Finished! New Project - lightweight solid walnut-bodied bass

Andyjr1515

Deadman said:

That's some of the best work I've ever seen. I LOVE it Andy. Inspiring stuff.

Wow - thanks @Deadman.

cacophony

that yew body you did is absolutely stunning. quite possibly the best looking guitar i`ve ever seen!.

so much want!!...

Andyjr1515

cacophony said:

that yew body you did is absolutely stunning. quite possibly the best looking guitar i`ve ever seen!.

so much want!!...

Well, for only a touch above a king's ransom, @cacophony, I could always make you one 

cacophony

would you accept children in part-ex?...

Andyjr1515

Haha...would they fit up chimneys?

cacophony

one might, but the other one could screw the rods together and pass them up, we got a deal then!!?...

Andyjr1515

cacophony said:

one might, but the other one could screw the rods together and pass them up, we got a deal then!!?...

Well....sounds promising   )

Andyjr1515

Took advantage of the rain stopping this afternoon to get the routing template tidied up and the body outline finish-routed.

I attached the MDF template with two sided tape (the extra strong stuff...more anon) and used my hand router with a top bearing trimmer bit to rout out the top inch, then flip it over and used a bottom bearing trimmer bit to do the final 3/4":



The router is a Bosch GKF600.  I'd had my eye on one for some time but had always worried it might not be man enough for the job.  But then saw that @WezV uses one extensively and, what's good enough for WezV....  Well, as usual, WezV is spot on - it's perfect for most of the jobs on a body.  Its lightness makes it easier to hold and control than my big beggar - they're still fierce-some bits of kit and have to be handled with extreme care but I feel safer with this one than my other one .

Getting the template off again was a challenge! I had to prise it off with a decorators' wallpaper stripping knife. The scratches will be either carved or sanded away:

Next jobs are routing the neck and pick-up pockets on the top and the control chamber on the bottom while I've got a nice stable and flat surface to work from. Then the carving starts 

Andy 

WezV

Its not my only router (I have 5 in current use), but the Bosch does see the most use.

Just a really nice positive tool to use compared.

Regarding the double sided tape. If its stuck too much pouring a bit of white spirit into the join helps a lot... But now I tend to use 2 screws for the large templates.

Andyjr1515

WezV said:

Its not my only router (I have 5 in current use), but the Bosch does see the most use.

Just a really nice positive tool to use compared.

Regarding the double sided tape. If its stuck too much pouring a bit of white spirit into the join helps a lot... But now I tend to use 2 screws for the large templates.

Good tip ref the tape, @WezV

Yes - really impressed with the Bosch.  I have invested today, though, in the plunge attachment for it...I was aware that if it snatched, it would be on the floor (or my foot) still powered up and spinning!  A dead-man's finger switch would be a comfort as it's usually when I'm trying to switch off I cock up, and this isn't the easiest thing to switch off!

Really pleased with it though - I find the bigger plunge router I have (esp as there is no soft-start) very heavy and very, very scary, even with a template...  

Andyjr1515

Routed out the neck and pickup pockets this morning, using an MDF template again:

To do the actual job on the walnut, I fitted the plunge router base to the Bosch - forgot to take a picture! - which gave much better (safer) grip when cutting the walnut.

I'm pleased with the accuracy - a nice tight but positive fit:

Next job (hopefully this week) is to route out the control chamber and then I can start the carving...

Thanks for looking

BigMonka

Looking great, although you make the whole thing look very easy when anyone with any sense can tell that it's not easy!

Andyjr1515

Thanks, @BigMonka !  

Decent bit of progress this morning - got the control chamber and battery routing finished so I'm now able to start the carving (my favourite part of any build      )

I marked out the inner chamber for an MDF template and ball-bearing edging bit, and then used a stepped ball bearing bit to cut the control chamber cover recess. These are the two router bits (the router body fits into a plunge-base that is out of shot). I used an MDF template also for the battery compartment:




Here's the template with inner rout complete. Note the 'blip' adding thickness for one of the screw positions:



This is the finished rout - I narrowed the inner chamber in a number of places to leave extra material where the screw fixings are - I will tidy the recess for those areas later with a small chisel:

So - carving starts soon!!!!   

Andy 

p.s.  The other good news is that I don't think weight is going to be a problem - I think it will end up lighter than the Cort   

Megii

The walnut is looking very nice Andy, and with the neck fitted like that, I can see already that it's going to be a looker. Lovely work, and a pleasure to follow the build.

Andyjr1515

Thanks, @Megii  

I think we've agreed before - walnut is a lovely wood to work with...

Megii

Andyjr1515 said:

Thanks, @Megii  

I think we've agreed before - walnut is a lovely wood to work with...

Absolutely - it's great stuff - looks gorgeous, and (at least with my strat) it makes for a great-sounding, resonant instrument. Only downside would be the weight, but even then, it doesn't have to be too bad in that respect. My strat came in around 9 lb total, which while heavier than the average strat, is still quite manageable I find. I have a feeling walnut will work really well with a bass as well - I have a bubinga 5 string bass (also heavy) and that sounds great.

Andyjr1515

Megii said:

Andyjr1515 said:

Thanks, @Megii  

I think we've agreed before - walnut is a lovely wood to work with...

Absolutely - it's great stuff - looks gorgeous, and (at least with my strat) it makes for a great-sounding, resonant instrument. Only downside would be the weight, but even then, it doesn't have to be too bad in that respect. My strat came in around 9 lb total, which while heavier than the average strat, is still quite manageable I find. I have a feeling walnut will work really well with a bass as well - I have a bubinga 5 string bass (also heavy) and that sounds great.

Well - hence my comment about the weight.  I haven't yet stripped everything off the Cort, but I think, with just the design carve, this is going to be as light or even lighter than the Cort body.  Great news if it is because the guy I'm doing it for wants it as light as possible.  I know that walnut can vary in weight density so maybe it's just luck...

The plan is, if it is heavier than the Cort, to cut another 'control chamber' and cover it with a 2.5mm walnut chamber cover, cut from the original body wood piece.

When I bought the walnut, I also bought a lovely piece of figured bubinga for a 'styled along Warwick Thumb lines but my own shape' 4 string fretless.  Hoping to make a start on that later this month...  

Andyjr1515

Did the main carve for the upper half of the top this morning. Almost all hand carve...there's too many things that can go too wrong too fast with power tools at this stage 

Here's the body marked out and the main tools for starters - a block plane and a razor-plane:

Quite early on in the process I also brought in the spokeshave:

Other tools at various times included a 'D' profile rasp file and a cabinet scraper and 2 mins worth of Dremel.

Now here's the thing...I've never done woodwork before I started on the builds and no-one had ever taught me how to sharpen chisels, plane blades, scraper blades or set up a plane, spokeshave, etc.. So I did what we all do - looked up EVERY internet tips and tricks I could lay my hand on and, guess what - it works!!!! 

The block plane was a 'special event' present and I think this particular make costs over £300 (yes...quite...). It is a thing of beauty and a joy to use. BUT, with the blade properly sharpened and properly mounted, I was getting as good a quality of shaving with the Record spokeshave which - if I remember correctly - cost about £12.00 in Homebase  So - if you do use handtools and, like I was, are not overly familiar with how to set them up, it's well worth spending that bit of time learning and trying it out.

Anyway, enough spouting - here's the progress today:






As always, thanks for looking  
Andy 

nutbox

Looking good andy.

JudasVigilante

Looking amazing Andy. If I was ever to invest in a router, would this be enough for most of my needs, like carving bodies etc from raw wood slabs? I haven't done any woodwork since secondary school and we didn't exactly make fine guitars! I Googled this model of router and the price suits my pocket. Maybe something for the not too distant future. Thought to router a body would require a much steeper investment.  Great skills Andy as usual. Have a wow for that body shape!