2 WIP

[Jeff Mills]

Here's two I'm currently working on - I hope it's OK to post work in progress photos? Both are 33" scale - one is a 1 1/2" thick solid body maple/walnut, the other one is 1 1/4" thick semi hollow body air dried walnut.

The one is at the sealed stage


This one just got bound yesterday - still a lot more to go till it catches up with the maple/walnut one


Comments/Advise/criticism are encouraged and welcome

Thanks

[Hans Bezemer]

Looking good!

I always like work in progress pictures.
Did you chamber the semi-hollow body or did you bend the sides?

Hans

[Henrique Schneiter]

They look great! What's the bridge on the first? Does it have a piezo?

[Jeff Mills]

Hey thanks for the replies guys.

The all walnut one is chambered.
The bridge is a Rickenbacker bridge no piezo but does have a mute.

Here's a few more WIP pics of the all walnut one, I like the way it's coming along so far. I went old school and made up clay fretboard markers, clay is a real joy to work with vers ABS.

[Jeff Mills]

My back ordered bridge came in today finally So I routed it into the all walnut one and set it up - plays nice. Here's a few pics of them together... Still a lot more to do till they are both completed, but it's really nice to have them both strung finally... I think they are starting to look more like bass guitars now.

Please feel free to comment on this thread - I can take criticism - Lets just say... you simply can not insult me. I've been married to the same woman for 26 years.







Thanks

[Neal Carey]

I also enjoy WIP pictures and like them both, but if forced to choose only one I'd choose the Walnut. Is there a substantial difference in weight? The Maple looks like it must be heavy.

[Warren May]

I also like the walnut one better. It has a nice Rickenbacker retro look without being an exact copy. The bridge is a great addition to it. The maple is just a little more plain but does look clean.

[Jeff Mills]

I also enjoy WIP pictures and like them both, but if forced to choose only one I'd choose the Walnut. Is there a substantial difference in weight? The Maple looks like it must be heavy.

I also like the walnut one better. It has a nice Rickenbacker retro look without being an exact copy. The bridge is a great addition to it. The maple is just a little more plain but does look clean.

Neal / Warren thanks for the replies I don't have a scale in the shop but they feel like they weigh about the same to me. I'll have to get a scale and weigh them to be sure. With the all walnut one I was aiming for a Rickenbacker look - so it's nice you noticed. Personally I too like the all walnut but my 16 year old daughter is head over heals in love with the maple/walnut one, she made me laugh pretty hard when she said I created the Jimi Hendrix of basses. Frankly with her playing it all the time, I don't know when I'll be able to disassemble it to finish and buff it I guess she'll grow tired of it shortly...

below are some more WIP pics.

The maple/walnut one it's getting there - installed 2 mini-humbuckers bar magnet pickups, independent volume/tone for each pickup, 3way pickup selector switch, mono or stereo output. plays nice, sounds nice - I'm happy with this one so far... just the truss rod and electronics covers left to make. Then it will be disassembled (if I can get my daughter to stop playing it long enough) block sanded and finished, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm still waiting on pots for the all walnut one but I did get the electronics cover made for it.


Spaghetti - Seems like I always cut my wires to long - I guess longer is better than shorter ... Anyways sounds really good and everything is working like I knew what I was doing or something.


I'm working on truss rod cover designs, I have a couple requirements I laid on myself... First it has to be an it original design, it also must be made so it's easy to access the truss rod by sliding the cover back without removing the strings. It also has to have enough real estate for a picture of a small US Flag, the words Made in USA, The model number and my logo. So I modeled the truss rod covers after some of my German shepherd's front claws.

So far I have the Narrow


and the Wide


Which truss rod cover do you like? Narrow / Wide / Both / Neither - Thanks

[James Tonguet]

LOVE the walnut with the cat eye holes , very Ricky slick

[Jeff Mills]

A couple more WIP pics

Logo on different sized truss rod covers.



After some Grand kid time in Southern Cali and Thanksgiving - I got cracking again on the all walnut one and installed 2 mini-humbuckers pickups, independent volume/tone for each pickup, 3way pickup selector switch, mono or stereo output. Plays very nice, sounds somewhat sinister and growls. Different woods sure make different sounds that's for sure. I have some sharp edges to round over and side dots left to install - then it disassembled, block sanded and finished. I'm no fashion bug, but I'm not so sure I like the black plastic pickup rings much so I ordered some chrome plated metal ones to see how they look.



Sorry for the crappy picture it's hard to get a good distance picture with my phone.

Thanks

[David Schwab]

Nice looking basses! I like the shape of the walnut bass. How does it balance with the short upper horn?

Back in the early 90s I started designing a hollow body bass, and it looked a lot like that. It ended up as a solid body and very different looking.

[Warren May]

They look really nice. The truss rod covers came out great with your logo. Thanks for the pics.

[Jeff Mills]

Nice looking basses! I like the shape of the walnut bass. How does it balance with the short upper horn?

Back in the early 90s I started designing a hollow body bass, and it looked a lot like that. It ended up as a solid body and very different looking.

I anticipated some neck dive due to the shortened upper wing and it does have a slight one, not so bad that the neck will hit the floor or anything like that but enough to be aggravating when strapped and standing. I might try and see if moving the strap button to the back will help any. But if moving the button to the back doesn't work I do have another plan... There is a sealed off chambered compartment in the upper wing above the bridge that's the same size as the electronic compartment (both the lower and upper wings were made from the same router template). It's just dead space right now and I planned before I built it, that I could access the chambered compartment by drilling a angled hole into it from underneath the strap button. I was also thinking I could add enough bird shot (little lead balls) to the chambered compartment to balance it out then spray a little of that canned expanding foam into the compartment to hold the bird shot so it doesn't rattle and seal off the compartment again. Do you think that's a good plan or bad one? Maybe I'll just let the bird shot rattle and have a shaker bass

Then again I'm thinking if I add anything to that chambered compartment they will have a field day at airport security...

