Official Luthiers Forum! :: View topic - 100 year old pine P Bass

A little deep with the roundover bit, but otherwise - spot on!~

Thanks, Mike. Not sure about the finish yet. My original plan was a Chrysler color called Intense Blue Pearl. I already have that color here ask I type. But I have had a couple of folks beg me not to finish it in a solid color, but instead do something transparent. I will probably go with my original idea, but I'm still running it over in my mind.

It took me a while to see the joints top and back.
Nice placement. [clap]

Looks like you're using the "thingy" again!

Nice figure in that neck wood!

One good thing about the pick guard done that way is that it's all together,
easy to pull out and everything.
Leo wasn't no dummy..

And no, Leo definately wasn't a dummy. What gets me about him, is that, according to most sources, Leo wasn't even a player. Yet he created some of the best loved (and copied)guitars and basses out there.

And as a bassist, I did love P-basses immensely, until I built a Jazz body. More comfortable, and better looking in my opinion. Never did like Jazz necks - too narrow. Preferred something about 1 3/4 inches wide.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 5:49 pm ]
Post subject:	100 year old pine P Bass
Hi! Thought I'd share a P bass build. There may not be a lot of interest in this thread, since I'm a beginner(3rd instrument from scratch), and since this is a straight ahead P Bass build, not something more unique. But I'm trying to do my part to promote this area of the forum as best I can. The wood for this comes from a very old piece of antique furniture. My mother-in-law, who used to be in the antiques trade, gave it to me. She says it's at least 100 years old. I believe her. I've never seen or worked a more well seasoned( very dry) piece of wood in my life. It also weighs next to nothing. I had to laminate the body to make a blank thick enough to use. The wood was slightly over 3/4" thick. After glue up and level sanding of both sides, it comes in a 1.5" thick. A little thin, but good enough for me. I won't bore you with pics of that process(since I don't have any, lol). Here it is with the body shape drawn on the blank. After rough cutting with the jigsaw. After routing to the template. Using the template to mark the location for the forearm contour.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:25 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Forearm contour done. Belly cut. Hit it with a roundover bit.

Author:	Chris Pile [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:54 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
A little deep with the roundover bit, but otherwise - spot on!~

Author:	Mike Baker [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Chris Pile wrote: A little deep with the roundover bit, but otherwise - spot on!~ Saw that, huh? I only have a 1/4" roundover bit. Really need a 1/2" or 7/16" for this. So I routed it a little deeper so the roundover will come out larger.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Some pics after sanding. Will post more tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

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Author:	Brad Way [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:54 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Looking good!

Author:	alan stassforth [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 9:41 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Nice, Mike! Contours look great. That's a nice wide piece of pine. Looks like you're joining the softwood git body club!

Author:	Chris Pile [ Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Well done! Keep us posted.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Sat Jun 11, 2011 9:32 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Thanks a lot, guys! Alan,it's not as wide as you might think. The blank was actually 4 pieces. both halves were joined to give me the width I needed, and then they were sandwiched together to give me the thickness. As for the softwood git club, I'm proud to be a member. As you know, I build with whatever I can find. And while I would hesitate building with pine from the local lumber place, this stuff is so old and well seasoned that it was just begging me to build with it. The only problem I can see is the possibility of neck dive. The body weighs about 2 lbs as it sits. Won't be a problem for me. My aging back will welcome the lightness, lol.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Time to start on the neck. Here it is drawn out on the blank. A closeup of the headstock. Pilot drilling for the tuner holes.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Follow that up with the proper sized bit. I drill part way through from the front, then flip it and drill the rest from the back. Here's the neck after rough cutting with the jigsaw. Once it is rough cut to shape, I take a pencil and mark hash marks on the side. Then i take a long sanding beam with some sandpaper attached, and use it to sand the edges of the neck down level and to the line.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:10 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Sorry, double post.

Author:	mdubs712 [ Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:22 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Looks great Mike. What are your plans for the finish?

Author:	Mike Baker [ Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:54 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Thanks, Mike. Not sure about the finish yet. My original plan was a Chrysler color called Intense Blue Pearl. I already have that color here ask I type. But I have had a couple of folks beg me not to finish it in a solid color, but instead do something transparent. I will probably go with my original idea, but I'm still running it over in my mind.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:49 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
I'm baaack! So after getting the headstock shaped properly, it was time to thin it down to proper thickness. So I broke out my trusty handsaw... ...and got rid of anything I didn't need. I spent some time on how I would get the transition from the headstock to the fretboard plane. I don't have a sanding station, or a drill press with a robo sander or luthier's sanding station. My first thought was to use a half round rasp or file. But then, roaming around Lowes, I spotted this. Worked like a charm!

