Mr Natural Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Ken Lawrence Chambered Brase Bass Copy- Popular Body Maple neck 32 inch scale Rosewood fretboard- fretless with inlaid lines This project is to use up some wood I have had laying around- and now just seemed like the time. laying out the popular-and starting the "oh so fun job" of making templates: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblaty Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 this thing is going to be popular 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 wow- you got me there oblaty- that is what I get for posting to the group at 1:01am! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Strangely, I have been wanting some Poplar recently....you seem to have some of the good stuff that resembles Canarywood in many ways! It also reminds me that I have a tree to cut down :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 This bass body is in three pieces- here I am routing the top to shape I made a quick lay out template and traced on to the middle section of the body- and drilled starter holes and used a jigsaw to remove the material after cleaning up the jigsaw cuts a bit with a file- I attached the middle section onto the top- and removed material leaving about a 1/4" on the top piece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 here I have the middle attached to the back and I am doing the same thing as I did with the top- though I am leaving the bottom half wall I bit thicker as it will have a control cavity behind it not sure why- but I ran a small route between the chambers- last minute thing- really not sure why- dont plan on using it for wiring- but its there if I ever need it! gluing the middle and bottom sections of the body- when I glue the top on- since it is already cut to shape- it will become the template for the middle and back pieces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 So I futzed around with this last night a bit. tracing paper on the template to get the general layout of the soundholes I layed out the hollowed out area on the top (white pencil lines)- and overlayed the tracing paper with carbon paper underneath that to transfer the layout. 2 things here- the body (by design) is slighly smaller than a real ken lawrence- its not as wide- I did this on purpose so I could use this wood. The solid part of the body where the neck will join is therefore larger- so- I will need to adjust the soundholes to fit within the hollowed out section. you can see where I have adjusted the holes to fit within the hollow area I started to drill the holes- mostly worried about the very end sections of the holes here- getting those radius's with drill bits- I will be cleaning this all up this weekend- I may finally get a need to use my Italian Riffler set that has been sitting collecting dust for the last 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycee Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 I'm liking this, some nice colouring on the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 so- after trying the riffler set and some various files- decided the best way to attack these soundholes was with a dremel and inlay bits. You can see to the left where I ended up "squaring" a radius in the one soundhole- gotta fix that. I also ended up routing the back of this board a little thinner so there was less material showing thru the holes (I did that after this photo) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Gah. I'm gagging to get some Poplar similar to your centre section now just to use it as a top lam! Nice build and subbed :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 I set up the router table with a 3/8' roundover bit to see what this would look like. Not sure- I think I am going to keep it like this- I am thinking 1/2" would be too much. I guess I never mentioned this previously- but this build is somewhat of a beater build for me- or maybe I shouldnt say it like that- bottom line- the woods (maple for neck and mineral stained poplar for the body) were sourced from........homedepot. yep- a few years back- I spied that board and said- I gotta buy it. I got the maple from the homedepot by where I work in Atlanta- they had maple in there at one time- both hard and soft, as well as some other woods you dont normally see at the HD. I think that store was some sort of a test bed- plus- the homes around there run in the $$$- Elton John has a condo maybe a mile or so from there- anyway- at one time they had all sorts of stuff you dont see in every HD. Guess they figured the area had the bread- so test stuff in there the rest of us poor slobs might not be that into. I have been sitting on this wood probably 8 or more years. Unfortunately the poplar is dry as hell- and it dents and scratches wicked easily- you can see in the pic by where your forearm would be- I have already had to steam out a nice dent I put in it flipping it over on the router table- spanked the (rounded) corner of the router table and put a nice mash in there. It came out- but I will have to reshape that part of the roundover. