FINISHED!!! explorer war power (maple explorer build)

[labguitar1003]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLJB08bG_Ws new video

 

[GoDrex]

3x3 ibanez headstock

make it a Destroyer then....

 

[labguitar1003]

so basically i got the whole guitar cut out today and we decided to weigh it, it comes in at 5 lbs exactly .
now i'm no wood expert but I thought maple guitar bodies upwards of 6 1/2 lbs. acording to gibson raw power, what gives, are they just that crappily cut out? is there some flaw in them or did i just do something wrong? :dontknow:

(P.S.) the guitar outline isn't even fully routed so it's gonna be less than 5 lbs.at the end.

 

[Nando Vallart]

wai till the neck and hardware are in

 

[labguitar1003]

wai till the neck and hardware are in

but even without the hardware thats still light.

 

[Nando Vallart]

5lbs only the body?? yes because of the shape, but guys here bought solid alder or swamp ash strat body with 2pounds 3oz

 

[Patrick]

this is an explorer which is larger than a strat and has no body contours.
also he was comparing the weight to most maple bodies

 

[jay4321]

Well this is based off of a sample size of exactly one guitar body.

Maple is generally going to be heavy relative to most other guitar woods, but there's always going to be some variance, occasionally one that's pretty unusual. And there might be a difference in density between some of the maple species. But yeah, maple tends to be heavy.

 

[DesmoDog]

In general, the density of Maple is higher than Alder but the ranges overlap so you can have a maple body that's lighter than an alder body.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-density-d_40.html

Solid Density   (lb/ft3)
Alder 26 - 42
Ash, white 40 - 53
Ash, black  33
Balsa  7 - 9
Bamboo 19 - 25
Basswood 20 - 37
Ebony 69 - 83
Mahogany, African  31 - 53
Mahogany, Cuban 40
Mahogany, Honduras 41
Mahogany, Spanish  53
Maple 39 - 47
Redwood, American  28
Redwood, European  32
Rosewood, Bolivian  50
Rosewood, East Indian  55
Spruce  25 - 44
Spruce, Canadian  28
Spruce, Sitka 28
Walnut 40 - 43
Walnut, Amer Black 38
Walnut, Claro  30
Walnut, European  35
Zebrawood  48

 

[rockskate4x]

It is very possible that you got a lighter than average piece of maple, but no one lied to you because in general it is heavier than most other woods for instrument making...

 

[labguitar1003]

so today we got done sanding, new piccs should be up by tomorrow the end weight of just the body is 4lbs 10oz. because we made a deeper cutaway near the neck. staining should be started by next week and after that its smooth sailing.
 
I'm gonna have to say that this project took me by storm, if I didn't have the help from you guys and my teachers I would have to totally botched this attempt at making a guitar. :icon_thumright:
so I have to tell you guys thanks and that you  :headbang1:


Also follow the project on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacob-Labeots-musicianluthiery/121427067883736 you will get daily updates their.

 

[labguitar1003]

heres a some new pics, you can see where the cutaway was and then after i recut it, you also get to see the neck for the first time and the body after almost the holes are drilled out.

 

[labguitar1003]

we are done staining and are just putting the finishing touches on before we put a clear coat. this has been a long project and i am glad that it is almost over.
thanks again to everyone that has contributed, there wont be anymore pics until it is finished thanks again.

 

[labguitar1003]

sweet purple stain all done by hand including my first time wiring

 

[labguitar1003]

end weight a little more than 6 lbs

 

[DangerousR6]

Looks good, but loose the plastic washer under the toggle switch... :icon_thumright:

 

[labguitar1003]

thats actually there because it was cut out for a blade switch but i had to switch to toggle because of space

 

[Patrick]

if only my monitor could fit these pics....

im diggin that stain though. nice job!