what to do....

[Nando Vallart]

If it wasn't hollow I could buy it from you...
I love straight paterns on Swamp Ash and it isn't very easy to fine as straight as you got!

 

[stubhead]

The straighter grains provide a clearer, more direct transmission of the communiques from the Mothership - curly grains tend to get the transmissions garbled up & confused, hence the invention of "bebop." :icon_tongue:

 

[willyk]

The straighter grains provide a clearer, more direct transmission of the communiques from the Mothership - curly grains tend to get the transmissions garbled up & confused, hence the invention of "bebop." :icon_tongue:

Stubhead... Have you been spraying nitro with the door closed again? :doh:

 

[riarojr]

is that a one piece with a pattern like that?  i love the wild grain on many swamp ash bodies but damm the one you got is just ridiculous   whatever you do make sure to leave the grain visible on the back too.  i don't know what look you're going for with the neck and pickguard and stuff but a cherry burst would be pretty nice with a white pearl pickguard or somn.....hell you can do just about anything with that body and it'll look good (solid colors excluded of course)

 

[g2]

is that a one piece with a pattern like that?  i love the wild grain on many swamp ash bodies but damm the one you got is just ridiculous   whatever you do make sure to leave the grain visible on the back too.  i don't know what look you're going for with the neck and pickguard and stuff but a cherry burst would be pretty nice with a white pearl pickguard or somn.....hell you can do just about anything with that body and it'll look good (solid colors excluded of course)

Yea, ive always dug the wild looking grains too and I guess thats what I expected my body to look like....
It's not one piece, it's 3 actually.....since its a hollow body, it has the top and bottom, and the bottom is 2 pieces.
I'm definitely keeping it....I spent a lot of time looking at the body lastnight and I do like how it looks, there are a bunch of nice subtleties with how the grain and wood look on this body....i'm diggin it!

As far as the finish, I will be staining it some shade of brown....nothing to dark, not to light either.....cherry is something I had in mind as well, just not sure about the burst thing.
The neck I'm watiing for is birsdeye maple that I will finish using pure tung oil with a brazilian rosewood fingerboard.
The pickguard is 3-ply parchment white

Again, I appreciate all the feedback....it's good to get opinions from some seasoned builders!

 

[warcripp]

That body is gorgeous!!! I'd love to see it in a burst pattern.

 

[Bill in SC]

I agree that that is one fine piece of timber. The close straight grain should produce superior tone. You must understand that unfinished wood can look quite mundane. Once you get some finish on it, you will be mighty proud of it. On a scale of 1 to 10 as to quality of wood, I'd say that piece of ash is a 10.
BB in SC