Rob's JB-5RF

[ThreeBbass]

Hi Everyone,
I'm planning on taking the "put together a plan first. Rushing your build will end in disappointment" advice in the welcome letter in the kit, so this may be a long thread by the time I'm done!

The long term goal is to have a 5 string fretless bass, with a light natural woody finish, active pickups, a solid bridge, and a few other hardware upgrades along the way (as I think of them)

The kit arrived with everything there ...



After doing the rough build I found that the neck didn't fit into the socket, so I needed to sand it down a millimetre or two to make a snug fit ...



My first question ...
The 4 holes that have been drilled in the body for the neck screws look like they were done for a 4 string and then the socket was routed out to fit the 5 string neck. My OCD side sees that they aren't in the centre of the neck ... will that matter? Thinking that I can cover the existing holes with the plate and re-drill 4 new holes in the right location.
I tried the plate in position and I can make it work, but wondering if that would result in less strength in the join, or other problems ...

[wokkaboy]

Hi Rob, nice looking kit ! That is a problem with the uncentred neck screw holes. Do the 2 holes on the treble side line up with the neck plate or all 4 holes are out of alignment ? I would find some small dowel or stuff a heap of toothpicks in the holes and glue and let dry and then sand flat, at least if the new holes are close to the old ones there will be some meat around the new holes.

[ThreeBbass]

Thanks Wokkaboy,
The kit does look great!
All 4 holes are drilled properly and line up with the neck plate ... it just looks like the socket was routed for a 4 string and drilled, and then the socket was expanded at the top to make room for the wider neck. It means that the whole neck plate is not on the centre of the neck, but it's only a couple of mill's out ... just really wondering if I should worry about it.
The dowel's a great idea ... I'll probably do that ...
:-)

[wokkaboy]

no worries Rob, the neck plate should actually be wider for a 5 string, but I think it will be worth centring. Probably no one else will notice but you will always notice

[ThreeBbass]

Correct!!!

[stan]

OCD always pays off in the end, haha

[ThreeBbass]

Neck Plate continued ...
So I've done a bit more research and found that Fender have been putting a different shaped neck plate on the 5 string delux and Squire basses - and I found one on eBay and it's on its way ...



I feel a little weird about actually putting a part with a Fender logo on my guitar, but it'll be at the back so only I'll know about it (as well as everyone else who reads this thread!)

I've taken Wokkaboy's advice too, and used some dowel to fill the existing holes ...



... just waiting for the glue to dry before I trim and sand them down.

[ThreeBbass]

slowly coming together ... rough build done




... still hours more fun to go!

[wokkaboy]

looking good Rob, so are you going to re-shape the neck pocket to suit the curved neck plate ?
Looks like you have screwed the bridge in place. Nice looking bridge and tuners

[Dedman]

Looking tasty indeed!