Jabba_the_gut Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 I tried a little bit of oil on a couple of offcuts of the burl top. Think this will look good after a few coats. Both pieces have been oiled but using two different types of oil - one remains pretty much as it was, the other darkens a bit. I prefer the darker one as I think the grain and colours show up more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Good progress, Jez. The neck rout on that blank looks exceptionally neat. How many passes did it take and what router / bit size did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 2 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: Good progress, Jez. The neck rout on that blank looks exceptionally neat. How many passes did it take and what router / bit size did you use? Hi Andy, Cheers - it's getting there! As soon as I get a neck blank made I can cut the neck pocket and get the edges rounded which always makes it look like progress. All the routing on this is just with a basic Black and Decker router with 1/4" collet. I think I used a Trend template cutter about 25mm long and about 18mm diameter. I would have gone round in three passes I'd like to get one of those four flute cutters @Christine recently bought - they look really useful, but not cheap!! The control cavity and cover recesses were also cut using Trend cutters both 12mm diameter, one 25mm long the other 12mm long. I did try some cheap cutters from Amazon but they are a waste of money!! I recently found the Tewkesbury Saw Company - didn't realise I had a supplier of quality tools right on my doorstep. Only trouble is they have loads of good stuff, routers, planers, bandsaws for which I have neither the money or space!! Cheers Jez 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Jabba_the_gut said: Hi Andy, Cheers - it's getting there! As soon as I get a neck blank made I can cut the neck pocket and get the edges rounded which always makes it look like progress. All the routing on this is just with a basic Black and Decker router with 1/4" collet. I think I used a Trend template cutter about 25mm long and about 18mm diameter. I would have gone round in three passes I'd like to get one of those four flute cutters @Christine recently bought - they look really useful, but not cheap!! The control cavity and cover recesses were also cut using Trend cutters both 12mm diameter, one 25mm long the other 12mm long. I did try some cheap cutters from Amazon but they are a waste of money!! I recently found the Tewkesbury Saw Company - didn't realise I had a supplier of quality tools right on my doorstep. Only trouble is they have loads of good stuff, routers, planers, bandsaws for which I have neither the money or space!! Cheers Jez We used to use Tewkesbury Saw for tools and CNC router bits, etc, for all our Cheltenham and Tewkesbury plants. Pity I'd left the area before I discovered working with wood!! Good supplier, though. That is a very impressively clean cut for what are pretty standard tools and bits, especially with so few passes - I had ten or so in my mind. I've never tried using a template to cut out a neck blank like this but I'm tempted to try, seeing this. Edited June 9, 2018 by Andyjr1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) I've taken the offcuts from a couple of other builds and made the neck blanks for these basses. One is maple with dark and light veneer stripes, the other is birds eye maple with strips of Sapele and maple. Next task is to route these for truss rods. Edited June 9, 2018 by Jabba_the_gut 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Wow - that's a lot of laminations on the top one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Just now, Andyjr1515 said: Wow - that's a lot of laminations on the top one! Yep - 9 pieces in that neck. Plus another 6 pieces if you count my muppetry earlier where I made up the veneer bits to put between the thicker pieces. I made them light-dark-light instead of dark-light-dark as I confused myself in the 20 feet between my house and garage and made them up wrong...….DOH!! Start again and take the neck pieces with you for reference...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 11 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Wow - that's a lot of laminations on the top one! ...and you were pussyfooting about your demarcation lines. I bet you wish you'd gone for it now. Heeheehee. Of course, with the lay-up being part of the body and by taking an oblique cut across like you would on your own build might it make it look too busy as you suggested. They're looking good Jez. When the neck is shaped they'll have the effect of hand painted pinstripes of the highest quality. The bird's eye neck doesn't need them. That'll be a stunner as is. What causes those sparkly little whorls to grow in bird's eye maple? Does anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 7 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said: What causes those sparkly little whorls to grow in bird's eye maple? Does anyone know? 'The figure is reportedly caused by unfavorable growing conditions for the tree. The Sugar Maple attempts to start numerous new buds to get more sunlight, but with poor growing conditions the new shoots are aborted, and afterward a number of tiny knots remain. Birdseye Maple is frequently sold in veneer form, but solid lumber is available as well. Being tiny knots, the birdseye figure is most noticeable and pronounced on flatsawn pieces of lumber' I don't know if that helps??......