Matching multi-scale guitar and bass

[Engraver-60]

When I took hand engraving classes, there's a UV cure epoxy developed for the dental industry, and pearl pigments are available. Aske your dentist for info, or Mr. Google. They cure instantly, and are rock hard afterwards.

 

[lbridenstine]

The guitar glue-up is done, bass wings aren't glued on yet. I still need to clean up the frets and shape the neck & heel first.

Also, side note: it turns out the 5 string bass and 8 string guitar pickups are the exact same size, so that makes templates easier.

 

[mefgames]

Beautiful work, as always !!

 

[lbridenstine]

Beautiful work, as always !!

Thank you!

 

[lbridenstine]

I mixed some mica powder in water for a little preview.

 

[lbridenstine]

A couple weeks ago my friend came over to take some photos and video clips (the pictures above are from that day as well), so here's a little video (30 seconds) of starting the neck shaping of the bass with a shinto rasp.



I only did a little bit for the video that day because I was doing other work on the guitar that day as well.

This past weekend I ended up trying out carving the bigger neck facets with the angle grinder and it actually went really really well. I don't necessarily recommend it because you could very easily destroy a neck if something happens, but I felt I was in good control of it and it went smoothly for me. I used the same flap disc I use on the heels and other body carves.

So, those were done with the angle grinder, then I actually leveled the back of the neck down to where it's supposed to be and got rid of the saw marks, remarked the top lines of the facets because they were a little further in after leveling and continued with the angle grinder until the last set of facets which I did with the shinto rasp.

Most of the volute was done with the angle grinder, then I went over it with a half round razor file. It needs a bit more work, but I got it close.

The heel was also done with the angle grinder + razor file and then the random orbital to clean it up.

The bass wings aren't glued on yet, they're dry fit with dowel rods right now. I need to clean up the joints a bit so I can glue them up.

I'm actually looking forward to control cavity/battery box/pickup routing.

I have a finish test started (just with dye/sand back so far). I'll keep working on that as I move along with the guitar and bass.

 

[lbridenstine]

Bass glue-up.

 

[Les Paul lover]

Bass glue-up.

What's the black thing your chirping away? Do you add a good veneer to add to the visual effect?

 

[lbridenstine]

What's the black thing your chirping away? Do you add a good veneer to add to the visual effect?

Yeah, that's a black veneer. It was a last minute thing and I realized that I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, so that picture might not make sense! Haha. I'll get a picture next time I work on it.

The wings are going to end up a different color than the neck thru, so the veneer is kind of a border to hopefully make a crisp line.

 

[Les Paul lover]

Yeah, that's a black veneer. It was a last minute thing and I realized that I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, so that picture might not make sense! Haha. I'll get a picture next time I work on it.

The wings are going to end up a different color than the neck thru, so the veneer is kind of a border to hopefully make a crisp line.

It's all in the small details. Very clever.
Thank you.

 

[lbridenstine]

I'm putting battery boxes in these 2 builds and after contemplating where to put them, I ended up deciding to put them on the back side of the inlay since there won't be any pots/switches going through there anyway.

This is the guitar. I got a battery box where the battery lays flat instead of on its side. The bass is getting a double battery box, so it will be wider.

Bass pickup routes and bridge screw holes drilled. I angled the pickups to match the 24th fret on both builds.

Looks so much better cleaned up (minus the sawdust)!

And the guitar pickup routes/bridge holes. I was still confused about how to access the keyholes on the guitar bridges when they're screwed down and side by side, but I think I figured it out. It looks like you have to push the saddle/spring back so the screw sticks out a bit, then it can be angled up to access the keyhole.

Anyways, this took a lot of measuring and the neck taper was playing with my eyes when I was lining up the individual bridges parallel to the center line.

Onto the control cavities.

 

[lbridenstine]

I got about this far with both of them yesterday.

 

[RickyRicardo]

Looking great Lisa!

 

[lbridenstine]

I put in some time over the weekend and made a lot of good progress. It was fun to realize that I'm done with the router, drill press, bandsaw, and probably the angle grinder. There's a few more pilot holes to drill and the rest is mostly sanding.

These are light!

I'm going to use these hooks to hang them in the spray booth. Tested it out, seems fine. The screws are a little smaller than the strap lock screws, so I drilled a smaller pilot hole and will expand it after the finishing process.

The headstocks aren't sanded yet, but the truss rod covers are good to go.

The ash looks pretty cool after carving the belly cut.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

Those look SO good!!!

 

[CraigB]

Wow, those are ART, Lisa! Incredible!

 

[lbridenstine]

Those look SO good!!!

Wow, those are ART, Lisa! Incredible!

Thank you both!

 

[Captain Nutslot]

I put in some time over the weekend and made a lot of good progress. It was fun to realize that I'm done with the router, drill press, bandsaw, and probably the angle grinder. There's a few more pilot holes to drill and the rest is mostly sanding.

These are light!

I'm going to use these hooks to hang them in the spray booth. Tested it out, seems fine. The screws are a little smaller than the strap lock screws, so I drilled a smaller pilot hole and will expand it after the finishing process.

The headstocks aren't sanded yet, but the truss rod covers are good to go.

The ash looks pretty cool after carving the belly cut.

Rad!!! … beautiful instruments Ms. Skills!

 

[oldrebel]

They look fantastic!!!

 

[lbridenstine]

Rad!!! … beautiful instruments Ms. Skills!

They look fantastic!!!

Thank you!