Matt....made with a Yew top. And I just happen to have a book-matched set that has been languishing in my shed for years : And I'm excited because - although you have to be very careful routing and sanding Yew because it is pretty poisonous - I found it a nice wood to work with...and this is going to look FABULOUS And, let's face it, it's not like I'm going anywhere else over the next few weeks...

My normal warning - I will always describe what I do but for you never to assume this is how it's supposed to be done The refinishing of the body has started. I will be doing a variation of the Tru-oil slurry and buff, but using the thinner version of the Osmo ranges, their 1101. Other than the full gloss - which personally I don't like - many of the Osmo products are a guitar/bass builder's godsend. Low odour, wipeable, great finish. There are apparently some issues with thicker coats (it's a hardwax so can sometimes remain dintable with your thumbnail) but applied thinly, I personally find it an excellent finish. So, other than some kitchen roll to wipe-down, this is my finishing kit: For the initial coats, I put a generous amount of the Osmo on with a brush and use (proper woodworkers cover your eyes), yes, 120 grit as the wet in a wet 'n dry sanding approach. For a softer wood I would probably use 240 grit, but this particular wood is very hard. The slurry of finish mixed with wood dust effectively fills any pores and small voids (but remember that I am not trying here to end up with a fully sealed, flat, flawless finish). I finish by sanding the slurry along the grain to remove any swirl marks. And then I wipe it all off, again (in this case) wiping along the grain. If I was looking for a smoother finish, I would wipe off across the grain to leave the maximum amount of slurry filling the grain lines. After the first coat, it looks like this: I will leave this a full day before the second coat. This first one will have soaked into the surface and pores of the wood and I want it to have chance to fully dry before I add another coat. Tomorrow, I will repeat the process, but slurrying with a finer grade (probably around 240 but maybe as far as 400 - I'll see how the wood responds) and again wiping off the excess but leaving it to soak in. Friday, I will decide whether to slurry and buff, or just apply a couple of very thin coats with the fan-brush. And for the enquiring minds amongst you, why is handle of the fan brush (Hobby Craft Artists section) cut short? Because I've decanted a cm or so of Osmo into a jam jar to use and can pop the brush in there after each coat and close the lid so it doesn't need to be cleaned or dried before its next use (because trust me, that's where many of the dust buggies come from). While this is drying, it seems to be an ideal time to do the final sanding of the neck!

Continues to be a crackingly good build!

I've spent quite a bit of time getting the neck pocket right. Quite tricky as the wood is of uneven thickness either side of the pocket and is wavy! As such, getting a router to produce a nice flat surface at the right angle was a bit of a challenge! In the end, I finished it all off by the time honoured method of using school chalk to identify the high spots as mechanics do on metal joints with Engineers Blue. The added challenge is the brittleness of the wood - if the chisels aren't razor sharp, any cut will ding off a chip, particularly on the edges. The result of this was a couple of chips at the edges of the fretboard end where it partially sinks into the top. With things like this, it is a case of either hide it or flaunt it! So I opted to flaunt it. I tried a number of options with some black grained veneer cut out with scissors from straight infill: To an angled infill, with the grain matching that of the headstock (it will be wenge and so will match both the headstock and the pickup rings). To an angled infill, with the grain direction matching the pickup rings: Difficult to see on these shots, but in real life this last one looked the best. So sharpened the chisels again, honed them, tested them with the 'remove the hair off the back of your arm' test and cut the shallow chamber for the 2mm wenge to fit into. Cut some matching wenge and glued it in: So the body is now ready to start finishing. And while I'm doing that, I'll do the final tweaks on the neck profile and sort the trussrod cover (a smallish one in matching wenge) and then it's just a case of waiting for the hardware from Tom's supplier

I use a rectangular cabinet scraper, @Pea Turgh. I'm sure there are better ways, but at least it helps maintain the sharp edges...