My son plays upright string bass. He is after me to buy him a better one that is a "fully
carved" orchestral one.....and not made from plywood. "Better" equals, oh, about $18K. Ack. Fully
carved means (typically) two pieces of wood joined/shaped for the front of the bass, and the same
for the back.
It's gotten my interest such that I would like to make one....or two, or three until I finally
get it right. My mistakes can be sold/given/donated to the local middle school assuming they are
not hideously screwed up and moderately playable. Will I ever make one good enough? Not likely,
but hey, I think it'd be fun....hence, the draw to try it. Do you realize how -few- bass luthiers
there are out there? Damn few. With 3 year waiting lists. Big market for the ambitious and
skillful.
That said, finding chunks of wood large enough for a project like this is -very- challenging. At
this point I could care less that the first few be genuine "tonewood" (Spruce, Maple). I just
want to find some wood to experiment....and make some sawdust! Dimensions are TWO pieces that are
50" x 14-1/2" x 3" and then tapering down to 1/2". These are glued together to form the
front...and pretty much the same goes for the back. http://www.hvgb.net/~tonewood/prod02.htm
indicates the cost for tonewood of these dimensions. High.
Yes, I'm thinking CNC router here :) I've also thought carbon fiber composite.....but that's
another story for another newsgroup.
So, wood-gods.....is it me, or is it just impossible to find relatively inexpensive wood in these
dimensions? Believe me, I've clicked/search/googled for quite some time now and cannot find
hardwoods in large enough dimensions that don't cost an arm, leg and mortgage.
Sure, I could have more than 2 pieces for the front and for the back, but it just struck me that
as odd that there are, well, 'limits' to the size of solid wood! :) I guess what we're talking
about however is pretty much taking out the whole trunk of a very large tree.
Random thoughts welcome here. Thanks.
Sounds like an intresting project.
I often get 12/4 Mahogany in widths up to 16" and 12 foot lengths that
I use for tables. Try your local hardwood dealer, if they don't have
what you want on hand, they should be able to special order it for you.
Also, just a thought, since you're just doing a prototype why not just
glue up some boards to get the width you need?
Mort
Boyd Rollins wrote:
> this point I could care less that the first few be genuine "tonewood" (Spruce, Maple). I just
> want to find some wood to experiment....and make some sawdust! Dimensions are TWO pieces that are
> 50" x 14-1/2" x 3" and then tapering down to 1/2". These are glued together to form the
> front...and pretty much the same goes for the back.
Boyd Rollins wrote:
> My son plays upright string bass. He is after me to buy him a better one that is a "fully
> carved" orchestral one.....and not made from plywood. "Better" equals, oh, about $18K. Ack. Fully
> carved means (typically) two pieces of wood joined/shaped for the front of the bass, and the same
> for the back.
>
> It's gotten my interest such that I would like to make one....or two, or three until I finally
> get it right. My mistakes can be sold/given/donated to the local middle school assuming they are
> not hideously screwed up and moderately playable. Will I ever make one good enough? Not likely,
> but hey, I think it'd be fun....hence, the draw to try it. Do you realize how -few- bass luthiers
> there are out there? Damn few. With 3 year waiting lists. Big market for the ambitious and
> skillful.
> about however is pretty much taking out the whole trunk of a very large tree.
>
> Random thoughts welcome here. Thanks.
>
>
The president of Grizzly makes his own guitars and Grizzly sells all
kind of tone wood and billets for making
guitars. Apparently they cut & slice their own wood so if you call them
they might cut you some 50 inch instead of 30 inch billets.
--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA
A friend: someone who likes you even
after they know you.
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Try NewsGroups: rec.music.makers.builders, rec.music.makers.bowed-strings.
Also try The Musical Instrument Makers Forum: http://www.mimf.com/ In case
you haven't done a Google search, here's a start:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bass+making+violin+OR+fiddle
David Merrill
"Boyd Rollins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> snip...
>
> It's gotten my interest such that I would like to make one....or two, or
three until I finally
> get it right. My mistakes can be sold/given/donated to the local middle
school assuming they are
> not hideously screwed up and moderately playable. Will I ever make one
good enough? Not likely,
> but hey, I think it'd be fun....hence, the draw to try it. Do you realize
how -few- bass luthiers
> there are out there? Damn few. With 3 year waiting lists. Big market for
the ambitious and
> skillful.
>
Tue, Jul 4, 2006, 1:57am (EDT+4) [email protected] (Boyd=A0Rollins)
doeth proclaimeth:
My son plays upright <snip> He is after me to buy <snip> not made from
plywood. "Better" equals, oh, about $18K. <snip> .is it me, or is it
just impossible to find relatively inexpensive wood in these dimensions?
