zyonsdream Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 I’ve worked with Zebrawood a lot and it’s very prone to tear out which I gather you are aware of by now. It’s also one of the foulest smelling woods when cutting and sanding! If I remember it grows on the banks of swamps which add to the gaseous smell! The good thing is, the smell will go away when it’s finished. If you use a down cut bit you’ll get less tear out. I just started a new guitar with Zebra wings and I used a brand new carbide 1” template bit and it tore like crazy. I’ve noticed that duller carbide router bits with a router that wont bog down seems to help prevent tearing out. Also, if you push the router against the cut it also helps prevent tear out. I always like to keep a nice dull router bit on hand for when I get a pesky wood that likes to tear out. Sometimes it does the trick. Ultimately you should use a shaper and leave the router on the bench. Some woods just weren’t made to have their end grain router. LIKE PURPLE HEART!!!!!!!!!! Just my opinion on Zebrawood. My current project, Zebra wings with Padauk neck through, will have a rosewood board with a zebra headstock cap. You are correct about the overall weight. It will be about as much as an old 70's Les Paul or slightly more but anyone interested in exotic hardwoods will be expecting some extra weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted July 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 I was expecting the weight before we even started. And yes, it does smell a bit at times, we work in a garage with the door open so smells disappear quickley enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 (edited) Finally some more progress, and quite drastic progress at that! Pickup routs are done without faults, which is a very cool feeling. So is the control cavity rout, Daniel's is a bit cleaner than mine but its still good enough. The channels we routed for the pickup wires are still intact and glue free so no problems there. They look really good so far if I do say so myself. Next up: finish shaping the headstock, carving the elbow and tummy contours, fitting the fingerboards, shaping the neck etc. Have a looksy, enjoy. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0189.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0192.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0199.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0201.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0203.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0204.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0206.jpg Edited August 19, 2007 by Maurits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 (edited) Holes for the pots and jack are drilled, and they are now about ready to have some fingerboards glued on them. Edited August 25, 2007 by Maurits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 26, 2007 Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 (edited) Awesome they look really cool together! what wood you going for on the fretboard? You know i didn't realise before but your headstock looks pretty similar to mine Edited August 26, 2007 by travismoore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Thanks Travis. For the fingerboards we're using Coromandel (also called Macassar Ebony or Striped Ebony) of which we managed to get some really good looking pieces. They both have fretlines made of maple veneer and side dots inlays (no inlays on the front). There is one difference between the to boards though. Daniels will have the lines showing on the front while we put in the fretlines on the the back of my board, leaving the front completely clean with lines showing on the side of the board. If all goes well we'll be gluing them on today. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...el/DSCF2056.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Those fretboards look like they will really fit with the zebrawood. The grain pattern looks very similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Thanks, they fit real nice with the zebrano. At first I thought it would be a bit to busy and wild put they look real good on there. Today we test fitted the wiring harnesses and we glued on the boards. Both went smoothly. These things are really getting there now. Second bass Close Up Both of them clamped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 looks excellent - i think i prefer the straighter grained one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Thank you, that happens to be mine. I wouldn't mind owning the either one of them. We had a hard time choosing who got which one since we didn't really prefer one over the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 The fingerboards are now glued on and the necks are routed to the final taper. Next is the shaping of the necks. Bass II. Other side Sidelines Both basses Both again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 Looking good man! But aren't you worried about access to the upper frets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 Thanks bud. I'm not too worried about it. I rarely play above the 20th fret and when we've carved a nice heel on them the reach is good enough for the few times that I play up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 More work done to the basses today. The transition from the nut to the headstock has been carved on both basses, same with the headstock area on the back of the neck. We're both still in the process of carving the heel, which is almost done. So we'll finish that up tomorrow and start (and hopefully finish) the entire length of the necks with spokeshaves and a drawknife. Pics. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...II/DSCF0299.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...II/DSCF0298.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...II/DSCF0297.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/DSCF0292.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Looks really good! What tools do you use to do it that quickly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Looking good. I really like the color combo with these. I always thickness the neck blank close to final depth on the bandsaw before I start doing anything. It keeps you from having to carve away 1/2" of material like your doing there. Sure makes it easier on your arms (and tools). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 (edited) Thanks for the compliments guys. Sadly we don't have a bandsaw at our disposal, but next time I'm definatly going to saw the laminates closer to the final shape before gluing them together. This is only our first build so we've learned quite a bit for the next times. It was quite a pain for the arms. Travis: For the back of the necks we used assorted rasps and a drum sander (like these: Drum Sanders ) on a hand held drill which worked quite well. For the rest of the neck we'll use a spokeshave and/or drawknife. BTW Daniel, nice website you've set up for yourself, looks real good. You've got talent man. Edited August 30, 2007 by Maurits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted August 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 The carving on both the necks is done, they already feel real good. They still need quite a bit of work done to them like sand out the remaining bumps and smooth out the heel and headstock area. The end (or beginning depending on how you look at it) is nigh. Here's some pics. Bass 1: http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...1carvedneck.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...ss1backbody.jpg Bass 2: http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...2carvedheel.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...bass2carved.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...arvedvolute.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielM Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 well Travis as maurits allready said we used rasps, spokeshaves, planes and a lot of elbow grease, the electric drum sander . today we started carving at around 11 AM and we called it a day at 5:30 PM (17:30) so there's a good 6 hours in there... tomorrow will be a day of sanding and rounding over the fretboards at the edges as they are a bit sharp at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted December 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 (edited) After a long time, we've got more progress on the bass. We're getting there (very) slowly but surely. We did headstock inlays, which were quite nerve racking, sanded it all up to 400 grit and made matching zebrawood (backed with aluminium for strength) covers for the control cavities. Also, today we put the first coat of shellac sanding sealer on the bodies and necks. Next coat is going on tomorrow night. So here's some pics for y'all. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...es/PC020509.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...ay/PC020502.jpg A nice, artsy pic: http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...ay/PC010491.jpg Edited December 2, 2007 by Maurits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Looking great guys! Keep us posted =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastertone007 Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Wow guys. these are 2 awesome looking basses. I love the fretless one the most. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted December 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Thanks guys. DBM: both of them are fretless actually. The one on the right has fretlines showing on the front, while the one on the left has them showing on the side (otherwise it'd be too hard for me to play it ) Here's a shot of the side of the board of the bass on the left. I saw an Alembic that had the fretlines showing like this and thought it was a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastertone007 Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Well whata ya know!! I should really read the whole thread and i would get it right. I love the one on the left. The one on the right is suppa cool to thou. Both are great. Way to go. And great idea with the fretlines showing at the bottom of the fret board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted December 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Well, my bass is finally done. Daniel still has to get pickups for his, which we may get this weekend and then his will be up and running in no time too. I'm very pleased with how it came out, sounds and play pretty darn good. Can't wait to build another as soon as possible. Here's some pics. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...d/DoneFront.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...neHeadstock.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...neBackClose.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...ed/DoneBack.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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