henry norton

Thanks for the comments - too kind! I know what you both mean about the natural finish - I might see what a scrap of the wood darkens down to when it's lacquered. Regarding my SH-1, yeah I'm planning on making a couple more and one might well end up 'pooey brown', otherwise known as 'walnut'

Been meaning to upload this for ages. [color=#333333][font=Georgia,]Here it is in loosely assembled form. It's pretty much all there now, just needs sanding and painting. I was going to go for fiesta red, including a matching headstock face but I'm going to trawl around to see if I can find any other colours that would go well with the tort accessories (suggestions will be welcome - obviously as the pickups are tort I can't really change the scratchplate now so whatever colour I use will have to go with the tort). [/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Georgia,]Off for Xmas now so no updates 'til the New Year. See you in 2014 [/font][/color]

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1387285667' post='2310200'] if it was me, i would get a Wal for that money and I would say that it would probably hold its value better than a Sims. [/quote] +1 on that - in fact the basic price for a Wal is a few hundred quid less than their Wal lookalike but looks asides, they're very different basses. You'd also have to wait 18 months or thereabouts for a Wal...

Maybe 'water damaged' relicing is the new black. I can see the entire relicing industry splitting off into 'water damage', generally abused', 'lightly used studio instrument' through to 'gone at with a sanding disc by someone who's never seen a worn finish in their lives'.

Heated gloves! They're pretty cheap and you could cut the fingertips off them and still get the protection and heat where you need it. Now, if only they made a heated double bass neck like the heated grips you can get for motorcycles....

You'll find more on here.. [url="http://lhnborn.com/page3.htm"]http://lhnborn.com/page3.htm[/url]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1386706925' post='2303487'] I wish I could get that excited over a bass nowadays, but I just can't, I'm afraid . [/quote] HaHa!!! Yeah me too.

There'll always be dialogue when it comes to glues and gluing. Suffice to say there's usually more to repairing a musical instrument than just blobbing a bit of glue on and clamping it for a few hours. There's certainly no arguments about getting out into the country during halcyon days of winter. Wish I could have come along

Never knowingly [i]undercharged[/i].......

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1386330950' post='2298814'] Someone on here pointed out that if you lie the bass on its back you need to put something under the body to lift it to prevent strain on the neck. I hadn't known that, but luckily when you fold my back seats down they are angled up slightly anyhow, so the headstock is never carrying weight. [/quote] Yeah it's always best to be cautious about these things, any extra strain on the neck / heel area is best avoided - especially being bumped around in a car.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1386023777' post='2294862'] Thanks for the help, it is much appreciated. The bass is plywood, a Czech factory one from the early 1970s. The split is the full length of the cutaway, about 300mm. I think modern central heating has dried everything out unfortunately. Point taken Henry, in my defence I fixed the peg box back on with glue and interference fit dowels when it fell off and that repair is still OK some 15 years later. I also reattached the fingerboard. Thinking I might talk to ME Strings so are just up the road from me and see if they will take it on. If anyone has had dealings with them please let me know. [/quote] Well like I said, if it's ply then you can use just about any glue - if you fixed the peg box in the past you shouldn't have any problem with re-gluing a joint. Have a go!!!

Some of my best customers do their own repairs...... Funny but actually very true and quite a well known pun amongst string instrument repairers. That said, the worst mistake most people make is using the wrong kind of glue. If it's a laminate then you can use whatever sticks it best - it doesn't really matter. But, (and it's a BIG but), if it's solid wood then you can only use hide glue as any other glue will cause you problems in the future. Other than that, just find, borrow or make a few spool clamps (much lighter than sash clamps) and have a go. The chances are the back's come off because it's shrunk, so it will happen again if you just glue it but if you're careful you shouldn't do any damage having a go. PM me if you want.

The NR T.bird's my favourite. Looks like it's going to be very playable.

Plywood body 80's Marlin neck chipped polyester sunburst finish nasty cheap Chinese bridge mystery split coil pickup from car boot sale on/off/nothing in between but crackling pots cheesewire strings 99p fleabay strap buttons

A humidifier and a hygrometer. The hygrometer tells me how much relative humidity there is (there's always allot less as soon as the central heating kicks in). I use trays of water on my radiators to balance out the drying effect and a proper vaporising humidifier to keep the humidity around 30-40%, but I try to keep it lower rather than higher. Too low not only causes cracks, it can effect the sound if the wood dries out too much - I knock it down to around 30% for tricky work like gluing ribs to a flat back but keep it around 40% otherwise, but for playing anything up to 60% is fine . It's more important than you might think as damage can occur gradually over a long time if it's too dry or too damp.

Yes indeed. I don't know why Gibson doesn't make a chrome Thunderbird humbucker anymore 'cos they're one of the best looking pickups ever, and the sound, a world away from the tame soapbars they use these days... blah.... moan.... complain.... whinge How are you finding the Thunderbuckers???

Looking forward to watching this progress - you definitely made the right decision making your own, there's nothing quite like it. So far as oak goes I made a neck years ago from oak, maple and walnut and it worked just fine. The main reason oak isn't used that often is just fashion.

I like those stepped clamping blocks you used to glue in the c bouts. I'm going to have to make me a couple of those

[quote name='rubis' timestamp='1383251879' post='2262282'] Nice, you may be changing my views on block inlays! [/quote] Ha! Yeah I've always had a 'difficult' relationship with blocked and bound Fender necks. I always liked the 'workmanlike' quality of Fenders and thought unneeded adornments looked a bit out of place. My first electric was a maple Jazz with black blocks and binding - I hated the way it looked but as I got older I started to appreciate the more flashy aspects of the top range Fenders. All good stuff

Quickly lashed up to get an idea of the finished article. Very pleased so far...

I saw a review in Bass Guitar Magazine and I'm pretty sure it came in at a bit under a grand - considering this is hand made in the UK I think that's pretty good value.

I'd go for it - there are a fair number of Thunderbirds around nowadays but not many Precisions with T.Bird pickups. Dare to be different!

Unbelieveable value too

[quote name='SevenSeas' timestamp='1381568625' post='2240680'] Thought people might be interested in reading this, there is so much to know about bass in general especially about set up which can be mind boggling if you aren't a luthier. [/quote] Information like that is empowering for everyone, even luthiers. Most luthiers continue picking up new theories, techniques and general bass lore over their entire careers - I'm 43 and most luthiers I know have at least a decade or two more experience than me. Maybe it's because the money's no good, nobody can afford to retire

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1381524056' post='2240407'] No just shifted the bridge a tad - I didnt need to move the sound post ( one of Chuck Treagher's tricks which certainly did the job - I shifted the bridge back to its normal position when the weather went back to normal ). [/quote]That's an interesting way of dealing with seasonal changes - certainly cheaper for the player than getting a luthier to adjust their sound post, and I suppose it'll do a similar job of shifting slightly the relationship between the bridge and post. That's a Charles Traeger trick? How did I not know it????? So, getting back on topic, the sound of double basses change due to the effects of time, with playing [i]and [/i]with the seasons (mainly humidity). It's one of the reasons we love 'em so much.