Doing Things Wrong

Laboratory

Come up to the lab,
and see what's on the slab.
I see you shiver with antici ...

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... pation !

I like to build oddball short-scale basses. You can't buy them. You can't even buy parts for them. If you want one, you're going to have to start with lumber and work your way up. That can involve some fairly precision work, the kind that requires specialized tooling. I thought I'd post some of the creations from my garage workshop for others to see and perhaps copy or improve on.

Almost everything here can be made from parts and materials from your local hardware store, with a few exceptions noted. There are many good sources for luthiery and general tools and supplies in the Links page.

And all you high school kids - take wood shop. You can make all of this stuff easily there. Man do I envy you for that. I wish I'd taken wood shop instead of French. Would have been a lot more useful.


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This is a half-round bastard file from Home Depot. Half-rounds have the most aggressive teeth of any file, on both sides, but not as dangerous as rasps. Mine see as much use as all the others put together - they are terrific on wood. I have no problem sanding out the marks from the file. The last couple of necks here were done a lot more with the half-round than the Japanese files. These come in 6, 9, and 12-inch sizes; all are useful.