I mentioned a jointer pass. Since I didn't have a template for the fret slots, I decided to put a straight edge on the right...(like a jointer would do). That is also parallel to the centerline so the frets line up square to the fret scribe marks. 
Let's make a neck ( volume 2)
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Then it was removed from the x carve and I taped it down to the stewmac system. I don't have a template so I lined up the blade to the scribe marks. Since the scribed marks are v shaped, the blade drops in and centers itself. I had to be a bit more careful doing it this way but it worked out nicely.
After all the slots got cut, the waste got removed leaving a fretboard ready to glue to the neck.
GunsOfBrixton
Friend of Leo's
I thought I could slip that one by you in the midst of the pandemic!
Jim_in_PA
Friend of Leo's
Marty, if you decrease your stepover on the fretboard contouring to 7-9% of the cutter diameter, you'll end up with a much smoother piece that will be easier to bring to final surface with your radius sanding. It does take more time to mill that way, but it decreases the manual labor afterward.
LOL...see post 177. The radius beam starts at 80 grit and it's only a couple of minutes until those high points are gone.
No bass fret template? I took my son's Jbazz and cloned the frets. At fret 1 you get a medium bass, at fret 2 you get a short scale. Easy peasy 
No bass fret template? I took my son's Jbazz and cloned the frets. At fret 1 you get a medium bass, at fret 2 you get a short scale. Easy peasy
I don't have an aluminum template for the stewmac slotting system. I did have an acrylic one for the original 40 year old lmii fretting miterbox, but it snapped into two pieces and went into the garbage a couple decades ago.
I think the last full scale bass I made was probably 15 years ago and I had Allen guitars cut the slots at 37" scale for me. I think this is bass number 6 in all those 40 years.
I can't say much, 5 in 30 years lol
I glued in the MOTS dots with the green acetone based duco cement.
The neck and filler strip got scraped prior to gluing....
The fretboard gets lined up to the marks I made. They are equidistant to the center line of the filler strip and at the nut ledge. Once lined up I stick some clamps on it to keep it from shifting while I drill for my brads.
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A brad gets its head cut off and used as a drill bit. These are narrower than the fret bead but not wimpy wire nails. It gets put into a cordless drill. I drill 4 holes usually and did 5 because the neck is longer. I've done every neck this way for 40 years.
Sample hole
Sample hole
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The brads get waxed. It's hot in the garage...hot enough to make the wax sag and drip down.....
Once waxed, the brads get installed into the fretboard. I tap them into the mahogany and then clip the heads off so the ends go into the caul when clamped. I trace around the fretboard to give me an idea where I don't want to put glue. I remove the fretboard and cut brads. I apply fresh yellow glue and rub it in. I line up the fretboard with the brads to the holes and push the brads down. Next I center the caul over the fretboard and push it down. Lastly I clamp from heel to nut. After the clamps are snug, I check for flatness right away along the mahogany. I also want to see good glue squeeze out. I wipe up what I can but will scrape the leftovers in 30 minutes after I remove the clamps. One time I clamped in the middle and then the ends and got backbow. I learned from that... go from one end to the other and don't go crazy with clamp pressure. The caul distributes the pressure.
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A half hour later, the clamps come off, the brads get removed carefully, and I use the nippers to pull them out with a thin protective caul under it to keep the prying from marring the wood. A cheap HF 6" machinist scale becomes a glue scraper while the glue is still cheesy.
Ought to be a pretty bass with that butternut
Ought to be a pretty bass with that butternut
I hope so. The butternut is kind of light in the weight dept, but not ridiculously lightweight. I'm thinking I will 3d print a black cover and then make a custom humbucker pickup with narrower coils than the original mudbucker had.
I forgot to post this process before the fretboard glue up and stuck in the dot gluing instead. I drew lines on the neck blank to denote the taper I wanted and the heel measurement, as well as the peghead thickness. Then it was a matter of removing wood down to those lines. The heel of the neck becomes 3 surfaces of the glued in tenon.
I figured that I should establish a flat plane for the heel parallel to the fretboard surface, thickness the peghead close to final dimension, and smooth out the neck shaft taper. I've done these steps many ways over the years. The thickness sander is an OK machine to do the heel but it involves stopping the conveyor, lowering the table, and removing the neck and raising the table...etc. A lot of work. I've set up a fence on the ROSS. I've used a Drum sander and fence on the drill press. I've used the not so safe-t planer. Then there is the hand plane and sanding block method. Lots of alternatives to choose from.
I opted to use the not so safe t planer in the drill press again on this neck. It was sitting nearby so i put it in the chuck. I stuck the neck heel in there and lowered the quill and locked it. Then I took a pass, lowered it some more
I figured that I should establish a flat plane for the heel parallel to the fretboard surface, thickness the peghead close to final dimension, and smooth out the neck shaft taper. I've done these steps many ways over the years. The thickness sander is an OK machine to do the heel but it involves stopping the conveyor, lowering the table, and removing the neck and raising the table...etc. A lot of work. I've set up a fence on the ROSS. I've used a Drum sander and fence on the drill press. I've used the not so safe-t planer. Then there is the hand plane and sanding block method. Lots of alternatives to choose from.
I opted to use the not so safe t planer in the drill press again on this neck. It was sitting nearby so i put it in the chuck. I stuck the neck heel in there and lowered the quill and locked it. Then I took a pass, lowered it some more
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Next came the peghead thicknessing.
