Woodenspoke Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 I like building however it may be a strech to say I want to make living from it. So receintly I took in a student. This build took all of about 20 hrs in my shop. He was not a skilled craftsman but we managed to pull it off. It was my first fender Bass clone (or close to it as a clone can get) so it was a bit of uncharted territory at least for the neck and skunk stripe. We used a Ron Kirn template for the body and pickguard. The Bass is a 51 P Bass design with a 22 fret fingerboard. maple neck and fingerboard and Alder body. The bass is not finished as that is my students responsibility. Possibly I may get a finished picture As we still have to cut the nut slots The happy camper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Very nice looking rig. I can imagine it was a bit different trying the one piece neck/fretboard with skunk stripe. Seems like a much more difficult method, although some people might love not having to glue up a fingerboard I suppose. Anyhow, looks like it came out very nice, hopefully he'll send you some pics once he's painted her all up. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted April 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Very nice looking rig. I can imagine it was a bit different trying the one piece neck/fretboard with skunk stripe. Seems like a much more difficult method, although some people might love not having to glue up a fingerboard I suppose. Anyhow, looks like it came out very nice, hopefully he'll send you some pics once he's painted her all up. J It is certainly easier to do a fingerboard for two reasons. One my slotting jig needed a 1" adjustment above my current fingerboard pin location (slotting template pin) and the neck was slotted at the headstock width. You can just make out the slots on a large board in one of the pictures. This put more wear and tear on my fret blade(table saw). Also I had to use a mill rather than a router table to cut the skunk stripe slot, I didnt really believe I could get a perfect slot using a router, inevitably something can happen routing a truss rod slot (slight ding to the side). With a fingerboard these small imperfections are covered up. With the mill the slot was easy to make, just took a bit longer. Also the Warmouth bass truss rod has a very large head, so the skunk stripe had to be 3/8" wide so the head would fit. I believe most fenders are have 1/4" stripe, so this was one change in the plan. It was an interesting build as I was able to add to my knowledge. I cant say I want to keep making skunk stripe necks unless I am asked to do so. Just wondering if I should take in more students? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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