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 26, 2012 Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 The perils of Poplar. I presume that you are putting a comparatively hard finish on there to protect the wood after this is finished? I can't easily backtrack through the thread to find this out because my mouse batteries are on charge leaving me having to tab through the page....bleh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted January 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 so I mentioned in one of my other build threads that the neck on this one ran into a hickup. I was starting to shape the sides of the neck on this with the belt sander- and I realized I hadnt tried the truss rod. I typically give it a turn or two left and right to make sure I didnt glue it down etc. So- I put the allen wrench in- and I no more than get the wrench in the hole and the head falls off the truss rod, like it was barely attached. ok-so-surgery time. This is a first for me. well- it didnt go too well. I was able to get the rod out- but I had tear out along the neck. I drilled from the back of the neck and started to route out from there- and this maple just shredded all to hell. I pulled out the rod- replaced it with another- and then filled the back with a filler strip of cherry. You can see the glue/sawdust lines below. Not pretty. I was about to start over- but this is 32" scale- and I really didnt want to waste the finger board- so- depending on how this ends up after carving I may end up painting neck- we will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 So- resurrecting another project from my long absence from the group. Trivia time. and yes I will mail (world wide) a prize to the person who guesses correctly. QUESTION- What is the wood I am using for fret lines on this? Hint- this wood comes from the mid-west/central part of the USA. the color(look at the dust) should also be a hint. I will also throw in that American Indians used it, and farmers still use it today. The thin on the left has been sitting for a few years - the thin on the right was just sanded. more hints if no one guesses. I have used maple, bondo (under poly), etc over the years on fretless lines- I sort of wanted something different here. Seeing how I already jacked the heck out of the back of this neck- I figured- eh- what the hell. Try something different. Prize will be music or luthiery related and I promise it wont "suck". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdshirtman Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Is it Beech? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Is it Beech? negative. try again pls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pukko Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Persimmon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Chestnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 That is Osage Orange, bois d'ark, or hedge is what we called it growing up in the midwest. If I'm correct, let me throw a caution at you for how you are using it. While it is a brilliant yellow orange freshly cut, it goes as dark as walnut as it ages, kind of a deep honey brown. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 That is Osage Orange, bois d'ark, or hedge is what we called going up in the midwest. If I'm correct, let me throw a caution at you for how you are using it. While it is a brilliant yellow orange freshly cut, it goes as dark as walnut as it ages, kind of a deep honey brown. SR and we have a winner. Scott ,I know how it darkens- well aware. I have a couple of boards that I have had for oh lets see- 10 years+- and it has darkened up a bit. Which is fine- orange may look stupid on a fretboard- and if it darkens- so be it. Might end up looking better that way. I will post pics of the boards later this weekend. I had these "thins" for years- and wanted to use them up- I realized I only had enough maple thins made up for half a fingerboard- and so- eh- we will give this a try. So- prize time- look to PM- sending now. and you can post when you receive so everyone doesnt think I full of bs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted September 21, 2013 Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 in case anyone was interested- here are two boards of osage orange. I make notes on my lumber- these two say purchased Sept 1997, these boards are 48" x 8.5" wide each, which is tough finding- at least outside the midwest and central parts of the country. These trees tend to twist from what I am told. These boards were bright yellow orange when I bought them. This book match has been wrapped in cardboard all this time- otherwise I would have expected the boards to have turned darker more than they have- the face of the boards that was "in" (two boards on top of each other- then wrapped in cardboard) did not turn as much as the outside faces did. inside face (not sure what that funky spot is) outside face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 26, 2013 Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 I like that stuff; I've done several carvings out of it. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdog Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Very nice !!!!! I love those "f?" holes into the upper chamber. Good work ! And you just did it free hand with the Dremel without a template ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted September 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 And you just did it free hand with the Dremel without a template ? thanks Luis- I used the dremel freehand. Once I traced the holes onto the wood- and then adjusted for my body being a bit smaller than a normal KL- I used a drill to get most of the wood out. Started to use files but using files at that point was a pain- so-this wood cuts like butter- and the dremel plowed thru it pretty quickly. I still have a few hours probably left to fine tune and completely smooth out all the contours in those holes. There are some lines that just dont flow smoothly enough to my liking- and I just need to sit down and carefully fine tune those with files. I did one of the medium sized holes already and it took me 20 minutes- so- I probably have a good 3-4 hours left just cleaning and smoothing those lines. My rifler/needle files dont exactly remove a ton of material- and it just takes time to get them "just exactly so". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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