Christine

1 hour ago, fleabag said:

A knot is something you put into rope / string etc.,  and it's also a bird.

You mean 'not '

It's probably the knot in your stomach as you drive through

5 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Ah - OK.  Thought you meant the fixing method.  Yes - it's a bit of a departure shape-wise.  

So, you're looking for a straight (Gibson-ish?) stop bar but that screws in rather than sits on pegs?  I'm slow, but I think I got there in the end 

That's it.

9 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Very exciting that we have a new build on the board!

Not sure what you mean ref the Warwick tailpieces using inserts, @Christine ?  Presume you mean this type?

https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_bridge_30118_4c.htm

 

That actual bridge I'll be using but the tail piece where the strings attach with the bend in it wouldn't look good in a Thunderbird. I've seen one for sale somewhere but can I find it!

Well bugger, Aretha Franklin has died. I might do something on one of them with her in mind, I was a fan

Oh no, it's her again!

Time to move on to the next builds, very much in the planning stage but this is where I'm at: Broadly they will be based on the Gibson Thunderbird which is as we'll all agree the sexiest bass on the planet, and that statement is beyond contestation, Moses had it as the 11th commandment but that bit broke off when the stone tablet toppled over and.. yeah well, it's a popular myth like many others
Through neck with the traditional Gibson Vee joint to the wings. Neck angle will be 4'5 degrees.
Trussrod, probably a double action again but this time with a spoke wheel adjustment at the heel to save weight and strength at the headstock
Fretboards will be Rocklite Ebano but there is a possibility one might be made from Satinwood as a treat for me
Pickups, one Mike Lull neck pickup ala Thunderbird II
Bridge looks like being a Warwick again but with a different tail piece/stopbar, a screw in one not one held by inserts. I'm having difficulty finding one at the moment so I mat well end up making my own and getting it chromed.
Headstock, well I think it will be a modified version of the one on the twins but with features of the Thunderbird standard.
Tuners? Probably Hipshot Ultralites again but possibly with the modern Y shape rather than the clover leave given the probable shape of the headstock.
Wood will be African Mahogany again, it's already sat in the workshop waiting.

So there we have it, I'm just waiting for my foot to get better as I've damaged it again then I'll be on it but I shall probably get it all drawn out early next week and hopefully the neck laminate ripped up to settle. I have a few ideas to hopefully improve on the original design slightly, not easy because the original was so good despite the knocking it gets

Oh and as you may have guessed from the title, I'm building three of them

9 minutes ago, Oopsdabassist said:

being a Hemel boy I always preferred our version...much more civilised, a river through the middle and everything!!

I'm sure it's a pleasure to drive through

4 hours ago, fryer said:

I'll do a separate build diary ( while we wait for Christine )

Looking good, it might be something I'll be copying for my next build, I doubt I'll find cases for them. OOH yes, next build, the wood in in the shop and as soon as my foot is better I'll be starting them

Well the twins a re a week in and still need a lot more drying, sorry

Spectacular!

17 minutes ago, fryer said:

While we're waiting for Christine, I thought I'd share my effort. Not hijacking this wonderful build, this is just for a joke.

Rather than build a bass, I though I'd build a case for my bass. The wood almost fits. Just needed some old bits of wood, a saw, hammer & nails. Don't know what all the fuss is about.

Waiting for me? I do hope you're not holding your breath

Ideal case for a Gothic Thunderbird

46 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

ETS do a straight bar but a more modern design.

http://www.ets-hardware.com/mk_3.php

OOOH! Now that is sexy! I like that a lot, I'll send them an email later. Thank you

4 minutes ago, JPJ said:

There is this one 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thunderbird-Bass-Bridge-and-Tailpiece-Set-1963-1969-Chrome-/121479626823

Also available from

https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/bridge-and-tailpieces/bass-bridges-and-tailpeices/thunderbird-bass-bridge-and-tailpiece-set-1963-1969-nickel/

 

 

Thanks, I have seen those but I really don't want a bridge that uses those inserts or has no individual vertical saddle adjustment. To me a bridge needs to be screwed down firmly and solid as a rock but with full adjustment. The best I have found is the Hipshot D style but I can't find one of those in the UK and importing is just too expensive for me with duty etc.

5 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

And in the meantime, the first length of kerfing strip goes on.  This is the strip that the top and back will glue onto. 

