Yes, I do need another one...

PhilHill

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Here we have a lonely piece of quarter-sawn curly, begging to become a guitar. I couldn't turn my back on it. I mean it was pitifull, cause it had been rejected as a carve-top for a jazz guitar. So, being an easy touch, I took it in and am training it to be a tele.

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.Speaking of backs, I had a number of long cutoffs and some oak that's about 60 yr's old from what I've been told. We have Purpleheart in the center with a thin strip of mahogany on each side, then two chunks of curly from the top material, then a piece of Merbau on each side of that,then the Oak to round it out.

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. I'm not sure though, because these two together will only add up to an 1 1/4 thick. I wondering if I should come up with something to go in between? I shall have to meditate on it......... :glasses9:

.Be safe folks, and make sure Aaron washes his hands.......... :icon_thumright:
 
That looks like a fun project.  Suppose  you were to do a hollowbody with the maple top and the striped backside you've glued up?  Either laminate some veneers and bend them like a 335 (HARD), or just hog out the center of a plank of something that would then be sandwiched between the two pretty layers (EASY)?
 
Bagman67 said:
That looks like a fun project.  Suppose  you were to do a hollowbody with the maple top and the striped backside you've glued up?  Either laminate some veneers and bend them like a 335 (HARD), or just hog out the center of a plank of something that would then be sandwiched between the two pretty layers (EASY)?

Good idea. I've done the bending routine before, and no, it's not as easy as folks make it out to be. Not if you do it right. However, that would call for me to make or buy a bending iron. But it would result in a cool look. Or I could try to find the thickest piece of mahogany or something to cut two sides out of. Maybe more Oak? Hmm''''
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Rgand said:
Maple is smart. It'll learn quickly. That's a good thing to do, there.

One should always help the unfortunate. Especially when it's a killer deal on the price.  :icon_thumright:
 
Well, in looking over what I have around to put into this for sides I have decided, more Oak. From the same plank the back pieces came from. Oak has always gotten a bad deal from builders in my opinion. I've found you can make a perfectly good guitar out of it. But tradition, and the fact that unless you get highly figured pieces, it just doesn't usually look as pretty as other types. However, when it comes to women or wood species, I think their all beautiful. Some times you just have to look a little closer to see the beauty.
So, now that I've bored you all sufficiently, on to the build,

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. Got an odd hole or two here and there, but once it's finished none of them should show. Something you deal with when it comes to reclaimed wood.

The back has been trimmed down some too.

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  Further down the path we go............. :turtle:
 
  Who knows what shape lurks in the heart of the maple...The Shinto knows!...MuHahahahahahah,,,, Oh, Sorry, got carried away. Started to do something to carve down this massive hunk of woods.
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.And, just to confuse the evil spirits, I put a pocket on the back of the neck tenon too.

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. Not sure exactly where I'm going with this, but I'm making good time getting there. I hope it turns out to be something cool, never know till I get there... :turtle:
 
PhilHill said:
. Not sure exactly where I'm going with this, but I'm making good time getting there. I hope it turns out to be something cool, never know till I get there... :turtle:
It looks to have a good direction already. I like the way you're doing the top.
 
Not sure what to do next though. Time to step back and view it from a distance for fresh perspective. Or I can just have a beer or two.  :eek:ccasion14:
 
I like it! And those Shinto rasps are great little tools, I used one for the contours on my Albert Lee build
 
ragamuffin said:
I like it! And those Shinto rasps are great little tools, I used one for the contours on my Albert Lee build

The Shinto and the pullsaw are fantastic. The Japanese know a thing or two about wood working.
 
More progress achieved, control cavity routed and and stepped for a cover, looks like my router bit is getting dull. Prototype cover made, but I'll make another as the trim piece is too dark. And I planed down the thickness on the back to reduce the size some more, so I lost most of the depth of the neck tenon cut. Don't think I'll try to get it back as I don't want to thin out the neck mount too much. Also rounded the back edge some.

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. Slow but fairly sure, well, kinda sure, ohh heck, I have no idea...but I can usually fake it well...


. And remember the words of Mark Twain "I believe our Heavenly Father created Man, because He was disappointed in the monkey."      :icon_thumright:
 
That's mighty fine looking. Can you bleach the darker part of the cover rather than make another one?
 
stratamania said:
That is shaping up really nicely...

Thank you. I'm fairly happy with it so far, and I'm highly self critical so all I see is the flaws. Makes it hard to get through projects sometimes.  :icon_biggrin:
 
Rgand said:
That's mighty fine looking. Can you bleach the darker part of the cover rather than make another one?

Thanks for the suggestion. I thought about doing that. However when I made the cover I did a second one at the same time, in case something went wrong. I'll sometimes do that on thin or delicate pieces, as I tend to be clumsy sometimes. So it's just a matter of gluing the two pieces together and some touch up sanding.
 
PhilHill said:
Rgand said:
That's mighty fine looking. Can you bleach the darker part of the cover rather than make another one?

Thanks for the suggestion. I thought about doing that. However when I made the cover I did a second one at the same time, in case something went wrong. I'll sometimes do that on thin or delicate pieces, as I tend to be clumsy sometimes. So it's just a matter of gluing the two pieces together and some touch up sanding.
That sounds like it might be less work than bleaching, then. It's smart to play it safe like that.
 
Logrinn said:
That looks great Phil. Very nice!

Thank you. I'm laying back a second to consider exactly what to do next, want to have something kinda unusual but don't want to screw it up going wild. Meditation and consideration are required, I think... :headbang: :headbang:
 
Well, I've moved on to slowly refining the shape. Trying to get close to a point where I can start going over it and making sure every last little scratch and mark is gone. Always fun.

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. String holes got a little out of line. That can happen no matter how you do it or how good your drill press is, fixable though when I drill for the ferrules. Decided to put back a little of the back pocket for hand clearance, still have over 3/4 thickness on the neck mount so should be good.

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. Got an imperfection on the left upper bout, part of the reason that the maple was on clearance price. I can live with it, the sides and back will probably get dyed red so it shouldn't show too bad. Top will be more of a yellow tint mabe natural, not sure yet. Time will tell.

.Speaking of Time, remember what Groucho once said, "Time flies like an arrow...Fruit flies like a banana.    :icon_thumright:
 
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