Andyjr1515

It's a Schaller Bass Bridge 2000. Nice and straightforward but with added advantage of adjustable string spacing. I worked recently on a 5 string Shuker bass and was interested that it had this series fitted too.

My view is that - provided the top has been well glued and that glue has been clamped and then left to fully cure for at least the times recommended by the suppliers instructions, then it will remain stable during the finishing processes. On a piece as thin as that, it doesn't take a lot of force to bend it and, likewise, it doesn't need a great deal of glue strength to stop it bending. I've never had an issue personally.

Hmmm - although I was very pleased with the knobs by themselves, I was bothered that they would actually detract from the bookmatching of the top once they were in place. See what I mean? Personally, my eye is drawn to the knobs first. So I made another set - using the plainer area of poplar offcut that I used for the headstock plate: To my own eye, this works better. I'll actually fit these but give Neil the other set too in case he wants to use them instead As you see, I also sorted the position of the bridge and drilled the fixing holes. This allowed me to then do the routing to set the bridge at its final level. I scored the outline, used a 5mm drill for the rounded corners, a Dremel precision router base to hog out the bulk and finished the edges with chisels: Nice snug fit that looks like it's meant to be there rather than just plonked on top: Finally, I scored the 'flush level' line so that I know how much is exposed when I do the final top curve sand tomorrow: The plan is to start the top of the base-plate flush at the centre leading edge and progressively expose the 2mm thickness towards the sides and the back. Well - that's the plan anyway! And tomorrow is indeed the final sanding day with Osmo finishing starting at the weekend. Can't wait Finished weight, to within an ounce either way, is going to be 6lbs 6oz

Yes, they do! Great tip!

Looks good Well done and here's to the next one

Ah - yes, got them

How are you measuring the slots, @Norris ? You're right about ebony grabbing the fret saw. The last one I did was terrible for that. Does anyone use wax or similar on the blades?

Actually, compared with some I've done, it's a whopper

I've got to the stage on this build where I've been able to write the 'things to finish off' list! It's admittedly a long list but at least there is an end in sight! So to catch up on things done: Back hatch cut from an offcut of the top wood Headstock plate cut from the same offcut, ebony truss-rod cover, NZ Paua swift inlays Volute carved up to final sanding stage And the knobs. Same approach as my last build. I did 3 concurrent drills on some veneered swamp ash offcut: ...which gave me the back ...then added some poplar burl offcut discs on top, inserted grub-screw bush and access hole, added a paua 2mm dot and sanded. Barring a couple more coats of finish, these are pretty much done:

Good call on the inner contour. This is looking very tactile.

Ah - I see this now! I was being a bit dense and couldn't quite envisage before how the components were being placed. Looking forward to seeing how you are planning doing the other elements of the design.

Thanks for such a detailed run through of your technique, @ScottR

Beautiful job. Great skills and great result!

That looks superb. Great job!

Neat work

Doing the neck is best done outside for me if possible - more room than in my very small cellar space. And much more light! I took this shot to show my grandchildren when/if that time comes. They will already be eye-rollingly bored at grandpa's endless tales of 'when I used to build bass guitars', but will, I'm sure, point at this picture with wonder. "Oooooh. What's that bright bit, grandpa?" "It's called sunshine, Billy" "What's sunshine, grandpa?" "Well - if you wait until you are a BIG boy...and then wait some more until you are a MAN...and then wait some more until you are an OLD MAN... and all the time hope and hope and hope - you too might see something like that!" "What - in ENGLAND, grandpa???????" Anyway - the main neck carve. Once it's been roughed out, I do almost all of the rest of the carve with a humble cabinet scraper: Using the templates from Neil's favourite bass, I crept up on the shape. Here, the haunches are standing proud: This is better! A little while later, it's getting close: Nice thing about the through neck and scooped back is that the neck/body transition can be just that touch more elegant than some...:

Did a bit more carving of the body and now just started the neck carve. Ref the body, it's ready for the final sanding. I usually give it a quick coat of tru-oil to show up any glue residue or tooking scratches, etc.. Gives a reasonable idea of what the finished look is going to be: I've also started the rough carve of the neck: It's looking like I might get close to the 6 1/2lbs mark finished weight!

Whatever colour you go for, it's going to look excellent. I like the shape very much

Personally, I draw the critical positions full size, based on the actual bridge, along with the lowest and highest saddle adjustment range, the fretboard thickness, the fret thickness and the planned action height at 12th. I pitch the angle for the string to be level with one or two mm above the lowest saddle position. This gives me a bit of wiggle room. Here's a typical one of my drawings - as you can see, there's not a lot of detail ... just the critical positions:

It will be unstained but it will darken with the finish. This is closer to the finished colour: The dark bits are, of course, presently holes. I need to check with Neil if he wants them left as holes or filled with epoxy/dark wood dust. One of the reasons that I don't use templates for pickups is not only my intense dislike of routers, but also that in the world of jazz-type bass pickup makers, there appears to be no understanding of 'standardisation'. Even the Nordstrands - - which appear to be two equal size covers...there is a 1mm centre to centre difference in the fixing lug positions!!!! So nowadays for jazz-type bass pickups of any source (not even Fender's own are all the same size!) I get them in my hands first and then hand fit them - every time.

Just remembered I was going to pass on the details of the insert supplier: It's Thonk (great name) here https://www.thonk.co.uk/product-category/diy-accessories/knobs/ Sorry for the delay. By the way, my wife comes from Wakefield. Happy memories of frequent visits over the years.

Life is a bit crazy busy so I'm a bit out of date with the progress shots. I carved the pickup chambers using my preferred method of leaving the router until last, and then just to tidy up the bottoms: I drill my critical radii: Then forstner and chisel: Then tidy up with a fully captive short trimmer bit: Getting these done meant I could glue the fretboard on: And start the carve - not quite there but getting close: It looks quite conventional from the front, but this view hints at the weight saving (and upper fret access) approach: Looks like I'm on plan so far for the sub 6 3/4lb weight target

My first attempt at an acoustic with a dovetail joint has a similar sliver of scraped veneer The precision in your work, @Norris, is impressive and enviable.

Every one of your carves is a wonder and a joy, @ScottR It beats me how quickly you seem to get from blank to rough carved to flawlessly smooth with continuous curves. If you take those three stages across the elapsed time of your gained free weekend, how many working hours does what we see in front of us actually represent?

I'm a bit late on this. First of all this is a STUNNINGLY impressive build. Secondly, I made my first knobs this year and found a uk source of 6mm id grub screw collets. As soon as I'm back on the desktop, I'll post the details (assuming 'wakefield' is THE wakefield ).