8/27/08
God is the LIFTER of MY HEAD Psalm 3:3
Sorry, I had to leave this project for a minute. God had other work for me to do.
Ok. Now that I have my wood I can plan the cut-up.
Materials:
Table Saw, Safety Glasses, Titebond Original or Premium Glue, 10 to 12 9" C-Clamps, Dust Mask, Prayer, Scrap 8' x 3" of Birch or Pine or Maple
PLYWOOD WILL NOT WORK!!!Empowered is going to have a top and the neck through will be seen from the other side. I started a second bass "Overcomer" that is just like this one BUT it has wings. I'll try to split the explanation as we go along.
Determining the neck height for Empowered:
Poor pic but you can see that there I measured and added the thickness of the ash body, the top plus 1/8" extra for the fretboard. This is what the working height of the neck will be. Later we will "relieve" or cut and plane an area for the top. My total thickness came to 1 3/4 + 1/8" or so.
Now set up your table saw to cut 2 pieces of maple and 1 piece of Mahogany.
Set the blade height.
Set the cut width.
Let your neighbor sacrifice his fingers
2 pieces of Maple
Cut 1 piece of Mahogany
Done!
NOTE:Because this is a low budget 1st time project I eliminated adding thin stringers. If you want you can make them or buy them from any luthier store. At any rate now is the time to get them out.
Ok lets glue up. Notice how ran the glue line close to the edge? This will prevent gaps in the laminate. Also, I don't use a whole lot of glue. Too much glue will cause gaps and inconsistencies.
Now-This can be tricky.-Sandwich the boards together. Lay it over on its edge on a FLAT surface. You can cover your flat surface with waxed paper. Make sure everything is flush! Take the birch or whatever scrap and put it on both sides to protect the neck from the clamps. Clamp it. The wood will want to slide around. I usually gently clamp a piece of scrap across the ends to hold the lams in place. Some drill a hole at the head end and insert a nail. 1 Clamp for every inch or so.
See the glue squeeze out? Thats good! Not too tight or ALL of the glue will come out. Just give it a good hard tighten.
I used about 14 clamps!
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY CLAMPS!
Let this dry over night.
"My Daddy is sooo cool."
