2011 double bass build

[Alan Stassforth]

Can't wait to see how you make da ribs.
Fascinating!
Let's make a guitar like thingy,
that takes a lot more work!
And wood.
Great work, Matthew!

[matthew]

OK well funny you should ask, I have in fact started da ribs.

There are two ways ... I think I know which way I prefer.

I can use my giant bending iron. This method works, very exciting and physical, very hot work indeed.











Problem with my bending iron is that the SS doesn't retain enough heat, when I present the wood to the steel, the steel cools a bit.
To improve my success with this method I need a better form - a 350mm slice off the bottom of a suitable aluminium mast extrusion would be really neat ... anyone?

The other way is my portable fox bender:





sandwich made up of litho plate, wood, Watlow 18x10 900w heat blanket, litho plate. Spritz wood both sides. 30 seconds on till sizzle, turn off and bend, clamp, rest, then give another 30 second sizzle a little while later.

Straightforward, uneventful, safe. And successful every time

[matthew]

By the way in case anyone was wondering about that back glue join, this is a slice off the bottom, I polished the edge to have a look inside.

[Alastair]

Matthew, Awesome

Looking forward to watching the rest of this.

Does the "fault" with your new bender mean that I need to hide your old one?

Love that SO, who supplied it?

And back to work, no slacking here

[matthew]

The Silky Oak was supplied by a couple of shelves from an old guy's workshop. He got taken off to a home and we had 6 hours to rummage through 60 years of metal and woodwork and collecting stuff and retrieve anything of practical or cultural value. The shelves were something I grabbed on the way out. Gerard Gilet cut it up for me.

And yes, I DID think about my old bender when trying to bend the tight curves! Lock it away!

[Alastair]

If it will help you, you're welcome to drop by any evening after work, if you are still in Lindfield.

I'll even light the propane burner in advance

[matthew]

[Lillian]

That's an elegant solution Matthew.

[kiwigeo]

Jesus c***t look at all that flashing......looks like the man's building a garden shed

[Allen]

Well, I'm very impressed. Gotta save this thread to show the uke class when they start whinging how hard it is to bend those sides.

[charangohabsburg]

Wow, that's really impressing. I imagine that the most difficult or tricky part to bend must be the "C" portion.

[matthew]

You're not wrong Markus. I built a separate mould for that part so I can still bend OUTSIDE, but I rushed the mould shape and the first C bout has not turned out all that well.



However i can rescue it, in fact that's what i'm doing tonight with a bunch of negative/positive curve moulds and a load of clamps and heat and patience!



I will spend some time fixing the mould tomorrow so that the NEXT one is a breeze.

[matthew]

Adding wenge caps to the blocks.





c bout glued in





more gluing. I can use the heat blanket to soften the ribs and keep the glue hot while I tighten the clamps



Starting to look like a bass

[matthew]

Working up the raised edge on the back. Silky oak grain is NOT nice to carve into.

[Allen]

The caps are to take the hard knocks that will inevitably happen when you transport the bass I presume? Contrast looks pretty darn good too.

[Nick]

I'm liking the idea of the contrast Matthew, this is already looking like a thing of beauty & despite what my brain tells me probably isn't, you're making it look easy!

[matthew]

Normally there are no caps at all; the blocks end in a point and so do the rib corners. In this model, the blocks are different and, I think, candidate for some decoration. If i was using plain wood for the ribs I might have done some fancy inlay but as the wood is already very busy I opted for some chocolatey wenge - not as plain as ebony, but still understated. Still thinking whether to feather the rib ends to nothing or whether to leave the end grain visible. Tending towards the former. I have also inlaid a similar strip across the end block, taking inspiration from some guitar builds here. usually, its a simple butt joint.

[kiwigeo]

Looking good Matthew. I love the caps too.....

[Lillian]

The oak might be difficult to shape, but it will look sexy, especially with the wenge caps.

[liam_fnq]

Working up the raised edge on the back. Silky oak grain is NOT nice to carve into.

Looks good though. Look right

[matthew]

Working the back down to an even thickness of around 7mm



The edge is 7mm, drops to around 6 just inside the edge, then works its way back up to 7mm.



Trimming the ribs to the final size. This is the first time I have used a classic hand saw in 2 years. The Jap saws have almost entirely replaced all my other handsaws. Except when I need set teeth, like here, so the blade doesn't jam.



I plane the ribs down to the edge of the frame.



Installing end seam decoration to match the wenge corner block caps.







Just checkin' eveything's going to fit ...



Here are the pieces to build up the scroll. Qld Maple.



Chalk-fitting the two halves;



Warm up the workpiece



Slop on the hot hide glue



and clamp it all together



yeah, that's what I want to see ... nice squeeze-out

[Lillian]

Matthew, if you prefer your japanese saws, you could always wedge the cut behind the saw to keep it open.

[matthew]

Twas too floppy and too delicate for that, Lillian!

[Lillian]

Have you looked at the Classic 400 from Highland Hardware? They say that the blade as a bit of a set to it and being in a frame you wouldn't have to worry about it being too floppy. Turn the handles so the blade is 90 to the frame and Bob's your uncle.

[matthew]

Thanks Lillian, but much as i love buying new tools I'm a bit of a skinflint and for a single cut once a year where I have alternatives, I'm not gonna succumb! And my poor old Sandvik would feel even more unloved!

It was hard enough buying my endpin reamer which I use only once per bass, but there again, I have no viable alternative for that one ...

(edit: by too floppy, I meant the rib, not the saw!)