I still need to get a scale for the shop - which I haven't done yet . So I'm not sure how much it weighs.

[Gordon Bellerose]

I love your attention to detail. The bound necks and body, and the small binding on the headstocks sets the woodwork off nicely.
My vote goes to the narrow TRC.

How are you routing for binding on the headstock? It is a neck through, so it's all one piece before routing, I'm assuming.
Or, do you rout the fingerboard separately before it's glued on?
I'm asking because I have not done any binding to this point and would like to start.

You can PM me if you like.

Gord

[Jeff Mills]

I love your attention to detail. The bound necks and body, and the small binding on the headstocks sets the woodwork off nicely.
My vote goes to the narrow TRC.

How are you routing for binding on the headstock? It is a neck through, so it's all one piece before routing, I'm assuming.
Or, do you rout the fingerboard separately before it's glued on?
I'm asking because I have not done any binding to this point and would like to start.

You can PM me if you like.

Gord

Why thanks for the reply Gord. The real attention to detail starts tomorrow when I disassemble block sand, finish block sand some more then buff and reassemble I honestly have no clue how you guys can do a monthly challenge that is an amazing feat in it's own right... Perhaps I may consider it after I become more quicker.

Routing for binding... well as you know there's more than one way to skin a cat... I have one of those little trim routers chucked with a 1/4" straight bit to help make most of binding shelves around the body and headstock. The fretboard is bound after it's glued on the neck and before it's radiused. For the fretboard I use a bigger router with a template bushing. I just double face tape the template to the fretboard and set the depth and cut the shelf. The little trim router is used to cut the body and headstock shelf. There is a little hand work in the nut area (what the trim router wont reach) but some good sharp chisels and an assortment of razor blades make quick work of connecting the fretboard and headstock shelves.

I also decided to make a personalized name plate for the owners name I can do a digital signature or a signature font like what's pictured. This is my first design on the profile, it's width needs a little bit of a trim but I'll do that this weekend while block sanding.


Also here's a set of pics of the all walnut one before finishing it's just in a seal coat right now and kind of naked. There's a little more binding work to do with some binding paste but I am I'm going to continue to go with a clear finish on this one

[Chad McCormack]

Those are just awesome! Cool approach to the headstock, too, extending the truss cover to include your name/logo. Nice work, Jeff!

[Jeff Mills]

I have a 2 WIP thread open but figured since this one is done I figured I would start a new thread - I hope that's ok? There's a little blurb, pics and specs below. Only other thing I can say is shes one sweet ride, it plays and sounds just as good as any bass I've ever played - I am pleased beyond my expectations So much so - I decided I would like to build these and sell them, although I have no idea how to go about selling I guess I'll have to learn... The model number is EB2-4CF (Electric Bass design 2 - 4 string Chambered body Flattop.This one here is all American black walnut. I decided to stamp a serial number into the neck but I didn't want it distracting from the natural beauty of the wood, so it's hidden underneath the owners name plate (the little plate that's between the bass pickup and end of the neck). Another cool feature is the truss rod cover, after the 3 screws are removed, it slides back just enough to get a allen wrench in there - no more removing strings to adjust the truss rod

The second generation (EB2) hand crafted Mills Custom Guitar 4 String Bass is sure to be a classic. Recognized for extreme playability, classic vibe, sustain, treble punch and solid underlying bass tone. A subtle strip of binding graces the elegantly curved body, shark fin holes, fretboard and uniquely designed headstock. A personalized owners nameplate, mono and stereo capability are standard features on all dual pickup Mills Custom Guitars.







Specifications
Body Type -Semi-Hollow (chambered) flat top with dual bound shark fin accent holes
Overall Width - 13 1/4"
No. Frets - 20 Jumbo
Overall Depth - 1 1/4"
Scale Length - 33 1/4"
Binding - Ivory colored ABS - Fully bond and blocked
Neck Width at Nut - 1 11/16"
Fret Marker Style - Classic round white clay
Neck Width at 12th Fret - 2 1/16"
Head Stock - Mills Custom Guitars unique design
Fretboard Radius -10"
Bridge - Pre-1980’s Rickenbacker® Style with adjustable mute
Body Wood - American Black Walnut
Neck Type - Through body
Neck Wood - American Black Walnut
No. of Pickups - 2
Fingerboard Wood - American Black Walnut
Type of Pickups - Mini Humbucker Chrome Tribar
Weight - Appox 8.0 lbs
Output Type - Mono and Stereo
Overall Length - 45 1/4"
Machine Heads - High Quality Shamrock Style Deluxe Open Faced
Nameplate - Personalizedwith owners name or signature
Truss Rod - Dual Action (Two-Way)
NOTE: Due to the natural characterizes of wood, Mills Custom Guitars may vary slightly in color and wood grain appearance.

Thanks

[Markku Nyytäjä]

For some reason your images don't show. I used different browsers, same thing every time. I'd really like to see the build, would you mind reposting the pics?

[Jeff Mills]

For some reason your images don't show. I used different browsers, same thing every time. I'd really like to see the build, would you mind reposting the pics?

Sorry about that here are the pics

[Greg Robinson]

Hi Jeff, please note that we do not allow self promotion on this forum. Please review our policy.

Also, we do ask that you keep all posts about a single project in the same thread, that's why I've moved this post in with your others.

Thanks.