Hello

[Craig Regan]

Originally Posted by ed hauser

Craig how do you think this will stand up against "store" bought basses? i know you said it was for your son as an upgrade, i was just curious?

Its going to blow them away!

Seriously, Since this is my first build, i have no idea. His stand partners all play Shen 3/4 willows and hybrids. It will be interesting to hear how they sound side by side and together as a section (if I ever get it done). Currently he play a plywood bass.

Ken, the ribs are "trued up", just couldn't come up with a better term.
The back has a 3/16" (5 mm) overhang, I think it looks attractive. The extra overhang could possibly help protect the ribs and be helpful in future repairs.

The Shen overhang seemed very tight to me. Could be to keep the edges from catching on bass bags and such.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Craig Regan

Its going to blow them away!

Seriously, Since this is my first build, i have no idea. His stand partners all play Shen 3/4 willows and hybrids. It will be interesting to hear how they sound side by side and together as a section (if I ever get it done). Currently he play a plywood bass.

Ken, the ribs are "trued up", just couldn't come up with a better term.
The back has a 3/16" (5 mm) overhang, I think it looks attractive. The extra overhang could possibly help protect the ribs and be helpful in future repairs.

The Shen overhang seemed very tight to me. Could be to keep the edges from catching on bass bags and such.

On the 'Store Bought' as far as Guitar stores go they sell Junk for the most part aka BSO/Bass shaped objects. Professional Bass shops on the other hand can sell Basses from under $1000 to over $100k so there is a range there if values are correct on the offerings. Any smart minded DB shopper should not buy Cheap Basses in a Guitar Store or the cheapos on Ebay. OnlyfFirst time Buyers who no very very little about DBs buy these 'negative value' wannabes.

On your Bass Craig, might I suggest Bumpers at the onset? Matching Rib wood under the Varnish would be best I think. Save your edges BEFORE they need Bumpers and repairs. I had them put on a few of my Basses recently. It's a relief in my mind when I lay the Bass down, trust me. This is the best time to do such a thing.

[Craig Regan]

I traced the outline of the bass to the top leaving a 3/16" overhang; then I cut out the shape. It was exciting to see the silhouette of the bass appear in the spruce. The next step was making the templates for the plate arching.

Evan though I am a little nervous about the next stage of the bass project; carving the top will be fun. My plan is to take it slow and enjoy the "experience".

Time sharpen some tools.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Craig, you are doing some really nice work there. I think your arching profile shown in the pic could use some tweaking, though. The transition from the convex arch to the flat (or slightly concave) zone around the edges looks extremely sudden to me. Personally I find basses sound best when the plates have gradual, rather than sudden curves. Hope this is helpful!

[Craig Regan]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Craig, you are doing some really nice work there. I think your arching profile shown in the pic could use some tweaking, though. The transition from the convex arch to the flat (or slightly concave) zone around the edges looks extremely sudden to me. Personally I find basses sound best when the plates have gradual, rather than sudden curves. Hope this is helpful!

Thanks for the input Arnold. I made a new center arch and tried to flatten out the curve at the transition area as you described. Arch #1 did seem abrupt. Arch #2 is a lot smoother but I may tweak it some more. The top and bottom arches are much flatter at the ends and may not need adjusting.

I spent this weekend wasting away the spruce top by hand. I do not mind the grunt work; its a welcome change from the finicky stuff to come.

[Craig Regan]

I seem to have misplaced my camera; hope to find it soon so I can update the thread.

Currently, I am still carving the top by hand; its slow going but a good way to learn. It is tricky navigating the grain direction with all the hills and valleys. The spruce likes to tear out so I try to keep the tools very sharp.

More pictures coming soon....

[Craig Regan]

Very rough shaping at this point, top plate is still very thick.

Need to refine the shape and figure out the edge thickness. It is 10-15 mm thick around the edges, so I still have a long way to go.

(I found my camera)

[Craig Regan]

Photo #1
Winter is here.

Photo #2
Top carving. Roughed it out, then started to work on the "east-west" or horizontal arching. Here is the C-bout arch getting close to the outline of the template. My plan is to establish the top, middle, and lower arches, along with the long arch. Then, blend them together into a beatiful bass top.

You may notice a pitch pocket of some kind has appeared in the top. It was not there when I started to carve, but slowly revealed itself as the top got closer to the finished size. I may have to do some type of repair.

Photo #3
This is my arsenal. So far I have stuck to the hand tool method for shaping the top. Doing this by hand, IMO, might be a better way to learn the subtleties of plate arching, (as opposed to using power tools).

[Craig Regan]

Picture #1
I fastened the top plate to an old table base. This enabled me to work around the plate without having clamps and bench legs getting in the way.
Gracie (the dog) has been with me from the start, usually she just curls up in the corner wile I whittle away.

Picture #2
The top plate, in all its "fully carved" glory.
(still have to carve out the inside)

Picture #3
Working the edges. Violin makers spend a lot of time discussing "edge treatment"; it may not be as big of a deal in bass making, but, nice edge work is one of my goals on this instrument. I am using gouges to get the proper scoop and roll wile at the same time, maintaining plate thickness and reserving a place for the purfling. Also, one must keep in mind the overhang distance. There is a lot going on at the edge of a top.