Pea Turgh Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 I’d so love to rock up to a gig with one of these! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 Cheers for the comments. I'm hoping this headed version works well - we'll see!! I've finished veneering the front and back of the headstock and I'm pleased I decided to do it - I'm really pleased how it has turned out. Next job will be lots of shaping and sanding on both the body and the neck. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrinkleygit Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Exquisite as always 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Neck shaping is now mostly done. I'll make a few measurements to ensure the thickness is correct down the entire length of the neck and make sure it feels right. I'm leaning towards rounding the fretboard on this neck and trying a flat board on the other neck. I also need to sort a logo out for this headstock - I'm thinking the using one is too large for this so I'll look at options for making it smaller. I'm tempted to use mother of pearl of similar by way of a change! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 I still need to get the garage sorted into a decent workshop. At the moment, this is the only bit of work surface I have to work on. This is a fold down thing that the previous owners of this house made and so far it has worked well for me, so much so I'll look at doing something like this but a bit more solid when I finally get to sort the garage out!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebass456 Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Same here, except that I've only got about 9 feet by 9 feet to work in, so theres no room for expansion! Love the build photos - used to follow a chap on Instagram who made similar instruments a couple of years ago. Now I've got more time on my hands, I've pulled together the build pics I took during the making of the Ricky inspired uke bass I posted earlier. I'll drip feed them out rather than bang them all on one after the other - after all, its not a patch on the works of art you're crafting there fella! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 1 hour ago, mikebass456 said: Same here, except that I've only got about 9 feet by 9 feet to work in, so theres no room for expansion! "9 feet by 9 feet! Eee….Luxury My workshop were less'n half o' that. And it were at bottom of lake...." (etc) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 You were lucky to have a lake. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 Luxury.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 3 hours ago, mikebass456 said: Same here, except that I've only got about 9 feet by 9 feet to work in, so theres no room for expansion! I know what you mean. 9' x 9' is a decent enough size to start with but it soon goes when you add things like a band saw, router table, hand tools, storage etc. I am looking forward to getting this place sorted but it taking much longer than I hoped - the garage is still full of boxes to sort since we moved. Too much rubbish and time for a skip I think!! Look forward to the Uke build diary! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 23 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: Too much rubbish and time for a skip Sacrilege...unless you're including a hop and jump 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebass456 Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 How it all began..............with some strips of beech and and old hardwood shelf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebass456 Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Jumping about a bit here, both the body and neck blanks gluing up ready for next stage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 6 hours ago, mikebass456 said: How it all began..............with some strips of beech and and old hardwood shelf Hi @mikebass456 Looks like a lovely build but maybe start another topic of your own? Save it getting missed by others who might be interested! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 1 hour ago, BassApprentice said: Hi @mikebass456 Looks like a lovely build but maybe start another topic of your own? Save it getting missed by others who might be interested! Probably a good idea as it is a nice looking project. There's quite a bit of interest of short scale/uke type basses, I'm sure others would also be very interested. It's also nice to see wood getting recycled and the use of native woods like beech. Just a shame it looks like a Rik...!!😉 Cheers 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebass456 Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 2 hours ago, BassApprentice said: Hi @mikebass456 Looks like a lovely build but maybe start another topic of your own? Save it getting missed by others who might be interested! Good idea! I'll get onto it tomorrow morning............cheers!😃👍 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 I did some further sanding to the neck as the profile didn't feel quite 'right' whatever that may be. I probably only shaved a mm (ish) off part of the back of the neck but that made it feel quite different. It always amazes me that you can make small adjustments and it can completely change the feel as the profile changes. I decided in the end to radius this fretboard to 12" (I'll still try a flat board but I'll do that on the other neck). I always use chalk marks on the fretboard so I can get an idea of how much needs sanding - when all the chalk is gone the job is done! I've cut the frets to length. They are ready to have the tangs nipped so they won't show when fitted. That's the next job. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Fret tangs trimmed and frets installed. I bought a small arbor press a few years back and got a mate at an engineering firm to modify it so a fret press caul would fit. It really makes the job so much easier and is a vast improvement over a drill in a drill stand. I've still got the zero fret to do but I need a slightly taller piece of fret wire which I'm wait to arrive. Next task will be to continue with the body. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 That looks lovely, Jez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Must be a trick of the light (they don't make black fret wire) the frets look black. Coming on nicely.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 I got an old multigym from a friend a while back for my son but he didn't use it so I converted parts of it into a handy stand for drying guitar bodies or necks once a finish was applied. The body has now had a sealing coat and a couple of coats of satin lacquer applied by rattle cans. The finish has turned out quite nicely - helps when the weather is dry and warm. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 It has turned out nice. Again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slappindabass Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Lush Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Next small task was to paint the control cavity with conductive paint. I'll paint the cavity but use foil on the back of the cover as that is nice and flat. I'm using an EMG MMTW pickup for this that has a push pull pot to split the pickup from MM to J. I've not use one of these before but I'm giving it try as it should give a reasonable range of tones. I'm also going to combine this with an EMG BTC preamp for treble and bass control on a stacked pot. This is how the components will fit in the cavity - should be nice and tidy when done. I chose the MMTW after I'd joined the two halves of the body so the holes that were drilled for pickup wires will be too small to get the EMG connectors through. There's plenty of room to run the cables but just not the connector. I'll make up new cables and crimp the connectors once in place. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Nice heavy piece of fret wire has now arrived to make the zero fret. Will hopefully be able to get on with some more of the neck this weekend (well, it's not like I'm going anywhere....). I also need to go back to the other body and necks that I started earlier on in this build and decide what to do with them! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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