Steves Project

[Steve H]

I'm building a 36" scale tapper based on the 12 string grand stick dimensions. I have wanted a stick for a while, have not actually handled one so I am hesitant about committing ~$2k and the year wait to find out if stick and/or tapping is for me:confused: . So my goal is to build a function student grade instrument. I really enjoy making things, so far it has been fun


1x4 x6' of Maple cut down to 41 1/4" with a lb of #158 fret wire from Stew Mac

Steve

[Steve H]

I probably should have mention this will be my second musical instrument from scratch. The first was a 22" scale length cigar box guitar, so I'm pretty much making thing up as I go, If I can't figure them out from pictures posted on the internet or what I 've learned from guitar building forums.


Accumulated hardware:

[rjgoos]

Looks like you are well on your way, Steve!

I'd be interested to know what you are using for bridge hardware.

Thanks,

Jay

[Steve H]

Machining neutral bus down to .300 for bridge saddles. Thanks Brian for posting your build.

[wwhwwwh]

I'm glad I could help. I'm looking forward to see what you can do using "real tools." I was a little limited with my hack saw and Dremel.

Brian Behary

[rjgoos]

How much milling did you need to do, to get down to 0.30"? I stopped by Lowe's today, and measured a bus strip....looked like the width of three would fit within an inch....so they wouldn't need too much milling to reach 0.30...well, at least the brand I was looking at.

[Steve H]

I bought the I-beam shaped ones that were .320. There were also some the same length that were not profiled but looked to be around .35. I chose the thinner ones. I would have been better off set-up wise with the flat sided ones.

I ended up taking three passes @ .005 on each side. The overall height was less than 1/2 inch so I could not use two parrallels in the vise under the bus and the single parrallel did not match the slot in the I profile so I ended up out of flat by .015. The bottom sides are right at .300, the tops vary going down to .275 at points

In this case I would have had better results using sandpaper on a flat surface to get down to .300.

[Steve H]

Have been sidelined a bit on the project, had a root canal on Monday, but here are a few more photos

[Steve H]

Test fitting the saddles, I have longer 4-40 screws on order. Will have to slott my saddle screw holes a little bit more. The base plate in 10 guage.

Steve

[Steve H]

Milling out a flat spot for the bridge.

[Steve H]

Bridge in place to test depth of cut

[Steve H]

Here is the bridge assembled with the 1 1/2" screws, I bought the 1 1/2's so i could cut them down as needed to set intonation. I will have to notch the back of the saddle blocks for string clearance.

[Steve H]

And a different view:

[rjgoos]

I am impressed with the metal work of Steve H. and Kevin S. ...if you can't get the bridge you want, make your own!!!

[BigDaddyPoo]

Sweet bridge! I need to start tinkering with some metal work. I've been working on building a race car at school using our CNC lathe and mill, but I don't think the cutters we have are small enough to do the detail work needed for a bridge.

:( man I wish I had time to work on my project.

[Steve H]

I am planning on shaping the neck profile this week and then leveling and fretting. So I welded up the frame for a neck assembly jig this weekend. Here are a few pics

Steve

[Steve H]

I recycled bed frame rails collected on large trash day! I hope they will be stiff enough,

[Steve H]

And the finished weldment

[Steve H]

I have not posted any of the glue up photos, so here are a few:

[Steve H]

And another:

[rjgoos]

Brenda...do Vice Grips count as a clamp?

Steve....great work!!

[BigDaddyPoo]

Illegal use of Saran Wrap! Will not count towards clamping contest. Goalies kick.

[BrendaEM]

That's quite a table you have there. It looks like 1/2" steel. I see a welding ground magnet on there too.

We work with what we work with.

[jamsire]

Originally posted by BigDaddyPoo
Illegal use of Saran Wrap! Will not count towards clamping contest. Goalies kick.

I honestly can't tell you how loud I laughed after reading that.

Thank you.

[Steve H]

Originally posted by BrendaEM
That's quite a table you have there. It looks like 1/2" steel. I see a welding ground magnet on there too.

We work with what we work with.


It is about 30" in diameter with a lazy susan bearing and locking stop. I bought it for $35 at an auction when a factory I worked at was shutting down an old assembly line. Getting it out of the truck was an adventure, It probably weighs 300 lbs. Has not moved since, so it will stay in my brother's shop down in San Antonio for the time being. There were some 4x10 and 4x16 steel tables that went for ~$50 I wish I had bought one, but I had neither the space or vehicle to get them home or unload them.

I needed the ground magnet because I was running out of clamps deep enough. The 'angle iron' is actually bed frame rails which have a slight catenary bow rolled into them, so they did not want to lay flat. My collection of clamps is here in Austin. So far this project has been worked on in four different shops depending on the task needed.

This building is definately addicting, after seeing Bear's creations I'm thinking about building a twelve string tapping neck and trapeze bridge to retro fit onto an old Applause acoustic. I have allways hated the aluminum neck but kept it none the less.

Steve

[Steve H]

How are sticks routed under the pickup or is it the 'stick up' box? Are they completely routed out under the cover or are there slots for the individual pickups? I have not thought this phase of the project through, not sure even where to place the pickups. I bought a pair of EMG 89's active switchable single/humbuckers to give me a wide range of tone options. If I bathtub route it I can easily add a second or change positions

Steve

[Steve H]

Drilling the end of a visegrip type welding clamp to fabricate a stewmac 'Jaws' fretting tool wide enough to work with tapping necks. I think I'll make the fret caul long enough to do 12 strings @.040 spacing. May come in handy on the next one also

Steve

[Steve H]

Rounding off the corners of the neck with the router

[rjgoos]

Steve,

Check your private messages.

Jay

[BigDaddyPoo]

Originally posted by Steve H
How are sticks routed under the pickup or is it the 'stick up' box? Are they completely routed out under the cover or are there slots for the individual pickups? I have not thought this phase of the project through, not sure even where to place the pickups.

On my stick ( which was an older one ), the pickup box is just that, a box. The part that on newer sticks is a black plastic box is a self contained unit. The whole body is routed out to make room for this box. So there is basically a diagonal section that cuts at a depth about half way through the neck, clean cut from one side of the neck to the other.

My stick being older had a wooden stickup box. It was basically a block of wood cut into the familiar parallelogram shape and then hollowed out from the back side with a router. The front side of the box ( the side you see looking strait at the stick ) is left at a thickness about 1/8" to 1/4". A hole was routed out of one corner for the jack. There were holes drilled in the face for pole pieces. The empty box was filled with electronics, and the back was covered with a plastic plate that was only visible from the back of the instrument where it overhung the neck.

I hope this makes sense.

[Krappy]

just ran across this on ebay, and noted the price versus the busbar pieces you used--what a frugal use of already available stuff on your part!



http://cgi.ebay.com/ABM-Height-Adjustable-Brass-Nut-for-Bass-Guitars_W0QQitemZ280112584427QQihZ018QQcategoryZ10 1976QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem