This week i got a lot of work done, I glued the fret board onto the the neck. The fret board blank I was using was oversize and not to shape with the neck i made so after i glued it on i sawed off the excess material and used files and scrapers to blend it into the neck so it was a smooth transition. I also cut out the body and have been filing it to final size. To get the rough shape of the body i drilled around the perimeter of it then connected the holes with a saw. I then started to use a saw file to take off the rough bumps left behind. After i get the body to shape i should make the neck cavity and then hollow out the rest of the the body.
Timur, I have to say that there was something about watching you drill the first holes and then seeing all of the holes that you drilled that brings home that fact that this bass is hand made. I imagine that there must be moments where you’d be happy if someone handed you an electric drill or saw. That said, the committment you are making to the process is probably its own reward.
Timur, One thing that makes wood such a different and in some cases difficult material to work with is the grain direction and imperfections such as nodes. usually on an industrial scale, they use a CNC machine to cut through the outlines, and even using that, it’s essential to know where the grain direction changes, etc for successfully adjusting the tool speed and direction. I imagine in your case you had the amazing chance to get a feel of wood’s characters very closely. supposedly it made the “conversation” that you beautifully mentioned in the next post a bit challenging. I wonder how your experience was like not only with the form but also with the materiality of the wood itself.