travismoore Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Looking awsome =) Good luck with the fanned frets that going to be hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 It looks Gorgeous! How wide is the Body at it`s widest point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 It looks Gorgeous! How wide is the Body at it`s widest point? 14" at it's widest. I'm guessing as I finish sanding it I'll take a little off of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 have you left enough room for a full 1/4 turn of the truss rod?...it doesn't look like it from the pic. nice bass though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 have you left enough room for a full 1/4 turn of the truss rod?...it doesn't look like it from the pic. nice bass though Are you talking about the access hole in the fretboard? The truss rod is a stewmac hotrod with a spoke wheel and I am able to turn it enough to get to each spoke.......Otherwise if that's not it, did I do something wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 have you left enough room for a full 1/4 turn of the truss rod?...it doesn't look like it from the pic. nice bass though Are you talking about the access hole in the fretboard? The truss rod is a stewmac hotrod with a spoke wheel and I am able to turn it enough to get to each spoke.......Otherwise if that's not it, did I do something wrong? Two 1/8 turns equal 1/4.You should be fine.You don`t want to adjust a neck in large increments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 have you left enough room for a full 1/4 turn of the truss rod?...it doesn't look like it from the pic. nice bass though Are you talking about the access hole in the fretboard? The truss rod is a stewmac hotrod with a spoke wheel and I am able to turn it enough to get to each spoke.......Otherwise if that's not it, did I do something wrong? No, that's fine....It didn't look like you'd left enough room to turn it to the next hole. ...& yeah, it would be 1/8 turn not 1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrogeoman Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 I also decided to thin out the upper horn to shed some weight and it looked a little thick to me. The one on the left is the finished thickness....I like it better! Shaping up nicely. I like the trimmed down upper horn much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 I was a busy guy over the weekend! My understanding wife is the best for letting me disappear to the garage for so many hours! I finished shaping/sanding the heel area, I really like how it turned out. Heel Shaped Then I started on the dreaded fanned frets, first with a pencil. Fretlines in Pencil Upper register pencil Then after practicing on scrap it was time to break out my fretsaw that I bought at StewMac. Sawing the Fretlines Turning out good! I sure hope that everything lines up, I'm sure it will since I was very careful. Next I layed the pickups and bridge pieces out to get the angle I wanted for routing the pickups. Layout of bridge and pickups Then it's time to carefully make a template, I realized after I made the first one that you need to leave room for the router to move so I had to make a second one with extra wood to clamp onto. Pickup route template It came out great, actually a little too tight. I need to do a small amount of sanding to make them slightly bigger, and it will be a perfect fit. Both Pickup routes done Closer shot of the neck pickup route I then routed my 3/8" deep route for the control cavity cover, and still need to route the cavity to depth in the center, but it came out great! I did have to raise the template so I could use the bearing on my template bit. Control Cavity Template Control Cavity Routed for the cover! I did most of the finish sanding after this but didn't get photos of it. There's still a little more to do, but I got anxious and decided to put the frets in! I read a bunch of different points of view and decided a drop of CA on each end and one in the middle couldn't hurt. I got them all in and need to file/dress/etc...and it went over without a hitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 (edited) Couple of questions: What is the formula you are using for fanning frets? No fingerboard radius? Are you going to taper the edges down and make it a bit thinner around the edges (Horn mainly)? Are those Barts passive? Are you going for a sort of fishtail ? or Do you plan to do something else with the butt? Edited December 11, 2006 by JohnRossitter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Couple of questions: What is the formula you are using for fanning frets? No fingerboard radius? Are you going to taper the edges down and make it a bit thinner around the edges (Horn mainly)? Are those Barts passive? Are you going for a sort of fishtail ? or Do you plan to do something else with the butt? I used Fret Find 2D FretFind it's a great program. And no I didn't radius, I'm a big guy with big fingers and I wanted a big feeling neck! Yes I'm still sanding some, although not much more to go.........I may round the upper horn a little, but I'm not going to get crazy with the carving. The barts are passive and I have a 2 band NTBT Bart preamp going in there with Volume, Treb, Mid, Bass, Blend going in. The butt is officially gone now, it was just excess to ensure I didn't need to Match the wings perfectly when I glued them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Ahh, I will have to check 2D FretFind out. I understand about wanting a flat neck. I'm a little guy, but i love a big radius I think it's looking great...keep up the good work. Any plans for a finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Ahh, I will have to check 2D FretFind out. I understand about wanting a flat neck. I'm a little guy, but i love a big radius I think it's looking great...keep up the good work. Any plans for a finish? Since it's my first, I'm going for the tru-oil finish in the hopes that it will be easy for a beginner. Plus it looks nice on walnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 That is does. I think you will enjoy the sound of walnut as well. I just finished a