A Tale of Two Teles

[dmraco]

My son and I picked up these two bodies at a local guitar show.  $40 each.  The one on the left is Ash with some of the tightest grain I have ever seen.  The one on the right is obviously pine.  Thinking tru-oil for both but looking for ideas.

There is some cool marking on the Ash and we are trying to decide if we fill the cracks in the pine.

 

[dmraco]

here are some shots of the grain.  Very tight.  I am not sure I need to even fill here.  I have never worked with ash before....thx

 

[DangerousR6]

I think ash looks cool like this...

This one is mine, it's a Jackson Dinky

 

[dmraco]

I do to.  But my grain it not that deep to create that effect.  It would just look black.

 

[bagman67]

You might be surprised.  I would try a coat of shellac to get a nice sheen on it and then get a good, well-lit angle to determine if there's any grain patterns worth emphasizing or comparatively unexciting pores that need filling. 

 

[DangerousR6]

I do to.  But my grain it not that deep to create that effect.  It would just look black.

Probably, I believe that look is achieved by sand blasting the body to deepen the grain...

 

[stratamania]

It does look a nice piece of Ash. I would still grain fill it as it can still be quite porous when it comes to soaking up a finish.

If you are going to tru oil it, if you used some of the Birchwood  Sealer and Filler first and sanded with it to create a slurry that may be enough to fill the grain.

 

[Cagey]

You know better. You've painted a number of bodies. Surface prep is everything. If it's Ash, fill it. If it's as tight as you say, it won't be a big deal. 

 

[dmraco]

I may do a quick shellac and try to fill with some black filler.  Cant hurt nothing.

 

[dmraco]

A little epoxy to fill the cracks in the pine.  BTW....this is my sons build.  Giving him creative control and he will be doing most of the work.  We will see if he can do the wiring..... :laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3:

 

[dmraco]

After the grain fill.  It did darken it up a bit.

I tried to apply some dye but I need to sand some more and get the wash coat of shellac off.  I want a washed out look but need more blue.

 

[BigSteve22]

Looks nice with that blue dye. I'm thinking your right about it needing a little more color, just enough to highlight the grain a little more and add a light tint to the rest. Sand that back a bit and I think you'll be golden.

:icon_thumright:

 

[dmraco]

Sanded and more blue dye applied.  I will let this dry and hit with naphtha.  The naphtha always takes some off, then we can sand.  The pine is looking cool too.  all the cracks have been filled with resin and a smooth as silk.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Cool projects both! I've spent a lot of time window shopping Stew-Macs knotty pine bodies, often find myself thinking a real funky piece with full of cracks and knots would make for a fun and unique build. Can't wait to watch both of these come along!

 

[bagman67]

VEry cool.  Obviously it's too late to do it now, but it occurs to me you could have had some fun filling the voids and checks in that piece of pine with resin mixed with bronze powder, or maybe a pulverized stone like turquoise.  Even so, looks like a fun brace of twang-machines you've got going there.

 

[Cagey]

Looks good. I'm happy to see that epoxy sanded back flat for you. I was concerned that in the process of trying to level that stuff that the surrounding area would get too much attention and end up all wavy.

 

[dmraco]

VEry cool.  Obviously it's too late to do it now, but it occurs to me you could have had some fun filling the voids and checks in that piece of pine with resin mixed with bronze powder, or maybe a pulverized stone like turquoise.  Even so, looks like a fun brace of twang-machines you've got going there.

We actually thought of this.  He saw it on the web and looked cool.  However he wanted a very natural look.  It would have looked nice if I mixed some the silver micro flake I have (you all know my infatuation with flake).  The crack in the knot was in a star shape!!!

You have to be careful sanding.  Especially in pine that you do not cut too deep.  He took his time and I resisted helping.  He did a fine job.

This is my target for the blue one.  The naphtha took off some of the blue.  Sandpaper is next.  I actually just purchased a cool pick guard and control plate too.  The finish will be satin. 

 

[rgand]

These are both great. I like your vision on the blue. Looking forward to following this.

 

[dmraco]

this is where I settled with the amount of blue.  When I apply some naphtha the blue is muted and the brown tones pop.  Lets hope the satin poly does the same.

 

[Great Ape]

Looks great! :icon_thumright: