Homemade bass body

[dNA]

I know what you mean about the price of router bits. It's like they're made out of precious unobtanium or something. I'll tell you, though, it's worth it to pay for the better bits. Any time you buy a cheap bit, thinking "I'll get the better one later when I've got more money to spare", you've dramatically raised the price of the bit. Bare minimum, it means you're buying two bits to end up with one, but it's more likely going to be three, and you run the risk of burning or tearing out your workpiece. It only costs a little more to go first class, and you're rarely sorry.

yeah man. I'm definitely of the mindset that it's better to invest in getting the best gear you can get right off the bat, rather than buying some cheap and wanting to replace it later. I'm just not thrilled, because I'm basically buying them for my dad. I don't own any of the tools and i'm moving out in a few months. But in the end, it's a small price to pay for the experience and the resulting guitar!

 

[dNA]

Good golly, Miss Molly!

so it's been a while since I updated. We kinda only got to work on tiny bits here and there over the last month or so, but we're somewhere now.


I have to apologize to everyone who's ever built a guitar body in their life. I did not give you guys enough credit. At first things were going smooth and I thought this was going to be easier than initially expected.
At this point I have
a) ruined two templates
b) damaged the original body we were copy because I used the wrong kind of router bit for a job
c) messed up the sides of the neck pocket
d) drilled too deep on certain holes and had to fill them with dowels
e) broken two screws, because of improper pre-drilling


All in all, this has been a lesson in on-the-fly problem solving. BUT today we finished pre-drilling for the neck screws and I actually put the neck on about 10 minutes ago.


it needs hella work. the body hasn't even been really shaped and there's no electronic routes. But mechanically, it's an instrument with the neck and bridge there, so I strung it up. I had to raise the action way up and do a big truss rod adjustment to get it to even sound, but it IS sounding. I think the neck needs to be seated a millimeter or two deeper.
All problems aside, it actually sounds much nicer than the original body. It's simply rounder and fuller with less of a midranginess. As of yet it's very quiet - we'll see if that changes when it loses a lot of mass in shaping and eventual electronics routing. If i can get it to usable playing setup, I think I will actually have succeeded in creating a better instrument.  :headbang:



My girlfriend is out of town for two weeks and I don't have a camera, so pictures will come later. By then hopefully I will have replaced the broken screws and start on the body shaping.
oh, and the ash figuring looks great. I'm tempted to leave it really really raw looking. like just a colorless oil or something. we'll see

 

[MedianMusic1]

Keep at it. I wish I had the patience/skill to build my own guitar body...

 

[baskruit]

We can shake hands. My build won't be perfect when it's finished either. But we're both are gaining a lot of experience and our next builds will be much better because of it.

 

[dNA]

We can shake hands. My build won't be perfect when it's finished either. But we're both are gaining a lot of experience and our next builds will be much better because of it.

I hope so. I think the next opportunity I'll have to make a build may not be for a long time though - I won't have the tools when i move out. I would really like to have time to start another one soon, but it just don't see it happening, plus we did enough damage to the original and the templates that I don't think I could make another copy of this body. I'm scared to try and copy my W body, because i might chew it up with a router bit. haha. if not, I'd try copying the P body I ordered. x_X

 

[rapfohl09]

This looks awesome so far. Keep at it man, everyones gotta start somewhere :icon_thumright:

 

[dNA]

project for tomorrow - remove broken bridge mounting screws from body, dowel the hole, redrill for new screws, and check to make sure the bridge pieces are nice and secure. Then on to routing a control cavity and maybe some preliminary body shaping.

 

[dNA]

Update. Still no pictures. I wish I had a good picstory to go with this whole thing. It'd be so informative.


successfully removed the broken screws, filled the holes with dowels, and securely mounted the bridge(s).


As this thing was coming along really nicely, I started pondering what electronics i should go for. Do i want to route it for the original pickups and throw them back in there and see how it sounds? I kind of know that i won't love them.. but should i stick with the same pickup routes? If i go for something new, it means buying all new electronics which could be in the range of $200 if not more.

Meanwhile, since i didn't have the pickup routes yet, my dad suggested we wait on shaping the body - if the body isn't flat it'll be harder to lay the template on and route for pickups later. So we decided to do the last piece of work that can be done before that: the control cavity.
So we cut the template out for the control route, put the template on the body, and drilled out most of the cavity with a large bit on the drill press. My dad had to go to bed cuz he has a long day ahead of him tomorrow. All I had to do at this point was take the plunge router and go around the edges - 3 times, gradually increasing the depth with each cut.

I do the first route job - super smooth, super fast. This was the first time routing something on the body that nothing went wrong.
Second pass - same deal. easy as pie
Third pass - now the cavity is too deep for the bit i'm using, so I swap it out for the longer bit. I adjust the depth and get going.

The router feels like it's moving more roughly - like it's got a lot more resistance. Little did i know, the bit was actually coming out of the router. And in the process, it was cutting deeper and deeper. I only noticed when I looked down at the control cavity and clearly saw the floor.

:doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:
Seriously, this job has been screwup after screwup after screwup. hahah. i'm loving it. My job for the weekend is to find a creative solution to the inch-long hole in the face of the guitar.. and figure out what pickups I'm going to use while i'm at it. yeesh

 

[baskruit]

Dude. You really seem to be learning the hard way.
Thanks for sharing.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

The router feels like it's moving more roughly - like it's got a lot more resistance. Little did i know, the bit was actually coming out of the router. And in the process, it was cutting deeper and deeper. I only noticed when I looked down at the control cavity and clearly saw the floor.

Oh, man, that's my worst nightmare. I'm fanatic about double and triple checking the router bit collet tightness, because those things spin so outrageously fast. Most routers run between 25,000 and 35,000 RPM. I mean, that bit is just screaming in circles, and if that sumbitch lets go, it's a large, heavy, irregularly-shaped piece of shrapnel with super-sharp edges flying at you at, literally, bullet speeds. Figure a typical .45 cal ACP bullet has a muzzle velocity around 1,080 fps, while the outside cutting edge of a 1/2" mortising bit spinning at 35,000 RPM would straighten out to a speed of 942 fps, but it's a lot heavier than a .45 cal bullet. Lotta damage that thing can do in the process of coming to a stop in your gut or groin somewhere. It's a strong argument for two things. First, make damn sure that collet is tight, or it could kill you. Second, always use 1/2" shank bits unless you absolutely can't avoid it. There's a lot more meat in the shank and surface area for the collet to hold onto, and less chance of the shank breaking than there is with 1/4" shank bits. Plus, the 1/2" shank bits are more stable.

 

[baskruit]

Second, always use 1/2" shank bits unless you absolutely can't avoid it. There's a lot more meat in the shank and surface area for the collet to hold onto, and less chance of the shank breaking than there is with 1/4" shank bits. Plus, the 1/2" shank bits are more stable.

That's a good one. Something I didn't realize when I bought my plunge router. In other words: It doesn't accept 1/2'' shanks which sucks because now I can't use 2'' template bits. Chances are I'll be buying another router if I ever build another body.

 

[Cagey]

When you get ready for another router, look hard at the Bosch units. Of the three different routers I've owned, that's the best by far. They're strong, the accuracy and repeatability is excellent, and they they have a wide variety of accessories for them. Not the least expensive units out there, but you definitely get a lot of tool for the money and you don't have to worry about it. I highly recommended the the 1617EVSPK package.

Soft start, speed control, both collets, both bases, template adapter, case, etc.

Normally $426, Amazon has a helluva deal on them for $197 w/ free shipping.