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 12 minutes ago, Jimothey said: 'The figure is reportedly caused by unfavorable growing conditions for the tree. The Sugar Maple attempts to start numerous new buds to get more sunlight, but with poor growing conditions the new shoots are aborted, and afterward a number of tiny knots remain. Birdseye Maple is frequently sold in veneer form, but solid lumber is available as well. Being tiny knots, the birdseye figure is most noticeable and pronounced on flatsawn pieces of lumber' I don't know if that helps??......... Cheers. (One day I will loose my hatred of search engines.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 Got some more done on these today and I'm quite pleased with how they are looking so far. I'm also having a variety of thoughts regarding pickups - I'm half thinking of installing just a piezo in the bridge on the burl top. I'm also thinking about making a 30" neck for one of them, though that may follow later. I've done the routing for the neck and bridge on both of these and I've also started rounding the edges. Next task is to route the two neck blanks for truss rods. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 3 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: Got some more done on these today and I'm quite pleased with how they are looking so far. I'm also having a variety of thoughts regarding pickups - I'm half thinking of installing just a piezo in the bridge on the burl top. I'm also thinking about making a 30" neck for one of them, though that may follow later. I've done the routing for the neck and bridge on both of these and I've also started rounding the edges. Next task is to route the two neck blanks for truss rods. Wow - this is a whole new level of excellence! Great wood choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 Cheers Andy. I'm really enjoying this build and there are lots of options to try!! The neck woods look lovely against the bodies so I'm really looking forward to getting those done. However, I'm expecting them to be a little tricky as I'll have to make jigs to cut the shape for the headpiece I think. I'm also deciding on the wood for the fretboard. I'm thinking plain ebony for the burl one and ovangkol for the other one. Lots to do!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 They look very tactile and superbly built. You’re going to have to build me a 17” scale fretless next so don’t get too busy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 1 hour ago, ped said: They look very tactile and superbly built. You’re going to have to build me a 17” scale fretless next so don’t get too busy Having just seen this thread I’m thinking along the same lines as you @ped! Really, really lovely work @Jabba_the_gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 35 minutes ago, CameronJ said: Having just seen this thread I’m thinking along the same lines as you @ped! Really, really lovely work @Jabba_the_gut 😂 well you first mate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Any piece of wood must jump for joy when you buy it Jez, 'cos it knows you're going to make it look stunning! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Damn it, I need to stay out of these threads... that's just fantastic. I really like the sort of mandolin-ish look of the darker one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 This looks amazing.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 25 minutes ago, TheGreek said: This looks amazing.. +1 Awesome!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 I've now slotted both fretboards and glued them to the two neck blanks. I've used an offcut of kitchen worktop to clamp them against with a couple of bits of ply to prevent any clamp marks on the neck. Once set, I marked the neck outline and used a bandsaw to cut as close to these as possible to give the router less to do. The router I have mounted in a thick piece of MDF as a router table has decided to cause me a few issues on this build. Firstly, it seems to have moved slightly and is not cutting at a right angle to the table. When I put a square against the edge one of the necks this showed up; luckily it tapers from front to back of the neck so won't make any difference once the neck is shaped. The router then decided to have a bite at the neck when I was cutting across the grain at the heel taking a small chunk out. Again, luckily, this is right in the pocket so won't be visible (I'll tidy this up and replace the bit it removed). Then, as a final act of defiance it decided to die with just 10mm left to trim...…. I have a second router (made by Triton) which I temporarily fitted to my MDF router table to finish the first neck and trim the second. Must better. Nice and square, no biting. Job done!! I'm going to have to invest in a proper router table as this should make the difference in terms of everything be more solid for this kind of work. Anyway, neck outline shaped for both basses and it's a sunny day!! I'm quite pleased with how the stripes look on the back of the neck against the body. Next job, neck and fretboard shaping. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebroad Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Nice progress, you're beating my midgets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Both coming on a treat.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 4 hours ago, jebroad said: Nice progress, you're beating my midgets Is that regarded as being more or less PC than dwarf tossing? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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