<snip> Random thoughts welcome here. Thanks.
Came across your thread while looking for something else. Random
you wants, random you gets.
For $18k, the kid should get a job and buy his own. He doesn't
want plywood - then make one out of plywood, and don't tell him it's
plywood. Laminate veneer several thicknesses thick. Check a recycled
lumber yard for table tops - you should be able to get some older ones,
more than large enough, and solid, not laminated - for a reasonable
price.
Read a piece some time back on a guy who makes violas, etc., from
scratch. He'd never made an instrument, but decided he would. At least
one of his heads, or whatever the strings are wound on are called, was
made from a baseball bat. Very nice instruments, and apparently the
play very well.
I saw an aluminum violin years back, in a museum, the card said it
sounded good.
Check out homemade instruments - and listen to some. Banjos made
from cookie tins, guitars made from cigar boxes. And, they sound pretty
damn good.
Me, I think I wouldn't put much effort into looking for large solid
pieces to make out out of. Not unless I planned on cutting it into
strips and laminating it. Look at some of the boatbuilding sites for
info on cold-molding, or strip planking. You can always veneer it later
if the kid wants.
You make one out of whatever is available, or you feel like. Have
the kid try it out, and see how it sounds. Then if the kid opens his
mouth to bitch, choke him. No prob.
I ran across my 5-string fretless banjo project the day before
yesterday. I've :got" to get back on that. It'll wind up with pallet
wood (laminated for the neck and head), plywood, door veneer, hickory,
dogwood, holly, maybe a bit of oak, with a tastefull and discrete
application of a bit of yellow paint. The only thing boughten will be a
screw or two, and the strings. Now if I could only play.
Hell, if it was me, and my kid, and he wanted "me" to buy "him" a
$18K giant fiddle, I'd start thinking about finding some nice clean
pallets, cut them in strips, and laminate up a nice instrument. I'd
want someone to test it to be sure it sounded good. Then give it a
really nice paint job, in pink or some other nice color - maybe yellow,
and present it to him - making sure there's a whole ot of witnesses when
he got it. Either that or I'd make a rectangular one out of 2X4s and
plywood - good plyood of course - and tell him me that's what I can
afford.
JOAT
Politician \Pol`i*ti"cian\, n. Latin for career criminal
Good advice, all. Thank you for writing back. Boyd
"David Merrill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:2Vtqg.815169$084.61863@attbi_s22...
Try NewsGroups: rec.music.makers.builders, rec.music.makers.bowed-strings.
Also try The Musical Instrument Makers Forum: http://www.mimf.com/ In case
you haven't done a Google search, here's a start:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bass+making+violin+OR+fiddle
David Merrill
"Boyd Rollins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> snip...
>
> It's gotten my interest such that I would like to make one....or two, or
three until I finally
> get it right. My mistakes can be sold/given/donated to the local middle
school assuming they are
> not hideously screwed up and moderately playable. Will I ever make one
good enough? Not likely,
> but hey, I think it'd be fun....hence, the draw to try it. Do you realize
how -few- bass luthiers
> there are out there? Damn few. With 3 year waiting lists. Big market for
the ambitious and
> skillful.
>
Boyd Rollins wrote:
> My son plays upright string bass. He is after me to buy him a better one
> that is a "fully carved" orchestral one.....and not made from plywood.
> "Better" equals, oh, about $18K. Ack. Fully carved means (typically) two
> pieces of wood joined/shaped for the front of the bass, and the same for
> the back.
>
> It's gotten my interest such that I would like to make one....or two, or
> three until I finally get it right. My mistakes can be sold/given/donated
> to the local middle school assuming they are not hideously screwed up and
> moderately playable. Will I ever make one good enough? Not likely, but
> hey, I think it'd be fun....hence, the draw to try it. Do you realize how
> -few- bass luthiers there are out there? Damn few. With 3 year waiting
> lists. Big market for the ambitious and skillful.
>
> That said, finding chunks of wood large enough for a project like this is
> -very- challenging. At this point I could care less that the first few be
> genuine "tonewood" (Spruce, Maple). I just want to find some wood to
> experiment....and make some sawdust! Dimensions are TWO pieces that are
> 50" x 14-1/2" x 3" and then tapering down to 1/2". These are glued
> together to form the front...and pretty much the same goes for the back.
> http://www.hvgb.net/~tonewood/prod02.htm indicates the cost for tonewood
> of these dimensions. High.
