fleabag Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 3 hours ago, Richard R said: Yes, yes it is. And if your indestructible fretboard breaks Andy then the entire forum will be round your way with pitchforks. If he breaks, i'm off. You'll never find me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 I wont see any more progress till Thurs eve, as i'm off to the Somerset Levels in the morn for 2 days wildlife photography. I'd hope someone will post if the if the worst happens so i can get the hell out of Dodge, like sharpish 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 And....all the frets are in And now work on the neck itself can start. I have a lovely piece of maple for the project but, I am going to explore the merits of getting a different piece before I start cutting. The problem is the depth. The piece is designed for a one-piece neck, which is what @fleabag is after...but those are usually cut to Fender-type proportions. And, because those have no headstock angle, the blanks tend to be relatively shallow. This is fine if you are going to use string trees/retainers - you can have a modest neck angle and the retainer provides the break angle on the longer string runs, like the one I recently did for Happy Jack's fretless: But it's not enough angle without. The above is around 3 degrees and I would be looking at around 10 degrees for one without retainers. So I need to order some more/different sized wood. That should come through pretty quickly and, in the meantime, I can be sorting the fret ends of the fretboard and the template for the 2-a-side headstock and so it should not impact on the overall timescales. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) And...fret ends trimmed And why the clamp? Left to their own devices, the fret tangs in the slots would curve the fretboard. Normally, a small strip of double sided tape in the middle would hold the board to the beam. But, yes, this is Rocklite Richlite - and so... That said, the frets seem to be nicely held and it is very black. Just like the ebony of legend that the Vikings used to talk about around the camp fires of yore Edited March 24, 2022 by Andyjr1515 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 I bet you're missing that fretless Mike Lull neck by now ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 11 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: I bet you're missing that fretless Mike Lull neck by now ... Certainly am It looks and sounds GREAT in some of your Junkyard Dogs videos. Pretty slick playing in 'The House is Rocking' - that neck finish doing its stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Why thank'ee kindly, Young Master. The neck feels just great, an absolute delight to play. The only thing I'm having to fiddle with is the action. As you know I usually have a much higher action on my basses, and I haven't quite got my head around having it as slick as this. 😂 It's fine at the start of each set but, as I get more & more carried away, I dig in more and start to choke the strings. They tell me, it's all in the fingers ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted March 24, 2022 Author Share Posted March 24, 2022 On 23/03/2022 at 16:13, Andyjr1515 said: And...fret ends trimmed And why the clamp? Left to their own devices, the fret tangs in the slots would curve the fretboard. Normally, a small strip of double sided tape in the middle would hold the board to the beam. But, yes, this is Rocklite - and so... That said, the frets seem to be nicely held and it is very black. Just like the ebony of legend that the Vikings used to talk about around the camp fires of yore Richlite, you slag 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted March 24, 2022 Author Share Posted March 24, 2022 Looking damn good already Mr 1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 I've just ordered another neck blank that will give me the right amount of depth to get the break angle I would feel more comfortable with (I can use the other one on another project that doesn't need the same depth) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 1 hour ago, fleabag said: Richlite, you slag Got me to a T Richlite it is. What was I thinking (generally not about much) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 On 23/03/2022 at 16:13, Andyjr1515 said: And why the clamp? Left to their own devices, the fret tangs in the slots would curve the fretboard. Normally, a small strip of double sided tape in the middle would hold the board to the beam. But, yes, this is Rocklite Richlite - and so... Sorted 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 I haven't hibernated, folks. Waiting delivery of the thicker neck wood blank from David Dyke's - they are clearly still busy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 I was worried that the rock like richlite had finished you off. I was getting out the torches and sharpening the pitchfork before rounding up the mob to go and find Fleabag 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted March 31, 2022 Author Share Posted March 31, 2022 I'm hiding in a bowl of noodles in Bangkok , but now i've seen that Andy hasn't been finished off by the " Richlite you slag " , i'm on my way back Holster them thar pitchforks Si600 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Ooooo.... UPS notification of a delivery Monday 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 And we have wood! Oh - hang on...wait a minute...that means I have to get off my f*t a**e and actually do something now. Didn't think that one through! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted April 4, 2022 Author Share Posted April 4, 2022 You've had a nice break, now uncork yourself from your rocker, and get back to work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 I always draw the headstock angles full size - as you are drawing it your mind is almost sub-consciously double checking everything, something that still feels different to me with CAD (then again, I am an old git). At 28mm, the blank is deep enough to be able to get a 6 degree angle for the headstock - plenty enough, given the raised position of the fretboard and nut slots for a decent break angle, of the strings over the nut The sequence of most things on this neck is going to be slightly different to most of my necks as the blank is full width so that everything, including the full headstock width, will be out of one piece of maple. I will double check my sequence over the afternoon, but the first thing I will probably do is cut the truss-rod slot while I have still have side of the blank as the datum for the router fence. Then (I think) the blank will go into my thicknessing rig jacked up at an angle to get the top face of the headstock ( the width is too great for me to be able to cut that on the band saw). Then I can cut the plan and side profile shape. I will sketch those phases out to see if there are any fatal flaws in the plan! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 That all went over my head, but hey, i'll open a bag of popcorn and watch from afar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 This is the blank on my router table, with the 6mm bit sticking up from underneath. I've just done a 1mm cut here to make absolutely sure this is going to be in the right place before I deepen it to 9mm. The datum side, which I planed square first, is, in this photo, on the LHS and will butt up to the router table fence on the right: The yellow pusher is an essential piece of kit when you are dealing with something as potentially dangerous as a router table: Raising the bit 3-4mm per pass, the slot was now 9mm. And - with the slot widened and deepened for the trussrod adjuster - the first step is done Just as an aside, for anyone interested or anyone thinking of trying a neck build for the first time: on this type of truss rod, the adjuster has a surround. Functionally that is great because, apart from anything else, it keeps the fretboard fixing glue out of the truss-rod threads. That will be particularly helpful on this neck where the richlite fretboard is going to need to be glued with epoxy resin. But that surround adds a quite a bit of extra depth needed in the slot at this point. This will be fine with the rock maple I'm using here (and they are good adjusters) but, for mahogany necks, I tend to use a type with a more basic but slimmer adjuster (the maths is: neck depth at nut, say 21mm minus 6mm fretboard minus 11.5mm trussrod slot depth at the adjuster on this type of rod = only 3.5mm of timber under the trussrod end that is actively pushing all its force against it at this point. And yes - truss rod ends sometimes do pop out to say hello on slim mahogany necks The volute helps, but that is more there to strengthen the neck where the headstock cranks down and tends to start thickening slightly behind where the trussrod end would make its grand entrance if it felt inclined. It doesn't happen often...and I've never seen it happen on a maple neck. But if you are venturing into the dark art of neck building for the first time, always double check by doing the maths 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 The devil in the detail, very nice mr Werthers Cracking stuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 57 minutes ago, fleabag said: Cracking stuff That is what Andy is trying to avoid isn't it? Unrelated news - I have permission from my better half to build a workshop at the end of the garden!😃 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 40 minutes ago, Richard R said: Unrelated news - I have permission from my better half to build a workshop at the end of the garden!😃 That is so, so, good. Mine still keeps me down in the small, damp cellar. Probably more than I deserve, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 (edited) Our heating is due to be replaced urgently, so hopefully the big oil tank will go and my available space for "workshop" will double and a bit. It'll still be in the cellar though. See Bench Build Diary for pictures, if they're still there! Edited April 5, 2022 by Si600 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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