bassman Posted July 20, 2003 Report Share Posted July 20, 2003 After building only one bass many people have seen it and now they want me to make them one as well... but I no longer have access to a full wood shop- I have graduated from the college where I had such priveleges. I used a bandsaw to roughcut the shape of the neck (the taper) then I used a 10 ft edgesander to make the tape exact. Since i no longer have a ten foot edge sander or a million bucks to buy one, I need a different way of making a dead one accurate taper. There must be a better way of doing this besides using a hblock sander (way too much work for an extremely hard neck), I know that using a joiner is possible, but what it the bast way to do this? Peace and thanks. Ryan Rice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86barettaguy Posted July 20, 2003 Report Share Posted July 20, 2003 talk to the guy in charge of the wood shop at the school you went to. maybe he'll let you in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted July 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2003 for those of you that will suggest using a router and template... I am building multilaminate necks-5 to 9 pieces each... and routing may be a problem for the switching grain directions between the differet pieces of wood Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 20, 2003 Report Share Posted July 20, 2003 hmm, u could design a template to be just a tad big, and then sand down any little burs that arrise due to the change in grain? right now i just use a hand planer and a straight edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 on my last guitar i did it this way: 1/ plane the fingerboard to correct taper(very easy cos its small) 2/ glue the fingerboard in place 3/ run the router with a ball-bearing bit down the length of the neck with the bearing riding on the side of the fingerboard 4/ stand back in amazement at how simple that really was! but there are many ways to do it, this is just my preferred method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted July 21, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 John, I would do that but I am building neck thru basses, and as you know the f-board is not nearly as long as the entire instrument. Derek, I might have to just go at it like you until in can afford to get either a ten foot edge sander or a nice joiner. I will tend to use very hard woods, rosewood, wenge, purpleheart, hardrock maple, bubinga ebony, and planing that stuff by hand will take a lo of time. That is not a huge concern when I am building for myself, but when I am building for someone else I do not want to put so much time into it that it is not financially beneficial. Thanks, Ryan P.S. I suppose I just need to come up with a way to buy a joiner. I am just looking for a way to do it more quickly without putting out more money, at least for the time being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Do you still have a bandsaw? use a tapered fence and just cut it with the bandsaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 how about tapering the whole plank using a joiner or hand plane and then adding 'ears' to the headstock later? dunno if that answering your question or not , tis a tough one! john. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted July 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 LGM, No I do not have one but I would like to get one soon... How wide of a blade do you use in order to get a cleaner "bend free" neck so that you dont have to sand the hell out of it afterwards? This is assuming you do not have problems with it cutting out of line. I suppose that i could use the same method on my accurate belt drive table saw... I am just a bit hesitant to put so much time into a multipiece neck, with several channels for carbon fiber rods and 2 truss rods, and then screw it up. But I guess I just need take my time setting it up and then go for it. John, That is my plan for when I make a headed bass, right now I am taking the headless route. While most people are hesitant of such different looking instuments they usually change their minds very soon after playing my bass, not only is it balanced perfectly but it is also very light (thin body-yet a nearly full size profile), the pegs dont get knocked and throw it out of tune, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 you can do it well with a 3/8" blade, I use a 3/4" blade for long straight cuts in the bandsaw though, just make sure that your fence guide is nice and tight and the upper guides are only high enough to clear your blank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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