Author:	Mike Baker [ Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:53 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Sorry there have been no updates lately. I have been pretty busy with other things, and haven't had time to return to work on this. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more work done on it tomorrow, weather permitting. This build is still in progress. Stay tuned!

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Author:	Deegatron [ Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:47 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Mike Baker wrote: Thanks, Mike. Not sure about the finish yet. My original plan was a Chrysler color called Intense Blue Pearl. I already have that color here ask I type. But I have had a couple of folks beg me not to finish it in a solid color, but instead do something transparent. I will probably go with my original idea, but I'm still running it over in my mind. You could always do a little of each... translucent burst to black.... or blue pearl... or whatever you figgure you can make work...

Author:	alan stassforth [ Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:11 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
It took me a while to see the joints top and back. Nice placement. Looks like you're using the "thingy" again!

Author:	Mike Baker [ Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:36 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
alan stassforth wrote: It took me a while to see the joints top and back. Nice placement. Looks like you're using the "thingy" again! Thanks, guys. Alan, yeah, "Thing" is irreplaceable. If I ever finally get a drill press, it'll take me a while to switch my mind over to it, lol.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:31 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Now it's time to rout the neck, pickup and electronics cavities. If you look at some of my earlier posts in this thread, you'll see the pup cavity already routed. Originally I had planned for this to be a non pickguard build. Perhaps it's personal bias, but the P Bass is, at least to me, the quintessential bass. When I think of or hear bass, the P is the image that immediately enters my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that, at least for me, the pickguard is a huge part of the bass's look and design. And since this build is to be my personal instrument...... Template attached... ...and cavities routed.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Time to rout for the truss rod slot. Adjustment will be at the heel. Glueing up the fretboard. and routed for truss rod access at heel. That's all for today. Thanks for looking. Hope you've enjoyed it so far.

Author:	alan stassforth [ Tue Jun 14, 2011 8:36 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Nice figure in that neck wood! One good thing about the pick guard done that way is that it's all together, easy to pull out and everything. Leo wasn't no dummy..

Author:	Mike Baker [ Tue Jun 14, 2011 8:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
alan stassforth wrote: Nice figure in that neck wood! Yeah, I got lucky on that. But it looks like I lost a lot of the figure on the headstock when I thicknessed it. I've never worked figured wood before, so I don't know, it may still be there, and might show up after I sand it to 220. I hope so. alan stassforth wrote: One good thing about the pick guard done that way is that it's all together, easy to pull out and everything. Leo wasn't no dummy.. I was trying to be a little different and go sans guard, but the P bass is such an icon to me, that it just looks wrong without the guard. In the end, on my personal instrument, I want that guard! And yeah, having it all together in one place is nice, too. And no, Leo definately wasn't a dummy. What gets me about him, is that, according to most sources, Leo wasn't even a player. Yet he created some of the best loved (and copied)guitars and basses out there. When it comes to bass, there's Leo's, and then there's everything else. And a great majority of them are trying to recreate what he did.

Author:	Chris Pile [ Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:29 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Quote: And no, Leo definately wasn't a dummy. What gets me about him, is that, according to most sources, Leo wasn't even a player. Yet he created some of the best loved (and copied)guitars and basses out there. Yup. I used to tell my clients Leo was just a smart cookie with a screwdriver in his pocket. When they asked if he played, I usually told them he couldn't even hold a pick. And as a bassist, I did love P-basses immensely, until I built a Jazz body. More comfortable, and better looking in my opinion. Never did like Jazz necks - too narrow. Preferred something about 1 3/4 inches wide.

Author:	Mike Baker [ Thu Jun 16, 2011 12:57 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 100 year old pine P Bass
Chris Pile wrote: And as a bassist, I did love P-basses immensely, until I built a Jazz body. More comfortable, and better looking in my opinion. Never did like Jazz necks - too narrow. Preferred something about 1 3/4 inches wide. Not a fan of the Jazz neck. I know a lot of players tout that feature, but to me, like you, it's way too narrow. As for the Jazz body, i love that. But I absolutely cannot stand the pickup configuration. Single coils can be noisy. And unless you have both pickups adjusted to close to the same volume, they're even noisier. Give me a good P pickup any day of the week. I'm actually contemplating building a Jazz body/P neck bass with P pickup in the future. I think that would be, for me, the best of both worlds. But nothing will ever replace the mighty P bass for me, lol.