Shiz just got real!

[War_in_D]

Kinda like the dog that finally caught the car.. Now I gotta figure out what to do with it.. Got the body in today, neck showed up about a 1 1/2 months ago.  Chambered Strat body w/flame maple top, recessed OFR route in my favorite H/X/S pickup configuration.  Neck is birdseye maple with rosewood board which will be getting the usual rubbed oil finish.  Thinking all black hardware (if my experimentation with color goes as planned).

Have always done Tung Oil on figured tops, but wanting to try my hand at a stain job with this one.  I just ordered some flame maple pen blanks off of Amazon to try out some different ideas that I have.  Thinking of doing a black stain to enhance the flame, sanded back and then possibly mixing in some type of Amber-ish dye into Tung Oil for the top coat (think Joe Perry Boneyard finish) or maybe just straight Tung Oil to get that kind of "honey-esque" tint to it.  This one will take a while, because I want to do A LOT of experimenting before I dive into this one. LOL

 

[stratamania]

That's going to look nice when it's done. Especially the neck having a nice birdseye will pop nicely with a rubbed oil finish.

Worth experimenting for sure before committing to the body finish.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Gorgeous.
I love the pickup configuration too. :rock-on:

 

[Rick]

That is a sweet neck

 

[BigSteve22]

Nice flame on that body, and I've always been fond of Bird's Eye necks, going to be nice together!  :icon_thumright:

 

[rgand]

Excellent wood in both pieces. This will look nice. Pen bodies are a good idea for experimenting with finishes.

 

[War_in_D]

Thanks everyone!  I'm both excited, and nervous on this one having never done any type of dye work on a top.  I've been watching some vids on Youtube, and saw a really nice honeyburst type finish done with brown/yellow that kind of caught my eye now too.  The pen blanks should be here Friday, so I guess I'll start experimenting this weekend if I have time.  I think in the meantime, I'm going to basically build the body out and assemble it to work out my control layout and drill all the holes, etc.. Hopefully, by the time I get all that done I'll have the finish sorted out and be able to get the show on the road.

On that neck.. it was a showcase neck that I bought fairly inexpensively in anticipation of another project, just to have around knowing I would use it eventually.  Oddly enough, from the front it looks like a plain ol' maple/rosewood neck.  I actually prefer Pau Ferro because it has the look of rosewood with the feel if maple/ebony, but the price on that neck with that birdseye/rosewood was too good to pass up so I grabbed it.  There's really not a hint of birdseye on the headstock face, but you turn it over and BAM.. that thing is just riddled on the back!       

 

[Michaelga]

I purchased 2 pieces of 3/8" thick flamed maple (7.5 x 20"long) for a guitar top a couple of years ago from a company called Gilmer. I was planning to build a body from scratch, but I have abandoned that idea. If you're interested, I could ship them to you. I was planning on scrapping them. They would be great for test pieces.

Michael

 

[War_in_D]

I purchased 2 pieces of 3/8" thick flamed maple (7.5 x 20"long) for a guitar top a couple of years ago from a company called Gilmer. I was planning to build a body from scratch, but I have abandoned that idea. If you're interested, I could ship them to you. I was planning on scrapping them. They would be great for test pieces.

Michael

Hey Michael, appreciate it very much as that would give me something a little bigger to test on.  Shoot me a message and let me know a price on them. 

Thanks again!