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Without a doubt. I imagine it'll need wax regularly. It is softer than the maple for sure. I doubt it would last long for a heavy bender. I'm gonna see if I can destroy it with my hands for a while and see how quickly it damages. I don't have to decide for a while and Woodcraft carries 3/8"x3"x24" hard maple in stock for $9 if I decide it won't work.
For what it's worth, Warmoth doesn't use walnut for fretboards, only for bodies and necks.
 
For what it's worth, Warmoth doesn't use walnut for fretboards, only for bodies and necks.

I know. Most recommend against it.
When Gibson put it on the new J15, I kinda got intrigued.
But in half an hour of jabbing it with my fingernails, I'm thinking I'll go get the maple.
The Osage Orange will have to wait. I really don't want to wait 9 months for my fretboard to dry.
 
Oh. What do you guys think of this design?

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You could do a thick finish on the fretboard like Rickenbacker does on the 620s or my Squier Duo Sonic. I doubt I'll ever get through the finish to make contact with the wood.
 
You could do a thick finish on the fretboard like Rickenbacker does on the 620s or my Squier Duo Sonic. I doubt I'll ever get through the finish to make contact with the wood.

The wood under the finish is still too soft. Fingernails sink right in. I have some really hard polyurethane on it and it's not enough.
I think I'm calling uncle on this one. I'll start looking for some maple.
 
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Woot! New garage door day! The wood chips are flying!

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Already have that new third neck piece ready to glue and the body blank pieces have nice square edges, too.

I'll glue up the neck blank tonight and run it through the planer tomorrow.
 
Too tele-like...
I agree. It's too Frankenstein all around--Tele hardware, Dano headstock shape, Gibson headstock color, Tele contours...

I built a guitar a while back that did the exact opposite body shape--instead of mirroring the top horn of the tele, I did the bottom horn for a double cutaway. That looked pretty good. I'd just soften the curves a little bit--maybe even do a big radius around the back end.
 
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Not a bad pile o'chips if you ask me.

Had to get my kid to help me put the jointer away. That thing must weigh 175 pounds. It's a seriously heavy piece. Based on the cloth cord insulation, I'd guess it dates to the immediate post war era. 48-55 or so. The blades need some work, as it leaves a decent ridge down the board but that's correctable with a sanding block. It cuts square. That's the main thing.
 
I feel like in actually getting things done. Got the neck planed down to thickness and trimmed the ends to length.

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That looks much nicer than the twisted one I had. Very nice.

I guess I need to order a truss rod now so I can route for that.
 
Check out a couple of color samples.
The first is straight clear coat.

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The next is a kind of heritage cherry/Fender crimson kinda thing.

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Not a very big sample, unfortunately. Use your imagination.

Edit...After a few tries with the cherry on maple, I'm gonna say no. It likes to blotch up and I don't want to bother countering that tendency.

The walnut does not play well with many colors, either.
Orange, brown or black are the only ones I've had success with.
Blue, green, purple are all quite lacking in appealing qualities when used with walnut.
 
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The clear is kinda growing on me. I bet a coat of shellac under that clear would make it look great.

Anyone have any experience with the Martin style truss rod? Teles always seem to have wiggle necks and the Martin version has a U shaped channel around it. Supposed to add stiffness.
 
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