PDX Rich

Next up, I added some Peruvian Walnut wings to the headstock, let dry overnight, and clamped some curly maple veneer with cauls to ensure even clamping force distribution. Headstock partially shaped and neck tapered Then, I created a wood sandwich with the fingerboard in the middle. I used fingerboard cutoffs in the middle also in order to ensure a flat clamping surface with the top board. A top bearing router bit was used, riding along the top board, to trim the fingerboard to the correct size. I wanted to be as accurate as possible installing the 1/16" brass dowel side position markers, so I glued up a ply jig to hold the fingerboard while I used the drill press Brass sands nicely. Amazingly, I remembered to install the truss rod prior to gluing the fingerboard on.

Greetings, I just recently wrapped up my first scratch build. so I figured I'd make my first post here on PG. I documented the whole shebang on Luthier's Corner (TalkBass), but it is a rather lengthy read, despite all of the awesome advice I received along the journey. The inspiration for the build was based on the early 80s Aria PROii SB1000 basses. Being a fan of John Taylor, this seemed appropriate. Stats: 34" Scale 4-string bass guitar Macassar Ebony fingerboard (pre-slotted and radiused by LMII) Hickory body wings (later scrapped for Peruvian Walnut/Purpleheart -- see below for change) 5 piece maple/walnut/purpleheart/walnut/maple laminated neck-through 13 degree scarf No break angle as the bridge is rather low profile Hipshot Bridge and Tuners I doubt I'll have time today to post all of the pictures, so I will break it up over a few days. Day job + startup nano-cidery that my wife and I own have caused my free time to collapse! Alas, such is life. So, I had zero woodworking experience. None, zilch, nada...aside from basic carpentry cuts, etc. This journey started off with me chipping the headstock on my Rickenbacker 4003 and searching the googles for an easy fix. I stumbled into Talkbass's Luthier's Corner and got sucked into a vortex of threads documenting actual instrument builds. My mind was blown, and life took a turn to the adventurous world of guitar building. Here goes! Wood cut for neck-through blank Glueup! This is when I realized I'll likely be criticized regarding having too many clamps (non-woodworker) or not enough clamps (woodworker) depending on who I was talking to. I need more clamps. Neck blank jointed after 24 hours in clamps. Not a bad start, good glue joints! Quick mock-up with the hickory (at the time) and fingerboard While frequenting wood stores for my lumber, I quickly realized it would be a good idea to sandwich 4/4 boards as opposed to dealing with 8/4, which can sometimes be less stable (I can't say if this is true or not, it is just what a local hardwood wholeseller had told me). Plus, I can chamber for weight loss quite easily. MDF body template final-shaped on ROSS Hickory upper wing roughly shaped. I was quickly realizing how tough that wood is! My poor little (at the time) bandsaw was having issues with that stuff! I made a angled scarf jig for the chop saw. It did OK, but not as good as I had hoped. I now have a good bandsaw with a nice Incra miter guage/fence. I made a sanding jig out of MDF and spray-glued some 60 grit. A friend and fellow builder offered to show me how he cuts his truss rod channel on his router table. It fits! Scarf sanding (which took ages...may just turn that into a router jig) complete and ready to glue up! More to come soon! -Rich

I have a jigsaw that I use only to crosscut long boards, since I have yet to build a proper table saw crosscut sled (which is a bit challenging on a jobsite saw). I just clamp a straight edge perpendicular to the board as a guide for the jigsaw sole. It isn't entirely accurate, but it does fine for making a safe cut in a pinch. Using high-quality blades is a must, as with most tools. Stock blades are garbage in most cases (I use a Ryobi). Then, there are also those who have relied on jigsaws so are able to compensate for the tool's foibles with skill and superior handling. My brother is a wizard with one! Me, not so much.

Hah! so I popped over here after sending you an email about how I plan on making some workbench improvements in my shop. You were apparently way ahead of me.