unique: solid koa telecaster body

[buckallred]

It's not done yet, but it's getting close.

I brought 2 koa boards back from Hawaii. Found a local woodworking expert who was able to help me make these boards into the beautiful "T-style" body you see below.

Very exciting, this will be a one-of-a-kind guitar.

Any advice re: finishing this body would be appreciated. I think I will do a clear gloss finish.

the boards (before):

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[buckallred]

Loks of lookers, but no comments?

How about some advice on finishing this piece?

 

[DangerousR6]

I'd shoot it with a nice semi gloss lacquer...... :icon_thumright:  Beautiful guitar btw...

 

[JaySwear]

beautiful wood on that! i don't know anything about finishing unfortunately, but just curious... the edges look VERY squared off, are you sanding them down or leaving it as is? can't wait to see what comes out of this though! looks great

 

[DangerousR6]

To me it looks as though it's still in the rough stages, I would tend to think he's planning on rounding the edges. I'd also be apt to trim off that thin little bit left in the lower part of the neck pocket rout. Looks pretty flimsy... :icon_scratch:

 

[OzziePete]

Well, I wouldn't suggest painting it in solid colour black....  :laughing7: :icon_jokercolor:

A good oil coat perhaps, or some decent clear gloss?

Maybe if you are feeling adventurous, try to have double bindings put on in ivoroid, would look nice, but understand if that's going to be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[NonsenseTele]

Nice woods on it

 

[buckallred]

Weird question . . .

I am considering an unfinished Warmoth neck in indian rosewood.

would that look weird? It's hard to visualize. Obviously the rosewood would be quite a bit darker than the koa.

I am having a hard time deciding if it would look super cool . . . or super weird.

 

[DangerousR6]

I think it'd fit rather nicely... :icon_biggrin:

 

[JaySwear]

if you can afford it, go for it!  :laughing7:

i feel like having a guitar with a rosewood neck = driving a rolls royce. guaranteed to look awesome and you'll be envied by EVERYBODY

 

[buckallred]

heh, by that logic a Koa neck must be like driving an F-16 . . . they are even more expensive than rosewood!

actually, to be specific, indian rosewood is not TOO expensive. Brazilian rosewood is maybe more expensive than koa!

 

[JaySwear]

yeah, the two woods are pretty similarly priced on warmoth's showcase, but both out of my price range  :-\

but i say go for it! you've saved some for sure by making the body yourself!  :icon_thumright:

 

[buckallred]

Well. .  the board itself was $80, and I'm not counting the shipping (in my suitcase on the flight back from Hawaii).

The routing job was basically $100, which I think is a steal!

Now the expensive part. I could try to finish it myself, which undoubtedly would result in a crappy job. I have zero knowledge of fine wood finishing, and i think that a koa tele body is probably not a good item to "practice" on.

so i will probably have a local luthier finish it for me, which will cost $250-350, i am told. Apparently this sort of project uses nearly $100 worth of lacquer alone.

So it's not a cheap undertaking by any stretch, but if in the end the result is as nice as I hope it will be, it will be well worth it.

 

[jackthehack]

$100 worth of lacquer?????????? That's crazy, you could finish a number of guitars with $100 of lacquer.  While $250-350 is little on the high side for a clear gloss finish, it's not completely unreasonable for a pro job, but I'd be skeptical if the sales pitch  involved "$100 of lacquer"....

Call me crazy, but if you were to give me that body, I'd leave it completely natural, unfilled and hand rub 8-10 coats of WATCO Danish oil on it. That should cost less than $20 a quart shipped and even you can do it, great way to do that body with a raw neck...

 

[DangerousR6]

$100 worth of lacquer?????????? That's crazy, you could finish a number of guitars with $100 of lacquer.  While $250-350 is little on the high side for a clear gloss finish, it's not completely unreasonable for a pro job, but I'd be skeptical if the sales pitch  involved "$100 of lacquer"....

Call me crazy, but if you were to give me that body, I'd leave it completely natural, unfilled and hand rub 8-10 coats of WATCO Danish oil on it. That should cost less than $20 a quart shipped and even you can do it, great way to do that body with a raw neck...

Hey jack, how does Watco's fare on walnut. I'm thinking of doing the custom I had made here recently in Watco's....?

 

[rahimiiii]

100 dollars can do a lot of guitars (like more than 10) even with the most expensive lacquer available. If it was me I would either spray on sealer followed by clear (or just pore fill then tons of clear) then polish when cured. Otherwise if you are not good with finishing or doesn't have the tools to do it, then several coats of watco or tru-oil will look good and won't cost an arm and a leg. A pro job for a clear coat (which should be the only finish used on koa) should cost around 150, anything more is a rip off. Even the 200 dollar or more jobs involve special paint (chameleon), burst jobs or dye jobs.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I can't remember what Tonars price is for a clear coat.  I thought the luscious three color strat sunbursts were 300 bucks, and that is for friggin' art.  I can see $50 for materials, and a lot more for time, but not $100 for the lacquer alone.  The koa is very pretty, and I agree that a Rosewood neck would be a marvelous choice.  I have a Bocote (Mexican Rosewood) neck, and while it is an investment, it is really nice...  I am going to go and noodle around on that for a while.
Patrick

 

[buckallred]

Thank you all for the advice, it is very much appreciated.

I am trying to decide whether I want to attempt a danish oil finish myself, or instead go with the clear gloss (professionally done). i am leaning toward the pro job on the clear gloss. Either way this is going to be a great guitar, I am very excited to complete it. I obviously will post pics early and often as this project progresses.

thanks again.