Old French Bass full Restoration

[Stephen Kinnaird]

Well I'll be... Matthew, you are human. I always wondered if you weren't 2 foot tall with pointy ears.

Lets face it, the work you are doing is magical.

Thanks for sharing.

I dunno, Lillian, perhaps he IS 2 feet tall.
Maybe that's a viola he's been working on all this time?

Steve

[matthew]

Actually Lillian that is my avatar there in the workshop.

In real life I look like this ... no bull.

[Lillian]

Who knew cape buffalo were so intelligent and gifted?

[rocket]

I don't know if you are old school or not Mathew but you are definitely the real deal, love your work. Cheers Rod.

[kiwigeo]

The Bassmeister at work!! Nice work Matthew. Glad to see that arsewipe spruce proved of some use...its useless for making guitars out of.

[Localele]

[matthew]

I have no idea what "old school" is, so maybe that's not me! But there again, to my kids I'm an old fart, so maybe I am!

[matthew]

Remember this great big soundpost crack?



I glued it up well, but if this isn't reinforced properly the glued-up crack will just bust again when the pressure's on. So, working from the back, I make an oval patch from spruce and trace around it, then start hogging out a bit of a hole.







Mustn't get carried away ...



I like this next pic, because it shows up the depth - around 2-3mm - of the darkening of the wood due to age! Someone who has done this on many more basses that I have could probably date the thing looking at the colour alone! You can see the original crack entering at the left and a slightly darker area where it is glued. I think the right depth and shape of the curved bed is important.



Next step is to spot glue some guides for the patch to make sure it always goes back exactly in the same spot. There a many ways to do this, and this is the way i'm doing it this time! The grain of the patch is slightly offset from the grain in the top.



Now the glue is drying, I have to do some work work. Stay tuned.

[DarwinStrings]

Nice patch Matthew, so that is what you mob use those tiny little planes for.

Oh and "old school" is a "fingerflip", "new school" is a "heelflip to blunt".

Jim

[matthew]

Hey its not finished yet! And I'm still no clearer whether i'm an old school or not. Depends on your perspective I suppose. I only have grey hair in my beard, but I need reading glasses now.

[rocket]

In an attempt to heap praise on the luthier in question i used the term "old school", To quote the concise Macquarie dictionary,[old school,advocates of long established policies and practices], or in other words, and i suspect in Mathews case, one who has been taught old and proven skills and techniques, and still uses these even in this day of mechanised tooling. Still love your work Mathew!! Cheers Rod

[Nick]

I only have grey hair in my beard, but I need reading glasses now.

OLD SCHOOL!

[kiwigeo]

Actually Lillian that is my avatar there in the workshop.

In real life I look like this ... no bull.

I beg to differ......

[image missing: 19_Bat_Bass_2.jpg]

[Kim]

Obviously playing in key of "Bee" ...quick Robin, to the bat bass..

[Insomnomaniac]

What has been seen can never be unseen...

KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

[Lillian]

I want to know what the leopard trimmed zipper is hiding.

[matthew]

No you don't ...

[Insomnomaniac]

I want to know what the leopard trimmed zipper is hiding.

Ha ha - a bee with a fly...

[P Bill]

Great work Matthew

What is the bass bar like after all this time ? You're not an old fart till your ears have enough hair so you start to look like a kola.

[P Bill]

The bear not the drink

[matthew]

A view of the plate edges for youse.





I have not worked on shaping the edges yet. And i'm going to have to sweat over the purfling in the corners :-/

The soundpost inlay patch is shaping up well. I'll finish it off and glue it in tonight after the gig.



The bassbar is intact, well glued and solid. It is placed exactly parallel with the grain of the top, which is usually a no-no. I haven't yet decided whether to replace it or leave it.

[Lillian]

No you don't ...

Okay.

[reconstructor]

Reply by "Darryl Young"

Matthew, I'm really enjoying reading how you address these issues. I've never had a chance to see a skilled repairman work so this is the next best thing.

[rocket]

Darryl, He's "OLD SCHOOL" So think yourself lucky to observe the mans skills,,

[matthew]

Darryl, He's "OLD SCHOOL"

Ahah ... you spotted the chalk!