Andyjr1515

This is one of those ideal small jobs for 'in between the bigger stuff' jobs. Well, mainly I say 'mainly' because I ended up spending most of this morning getting the finish off the fretboard!! Yes, you live and learn! Most builders will tell you that stripping finish off a modern bass body can be a nightmare - but necks and fretboards are straightforward. That's because, on a body, many modern makers put a viciously hard undercoat under their poly finishes and you would go mad if you tried to sand it off. Generally industrial-grade heat guns are the only way! On the other hand, necks are always lightly finished and hand sanding is a breeze. And even more so for fretboards where generally they are not finished in the first place. Or so I thought before today... Because Yamaha clearly don't play to the same rules. This fretboard had the viciously hard undercoat - and you can't risk dig-ins and burns on a fretboard from the fairly brutal heatgun and decorators scraper approach, so it has to be basically sanded. One hour in: One and a half hours in, realised it was going to need some help with the help of a razor used like a scraper: Two hours in...there's some wood showing! (but only at the edges so far) : Two and three quarter hours later - we're down to wood : And a quick damp cloth check to make sure that there's no residual in there: So that's the easy bit done, then

And, in my view, Alan at ACG is pretty much at the top of the 'luthier's luthier' list...

Not this one - just wrapped in jiffy foam sheet Good for packing bits, though

Not at all sure what could possibly be in that box that's just arrived: Well - you could blow me down with a feather! :

Yes - that'll do nicely Using the binding to create the demarcation stripe has its own challenges, but it does mean that you only have to worry about one gap-free joint and not three, as you would if you were creating the effect with full width veneers: So in terms of the actual timber part of the build, we are heading towards the final stages. In broad sequence, it will be : - design headstock shape, adding wings if necessary - add a couple of swifts to the ebony headstock plate and attach - temp fix the tuners to align and drill the bridge fixing holes - complete the body carve - carve the neck profile, being able to 'feel' it towards final shape with plenty of air-bass And then the finishing can start

And the fretboard's on - and no gaps The next job is filing the neck overhang flush with the board, and in the background, preparations are afoot to start on the neck profile

I fitted the trussrod, checked the flatness of the neck face, including the run off to the body and worked out my positioning datum points for the fretboard: I kept the offcut when I cut the curve of the heel on the neck blank- exceptionally useful when it comes to clamping because G clamps really only work when the faces are parallel... : And, using fretboard radius blocks as my clamping cauls, it is gluing as I type: And yes - that blue one is bending! They are useful because they are longer reach...but bendy clamps aren't a good thing to have. Looks like I know what's going to be on this year's birthday list

Just a wipe with a damp cloth. It's a very quick and easy way of seeing what colour it will be when the actual finish goes on

Yes - great transfers. Good colours, ultra thin and very reasonably priced

And to the carve. Again, in the background there is a fair bit of backwards and forwards PM'ing between me and @Matt P as the carve creeps up towards final. I don't know if other builders are the same, but the final carve contour emerges during the process. I would say, 'the wood talks to you' except most folks would assume I'd been on the whacky baccy. We'd got to this stage: But the walnut was singing like a siren at me. MrsAndyjr1515 helpfully tied me to a mast and threw buckets of salt water over me, but it was no good (other than she, hurtfully, seemed to enjoy the process) - I had to leap into the stormy waves and answer the call. Well, what I actually had to do was PM Matt. What about following the skewed oval... (top tip: school chalk should be handy at every builder's workbench) : ...and do this: Now, personally, I think that looks flippin' gorgeous AND it means I won't get a reminder from @TheGreek to do exactly that because, almost certainly, he will have been ahead of me - he has an eye for such things and I hope that he takes some pride in the fact that I do, sometimes, take notice

Gosh, that's gorgeous!

This is looking very good. Very rapid progress and accurate looking components. It's going to be another splendid build

Another discussion @Matt P have had is the best position for the Super Quad. I 'borrowed' this very useful photo off a Google Search (and many thanks to whoever originally posted it ) The actual distances, of course, have no relevance, but the proportion of the saddle to mid point of the pickups to the full scale does, to an extent. We've plumbed for the standard 'P' position which should sit in a decent vibration point pretty much all the way up the fret positions. Happily, that's also pretty much bang on where Matt's 'it looks right here' original sketch had it So it will be here: And THAT means I could then forstner, chisel and rout out the chamber for the pickup. Note the additional rout for the connector block to sit: And THAT means that tomorrow I can start the top and edges carve tomorrow and - if the day goes to plan - glue on the fretboard too

Close to Uttoxeter. 20 something miles from Cannock, @Sarah5string - easy run.

Top drawer. Beautiful

Ah - a Stanley 71 Router Plane ... now that's my kind of router

Lovely job. Spot on

Softly, softly catchee monkey... Creeping up on the back carve. I've checked once again all of the carve vs chamber depths and am fairly certain I'm safe from any unexpected breakthoughs Rough carve not quite finished but probably one more session will do it ready for scraping - and by then, the Superquad will be here and I can start on the top . As I predicted, the carve has morphed and I've added some extra modest waist carves which I think will suit the look :

Excellent

With the Superquad on its way, it's time to start the back carve. While there is a broad plan, this will 'morph' as the carve happens. First, I carved the back of the lower cutout, extending the sweep of the heel cutaway. Then I started scooping bulk out to take some more weight out and also provide a bit of 'too many biscuits' relief . It won't be a @TheGreek 'contact lens' symmetry at the back - I am preserving the depth of the control chamber until I can be sure the SimS multi-wire loom will fit without the need for a screwed back plate - but that same vibe. So out comes my beloved Veritas Pullshave : The pullshave is designed to scoop the shape of wooden chair seats...so after a hard gig, @Matt P will be able to flip the bass upside down on top a tripod and sit on it! Because I have actual chambers and potential chambers and fixing screws to accommodate, I'm doing this a bit at a time, with plenty of pauses, measurements and ponderings. This is where it's at so far: That would probably already sort the effect of too many custard creams - but I'll be aiming for a full jaffa cake depth When that's done, I'll then go back to the heel and reshape that. And by the time that's done, the SuperQuad will be here and I can start thinking about the top carve

And done. Hardly an invisible mend, but silky smooth to the touch, structurally sound and sounds great!

It's an exquisite bit of craftsmanship...

The other way, if the builder is working off a thicker blank is to take a thin slice off - over a few mm, the grain pattern wouldn't be that different - and that would then mean that the gap could be quite a bit tighter than mine. But it does mean having an industrial size and quality of band-saw.

That is a stunning bass....