j. pierce Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 That's why I have a bunch of white coloured pencils in the shop. Looking really amazing! I love these builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 (edited) Thanks J. Pierce! More progress on the wenge bass, it should be caught up with the redwood burl bass by next weekend. Fretboard radiused to 16" and sanded to 2000 grit: Logo disk inlayed and filled with black epoxy, and tuner holes drilled: J bass pickup cavity routed: Edited March 2, 2009 by mattharris75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Took a break from working on the corvus build-off entry to finally get back to working on these basses a little bit. Got the neck for the wenge topped bass rough carved today. I need to go ahead and get the control cavity template finished and get those cut one weekend in the not too distant future. Now it's time to get back to carving on the corvus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Not a lot of time in the shop lately with spring football practice in full swing. Progress on the redwood bass: Got the holes placed for the controls and got the control cavity routed as well as the cavity for the strat jack. One little issue I have to figure out, the front corner of the control cavity has too tight a radius for the rabbeting bit to fit in there and cut the ledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 In a stroke of mediocre intelligence I figured out how to solve my problem with the control cavity cover ledge. I created the template for the inside cut of the cavity and just used a rabbeting bit to create the ledge. Since the ledge is a uniform width all the way around I can just slide the original template forward until it aligns with the edge of the ledge, then use my smaller 3/8" pattern bit to create the remainder of the 3.5 mm deep cut. Sometimes I'm so average I amaze myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 looking really good!! that neck is tasty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Thanks Wez. Hopefully I'll have a little time in the shop tomorrow to knock a little more out. I'm close to finally having the rough woodwork done on both of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I'm amazed, Matt Give yourself some credit. I know I've asked this on every build with this feature, but..... Is that jack plate position going to be comfortable/interfere with playing/my hipbone? Seriously considering doing it on my new build, only because I don't have confidence enough in my tools or skill as a builder to shoot a JEM-style 5/8" Forstner bit into a guitar side of only 3/4" thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Thanks Xanthus. As far as the jack plate goes, I honestly can't say for certain. Based on the way I plan for the bass to hang I expect it to clear my body. These basses have nearly 3" of body behind the bridge to help account for the lack of an upper horn as far as balance is concerned, and I'll place the strap buttons in such a way as to promote that positioning as well. Once I get the necks glued in and the strap button holes drilled I'll give it a test run to see how the jack works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 ...I don't have confidence enough in my tools or skill as a builder to shoot a JEM-style 5/8" Forstner bit into a guitar side of only 3/4" thick. Here's something I came up with after drilling a bunch of 7/8" side jacks, and seeing them drift. First, don't use a forstner, use a spade. Second, make a pilot hole that's about 75% of the diameter of the center spike of the spade. It's a LOT easier to make this level & square. Drill the pilot all the way through to the control cavity. Then drill with the spade. The center spike will follow the pilot hole with very little chance of drift, AND you'll be certain that it'll be as level & square as the pilot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Turning out very nice! Can't wait to see it finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Not to derail, but thanks for the advice, John! I'll definitely experiment when the time gets closer. I would love an angled jack, but the lack of clearance because of the proposed bevels makes me bite my nails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdekan Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Love the design. This will be one sexy bass. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Got the control cavity cover roughed out. It's an extremely tight fit as of now, so I need to sand all the edges a bit to loosen it up. Also did a lot of little things, hole drilling and whatnot. I also re-worked the heel of the neck on the redwood bass (not pictured) to make it more closely match the one on the wenge bass. Getting close to finishing the woodwork on this one. Not too much more to go until I glue in the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Got the whole body sanded to 220 on the redwood burl bass. This has been done to the neck since I re-shaped the heel a few weeks ago. I've decided I'm going to epoxy the neck in place. I'll be taking care of that when I get back from vacation next week. in these pics you can see the layout of the controls on the front and that the control cavity cover has been sanded flush on the back. Also, these are the best shots so far of showing off what the final appearance of the wood will look like, wet with naphtha and with decent sunlight on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 That's a really pretty top. Are you going to go for a satin or gloss finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 That's a really pretty top. Are you going to go for a satin or gloss finish? Gloss. The Wenge topped bass will be a satin oil finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Well, it's literally been years since this thread has been updated. Life has been busy, what can I say? I have been lurking and reading threads, just not doing much building to speak of. But one of these basses is finally nearing completion. I finished paint prep and sent it to a friend in Florida, who is an excellent luthier, builds beautiful custom acoustic guitars. He's spraying it with KTM9. He put a couple of coats of shellac on and sprayed the first few coats of KTM9, then sanded those out. Here's how it stands now. Should be completely finished and playable within the next month or so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 (edited) More progress. Finish buffed out, everything wired up, everything assembled, just waiting on a nut and strings and a final setup. Edited May 14, 2012 by mattharris75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Man you started this before I got here! That KTM9 polished up nicely. That is a fascinating headstock. I like it. Was it influenced by a classical guitar? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Hah! Thanks Scott. Yes, I am incredibly slow. I actually built and finished my first 2/3 scale guitar after I started these two. All the business of life makes it tough to get things done (kids, moving, work, etc, etc). But it won't be long before my shop is setup even better than before and I'm rocking and rolling on some new/current projects! Yeah, the KTM9 looks great, I'm really pleased with it. My friend who sprayed it is quite a craftsman. Here's his website: Custom Ware Guitars He's got even more cool stuff coming down the pipe. I like the headstock style in part because of its similarity to a classical guitar, but I feel like it's quite a bit more dynamic in it's appearance. I actually found a plan for it on the MIMF many years ago, it was called the 'Higham Open Headstock', and I slightly modified it to my use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Hey, glad to see this ones finally getting done! The redwood burl is the one I'm waiting for!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I hope to get that one finished eventually! As well as the 2/3 scale build for my daughter... The redwood burl bass is coated in z-poxy, which I just need to sand flat and it will be ready to be sprayed. Hopefully over the next few months I'll get my shop set up at the new house and be able to make some decent progress this summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Here's a few shots of the finished product. I'll get some higher quality 'glamour shots' in the next couple of weeks. The open headstock, which turned out awesome: Action at the 12th fret, nice and low! The finished body, a little blurry: And the whole thing, looking awesome! (It's a little dark, but I'll get better pics later) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted June 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 Here we go, some finished 'glamor shots'. Glad to finally have this one off my plate. Looks great, plays great, sounds great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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