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swarfrat
Guest
They're closetouts, but I think you can still say "For $100, they're probably made of MDF, which is pretty heavy stuff".
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swarfrat
Guest
Finally got the ball rolling. Glued up a quartersawn neck blank for the next project, got our poplar cut out for the body blank. A lot of head scratching, frequent interruptions by helper (pictured), but a good time.
Here's my assistant holding the current body for the u-bass. The current project is a barely there functional body just big enough to hold the neck, bridge, strap button, and thumb rests (one on either side, as I am not left handed). Battery compartment is going in the back since this is a u-bass I'm not really worried about compromising the integrity of the wood between the neck and bridge.
The existing body has a pretty strong neck dive, despite what would seem to be an adequate horn. This horn sketched out is a bit longer than I expect we'll need - and will be trimmed down if we deterine we can.
You can just make out the lower bout line on the template - there's not really one to speak of at all. He's so small, that if he tries to sit down, the lower bout makes the bass sit high or angle out. This body will be played always hanging from the strap - even if you're sitting.
Body pieces cut, glue lines staggered. We ran out of clamps since we glued up the 3/4 scale Thinline neck blank last night too, so we only got the top layer of the body glued up last night.
This is my first scratch body. I should have bought 6/4 poplar stock at the hardwood store a couple towns over, but I was impatient and trying to get my helper back home in time for his nap. Once we got out the door and I did the math - I realized exactly how much more I payed buying 1x S4S by the foot at the box store instead of having the real hardwood store S4S board feet lumber. I figured I was paying maybe double, but went this route for convenience. In actuality it was more like 5 or 6 times what we could have bought it for. Next time...
Here's my assistant holding the current body for the u-bass. The current project is a barely there functional body just big enough to hold the neck, bridge, strap button, and thumb rests (one on either side, as I am not left handed). Battery compartment is going in the back since this is a u-bass I'm not really worried about compromising the integrity of the wood between the neck and bridge.
The existing body has a pretty strong neck dive, despite what would seem to be an adequate horn. This horn sketched out is a bit longer than I expect we'll need - and will be trimmed down if we deterine we can.
You can just make out the lower bout line on the template - there's not really one to speak of at all. He's so small, that if he tries to sit down, the lower bout makes the bass sit high or angle out. This body will be played always hanging from the strap - even if you're sitting.
Body pieces cut, glue lines staggered. We ran out of clamps since we glued up the 3/4 scale Thinline neck blank last night too, so we only got the top layer of the body glued up last night.
This is my first scratch body. I should have bought 6/4 poplar stock at the hardwood store a couple towns over, but I was impatient and trying to get my helper back home in time for his nap. Once we got out the door and I did the math - I realized exactly how much more I payed buying 1x S4S by the foot at the box store instead of having the real hardwood store S4S board feet lumber. I figured I was paying maybe double, but went this route for convenience. In actuality it was more like 5 or 6 times what we could have bought it for. Next time...
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swarfrat
Guest
No - it's actually short for Ukulele - the first commercial ones were built on tenor ukulele bodies, acoustic versions (though the tiny body doesn't have enough volume to be useful.). So it's an electric Uke, or for the acoustic versions a "Uke box" perhaps?
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swarfrat
Guest
Slowly... figured out that the tension on the scroll saw blade has a huge impact on line-following ability. Much less sanding next time around. Also found the horn was waay too long (as suspected,).
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swarfrat
Guest
Not much more to look at, but we got the rest of the body blank glued up, shortened the horn to the 2nd of 3 possible positions I worked out, and smoothed up the router template edges. I'd kinda forgotten in the pic below, but the original intent for the body blank was canted a bit - it's really a subset of the original style, but it ends up kinda looking like a Roland GR707. We're done with the table saw, so once I get my glued up body back, the rest is stuff I can do in my workshop.
Took me a minute to figure out why sanding the inside of that horn was so frustrating. I am not left handed! Once I see how the bridge options stack up - I may shave the lower body a bit to change the angle and make it V shanked. But I was trying to leave room for elecronics/controls.
Took me a minute to figure out why sanding the inside of that horn was so frustrating. I am not left handed! Once I see how the bridge options stack up - I may shave the lower body a bit to change the angle and make it V shanked. But I was trying to leave room for elecronics/controls.
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swarfrat
Guest
I dunno why I didn't drive two towns over and just buy a piece of poplar big enough for a one piece body but.... what's the fun in that.
(Besides playing sooner)
(Besides playing sooner)
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swarfrat
Guest
Starting to look like an electric board thingy.