 

It is set a mm or so higher than the sides because the top and back will be dished - the kerfing will be sanded down in the radius dish so that is ends as a close fit to the dished top and back before gluing - I'll explain that better when I have some photos to illustrate it!

 

 

I take it the join doesn't have to be ultra tidy and binding will take that up when it's applied, fill and hide any tiny messy bits on the very edge?

Moving on to the next build: I did post a question in the forums but no replys. It was this:

Hiya, I really need to find some of these stopbars, I don't want the bridge; they need to be screw in not the ones with inserts ala Gibson. Preferably from the UK

Anyone have any ideas where I might find them?

Thanks

I really could do with finding one asap so I can at least draw out my next builds, I plan on using it with the Warwick bridge but I want a more traditional tailpiece but until I know I can get one I can't proceed, I've looked high and low which is annoying because I have seen them somewhere, maybe in the States but any port in a storm

2 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Yes - exactly that. You put a 1 or 2mm spacer behind the trailing side of the fence and line the router bit flush with that.  As long as the fence is spot on where it is supposed to be, it works a treat.

I'll try and find a diagram in the morning that illustrates it better than my dodgy description

Not for me, I understand, actually good idea, it's a handy tip

6 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Rock hopping a little on the sequence of the build, but the top wood has arrived so I've planed the joining edges using the 'offset fence' technique on the router table and now am gluing it prior to thicknessing it from 5mm to 2.5 - 3mm.

Now it's down in the cellar being glued:

 

 

The only clamps applying any pressure are the three sash clamps - two on the bottom and one on the top.  The rest of the clamps are just gently holding the cauls, top and bottom to prevent it bowing or twisting.

I will be doing the thicknessing using hand planes and cabinet scrapers (gulp) once the glue has fully dried overnight.  I think this afternoon will be taken up with me honing plane blades and burnishing scrapers! 

The offset fence technique? Like a vertical jointer? that's a new one on me

Hiya, I really need to find some of these stopbars, they need to be screw in not the ones with inserts ala Gibson. Preferably from the UK

Anyone have any ideas where I might find them?

Thanks

43 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

Or keep it till November and you'll have something to start your bonfire with!! 😁 

Don't do it

40 minutes ago, fleabag said:

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggg

Some of us will be tearing our hair out if it's 8 weeks. 

 

More wood ordered today for the next project

1 hour ago, SpondonBassed said:

I can appreciate the neck angle quite well from those last images.

Not having played that style of bass I wonder if it adds comfort to have the body tucked back under your picking hand.  Up to eight weeks or more 'till they see hardware; that's the bit that some home builders would struggle with, myself included.  Of course, experience would teach most of us to wait if only we got to make as much stuff.  It's great to have a forum like this where those with the experience demonstrate their skill as if in real time and have no problem rubbing shoulders with Johnny Come-Latelys such as myself.

Cheers Christine.

For now I've got to wait while they gestate.  Harumph!

The neck angle is  nice, it puts your hands in a more natural position, the two basses I mostly play are one of my Tbirds and my Jazz, when I swap between them it is very noticeable. To me and I know we're all different and of different opinions, actually I'm not going there but I feel like shimming the Jazz neck and bridge to give it some neck angle, I won't because it will make a mess of the screw holes in the neck and do more harm than good.

Patience my .....! I'm dying to get them sanded and polished and some hardware on them, it's all I can do not the put the bridge and tuners on just to get them looking something like

Just now, Bridgehouse said:

Most of the coffee gets drunk in our house well before soaking can occur 

Same here so all my PGs are white too

2 hours ago, naxos10 said:

What's the possibility of ageing the white scratch plate to more of a buttercream colour?

Soaking it in real coffee for a few days will do that

Last update for a while, here's the twins upright on stands just to get a better look at how they look. They are now hanging in an old wardrobe until they have hardened enough to be safe to handle without risk of marking the lacquer, somewhere between a week and eight weeks, I really don't know until they get there.

19 hours ago, fleabag said:

You could murder that V body ?

Noooooo!!!! Stick a Rosewood left handed Jazz neck on it and stick in some Chinabuckers, make a proper vee bridge

I find myself coming back to look at this quite often, it's a lovely looking build. But.... how does it sound?

I hate to go with the flow but.....black