Part 2 - Work Begins, 02/17/2008

Here’s what I accomplished as of last night. I’ve done some steps out of order, because circumstances at the time dictated. So, I’ve decided to reorder the steps as I go from week to week, to document not only the build process in general, but also how that process changed over time.

Frankly, I was surprised at the progress I made, in one day of carving yesterday.

1. Settle on a design – DONE (I’ve finally decided to build a 6-string cello; in for a penny, in for a pound at this point).
2. Acquire the various parts for the body, neck, etc. – DONE
3. Mark the neck design on the neck blank – DONE
4. Rough-cut the neck – DONE
5. Rough-cut the fingerboard blank to fit the neck – DONE
6. Install the truss rod in the neck – DONE
7. Do the fine carving and finishing on the neck.
8. Cut the holes for the tuning machines, and fit them.
9. Do the initial carving of the fingerboard, for the radius.
10. Glue the fingerboard to the neck.
11. Finish-sand the neck and fingerboard.
12. With the neck attached to the body, take measurements for the bridge template.
13. Cut a tailpiece template (if I can’t find a 5- or 6-string tailpiece that will work).
14. Cut a bridge template.
15. String up the cello for a play-test.
16. Assuming that the play-test works out (that is, if the neck doesn’t snap in two), order the transducer bridge.
17. After the transducer bridge arrives, install it on the cello.
18. Install a preamp for the bridge. Most electric instruments of this nature have some sort of preamping, and I’m assuming that mine will be no exception.
19. Final play-test.
20. Assuming the final play-test works out (that is, if the neck doesn’t snap in two, or something else bad happens – in case you haven’t noticed by now, I’m
21. particularly worried about the neck that I’m going to carve), disassemble the cello for final sanding and finishing.
22. Final sanding of the neck and body.
23. Finishing of the neck.
24. Finishing of the fingerboard.
25. Finishing of the body.
26. Reassembly.
27. Done!

Some more pictures to show how that neck blank is slowly becoming a neck:

The headstock now has some more detail.



But wait, there's more. Look closer.




Here's a better shot of what I'm talking about. The headstock now has some backtilt, so that the strings won't be meeting the tuners at an angle (or at least they'll be meeting the tuners at less of an angle than if the headstock were straight).




This being a 6-string cello project now, I've embedded a truss rod. It's a square steel hollow rod. (or is that a hollow square steel rod?)