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swarfrat
Guest
Actually it's to power the piezo preamp. EMG's don't pick up rubber strings too well.
Also - for the first time, the new smaller body weighs less than the original. Whew. I think it's still worthwhile for the smaller width and less body in the way of such a small bassist, but I was also trying to seriously reduce the weight a bit. If this didn't work I was thinking about making it out of balsa (literally), with a couple of hardwood full thickness beams running vertically on either side of the center to give it some stiffness.
Also - for the first time, the new smaller body weighs less than the original. Whew. I think it's still worthwhile for the smaller width and less body in the way of such a small bassist, but I was also trying to seriously reduce the weight a bit. If this didn't work I was thinking about making it out of balsa (literally), with a couple of hardwood full thickness beams running vertically on either side of the center to give it some stiffness.
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swarfrat
Guest
Near disaster:
!@#$% template shifted on the bottom wall, resulting in a grossly oversize pocket. I can still save it by routing that wall away and having a two sided pocket that's all cutaway. Still makes me sick though.
!@#$% template shifted on the bottom wall, resulting in a grossly oversize pocket. I can still save it by routing that wall away and having a two sided pocket that's all cutaway. Still makes me sick though.
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swarfrat
Guest
How do you bore a very long straight hole in a board with very few right angles and that is longer than the capacity of the drill press you let your brother borrow? I took the toolpost off the lathe. Chucked a 1/2" brad point drill bit in the lathe. Took a giant angle iron cutoff and some wooden shims to ge the height right and pushed it into the bit by hand.
Also cut the cover for the cavity for the preamp. Decided to forgo any controls - plug in and you're on! In order to drill a wiring channel between the endpin preamp slot and the battery compartment - the body is too narrow to use a long aircraft drill bit (the angle would be very steep). So I'm going to route a slot in the back behind the bridge, then glue in another piece of that 1/4" poplar I used for the preamp cavity cover.
I still have to route away the lower cutaway all the way to the end of the neck, but every time I touched the router this morning it made a bigger oops than the last time.
Also cut the cover for the cavity for the preamp. Decided to forgo any controls - plug in and you're on! In order to drill a wiring channel between the endpin preamp slot and the battery compartment - the body is too narrow to use a long aircraft drill bit (the angle would be very steep). So I'm going to route a slot in the back behind the bridge, then glue in another piece of that 1/4" poplar I used for the preamp cavity cover.
I still have to route away the lower cutaway all the way to the end of the neck, but every time I touched the router this morning it made a bigger oops than the last time.
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swarfrat
Guest
Well, the world's most patient 3yo has given me a deadline. We were jamming in the music room, and I start playing an Easter song on guitar and he says "We can't sing that song daddy. My bass isn't finished yet." So I guess I got a little less than two weeks to finish up.
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swarfrat
Guest
The kicker is that I decided late to hollow it out, which adds another glue step. If it weren't for adding a glue up operation in the middle of the next work session, we could probably have paint drying on it this Saturday.
Basically I'm gonna skeletonize it, glue another slab of poplar on top, then follow up with the flush trim bit and roundovers. But we don't really have time to wait for glue to dry while working.
Basically I'm gonna skeletonize it, glue another slab of poplar on top, then follow up with the flush trim bit and roundovers. But we don't really have time to wait for glue to dry while working.
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swarfrat
Guest
Going to lighten it up a bit. I planed off the top 1/4", will hog it out, then reskin it with 1/4" poplar. Had a brilliant idea on the paint job. Kid is leaning towards bright green. I think black would look good (especially with the colored strings) but it's his choice. Howevrer... I'm thinking about a black paint job with his hand print in his dayglow green, then clearcoat the heck out of it.
I'm also thinking - the next body I do for anything else - I may plan from the getgo to make a sandwhich and route the body innerds first, then skin it and round over.
I'm also thinking - the next body I do for anything else - I may plan from the getgo to make a sandwhich and route the body innerds first, then skin it and round over.
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swarfrat
Guest
Next time, skip the chisels, use the forstner, then freehand the holes with the dremel until the outlines are deep enough for a pattern bit, then ride the walls down. It's ugly right now, but it'll clean up. Once I get the holes cleaned up and test fit the endpin jack & routing - it'll be time to glue on the top skin (1/4" poplar), screw on the back 1/4" skin, flush trim to shape, round over, take it all apart and paint.
The dremel was actually faster and more controllable than chiselling. A shorter depth 1/2" shank pattern bit arrives tomorrow. Just in time.
