Prostheta Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 I can't feed a huge amount of progress into this thread yet, however I think it best to update to keep it alive. Most holdups on this project are at their source financially-related (damn students!) so it is crawling along somewhat. I planed the blank square and despite me not having scrap wood to hand to use as cauls the glueup was flawless. Since I have time on my side I made the decision to cut the neck profile and give it plenty of time to acclimatise in case the wood wanted to move after removing over 50% of the mass under the neck. As it turned out, the otherwise flat surface was about 1mm out a week later. Whether this was movement or not is irrelevant I guess, as I intended to plane this surface down ready for the truss rod slot and fingerboard anyway. The usable size of the neck blank is really up at the limits as you can see. The string witness point at the nut is currently just beyond the flat top surface of the blank, however the process of planing this flat brings the witness point back up. The headstock profile (sketched in by hand) will also be moving along about 5mm which (to my frustration) brings it near flush with the table saw snipe mark. No big deal, but it doesn't give any room for error from thereonin. I am happy working to tight tolerances now, and this has been measured out a million times. The depth of the blank has more than enough margin. The fingerboard was tapered to allow for 2.5mm of self-binding to be added back. This was carried out using a combination of planing and sanding on a temporary shooting board. I know of no method which is simpler and more effective. The same method was used to bring the self-binding back down to a 1mm of the desired final taper. I prefer to keep it marginally oversize for the moment since the mounting won't happen for a week or two. Better safe than sorry, however I can't perceive any issues which this decision will actually help with. Perhaps it will inspire caution, I dunno. The fingerboard has been re-radiused and is ready for glueup. My need for positive reinforcement caused me to sand up the fingerboard through to 1200 grit and give it a rub down with black leather dye. Lovely. I just wish I had some daylight to take better photos. And an aluminium section truss rod! Those things are like hens teeth right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 This was carried out using a combination of planing and sanding on a temporary shooting board. I don't suppose you have this still assembled and be willing to post a photo, would you? While I've seen a few on line, I'd love to see how one was made and used in a manner relevant to all of us here. I have a bare minimum of knowledge and no experience with these, but understand that they can be extremely useful, in particular to those of us that do not own higher end equipment. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pukko Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 And an aluminium section truss rod! Those things are like hens teeth right now. What kind of truss rod is that? There's a Swedish webshop for guitar parts that has U-section aluminium bass truss rods. I don't know how much the shipping is but it might be an alternative to ordering from England or USA... Check out www.gitarrdelar.se. http://gitarrdelar.se/product_info.php?cPath=85_139&products_id=1520&language=en Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) Okay, well at risk of shooting (hah! joke, right?) myself in the foot with my jerry-rigged shooting board.... The base was a 70cm x 100cm thick piece of 10mm plywood faced with a smooth plastic material (A). Primarily this was for a flat surface for the sanding stick © and plane to ride along freely. On top of that I popped a "riser" of 80cm x 14cm x 18mm chipboard scrap (. The fingerboard was clamped on top of this and the main board to the table. The edge of the fingerboard overlapped ( slightly by about 5mm or whatever. This isn't the way permanent shooting boards are run, however for small one-off jobs like this it suffices. I just needed a square alignment rather than a guiding fence. You just need to make sure the adjustment you sand/plane in is even at both ends rather than being the wrong angle. The tools used were another 6cm x 90cm x 18mm scrap of chipboard laminate with 60 grit sandpaper double-sided taped to on large side face © and a No.5 plane with one side of the body padded with a single layer of masking tape. The tape was purely to reduce friction and keep it clean. The sanding stick ideally needs to be longer than the target item so the sanding face is in contact with the entire edge, plus it needs to be damn straight, Shaft style. Ideally a steel beam with a ground face would do the job better, but improvising on a budget didn't allow this. Chipboard tends to be straight and square anyway due to the homogeneous nature of the material, however it should be checked with a straightedge as any imperfections in the tool can end up transferring to the workpiece. Very low-tech but very effective. The work is good Popeye exercise and the slow rate in comparison to machining means you have control over the progress and plenty of opportunities to check measurements. <edit: I noticed that the board parsed my annotations as (A), ( and ©. I am sure you can figure that they mean A, B and C of course!> Edited November 19, 2011 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 And an aluminium section truss rod! Those things are like hens teeth right now. What kind of truss rod is that? There's a Swedish webshop for guitar parts that has U-section aluminium bass truss rods. I don't know how much the shipping is but it might be an alternative to ordering from England or USA... Check out www.gitarrdelar.se. http://gitarrdelar.se/product_info.php?cPath=85_139&products_id=1520&language=en Cheers Pukko! 90SEK/€9.80 shipping to Finland, about €21 for the rod. Expensive shipping. Still, they are in stock which is great. I could do with not having to pay so much to Postman Petter. Would it be worth emailing them querying the shipping, or is that a realistic charge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pukko Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Cheers Pukko! 