DIY Guitar Messing About (1 Viewer)

[magicbastarder]

sounds fine to my ears - but i've never played a bass before so nothing to compare it to. there's a little bit of a hum, but i suspect the wire earthing off the bridge might not be making good contact.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

sounds fine to my ears - but i've never played a bass before so nothing to compare it to. there's a little bit of a hum, but i suspect the wire earthing off the bridge might not be making good contact.

Would still suggest upgrading the pickups and pots etc. if you go to the trouble of making a cool body - 50-60quid extra could make a big difference to overall sound quality!

 

[magicbastarder]

agreed; i was thinking of making a carbon copy body as a first step, but second step would hopefully be a more ambitious build with better quality hardware.

 

[magicbastarder]

well, i've started; i realised that one of the pieces i had was almost the perfect size (once chopped in half and glued back together) for a guitar body. i haven't decided yet what will make up the rest of the thickness of the body.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

well, i've started; i realised that one of the pieces i had was almost the perfect size (once chopped in half and glued back together) for a guitar body. i haven't decided yet what will make up the rest of the thickness of the body.

View attachment 16611

I’ve been basically using a double layer of planks - so - 4 piece body.
Believe it or not I might have some bits left over I could give back to you?
Have to one of the teak window boards from me dad as well which I haven’t touched.
Let me know the dimensions you’re working with

 

[magicbastarder]

Cheers - I was aiming for about 45mm thick and was toying with being perverse and using oak for the bottom layer...
I need to plane the piece in the photo above, on both sides, so not quite sure yet how thick it's going to be.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Cheers - I was aiming for about 45mm thick and was toying with being perverse and using oak for the bottom layer...
I need to plane the piece in the photo above, on both sides, so not quite sure yet how thick it's going to be.

Why not! You still have a rake of it! It wouldn’t be any heavier than the boards your currently using
Yeah some of those makore boards aren’t 100% square/even across their width - got caught with that the last build

The teak is about 25mm iirc

 

[magicbastarder]

also, i tried the japanese whetstone last night and it does a nice job of sharpening the plane blade.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

well, i've started; i realised that one of the pieces i had was almost the perfect size (once chopped in half and glued back together) for a guitar body. i haven't decided yet what will make up the rest of the thickness of the body.

View attachment 16611

Right behind you… could this be the start of the thumped guitar build off phenomenon?

 

[magicbastarder]

i was dreading the prospect of laminating all that oak together, with the resulting unevenness which i'd then have to laboriously plane away - and then remembered i've made myself a router sled...

 

[JohnnyRaz]

i was dreading the prospect of laminating all that oak together, with the resulting unevenness which i'd then have to laboriously plane away - and then remembered i've made myself a router sled...

You thinking of making it entirely out of oak? Ie laminate the boards on their wider edges?

 

[magicbastarder]

no - i'm going to use this as the top surface, but i'm planing it thinner, because i think it'll look better this being thinner, and making the oak thicker. good upper body workout, planing a minimum of4mm of wood off (i'm taking it down from 19mm to 15mm or thinner). i'm also correcting a little bit of twist in it as i go.

that plane pictured, i've set up as a scrub plane so it takes the wood off reasonably quickly.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

no - i'm going to use this as the top surface, but i'm planing it thinner, because i think it'll look better this being thinner, and making the oak thicker. good upper body workout, planing a minimum of4mm of wood off (i'm taking it down from 19mm to 15mm or thinner). i'm also correcting a little bit of twist in it as i go.

that plane pictured, i've set up as a scrub plane so it takes the wood off reasonably quickly.

View attachment 16613

you planning to cut a rough shape out of both layers and then laminate? I've tended to put the overall block together and then cut. there's something to be said for both approaches...

 

[magicbastarder]

i had been mulling that over but got impatient - one reason though was i figured it'd be easier to get some clamps nearer to the centre of the body.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

i had been mulling that over but got impatient - one reason though was i figured it'd be easier to get some clamps nearer to the centre of the body.

yeah - a bass body is bigger than anything I've made so far. even the bouzouki is more or less smallish.

I use other planks to try to distribute pressure across the overall board (s). getting a really tight joint at what will be the cut edges is most important I've found.

With the last built I was largely working in the cold, but got really nice joints. And then brought the thing inside to trial it strung, left in the sitting room over night, and the board dried out and separated!

Fixable - but annoying.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

This is my template for the shape I’m aiming for - designed as much from experience of trying to cut 45mm lumps of hardwood in tight curves with a jigsaw as much as anything else. Not sure if it’s more folk of the fairy forest or barbarella

Also the mahogany pieces for the back undergoing their ritual torture. A bit of planing ahead with these for sure..

 

[ann post]

I can feel the back problems from the cardboard cutout

 

[JohnnyRaz]

I can feel the back problems from the cardboard cutout

Ah it’s small just 380mm x280mm at the longest/widest point

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Reusing string ball ends as fret position markers… possible….

 

[GARYXKNIFEDX]

Interesting