walnut based 4 string and it's nice and warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manquesa Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 (edited) Then after practicing on scrap it was time to break out my fretsaw that I bought at StewMac. Wow, i'm impressed. I have that same StewMac Fretsaw and I used it and hated it. Maybe I didn't have enough patience because when I finished fretting my fingerboard I ended up with a lot of inconsistencies in the fret slot widths as well as the straightness of some of the fret lines. I ended up trashing that fingerboard and ordering a preslotted board from lmii. I think i'm gonna try the fret slotting table saw blade next time and made a jig for it. Anyway, good work on your project so far, i'm digging it. Can't wait to see it finished. Edited December 11, 2006 by manquesa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Hey DigthemLows , It looks great. what model #`s are your Bartolinis and are you going with a preamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Hey DigthemLows , It looks great. what model #`s are your Bartolinis and are you going with a preamp? From a website "BC5CBC Classic Bass Series, Dual Coil Humbucker. "Classic Bass" CB series bass pickups are passive designs featuring an extended and more resonant frequency range. They have far more "air" and definition at the top without sacrificing lows and low mids. They are cast in epoxy to remove unwanted feedback and microphonics." I have a NTBT that's prewired with 4 knobs, but I'm not sure what they are (I bought it used) I'll be looking into that soon. I'm almost positive it's bass/treble/volume/blend ......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Hey DigthemLows , It looks great. what model #`s are your Bartolinis and are you going with a preamp? From a website "BC5CBC Classic Bass Series, Dual Coil Humbucker. "Classic Bass" CB series bass pickups are passive designs featuring an extended and more resonant frequency range. They have far more "air" and definition at the top without sacrificing lows and low mids. They are cast in epoxy to remove unwanted feedback and microphonics." I have a NTBT that's prewired with 4 knobs, but I'm not sure what they are (I bought it used) I'll be looking into that soon. I'm almost positive it's bass/treble/volume/blend ......... Thanks. Here`s a link to the NTBT`s http://www.bestbassgear.com/bartolini-preamps-ntbt.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Looking awesome! Did you tap the frets in with the claw hammer? I have to admit this is gonna be a beauty. Im really digging the neck with the curly maple. Im a sucker for flamed woods in the neck, dont know why......Great job bud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Looking awesome! Did you tap the frets in with the claw hammer? I have to admit this is gonna be a beauty. Im really digging the neck with the curly maple. Im a sucker for flamed woods in the neck, dont know why......Great job bud! No I didn't use that hammer. I initially thought I would, but it was too light and the small size made it actually dent the frets. I just need to keep my bench clear is all . I've made mistakes along the way for sure, and this is a learning process times ten, but in the end I think this thing should play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 I spent some time on this last night. I filed the frets down but still need to level and tidy up. There's not a sharp edge left though. Frets almost done I put some alcohol on the board, man do I love the grain! Close up of birdseye Then I messed around with trying to use the inner template for routing my control cavity and decided 1. I really should have done the inner first. 2. ***, let's free hand this thing, it'll be covered with shielding anyways right? It turned out good, I actually filed it a little more after this pick to clean up the edges and it looks good! Inner route for control cavity The one thing I can't stress enough for anyone trying a first build is to get used to a router. It's an incredible tool that could screw your whole project in one small slip.......patience though rules the day! Then it's on to making my control cavity cover fit, and hopefully have the grain match.........It worked out well! I basically cut to within an 1/8" and filled/sanded from there. Control Cover Then I sanded, sanded, and sanded some more, and for the first time put some alcohol on it to see how it's coming. At the very beginning of this build I had to make a decision about how to face the body wings. There's a lighter colored area on one section that I could have cut out. I left it because I wanted the front grain to flow a certain way. Well it doesn't bother me at all being on the back. Back with alcohol mist for viewing pleasure The front looks good with the grain flowing the way it does. At least I think....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 I can't wait to see this one complete, you're doing great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 I can`t wait to play it!!! Keep going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 More work done this weekend! Finished my sanding and got about 8 coats of Tru-oil on. The flame in the neck looks so good. Larry and Gallery Hardwoods hooked me up! There's a small dent right on the upper horn that you can see in the above picture, but it's only at that angle so I'm not too worried. The strange bumps along the belly cut are a reflection from my blinds. Another pic of the back The top is looking good too... Artsy looking top shot Another Top Shot I also drilled tuner holes and put them on to see how it worked out. Tuners installed! I think I'll probably do about 8-10 more coats and get the hardware and everything taken care of. I also need to file the nut, finish the fretboard, and get the electronics done. Oh, and level the frets.............it's coming along though!! I'm very happy with it at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Looking good! How thick is that fingerboard? Have a side profile shot of the fingerboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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