90SEK/€9.80 shipping to Finland, about €21 for the rod. Expensive shipping. Still, they are in stock which is great. I could do with not having to pay so much to Postman Petter. Would it be worth emailing them querying the shipping, or is that a realistic charge? Well, it says 50-90 sek, did you get the actual 90 sek quote when trying to buy it? You should definitely try mailing them anyway, they're good guys with a great customer service so ask them. They won't rip you off. I checked posten.se (swedish postal service) and the price quote is somewhere between 36-92 sek depending on size and weight of the package. That is ordinary shipping, I don't know if they want to send with some kind of insurance or tracking... Check with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Will do. I could do with getting this part of the build sorted as it is holding everything else up. I'm already three weeks behind schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Certain parts of this build have not entirely progressed how I was planning them. This really has become a dining table special build. I've taken to routing in the shower room and planing in the kitchen. Truly a low point for me. Still. For all the workarounds and improvisation everything is progressing for which I can be glad. Now where was I? *checks thread* Okay. Template making: Headstock routing and truss rod cover recess: Dry fit of tuners: Fitting the truss rod and planing back the Maple fillet: State of play after glueing up the fingerboard: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 The headstock template was made single-sided to maintain symmetry. The cutter was too large to reach the central recess so I used a bit of sandpaper wrapped around a drill bit. Classy. The headstock wings still need glueing up, but this isn't a huge undertaking of course. The truss rod recess was made using a simple trapezoidal template cut in hardboard, transferred through to 10mm MDF and cut with a guide bushing. I recessed the rod a couple of mm for a reason I can't remember right now. Still, a very neat fillet with a specifically shaped piece slotted over the bullet end of the rod. Just needs cutting back to match the headstock angle and rod recess. I've actually grown quite accustomed to that strange string spacing on the RSB I am restoring (and taking measurements from). Perhaps having come from 5-string bass I have a tendency to work with narrower spacings. Just need to find a source of 50mm Alder stock at a reasonable price. If anybody can help out, I am looking for pieces measuring: 505mm x 145mm 385mm x 155mm Obviously, dry stock only. Alternative woods are on the table however ones that require grain filling, etc. are very much at the bottom of the list along with Aspen, Poplar and Basswood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Progress is glacial for several reasons. That said, important things are happening whilst I solve these "reasons". Headstock needing wings. Fingerboard glued up and "template" instrument. Neck profile thickness routing (in the shower). Semihemi fretwork. Cool stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 what is the cool stuff? that bottle looks dangerous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Got to play catchup a little on this one. I'll deal with the most immediate news on the basis that I need to re-review this thread somewhat to see what I have not disclosed. I made my own replica SB "quickhook" bridge to exact specs derived from real bridges. Milled from CZ101 brass on a Bridgeport knee mill. I love how the Series 1 knee mill is 60 years old and is still the best, even better than the Series 2 which was often retrofitted with Series 1 parts! Sanded just to 240 grit so far. Need to countersink the rear bolts a little more and deepen the riser string slots. This thing is HEAVY and rings like a bell. "We'll be back. We're coming back in here!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Wow, that's a nice bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Wow, that's a nice bridge. +1 Nice piece of work there. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Jep, the bridge is looking good! Bridgeport... wish I had such a beast of a machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Completed bridge. Very happy with the result, however it still needs a fair degree of polishing and buffing before it gets powder coated black. The saddles were rushed, hence the slightly rough appearance. I also need to mill down the riser by an additional 2mm, which I completed forget to do today. As a bonus, a solder tag is recessed underneath to simplify bridge grounding. I also went for a 5+1 screw configuration. I think my Aspergers caused that to happen. Not OCD. Edited March 9, 2012 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 I can't believe you made that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Thanks David! That means a lot. Let me re-edit that last post to link the bigger pictures. <edit> All sorted. It seems a little unreal looking at the finished product now, but believe me it was certainly ride! I hope to buy my own mill (albeit, not a Bridgeport....shame) this summer and start milling hardware from brass. For the moment I'll be making Aria stuff but I would like to eventually so more complex hardware. This is where the project is heading anyway: Edited March 9, 2012 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Heading to Cliff Burton? Good pic of Burton,bad pic of the bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 True. Cliff (contrary to popular misconception) used an SB-R60 and his Black n' Gold as opposed to an SB-1000, which most people insist he did. Cliff preferred the passive mode and didn't like the narrow spacing on the SB-1000 which he got rid of. I've tested the pre-amp in the RSB-600 i am refitting and it is quiet as anything. Scary quiet even using high gain guitar patches. This will sound awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Bridge after 20 mins of wet polishing from 240 grit through to 1200. Then a good ol' polish with the Dremel and my secret sauce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Okay okay. Time to get this back up on track. I acquired some paint-grade "American" Alder which has a couple of small inclusions which will need a dab of filler. No big deal there. Whilst having access to a massive workshop full of awesome woodworking gear, I got to this point: MDF body template along with the Alder body wings and a couple of flamed Black Alder scraps I recovered from the bin. Workholding jig to taper the body blanks down from a full 45mm at the rear and 35mm at the top horn. The thickness sander is my new (slow) friend. Carving out the heel contour. Working in the neck profile. Lots of work yet to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Neck profiling complete, just need to recess the bridge and the pickup. Waiting for mini neodymium magnets to arrive for the cavity cover. The Black n' Gold alongside a 1981 RSB-600. Only differences are the headstock, string spacing (narrow) and therefore the neck taper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Nice work on the bridge I'm completely jealous of that wide belt sander. That's like a 20k machine??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) Something like that. Accurate down to 0,1mm and is capable of making soundboards easily. Vietmac, if I recall. www.promas-woodworking.com/en/machines/09-sanding-polishing-cleaning/1774-vietmac-wide-belt-sander-second-hand-pl-12nrr-hobemacompact/ That's the one. A real beast. I think Amfisound up in Oulu have one of those also. Edited April 8, 2012 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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