tubby.twins
Hero Member
- Messages
- 623
Problem:
Warmoth would only route the standard locations (neck and bridge) on the Gecko bass bodies. I wanted to build a "tone monster" bass with three pickups.
Solution:
I borrowed a router, made a routing jig, and routed a third pickup cavity between the neck and bridge pickup cavities.
Specs:
Pickup routes are the "standard" Bartolini P2 shape (4 1/4" by 1 1/4") in the "standard" locations. There is just enough space for a third pickup cavity, with about 5/32" wood remaining between the new cavities. Gecko 5 body is made from solid Purpleheart and was purchased from the Warmoth showcase earlier this year. Body has been rubbed with several coats of Carvin's pure lemon oil.
Instructions:
The routing jig was built from clear plexiglass with two 1/4" metal dowel pins (1" long) inserted exactly 2 15/16" apart as guide pins. (It took several tries to get the holes drilled in the right places, since I didn't have a drill press. The result was not pretty, but the jig worked.) Router was fitted with a 1/4" "down-cut" spiral bit and mounted exactly between the two guide pins.
This was my first time using a "plunge" router, so I tested it on a few scrap pieces of wood (and learned some important lessons) before attacking my prized Gecko body. Eye and ear protection were required. I made many shallow passes (~10 or so) at successively deeper cuts, in order to ease the load on the router, since purpleheart is a very dense wood. I continued until I had routed the new pickup cavity to 3/4" depth, the same as the existing pickup cavities.
I used Scotch blue masking tape to cover critical areas of the bass body, which otherwise would have been scratched by the routing jig (and the rapidly accumulating wood shavings). I also used a vacuum cleaner to remove all wood shavings between passes.
One more thing I learned about purpleheart: because this wood is so dense and resinous, I had to keep the router moving at all times, otherwise the heat from the bit would start to "toast" the wood and bring out the dark purple resin color. It smelled really nice when this happened.
Pictures of the result:
The new pickup cavity appears more "brown" because freshly-cut purpleheart looks that way. Once the wood has been exposed to air for some time, it will gradually turn more purple.
Next steps:
Bass will be fitted with three SGD dual-coil neodymium passive pickups, and passive electronics including a 5-way rotary coil selector.
Warmoth would only route the standard locations (neck and bridge) on the Gecko bass bodies. I wanted to build a "tone monster" bass with three pickups.
Solution:
I borrowed a router, made a routing jig, and routed a third pickup cavity between the neck and bridge pickup cavities.
Specs:
Pickup routes are the "standard" Bartolini P2 shape (4 1/4" by 1 1/4") in the "standard" locations. There is just enough space for a third pickup cavity, with about 5/32" wood remaining between the new cavities. Gecko 5 body is made from solid Purpleheart and was purchased from the Warmoth showcase earlier this year. Body has been rubbed with several coats of Carvin's pure lemon oil.
Instructions:
The routing jig was built from clear plexiglass with two 1/4" metal dowel pins (1" long) inserted exactly 2 15/16" apart as guide pins. (It took several tries to get the holes drilled in the right places, since I didn't have a drill press. The result was not pretty, but the jig worked.) Router was fitted with a 1/4" "down-cut" spiral bit and mounted exactly between the two guide pins.
This was my first time using a "plunge" router, so I tested it on a few scrap pieces of wood (and learned some important lessons) before attacking my prized Gecko body. Eye and ear protection were required. I made many shallow passes (~10 or so) at successively deeper cuts, in order to ease the load on the router, since purpleheart is a very dense wood. I continued until I had routed the new pickup cavity to 3/4" depth, the same as the existing pickup cavities.
I used Scotch blue masking tape to cover critical areas of the bass body, which otherwise would have been scratched by the routing jig (and the rapidly accumulating wood shavings). I also used a vacuum cleaner to remove all wood shavings between passes.
One more thing I learned about purpleheart: because this wood is so dense and resinous, I had to keep the router moving at all times, otherwise the heat from the bit would start to "toast" the wood and bring out the dark purple resin color. It smelled really nice when this happened.
Pictures of the result:
The new pickup cavity appears more "brown" because freshly-cut purpleheart looks that way. Once the wood has been exposed to air for some time, it will gradually turn more purple.
Next steps:
Bass will be fitted with three SGD dual-coil neodymium passive pickups, and passive electronics including a 5-way rotary coil selector.