neepheid Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 When is a Celebrations tin not a Celebrations tin? When it's a home made double bass As an amusing sideline (I have been working on the other stuff, don't worry), I decided to have a go at building one of these: [url="http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/doodle-b.htm"]http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/doodle-b.htm[/url] I'm making some changes to the guy's design: f holes instead of round holes a real nut instead of the tacks 2+2 bass tuners (nicked from the sixer I butchered for the Zebrano Wideboy 5) an angled back headstock I've made the nut from a scrap of zebrano, and a bridge blank from some scrap rosewood. Tonight I got the fretsaw out. I guess deep down I'm as mad as a bag of frogs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galilee Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Ha ha ha, brilliant. This'll be the best build thread ever. You must post suitably mental sound clips when it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Woh!!!!! Doodle has a funky cousin!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilmour Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Nice, I like this design, it's knida like a bass version of those Cigar Box guitars You can also make a one string Tin Can bass, takes about 20 mins, but the pick up method will work well for this. [url="http://www.mcld.co.uk/oddmu/tincanbass/"]http://www.mcld.co.uk/oddmu/tincanbass/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 Aye, I'm looking to make it electric by placing a couple of piezo transducers under the bridge. I guess that would make it an EUB I have more crazy ideas like putting on a smallish radius fingerboard to put the strings in a suitable place for bowing purposes, but I'll get it working as is first off then make adjustments like that later (or just make a new neck, it's only a piece of pine from B&Q after all). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 this is going to be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobiebass Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 so THATS why you wanted a sweet tin! LMFAO. This is gonna be emense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Well, work begins - on the angled back headstock: It slipped slightly during clamping, so I have about a mm of difference to sand out. I really ought to get a block plane some time. I know I've done this the "wrong way round" (usually the join is further down the neck and the glueing surface is on the cut edge of the neck blank rather than the underside) but there's a reason for this - with no seperate fingerboard (at least not yet), I considered it both unsightly and the source of potential problems to have it there, hence the alternative construction. Despite having to mount tuners through the glued joint (whenever my 14mm drill bit arrives - been waiting over 2 weeks, grr) the lack of pull from the nylon strings means that I'm fairly confident that it won't put too much stress on the slightly weakened join. If I'm wrong, oh well I'll do another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Sanded flat, nut slot cut out and nut blank fitted, and as some more practice veneering I am worried that the glue wasn't taking, hence the clamping. I'll trim the veneer tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Headstock veneered and shaped. Locations for tuning machines and nut slots marked. The veneer was a little lacking in bonding at the top, so I sealed the edge with a little superglue. As a practice run for the Zebrano Wideboy 5, I think I need to use a little more glue, especially round the edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobiebass Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 looking good dude!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galilee Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Looking more complicated that I expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 [quote name='Galilee' post='221114' date='Jun 18 2008, 09:05 AM']Looking more complicated that I expected. [/quote] Well, I did say I was adding some "flourishes" to his original design. Bear in mind that this is also some sneaky training for things to come on my Zebrano Wideboy 5 project (Headstock veneering, nut shaping and slot cutting, machine head fitting). Just opened a dispute with the eBay seller who has failed to get a 14mm forstner bit to me in over 2 weeks. They said last week that they had sent it and would look into it and redispatch if necessary. Royal Fail muckup or not, it's still ridiculous, emailed them yesterday and the day before to see what was happening. Got no reply and I've had enough. Ordered one elsewhere, should get here tomorrow or Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galilee Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 You're a perfectionist, that's all. I initially looked at the link you posted with the build instructions and the bloke said he'd built two in one evening after work, as I recall - hence my comment about complication. Truth be told, his probably both fell apart the following evening after work..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 Forstner bit arrived. Tuners this weekend. I've also begun to taper the neck and provisionally cut the nut slots. If I decide how I'm anchoring the strings at the bottom then it could be up and running (acoustically) in the next few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 22, 2008 Author Share Posted June 22, 2008 Starting to look a bit more business-like: I've finished tapering one side of the neck, but it's such a slow, monotonous job that I took a detour and fitted the tuners. Also discovered (although I kind of knew anyway) that my "strings" are too fat to fit in the tuners, so I'm going to have to pare the end down a little before I can put them in the tuner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 That's the neck tapering done, shaping the back comes next but I think I should get hold of something useful like a spokeshave or a surform - I'll be sanding for the rest of my life with sandpaper alone! Tonight I went back to my youth for how to put my logo on the Doodle-bass. In keeping with the whole "home-made" vibe, I'm going to burn the logo into the wood with a soldering iron. Just like branding steers, eh? Yeehaw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 Yep, that's my bass, I done gone branded it: So, this is the story so far: Next jobs - round the back of the neck, decide how to anchor the strings at the bottom, fabricate the bridge (rosewood blank is cut) then string it up and it should be acoustically finished. Flourishes after will be finishing, fitting an endpin and making it electric with piezo transducer pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='neepheid' post='226357' date='Jun 25 2008, 12:07 AM'][/quote] Matt, I can totally see you sittin' on your front porch a playin' thayat thang. Ah yes I can [url="http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/07/36/39/image_339367.jpg"]see[/url] it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='226366' date='Jun 25 2008, 12:26 AM']Matt, I can totally see you sittin' on your front porch a playin' thayat thang. Ah yes I can [url="http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/07/36/39/image_339367.jpg"]see[/url] it now. [/quote] Yeah, with Cletus on drums and Billy-Bob on git-tar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galilee Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Lovely job on that headstock and neck. It seems a bit sad and incongruous now that it's all attached to a Celebrations tin (although I guess that is kind of the whole point). How theoretically feasible would it be to attach the neck to (say) the body of an acoustic guitar or similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 [quote name='Galilee' post='226510' date='Jun 25 2008, 10:21 AM']Lovely job on that headstock and neck. It seems a bit sad and incongruous now that it's all attached to a Celebrations tin (although I guess that is kind of the whole point). How theoretically feasible would it be to attach the neck to (say) the body of an acoustic guitar or similar?[/quote] Heh, he's done that too: [url="http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/practice.gif"]http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/practice.gif[/url] Personally, I think it looks daft though. I know what you're saying about the aesthetics though - I have looked at various alternatives for the "body". The version #3 one that the original guy made was with a big saucepan with the handles removed. A metal bowl of some sort would also be an alternative. The good thing about it is that the neck can easily be taken off and transplanted into something else - it's only held to the body at the bottom by a single screw. I'll get it working as is just now, but I suspect that it won't be all that loud acoustically. I've got an old skool Quality Street tin which is the same diameter but an inch or so deeper, which might help. I could always paint the tin... If the acoustic sound isn't up to much, I might just ditch the body entirely and make it an electric stick bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I don't know if you remember the fruit bowl on my coffee table (actually I think it's a salad bowl) looks kind like [url="http://www.woodturneddreams.com/DREAMS%20018.jpg"]this[/url]. Well I'm looking at it and thinking that's what I'd use instead of a sweetie tin. Whack one of these on and while sticking to the ethos you elevated it's stature right off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='226608' date='Jun 25 2008, 12:10 PM']I don't know if you remember the fruit bowl on my coffee table (actually I think it's a salad bowl) looks kind like [url="http://www.woodturneddreams.com/DREAMS%20018.jpg"]this[/url]. Well I'm looking at it and thinking that's what I'd use instead of a sweetie tin. Whack one of these on and while sticking to the ethos you elevated it's stature right off.[/quote] I don't know if that specific one would be deep enough to make a decent acoustic sound, but something of that nature would look pretty nice. Like I said, I'll get it working with the sweetie tin first, then see how it can be improved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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