Padouk overload! (?)

[Bob Hoover Ross]

Wasn't sure if I should post this in the Neck Woods or Body Woods sub-fora, so instead I'm posting here:

I'm rather fond of Padouk. Perhaps obsessively so. And I've just gotten it into my head that I should build a solidbody guitar with a Padouk neck and a Padouk body. (Ebony fingerboard.)

I expect it'll sound kinda bright and spanky. That's perfect for what I'm imagining. (It would be a Telecaster body, w/ (3) Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails Strat pickups, and a Schaller 475 hardtail bridge...because I own all those parts from another guitar I'd be cannibalizing.)

I expect it might be kinda heavy. That's not a deal-breaker.

What I'm really wondering is A) since Warmoth says a finish is not required, what are the downsides (if any) of having all that unfinished Padouk? I'm aware that Padouk will lose its lovely reddish tinge and oxidize to a chocolately-brown eventually, and I suspect having no finish means that will happen sooner rather than later. Anything else I need to be concerned with?

...and B) has anyone here done a Padouk neck and/or all-Padouk body? If so, what are your impressions?

Thanks.

 

[Cagey]

All "unfinished=ok" means is the wood won't or will strongly resist warping/twisting/etc. with normal exposure to environment. Some woods, Maple being notorious, will move all over the place without a hard finish. Others are more stable.

For final finish, I'd highly recommend you burnish the neck.

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

For final finish, I'd highly recommend you burnish the neck.

Good tip, thanks. I may also try that on my just-received Brazilian Ebony bass neck
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=30288.0

 

[Cagey]

You won't be sorry. That wood responds well to it.  Any of the dense-grained woods will, with Roasted Maple, Bloodwood. Ebony and Pau Ferro being exceptional.

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

For final finish, I'd highly recommend you burnish the neck.

Good tip, thanks. I may also try that on my just-received Brazilian Ebony bass neck
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=30288.0

Update: I did indeed burnish the Brazilian Ebony bass neck (as documented on Page 24 of the Burnishing Raw Necks thread).
But more germane to this thread title, I finally ordered the solid Padouk Telecaster body to proceed with this guitar project!
Haven't ordered the matching neck yet, still agonizing about fret choice. But that'll all come soon enough.
Expect pics and progress report ...uh, eventually.

 

[BroccoliRob]

Hey Bob, just wanna say, love your paintings. I had a friend named Bob who once asked me if I ever went to Medieval Times for dinner. i told him i once ate a hot dog at a viking metal concert, so basically yes. he didn't get it, even tho that's a solid joke. he really had no personality. If he were a spice, he'd be flour.

anyway padouk is dope, can't wait

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

Okay, I ordered the neck:
- modern construction Telecaster neck
- Padouk shaft, Black Ebony fingerboard
- 1-11/16" nut width
- Standard Thin Profile
- 10-16" compound radius
- I forget how many frets...probably 22, maybe 21
- Stainless Steel 6105 frets
- drilled for Sperzel tuners
- GraphTech Black TUSQ XL standard nut
- standard 4-bolt mounting
- no finish ...gonna burnish da bitch!

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

LET THE OVERLOAD COMMENCE!!!    :bananaguitar: :headbang4: :headbanging: :guitarplayer2: :turtle: arty07: :cool01:

Body just arrived:

Neck is presumably coming within the next few weeks.

 

[kucoyote]

I did a padauk guitar.  None of it is Warmoth.  Here is a link to a website I put together to show the build and final.

Yes, it is heavy.  I used a marine spar finish that helps protect against UV and oxidation.  It has tremendous sustain.  I have to use a cord damper at the bridge to calm it down. 

https://sites.google.com/view/vineyard-mountain-inst/home/guitar-build

Nope, no padauk overload here!

Mike

 

[rgand]

Looking forward to that going together. :icon_thumright:

 

[Ric Moore]

Kucoyote, hows the color holding up since 2013?  Think that marine spar finish is the way to go?  Or is it more that you keep it stored away?

Just curious as I love this wood color and have also thought about a Tele body like this.

 

[Ric Moore]

Bob, how were you able to configure this order?  When I try, Padouk isn’t in the list for any of the Tele choices.

 

[kucoyote]

Ric,

Here is a current picture of the guitar as of today. 

As to your question, I keep it in the case and use it about once per week at home for practice, and once a month at my church.  I have never used it outdoors so it has not had a heavy UV load.

I suspect that the biggest contributor to browning is oxidation, which any good finish will help with.  I have an unfinished piece (somewhere around here) from the same blank of wood that has browned (still with red in it).

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Ric Moore]

Wow yes that’s still looking good. Thanks

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

Bob, how were you able to configure this order?  When I try, Padouk isn’t in the list for any of the Tele choices.

Yes, it was not at all obvious...so I sent an email to Warmoth and asked whether it was even possible, since on their Woods list they say Padouk makes a good body wood, but then as you noticed it doesn't show up as one of the choices when you try to configure a body.

The response to my email was A) right now we do have large enough pieces of Padouk in stock to do a Tele body, so yes we can; and B) YOU MUST REFERENCE THIS EMAIL ALONG WITH YOUR ORDER. MENTION MY NAME.

The email further went on to say that I should configure the body as if it was Alder, and then expect the upcharge for Padouk to be an additional $125.

So I configured the body exactly as I wanted it except out of Alder, and then when I ordered it -- you have to actually start placing the order to get to the place where it offers an "Important Notes" field -- I wrote in that notes field "DO NOT MAKE OUT OF ALDER! Use solid Padouk as per my email to [name of Warmoth employee] dated [date of correspondence]."

Then I placed the order.
Then I immediately sent another email to that guy at Warmoth saying "I just placed order # [whatever the order confirmation number was] requesting this Tele body in solid Padouk. Please confirm it will get built correctly."

Then I ignored the auto-generated order confirmation I got from Warmoth.

And two days later I got an email from the guy at Warmoth saying "confirmed, you're all set, you'll get an updated invoice shortly." Updated invoice -- which now did say "Padouk" somewhere on it -- showed up a day or two after that. And then ~6 weeks later the body arrived.

Speaking of which: The Padouk neck I ordered a week after all that just shipped today, scheduled to arrive here the 21st!  :bananaguitar:

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

I used a marine spar finish that helps protect against UV and oxidation. 

Brush on, wipe on, spray on, what? How did you apply it? And what was the exact brand/product you used, if I might ask?

~20 years ago I built a Padouk-on-Maple hippie sandwich bass body, and I tried applying a spar varnish (specifically because of its UV properties) with a roller

Really. Bad. Idea.

My intention with this current guitar project was to use no finish whatsoever, mostly because I don't want to deal with the angst & agita that that 20-years-ago bass engendered. otoh, if this guitar turns to chocolate brown within a year Imma be disappointed that I wasted all the money on Padouk. So if there's a way to preserve its orangeiness without getting too deep into a Finishing project, I'm all ears.

 

[kucoyote]

Brush on, wipe on, spray on, what? How did you apply it? And what was the exact brand/product you used, if I might ask?

I don’t remember the brand.  I did wipe it on with a rag. Did several coats.  It was very similar to tung oil but with a UV inhibitor.  I have used tung oil multiple times in the past on furniture projects.

Mike

 

[Ric Moore]

Cool, thanks Bob

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

Oh yeah... dis gon be good!

 

[rgand]

Oh, yeah! Beautiful.