>
> Yes, I'm thinking CNC router here :) I've also thought carbon fiber
> composite.....but that's another story for another newsgroup.
>
> So, wood-gods.....is it me, or is it just impossible to find relatively
> inexpensive wood in these dimensions? Believe me, I've
> clicked/search/googled for quite some time now and cannot find hardwoods
> in large enough dimensions that don't cost an arm, leg and mortgage.
>
> Sure, I could have more than 2 pieces for the front and for the back, but
> it just struck me that as odd that there are, well, 'limits' to the size
> of solid wood! :) I guess what we're talking about however is pretty much
> taking out the whole trunk of a very large tree.
>
> Random thoughts welcome here. Thanks.
Forget clicking, searching, and googling, get out your phone book and find a
hardwood lumber yard, most of which have never heard of the Internet.
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 01:57:56 GMT, "Boyd Rollins"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>My son plays upright string bass. He is after me to buy him a better one that is a "fully
>carved" orchestral one.....and not made from plywood. "Better" equals, oh, about $18K. Ack. Fully
>carved means (typically) two pieces of wood joined/shaped for the front of the bass, and the same
>for the back.
>
>It's gotten my interest such that I would like to make one....or two, or three until I finally
>get it right. My mistakes can be sold/given/donated to the local middle school assuming they are
>not hideously screwed up and moderately playable. Will I ever make one good enough? Not likely,
>but hey, I think it'd be fun....hence, the draw to try it. Do you realize how -few- bass luthiers
>there are out there? Damn few. With 3 year waiting lists. Big market for the ambitious and
>skillful.
>
>That said, finding chunks of wood large enough for a project like this is -very- challenging. At
>this point I could care less that the first few be genuine "tonewood" (Spruce, Maple). I just
>want to find some wood to experiment....and make some sawdust! Dimensions are TWO pieces that are
>50" x 14-1/2" x 3" and then tapering down to 1/2". These are glued together to form the
>front...and pretty much the same goes for the back. http://www.hvgb.net/~tonewood/prod02.htm
>indicates the cost for tonewood of these dimensions. High.
>
>Yes, I'm thinking CNC router here :) I've also thought carbon fiber composite.....but that's
>another story for another newsgroup.
>
>So, wood-gods.....is it me, or is it just impossible to find relatively inexpensive wood in these
>dimensions? Believe me, I've clicked/search/googled for quite some time now and cannot find
>hardwoods in large enough dimensions that don't cost an arm, leg and mortgage.
>
>Sure, I could have more than 2 pieces for the front and for the back, but it just struck me that
>as odd that there are, well, 'limits' to the size of solid wood! :) I guess what we're talking
>about however is pretty much taking out the whole trunk of a very large tree.
>
>Random thoughts welcome here. Thanks.
>
>
>
>
Well, I'm not sure where you can get the tonewood, however, my Son
played a Jon Jusek laminated base all through high school. We tried
to buy it (it belonged to the high school strings association) when he
graduated, however they wouldn't sell.
We ended up buying him a new base with a solid spruce top. Granted,
not the $18K variety, one of those Chinese jobs with a fine Europeon
name stenciled on it.
It is a whole lot more delicate than the laminated base. I spend many
of my woodworking hours doing repairs on the thing. Partially, I'm
sure a testiment to its origin and partially because the solid basses
are just more delicate. He has to stuff it in his car to get back and
forth to his lessons and playing jobs, and then drag it up to his dorm
room.
Wish we had bought an old Kay or some other laminated base. Tried,
couldn't find any to buy.
However, the link below may help you out. I've used this forum for a
lot of help on the repairs.
http://www.violins.on.ca/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Violin+Making+and+Restoration+Forum&number=1&DaysPrune=
Frank
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 01:57:56 GMT, "Boyd Rollins"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>So, wood-gods.....is it me, or is it just impossible to find relatively inexpensive wood in these
>dimensions? Believe me, I've clicked/search/googled for quite some time now and cannot find
>hardwoods in large enough dimensions that don't cost an arm, leg and mortgage.
>
>Random thoughts welcome here. Thanks.
You know, a lot of folks in my area swear by wood they get from the
Amish. I haven't bothered to track any down myself, as I have a
pretty solid working relationship with the local hardwood dealer, and
they (the Amish) don't have phones. I don't know if they're in your
area or not, but it might be worth a look if they are. By reputation,
they're cheap and have nice stuff that is hard to find elsewhere
hidden back in thier barns- the advice I was given was that the more
patient you are, the better deal you'll get.