Lowe Shop Notes

[BTL]

Thanks!

So, I had been been dragging my feet a bit, waiting for Ridler #2 to show up and for NAMM to pass.

In the meantime, my mother was hospitalized unexpectedly, so that was a bit of a distraction.

She's doing fine now, but it was touch-and-go for a bit.

That said, the neck on Ridler #1 is being PLEK'ed tomorrow, so I should have it all together again by the end of this week.

Also, I have been thinking about getting a booth at Summer NAMM.

I will know in the next week or two if I'm going.

If I do, I need to kick it up a notch...or two.

Still, I haven't been completely idle...here's a little doodle I've been working on:

[Nocturnal]

Sorry to hear about your mother. Hope things are better for her.

Good luck with the new models!!

[BTL]

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

[Highlander]

+1

[BTL]

So, most of me energy over the last month or so has been focused on bringing the 32" scale conversion bass necks online.

Now that project is in production, it's back to building.

I should have some updated pics tomorrow, but in the mean time, here are shots of the necks as of today:

[Highlander]

Good luck with the project...!

[Dave W]

Nice clamping setup!

[BTL]

Those clamps have garnered a lot of interest, for sure!

[BTL]

So, I'm not a big fan of swimming-pool routs and pickguards, but I've been looking for a way to expand my "palette" and introduce some more affordable options at the same time.

To that end, I've sourced some economical, pre-finished, import bodies made out of swamp ash and available in a wide variety of colors.

These will be distinguishable from my US-made bodies in a few different ways:

- Standard neck plate
- Swimming pool rout
- NO faux binding

I am pre-drilling these for interchangeable, string-through bridges:

- Allparts BB-3575-010
- Fender 005-8396-000
- Lowe Design by Hipshot

Allparts:



Fender:



Lowe:



A swimming-pool rout will replace the standard "P" rout, and pickgurads will be available to accommodate Thunderbirds, P90s, TV Jones, and Darkstars.

Here is the first body in black being mocked-up:





You can get a sense of how everything works together here:

[Highlander]

Nice family shot...

[Dave W]

Interesting way to go about it. I hope it works out for you.

[BTL]

Thanks...we'll see how it goes.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So, here's a little bit of fun...the first Lollar Thunderbirds for five string.

They look just like the four string model, but the bobbin and magnets extend the length of the cover:





A few sets of plug-and-play pickups:



The P bass body with the swimming-pool rout completed:



Ridler body #2 mocked up with TV Jones Thunder'Blade pickups in Filter'Tron cases:

[BTL]

Here it is, Ridler #1 ready to go:

[BTL]

I'll get some assembly shots of Ridler #1 up later today.

In the mean time, I've been working on a new project.

I have sourced some swamp ash, imported, pre-finished bodies and I am routing them out with a swimming pool pickup cavity to allow a P, Thunderbird, Fralin Big Single in a P90 case, or a  TV Jones Thunder'Blade to be swapped out at will.

Setting up the routing and bridge placement template:



The screws hold the template in place and also establish the outer string-through bridge holes:



The neck stays in place while routing:



A bridge is held in place with the outer string-through holes, and the center two are drilled. Then the outer two are enlarged:





The ferrule holes are drilled with a Forstner bit and a locating pin keyed to the holes drilled on the front:

[BTL]

I ream out all of the neck mounting holes by hand. It clears out the extra paint and allows a little wiggle room during assembly.



I'd say these bodies are average to light overall: