Laminate tops

[Bassjacker]

So I am going to get a maple j bass body and was going to get a local guy to put a laminate top on it. What sort of dimensions (for the top) do you need for a laminate top?

 

[Fat Pete]

The overall body dimensions on the plans I have for a (Fender) Jazz are 20.55" x 13.71" so a little larger than that should cover it.

A whole bunch of questions are crowding in but I'm busy messing up a piece of swamp ash so I'll leave them to other people...

 

[bagman67]

Um.  Why?


If your local dude has sufficient woodworking skills to apply a lam top to a J body, why not just have him build it from scratch rather than try to apply a lam top to an otherwise finished product (and risk hosing it)?


Alternatively, why not just have Warmoth build you the body you want with the top you want (and have warranty protection)?


If neither of these is acceptable for whatever reason, perhaps pre-routed body blank would be a good halfway point.  Seems easier to glue a top on a blank and rout through the lam top into the existing cavities using a pattern bit.


http://www.warmoth.com/Body-Blank-Bass-C211.aspx


Dimensions for the bass blank are :  21"/18" x 15" x 1-3/4"


So a bookmatched set should be two 22" x 8" x .25" boards.  That will give you enough material to plane or sand to 1/8" thickness, joint the edges, and so forth.


Good luck, in any case.

 

[line6man]

Yeah, why not either send the lam top to Warmoth, or start with a body blank?

Adding a lam top to an existing body is not an easy task. You need to plane down the top of the body, and level it off nicely. Then you have to deal with finding the centerline to align the lam top, and rerouting the body.

Also, if you have a standard Jazz bass, the edge roundovers are too deep for 1/4" tops to extend to the edges, so you will need a thick lam top.

 

[Bassjacker]

I found a supplier that sells laminate tops that are 9/16'' x 7'' x 20 7/8''. Would that be suitable for a jazz bass body top?

I will go for a body blank and get my luthier to do the rest.

 

[bagman67]

That would depend on how good the edges are, but seems likely.

 

[Bassjacker]

Edges? Also could I just use one of the laminate tops as stated (9/16'' x 7'' x 20 7/8'' is one top?)

 

[line6man]

Hmm, I just remembered that Warmoth doesn't offer body blanks in anything other than the couple of standard woods listed on the website. If you are doing a body blank project to glue up your own laminate top, however, you are just ordering wood, so you can buy Maple wherever you want. 8/4 Maple is probably the easiest to find, but there will be a lot of waste. The final dimensions will be at least half an inch thinner, after resawing and planing.

I still think it would be a lot easier to just send a laminate top to Warmoth and have them do everything.

 

[line6man]

Edges? Also could I just use one of the laminate tops as stated (9/16'' x 7'' x 20 7/8'' is one top?)

That's one piece of a bookmatched set. 7" is clearly not one top.

 

[Cagey]

Also, the "edges" issue refers to how good the piece of wood is. There is always some loss sizing the part. Even a milled piece will need some planing to make the joint, but there's invariably a dent/gouge/tool marks/etc. that force you to cut the piece down a bit from its delivered dimension. So, if you need a piece 6 7/8" wide and you order a piece 7" wide, there's a chance you'll end up needing to cut/trim it until it's too small.

 

[Re-Pete]

I don't understand the economy of this exercise? :icon_scratch:

Warmoth sell a bog-standard Jazz Bass body in Maple for $205. Upgrade to rear Rout is $20 extra. That's the body being unfinished.

Buying a Warmoth Maple Jazz bass body and upgrading to a standard Flame or Quilt Maple top will cost you $280.

So - for the saving of $55-75 - you are employing a luthier to craft you a laminate top to fit onto a Jazz Bass body that's already routed?

Surely, to craft the lam top, the luthier will charge you more than $75?

If you are picky about what sort of lam top you may get from Warmoth, a Unique Choice laminate top will set you back some $400 fully done (body & lam top routed), but you have the surety the job is under warranty & if the lam top wood should cause issues in manufacture they will contact you to get another done (free of charge). I'd also suggest that Warmoth's wood stock is superior to what you may be able to get & it will be properly cured for the job too.

Even lumping for the expensive Unique Choice option at some $400, you get the body you exactly want & it is something folks take solace in when the idea of how the body will look comes into consideration.

 

[Bassjacker]

Firstly the price of service will be no more than $50.

The wood I want is poplar burl and it isnt kiln dried thus warmoth won't use it.

Now its a struggle to find a top 

 

[Bassjacker]

Ok......ok..........ok I have found a bookmatched set of poplar burl with each piece measuring

.26" x 7-1/4" tapering to 7-1/2" x 21"

Is that suitable?

 

[line6man]

Ok......ok..........ok I have found a bookmatched set of poplar burl with each piece measuring

.26" x 7-1/4" tapering to 7-1/2" x 21"

Is that suitable?

That's kind of thin.

 

[Cagey]

It's 1/4". Unless it was to be carved, that ought to work out ok.

 

[swarfrat]

Jbass is a drop top

 

[Cagey]

Ah. I'm not a bass player, so...

 

[swarfrat]

But its a jbass, so you sort of expect it to be kinda thin. Badda-dink.

 

[line6man]

I usually prefer thicker tops for aesthetic, but perhaps the variable density of burl woods does not contribute favorably to the resonance of a body, so a thinner top is not such a bad idea.

Only the OP can decide if 0.26" is thick enough for him.

 

[bagman67]

Here's a fun question - if your body modifier dude is going to do this, why not depend on him for dimensions that will suit his approach?  He's likely to know far better than us what his needs and capabilities are.