Andyjr1515 Q1'20 Challenge - a little Rascal!

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Hi

Well - as @paulnb57 ; has joined the @TTony ; challenge and @TTony 's are coming on nicely, it seemed impolite not to partake too :)

This one, I think, meets the criteria nicely.  That is, what do you do with bits left over from previous projects?  

I started this one for a mate before Christmas and am actually getting close to completion.  I'll do a quick photo-update and then go 'real-time' for the finishing bits.  

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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    :+1:
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited January 2020
    OK - a bit of background.

    A couple of years ago, a mate of mine, Mike, had got himself a Fender Rascal bass.  He loved the switch arrangement and sound from the Seymour Duncan lipstick pickups, but the Jaguar-type body was a bit too unwieldly for him.  So he asked me to build him a new body - and donated a beautiful piece of English Walnut from the last tree that his late pal, Merve (a lumberjack from teens to retirement) cut down.


    So that's what I did.  Made a new body in the style of a Precision Lyte and transferred everything else over:




    I made it fully reversible so, if he ever wanted to sell it, he could revert to stock and not lose any of the value.

    But two years later, it remains his 'go-to' bass and he tells me he has no intention whatsoever of ever reverting to sell.  And he still loves the sound-scape he gets from what is, essentially, a Stratocaster-equipped bass.  So, 'could Andyjr1515 reshape the body, find a neck, make a black pickguard and find some lipsticks for it?'


    My old man always used to say when I was beginning my career in industry, "Always tell 'em 'Yes' and then work out how you're going to do it afterwards." 


    So the answer was 'Yes'





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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    The body-shape adjustment Mike wanted was pretty straightforward.  Basically taking length and weight out of it:


      A quick session on the bandsaw got me the basic outline:



    With a potential lyre left over ;)




    Then the soul-destroying process of removing the finish (actually, not as bad as some):



    The four dints were to acommodate the original Rascal bridge (odd design with projections on the bottom).


    The bitsa bridge that Mike gave me would leave these showing so I'd have to think about that.


    In the meantime a paddle-headed neck (30" shortscale but with 21 frets...a VERY unusual combination for a bass) sourced from Eden in the States arrived.


    I added some black dots, a couple of ebony swifts for the 12th fret and a couple of swifts for the headstock (cut to a fairly traditional shape):








       
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    Always like to see the swifts
    :)
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    TTony said:
    Always like to see the swifts
    :)
    :)

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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Mike wanted a stained black satin finish for the body with a black pickguard.  I needed to give it some thought to try to make it look a little bit special, but first, I had to hide those bridge cutouts.  And because it was to be stained, whatever I filled them with needed to be wood.


    Just in case they showed, I decided to add a central cut out, make the dips proper straight-sided chambers and then carved some walnut to fit:




    Then sanded all the edge profiles towards the finished shape and finally added a couple of coats of Chestnut spirit stain:


       
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    One of the things I can't do with, much as I like Fenders, is the great big square lump of a heel block your thumb hits so I got on of the curved plates to be able to take the corner off.  When playing, makes a BIG difference:


    But basses usually have longer neck pockets to add a bit more oomph to the joint.  Unusually, the Rascal has a guitar-style pocket.  So, as I am also taking a bit of area off, I will go for machine screws and inserts to bolt it on with.

    The one thing I have learnt is that the inserts for machine screws have to be in EXACTLY the right place.  What I do nowadays is use a decent quality bradpoint drill of exactly the right size, clamp the neck in place, check the alignment and then use the bradpoints to mark my centres.  Then off to the drill-press with the larger bradpoint.  Note I use a radius block to make sure that the neck is completely square with the drill:



    And inserts carefully inserted and sanded flush:


    This view makes it look like the inserts are offset - it's just the thread...the holes themselves are exactly where they should be because if they are not, there is no way that the machine screws will fit.

    And they do (phew!  :)   )



     
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Which brings me pretty much up to present day.  

    I've wiped-on Osmo Polyx satin on the body as the protective clear coat.  The neck will use the WezV tru-oil method but actually using Danish Oil instead of Tru-oil for the neck.

    I've also cut a scratch-plate from black plastic but - to add a different vibe - veneered it with ebony:


    I've also taken a punt on an Artec set of lipsticks - the SD ones are around £125 EACH - and there's three of them:



    It's getting closer...

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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    So, basically, you did this last year, and now you're posting it here as a "Q1'20" challenge?
    :P

    I reckon you should start something from scratch ...
    :D
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    TTony said:
    So, basically, you did this last year, and now you're posting it here as a "Q1'20" challenge?
    :P

    I reckon you should start something from scratch ...
    :D
    Yes - but you have to remember I come from Wolverhampton.  So...well...rules?  What rules?  ;)
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  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    Always nice to see your builds Andy
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  • DrBobDrBob Frets: 2998
    Awesome work as always Andy 
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  • SargeSarge Frets: 2370
    Love this, always enjoy your build threads! 
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    ^ Thanks, folks :)

    Does this mean I win, @TTony ????   Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty pleeeeeeeeease

    :)
    ;)
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8591
    It’s not a competition. More a confession of our addictions
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    As ever, Andy, Superb!
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    ^ Thanks, folks :)

    Does this mean I win, @TTony ????   


    What, again???
    :D
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    TTony said:
    ^ Thanks, folks :)

    Does this mean I win, @TTony ????   


    What, again???
    :D
    :)

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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Roland said:
    It’s not a competition. More a confession of our addictions
    :)   And ain't that the truth.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited January 2020
    So - the electrics.  I am using a genuine Fender diagram...which I'm pretty sure is wrong.  Certainly, it didn't work (although that is usually me    ).  The pickup combinations worked but the tone/volume circuit - usually straightforward - just did some weird things.  



    It also wasn't helped that I used one of those nice CTS DPDT push-pulls - the push pull is wonderful...but the pot itself was completely duff!!!

    Anyway, in changing the pot, I also reverted to a standard tone/volume arrangement which worked fine.

    The 5-way and push pull (bridge; bridge+middle; middle; middle+neck; neck; all three; neck+bridge), while pretty common for 6-string electrics is nevertheless a novelty on a Bass.  Certainly, I don't know of any other bass that uses 3 pickups/this kind of combination.


    I lined the control chamber area of the scratchplate with copper foil and did the biz.  Forgot to take a pic with the replacement push/pull but this is broadly how it looked with the CTS still fitted:


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