3rd Build?! 6 string neck through single cut bass!!!

[SIMpleONe89]

@Franken - I've not started worked on the Wenge yet but from what I've read it's prone to splintering, which can get septic quickly. Yes I'm hoping it's not too distracting and complicated. And the Wenge is also from Anagote!

@wokka - Yes I heard about the long queues at Aldi. Congrats on 10k posts btw. :P

[SIMpleONe89]

Ok now I'll show you how I did the neck taper without any big machines! It's not that hard really!

First, I had to mark out the measurements - 52mm at the nut, 79mm at the 24th fret.



Then I drew a straight line connecting both dots, all the way to the end of the blank.

[SIMpleONe89]

Then I cut out the taper, staying at least 1mm away from the line. It's funny how when I first started cutting out things with the jigsaw I cut at least 4-5mm from the line, but as I got more confident the distance shrank.


But of course I had to leave more room for error with the hand saw. My jigsaw isn't that great so I had to use the hand saw on the thicker parts. It heats up fast and the blade bends.



By the time I was done my arms were so sore.

[SIMpleONe89]

Then I stuck a long straight edge and routed it to size.




And sanded it all flat.


There you go! Just 3 hours of hard work without a bandsaw and a jointer! :P

[wokkaboy]

well done Simon, love the detail of your diaries. Cool jigs you made too. Shows you can build a scratchy without big machinery

[SIMpleONe89]

well done Simon, love the detail of your diaries. Cool jigs you made too. Shows you can build a scratchy without big machinery

Thanks woks! Big machines do help if you're building many and have little time!

[SIMpleONe89]

Ok so I've been working on the neck for the past few days.

Did the truss rod channel.


And the carbon fibre rods. These will help with the stability of the 6 string bass neck.

[SIMpleONe89]

And I also glued on the headstock veneer, which is made of Wenge and Jarrah. I'll also add a blackwood veneer to the bottom once the neck is shaped.


After the headstock veneer was glued on, I routed the truss rod access channel. I'll probably go with a flamed maple truss rod cover from the scrap I have lying around (literally lying around).

Then I glued on the fretboard. To prevent it from slipping, I tried a new method of using toothpicks as locating pins. So I clamped the fretboard into position, drilled a 2mm hole in the fret slots at both ends of the fretboard through into the neck, and stuck a toothpick in. The frets will cover up the hole anyway.

Also, this time I didn't forget to remove the masking tape!

[Fretworn]

So you are sticking with a single truss rod Simon? It seems many 6 string basses have two but I never knew if this was because the string pressure causes neck twisting or whether it was just for extra support (which your carbon rods will give)

[SIMpleONe89]

So you are sticking with a single truss rod Simon? It seems many 6 string basses have two but I never knew if this was because the string pressure causes neck twisting or whether it was just for extra support (which your carbon rods will give)

Yes one truss rod! The CF rods are strong enough. I think the reason why people use 2 truss rods is so that it's easier to adjust the neck. Besides I think it's hard to adjust 2 truss rods and get them equal.

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online...Materials.html
StewMac - The two truss rods allow greater control over the neck, and help to control warping or twisting. The reinforcement rods make the neck much more rigid, while still allowing the truss rods to manipulate the neck as needed.

I think it should be okay.