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Pair of Semi Hollow 4 strings - Fretted and Fretless


Jabba_the_gut

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I saw a bass somewhere on the internet which had massively oversized vol and tone controls (trying to drag this back on topic). Obv on a FSO they would be all wrong, but on something with a different aesthestic they looked superb.

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1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Not my choice as not my bass, but I really like the one above on the left.

 

1 hour ago, eude said:

Agreed!

 

Exactly what I said to Jabba last night but having slept on it I think I share his concerns about how the square top will look on such an otherwise curvaceous body.

 

I think I've settled on knob A. with an aluminium marker line like C. but no veneer line.

 

Knobs.jpg.fe8fe71b8f3109a19afcbe3f6fa53bd7.jpg

 

But he more I look at D., again, the more I like it but I am really not sure about the square top. Gah, why does he have to do such an excellent job? Because they are all lovely it's difficult to decide!

 

1115982138_Knobs2.jpeg.35e1f6bfab37c04377011b1d93ee0c4f.jpeg

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33 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

 

I believe I'm right in saying I discussed this with Jabba and it is possible but I specifically requested the aluminium lines to kind of match the fret markers.

Didn’t realise they were aluminium, thought that was white 

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D fits better with the "fret" markers and the rest of the instrument  so perfect knob IMHO, but C would be 'kin hilarious with the line right across the top like a John Thomas.....

Edited by Si600
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Well. I have had further pm conversations with Jabba and I think we have settled on shape C. but with a top wood that matches the body. However, I cannot get D. out of my mind so I have asked him to make me a pair like D. as well, that way I can try both out. There is something about D. that really has a hook in me, it triggers all sorts of 70s styling memories and that, as we all know is a good thing. I just know that if I simply settle on C. then D. will claw at me in my dreams until I take up heroin and drive off a cliff.

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1 hour ago, Si600 said:

…but C would be 'kin hilarious with the line right across the top like a John Thomas...


John Thomas? Edna Thomas’s boy? The luthier, harpsichord wrangler and world renowned expert in oyster cultivation? Last I heard he was doing six months in Wandsworth for embezzlement with menaces.

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2 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:


John Thomas? Edna Thomas’s boy? The luthier, harpsichord wrangler and world renowned expert in oyster cultivation? Last I heard he was doing six months in Wandsworth for embezzlement with menaces.

 

John Thomas? Didn't he pop up in Lady Chatterley's Lover?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I seem to have spent quite a long time over the past few weeks making knobs so here's a few pictures of the process I used. I've used wooden knobs a couple of tie before and I got a local wood turner to make them for me as I don't have a lathe. I still don't but I wanted to make them myself so....

 

First step - drill a shallow hole with a Forstner bit in the piece of wood that will make the body of the knob. This will be the recess under the knob where the pot nut will end up.

4ouPJSf.jpg

 

Next, drill a hole straight through that will accept the brass insert later

9pnC9Jx.jpg

 

Then I drew a circle round them for both sizes of knob ready to cut out with a bandsaw

qb3srvx.jpg

 

Cut these out and ended up with a load of these

1SMyoCi.jpg

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I don't have a lathe but I do have a drill stand. I mounted this horizontally and cut the head of an M10 bolt.

gsrTlt5.jpg

 

This allowed me to clamp the knob blanks, run this like a small lathe and trim these to size.

TFL6zDA.jpg

 

I made quite a few blanks as I know having not tried this before it would go wrong at some point and I'd end up with a number of scrap ones!!

M5usUty.jpg?1

r56MHFd.jpg?1

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Next I cut circles of wood for the knob tops

qmwm9tY.jpg?1

 

For the walnut ones, I cut a slot with my fret saw and glued in a strip of aluminium and filed flat. These are for the knobs that will just have the marker in the top. Tops were then glued onto the bodies. By luck, I found a small socket that had and outside diameter of 10mm and the knobs just pushed onto these sufficiently tightly that I could run them on my drill 'lathe' and trim them to size.

kmi7QUI.jpg

 

The ones for the full length marker were marked up so they could be cut to get the aluminium correctly in line. I clamped these into my fret slotting jig so I could get a nice clean cut.

TeeVrIG.jpg

 

This left me with a selection of knobs with a slot in for the aluminium

gn15rKK.jpg

 

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The aluminium was glued in and filed to size. I then put the knobs back on my drill 'lathe', shaped then with a chisel, sanded them and put a coat of sanding sealer on. This is what I ended up with from all the bits:

lyLPDJe.jpg

 

The knobs were then marked up for the position of the grub screw hole (the aluminium has been fitted to follow the grain - the first one I made didn't and it just looked wrong). The hole for the grub screw is opposite the aluminium marker.

00YRQB0.jpg

 

The holes were drilled then the insert fitted and glued in place with CA glue. After all this, these are the knobs I ended up with. Might need a little more finishing later but we'll see.

izgX1IO.jpg

 

So that's that part finished and tie to get back on with the bass itself!!

 

Cheers

Edited by Jabba_the_gut
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Outstanding quality, this raises the self build bar height beyond attainable for some of us. The diy technique to overcome the lack of a lathe is superb, I find the developing jigs, tools, methods a considerable part of the joy of self builds :)

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4 minutes ago, 3below said:

I find the developing jigs, tools, methods a considerable part of the joy of self builds :)

Completely agree. It’s just another part of the problem solving process that adds to the satisfaction. In this case I neither have the funds or space for a lathe just for this purpose so was really pleasing to find a way around it. Cheers

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3 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

Completely agree. It’s just another part of the problem solving process that adds to the satisfaction. In this case I neither have the funds or space for a lathe just for this purpose so was really pleasing to find a way around it. Cheers

Those knobs look very nice indeed.

 

I've just bought a very, very basic/cheap/small lathe to do one specific job. 

It is basically exactly what you have set up yourself, just with a tapered spigot at the end on a slider. 

I did think I could turn a few control knobs on it. 

I've yet to try it but if it's up to the job I'll put a post on here about it as it might be useful to other folks for making knobs. 

If it's not up to it it'll go in the bin. 😁

It's only 30cm long and £22.

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25 minutes ago, 3below said:

The diy technique to overcome the lack of a lathe is superb, I find the developing jigs, tools, methods a considerable part of the joy of self builds


Absolutely. Now once each knob has my name written on it, in Latin,  in mother of pearl that lights up every Michaelmas we'll be getting near the brief.

Edited by Frank Blank
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It has been time consuming and I bet I have spent something around 15 hours in total. That includes all trial and error as well as making some decent knobs in the end. One of those thing that if I decide to do it again it would be a lot quicker. But it’s been enjoyable and I learnt something new.

 

Cheers

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