Show your Extensions!

[Robert Anzellotti]

Originally Posted by JoeyNaeger

If I had a table saw, that's how I would do it. A router works fine too. You'll notice Mine goes around the scroll as well, but it's one piece. I took some trickery to make it all work, but the string intunates nicely.Your solution is very elegant looking however. I like how the holes are blind on the one side. Someday I'll do a two piece extension like you've done.

You can do alot with a router, of course. Did you channel from the back and then glue in a patch where it touches the scroll? Thinking more about it, this also seems like a good approach, whichever tool you use. Still, you're right. doing a two piece means you've got a nice flat surface against the table. It's gotta be easier!

[JoeyNaeger]

No, I just did some very careful drilling. One hole from the back of the extension, and then another connecting that hole to the tuning shaft.

[Ken Smith]

These 3 Extensions were made by Luthier Mike Magee near Pittsburgh, Pa.


These are very well made, as are the other extensions I have gotten from Arnold Schnitzer and Jeff Bollbach. These have very good mechanics but different than both Jeff's and Arnold's work which are different to each other as well. All 3 of these Luthiers now use tunable brackets with hand made ebony fingers.

[Matthew Tucker]

Here's an extension I made for my Lott model bass.

The stick is Jarrah, the latches are an extremely hard local desert wood called Doolalia. Harder than ebony.

I chose not to use ebony for the body or fingerboard, as I wanted the extension to look a part of the scroll, not as a chunky addition.

[John Cubbage]

Wow! That is a nice design and nice work. It looks like you brought the Long E string around the top wheel for a 180 degree turn, then on a second wheel, diverted the string to the "E string" gear. That trick is new to me.

You have a Lott bass. I recall that Henry Scott of the Philadelphia Orchestra played a Lott bass while he was in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra prior to his tenure in the Philly. I believe his was of very dark brown varnish.

Very nice job on your extension.

-Dr. C.