Author Topic: Elwood Wood pt.ll (Read 725 times)

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #15 on:** February 01, 2016, 05:46:00 AM »

Elwood, you can get by with shimming bridge feet if done correctly, in fact, I have some shims I'll be glad to send you. They are actually the pieces leftover whenever a new bridge is cut... I save them just for this reason. (this way, the grain is already oriented the right direction, and they are roughly the right size) Just hit my email addy here if you need some.

I use industrial CA glue for sticking the shims on the feet. After which, a couple passes over the belt sander, and some careful trimming with a Dremel tool will flush everything up.

FWIW - I have made new bridges, but it's waaaay more trouble than it's worth. If you decide to go that route, you can buy a new bridge blank for $35, give or take.

Glad to help!

elwoodblue · « **Reply #16 on:** February 19, 2016, 12:49:54 AM »

I've got the stand up in the wood room...after looking at a bunch of neck profiles I'm realizing how huge these import necks are. I'll take some pics of the reshaping for kicks. Here's a nice side project, This is a G&L prototype ASAT bass that didn't make to production. I love the look, but was wondering about the pickup placement. The Lynx,El Toro,and Interceptor basses all have a bridge and middle but nothing close to the neck. Or angled like the middle pup here:

So I made a testbed bass in the spirit of Leo's testbeds (like the one in the printout).

I used some reclaimed mahogany from an old pool table,with some black walnut blocks and a 90's 3 bolt SB-2 neck. It's tight but woody with alot of warmth,but not too much woof. ...and it's light! I'd almost consider playing gigs with it.Here's a side view:

I've got the fretboard for my 7 string finished, I need to decide on pickups so I can proceed with the routing. The neck pup will be angled so I'll use an 8 string pup with a 7 string at the bridge. I'm thinking a EMG 707 (and 808) wouldn't be terrible.Any other pickup ideas for an extended range 7 string (29 3/8" scale)?(...barts,etc.) I'll try and get some progress pics up soon.

hankster · « **Reply #17 on:** February 19, 2016, 07:08:26 PM »

Great! Has an appealing Flintstones vibe. That's a compliment, by the way!

elwoodblue · « **Reply #18 on:** March 02, 2016, 03:28:40 AM »

Late night upright update:
I think I'm understanding the term CCB better.

I recarved the neck,it's not a 2x4 anymore but it still feels big.Good enough for now.
I sanded the tarry black paint off the fingerboard, it looks like oakish Ash, or maybe ashish Oak. I clearcoated it and went to work on the bridge. I used some Mangofor feet lams that seemed similar in grain density and direction. Since it's a plywood top I figured this was just another ply above the top.

Sanded the feet with the sandpaper inverted on the top,
...fished the post out and got all the strings almost to tension.
I spent a little time playing with post placement, but I think now the plywood top and back is the
tone limiting factor now.
I bet if the top wasn't plywood I would get more punch and detail across the frequencies.

I'm going to have to sand the tongue down on the E side alot too...it's not close to straight.

So that's how I've come to understand my CCB better.
I bet it's nice playing one made the right way
Thanks again for the guidance,it's been fun wrangling that beast if just for practice.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #19 on:** March 02, 2016, 03:56:37 AM »

Sounds like you're headed the right way Elwood. =)

I just started on another top-off restoration of an old 1940's Kay. I may chronicle that one or not... it's nothing special, kinda' has that so-ugly-it's-cute puppy appeal. A friend of mine (get this) a completely blind since birth piano repairman, bought it for $200. Bass bar was out, hence the tell-tale collapsed top. It's got all the right components to be a great player though, and (being blind) the owner has no reason to care what it *looks* like.

elwoodblue · « **Reply #20 on:** March 02, 2016, 04:55:16 AM »

A while back while selling a bass on ebay,I kept getting an message asking for a person to person phone call. I thought it strange, I mean...why not type the question?
I talked to the guy for 20 minutes about basses before he told me he was blind.
I can't remember the band ,but he was a player in the Motown times.

My bass(Lado Superhawk) had some finish checking etc. and he was looking for an instrument that 'felt' good. The brass bling and pretty lacewood wasn't a selling point in that case .

One thing about that conversation that I really enjoyed; He said even though it had been years since he driven a car,
he'd still dream about rolling down the road!

elwoodblue · « **Reply #21 on:** March 02, 2016, 04:56:48 AM »

A while back while selling a bass on ebay,I kept getting an message asking for a person to person phone call. I thought it strange, I mean...why not type the question?
I talked to the guy for 20 minutes about basses before he told me he was blind.
I can't remember the band ,but he was a player in the Motown times.

My bass(Lado SuperFalcon) had some finish checking etc. and he was looking for an instrument that 'felt' good. The brass bling and pretty lacewood wasn't a selling point in that case .

One thing about that conversation that I really enjoyed; He said even though it had been years since he driven a car,
he'd still dream about rolling down the road!

elwoodblue · « **Reply #22 on:** March 02, 2016, 04:58:13 AM »

A while back while selling a bass on ebay,I kept getting an message asking for a person to person phone call. I thought it strange, I mean...why not type the question?
I talked to the guy for 20 minutes about basses before he told me he was blind.
I can't remember the band ,but he was a player in the Motown times.

My bass(Lado SuperFalcon) had some finish checking etc. and he was looking for an instrument that 'felt' good. The brass bling and pretty lacewood wasn't a selling point in that case .

One thing about that conversation that I really enjoyed; He said even though it had been years since he had driven a car,
he'd still dream about rolling down the road!

elwoodblue · « **Reply #23 on:** March 26, 2016, 08:33:40 PM »

A few pics of my 7 string progress: Here's proof of elbow grease-

Form and function got a little cozy at the end-

Fretted and glued to the neck. Showing the Hipshot tuners I decided to try-

A teaser body shot-

The body is a single piece of Mango. That's some nice chatoyance there-

I'm going to cap the tailpiece with some cocobolo. Wood is so cool

There's alot of work to do still...

It's crazy how much time I've spent,because it's a one-off and I've had to improvise while adapting to the designs and shaping I did 20 years ago when I bought the wood. I'd say there's still 5-10 hours more;gotta finish the tailpiece,make a bridge,make a nut,final carvings,finish ,fretwork,install pups etc... ...maybe 20 hours? I swear I AM getting better at time management...LOL.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #24 on:** March 27, 2016, 07:03:03 AM »

I LIKE IT!

Hey, do you guys have Woodcrafter's stores out there? I don't know if they're nation-wide or not. I can't get out of a wood store for less than $100 anymore...