ngaa Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Looks awesome, is this a bolt on or set neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 it's a bolt on. The maple was about an inch too short to be comfortable for a thru-neck so I went for a bolt-on which is so much easier (for me) to tweak and get the action perfect, compared to a set-neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngaa Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Cool, I was just wondering because the tenon goes really far into the body. So I wasn't sure about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I think the longer the tenon, the more stable the joint, and since it was coming pretty close to the pickup rout it made good sense to continue the neck into there. Sorry no eggs in this one, more of a face-on shot with the hardware positioned and fretwires cut, ready to be bashed into place with the heel of an old shoe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Hah! :-D My Schecter Custom-5 is a bolt-on with six bolts and a good six or so inches of contact in the length. I have to agree about the stability, although I would hate to have to shim a bolt-on that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Hey Prostheta, I did a special inlay for you: Here's the bloodwood set in copper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Awesome! How easy did you find doing inlays that way? I presume that dot is at 17th....how come you did just the one? I'm confuzzled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 that's a really cool look, Al. Did you buy the bloodwood in dot form, or make it yourself? And if so, how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I mailed Al a piece of bloodwood for a headcap, but the colour didn't suit the build. You drill into the bloodwood by putting copper tube into a drill press and boring out a plug of material, then inlaying as you would a "normal" dot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Very cool. Thanks for the info, Prostheta. I may have to use this idea in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Yep its a great tip and once buffed up the bloodwood really shines bright red. Looks superb as an inlay. I used a small diameter (4mm) copper tube and left the plug of wood in there, then with a hacksaw blade cut small sections off as inserts - voila, a wood inlay set into a copper ring. Why only the 17th? Well i'll come clean i suppose. The MOP inlay popped out when I was hammering a fret home and I lost it! Then I thought I'd try your tube bore method and use it to fill the gap. ;D Looks really great, now on my next build I'll be making all my own dots this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 (edited) Damn, Al. I thought you had a better reason than that :-D Shame the dot popped. Nothing you can do if you're hunting around in the sawdust (having been there). I could have mailed you another one you know? I have LOADS of random crap sitting around here with better things to do than not being in guitars....especially the bunchload of abalone/MOP dots sitting around! Edited March 8, 2008 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 i think it gives it that "uniqueness" but not the kind when people say, your router jumped? its ok, its custom right? i mean it lookslike it was intentionally done...as a subtle statement saying "F*CK YOU CONVENTION! who said all my dots have to be the same?! im making this f*cking guitar and ill do it my way!" just my take i love this project by the way, been following it did i hear GOTM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Heh, thanks guys, the brass/bloodwood dot really does finish off the fingerboard nicely, I'm really glad the MOP dot popped out, but for good measure I may sink a match8ing one into the top of the headstock as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Some more progress this morning. Neck trimmed flush (pocket routed deeper) and the electrics all wired up. Neck given a few wipes of Tru-Oiul - more to follow. I also inlaid a little copper-ring bloodwood circle into the headstock. Now just waiting for the machine heads, then the nut can be cut, and frets levelled. Then she's done Here's another shot of the body/neck http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/al_heeley/neckin.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andronico Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Some more progress this morning. Neck trimmed flush (pocket routed deeper) and the electrics all wired up. Neck given a few wipes of Tru-Oiul - more to follow. I also inlaid a little copper-ring bloodwood circle into the headstock. Now just waiting for the machine heads, then the nut can be cut, and frets levelled. Then she's done Here's another shot of the body/neck http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/al_heeley/neckin.jpg Beautiful work man ! Congrats ! But the only thing are the knobs, these are the deffinitive ones ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 I love the fingerboard's end transition. Very slick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 I love the fingerboard's end transition. Very slick. Agreed That's one of my favorite parts of the build. The LED is set to light when you plug the jack in, I assume? I've got a spare 5mm red LED from my sister's science project sitting on the counter. I'm tempted to use it for when the killswitch is activated, but A. I think 5mm is too large, and B. The effect would grow tiresome after a while, methinks. Looks snazzy, Al, congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 Thx guys! My favourite piece is the little Prostheta bloodwood and copper inlay on the 17th fret. I thought about fitting a red LED inside the truss rod access cavity in the head, then having a cover made of frosted plastic or something that would glow a back-lit red when you plugged the cable in. It could connect to the battery in the main ctrl cavity by means or a pair of copper strips built in the neck joint/pocket. I might think about this next time to incorporate the wires running up inside the neck, between laminates. A bit gimmicky but it might be fun playing on a dark stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 Not much progress today. Side dots added to fingerboard and more Tru-oil to the back of the neck with a little buffing. Made a small truss rod cover from Prostheta's bloodwood. Very pleased with the slim neck profile this came out at, feels very comfortable while still having a bit of mass to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 Nice egg!!!! oh, I guess the neck's lookin' ok too I really like this bass, it's lookin' really cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPboco Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 yeah crazy work ! crazy amazing! Connor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassisgreat Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 yeah crazy work ! crazy amazing! Connor eggsactly what I was thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 are you going to shield the inside of the cavity cover?? also do you know what oil has the least effect in color? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 I might shield the cavity cover if it needs it, but there's the little pre-amp pcb glued to it now. I have no experience of shielding requirements for passive pickup and 9v pre-amp systems yet! If it proves to be noisy then it's a 2 minute job. All oils will have some effect on colour. Tru-oil is more of a varnish than an oil, it certainly looks a lot darker out the bottle but you put so little on I'd say once dried it gives less of a darkening effect than Danish oil, even when built up into 6 or 8 thin layers. The tin of danish I currently have is Colron, I know it differs from Watco and Rustins but could not tell you which is darker - each manufacturer seems to have their own proprietory blend. Tru-oil is more viscous and will seal the surface pores better in my opinion. Maybe this is why you need less as it may not penetrate to the same extent? Maybe this helps reduce the darkening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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