guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Well, as my Tele binge comes to a close...finishing up the last 3 of 7... I'm moving on to other builds. The Wolfgang is similar to a Tele but has a carved top, slightly angled neck, spoke nut trussrod and dropped head stock. Some new challenges for me. I'm going to follow the factory formula of basswood and maple. I scored some huge chunks of seasoned basswood. This one is 20" x 7" x 3". I have two others the same width and thickness but 24" long. I may throw a basswood Strat into the mix at some point. The maple for the top is not quite wide enough for the body...it's odd lower bout makes it over 13" wide. It's also not long enogh for a third piece that's full body length, but I could rip the remaining bit and glue it up in the center in 2 pieces with a gap where one of the humbuckers will be. And add a thin strip of quarter sawn flame maple as dividers. I was also thinking about laminating in a wider piece of the quarter sawn flame maple flanked with a strip of walnut either side...may just go with the 2 types of maple. I could also resaw and bookmatch the quilted maple but this would mean a milder carve as the top would only be 3/8" instead of 1/2". And so it begins...I hope to start cutting this weekend. Pictured are the basswood mentioned above, AAA quilted maple for the top and a nicely flamed billet for the neck and fretboard. I'll take the fretboard and laminate strip(s) from the flamey edge on top in the pic. Peace, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 You're hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 You're hooked. Ha! You don't know the worst of it. I have 3 Tele builds I didn't even post here...I think folks were getting tired of my Tele obsession. I may bring one over though, it's a Tele & Strat hybrid...3/4 Tele and 1/4 Strat...looking kind of sweet. Peace, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 If I had to choose one, I'd go with the first and make the flame strip as wide as the fretboard. Just looking at some possibilities. I'm not crazy about any one of them...may wait and find some wider quilt. Peace, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 A quick mockup...the neck/headstock would be flame maple instead of birdseye. Peace, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Aaron Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I think you'll need those two thin walnut stripes in there for contrast, or else the different maple figures will just look sloppy next to each other. Flame down the middle, quilt on the sides, walnut in between. It's like fine fashion: when wearing a suit, you CAN wear a patterned tie over a patterned shirt, but only if the patterns contrast enough that they don't just muck each other up (i.e., big stripes with fine stripes is okay, but fine stripes with fine stripes is not). On the latest mockup, the flame and quilt are too close in color/lightness/darkness to put next to each other, so you need something contrasting to separate them. Something like luscious, delicious, simple walnut. In summary, I like the last option in post #4 best out of the options presented so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali-Blues Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I think you'll need those two thin walnut stripes in there for contrast, or else the different maple figures will just look sloppy next to each other. Flame down the middle, quilt on the sides, walnut in between. +1 Although you didn't put a build thread, definitely post the pics of the finished products. I really like your tele builds and I especially want to see that $200 budget one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buter Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Hey Option 4 just for the reasons already stated. IMHO, a nice little touch is to have the center stripe follow the taper of the fretboard. It just looks 'righter'. Looking forward to this one. Cheers Buter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Early in the morning when I'm just on the verge of waking up, I sometimes have these moments of clarity. Where I once had a problem, there is now a very clear solution. Allowing for jointing, the quilted maple is too narrow by only .250" or .125" each edge. The Wolfgang has a pretty thick 5 layer binding...which I plan to replicate. It looks to be a 4 layer W/B/W/B at .010" each and an outer W at about .040" totaling .080" or .160" top and bottom added together. I could add a sliver of quilted maple at the outer edges up against the binding channel and with careful selection and placement, no one would be the wiser. Or do a burst and hide it for certain. Maybe go even darker and richer. Hmmm..I bursted my neck PU...oh well, you get the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblaty Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 hmm the middle one burst looks very cool.. the dark one won´t show the grain very well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 hmm the middle one burst looks very cool.. the dark one won´t show the grain very well i think the dark would show the grain up heaps well.....just not in that mock up photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 hmm the middle one burst looks very cool.. the dark one won´t show the grain very well i think the dark would show the grain up heaps well.....just not in that mock up photo Exactly. Photoshop does a fair job compositing using transfer modes on the layers, but nothing like real world. It would have alot more depth and clarity. Peace, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblaty Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 OK maybe you´re right, but I like the natural look of the q-maple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzedd Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I think folks were getting tired of my Tele obsession Never get tired of good guitar building Mark. WE'RE ALL OBSESSED WITH GUITARS!!! THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE!! This build will be really cool. I was thinking of doing one of these as well, You mean you didn't want to drop $3K for the official EVH and spend only about $500 and build one just as good, why?? ha ha ha Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzedd Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I know it's the Ernie Ball EVH, but I always fancied the aqua blue quilt. I don't own this guitar, but I had one just like this in my hands at IRC music in Indianapolis for $1650 back in 95', but didn't by it. Oh hindsight..... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Started cutting this one today. The basswood billet needed to be jointed on one edge before I could resaqw it. I also had to take some width off of it so it would fit under the blade guide of my bandsaw. Even though the saw is heavily modified from the factory 6" cut to a taller 6.75", the billet, after jointing, was about .125" too tall. A few extra passes after suare took care of this. Here are the two halves after resaw. They came out within .125" of each other in thickness. The planer evened them up. The Wolfgang, is 1.5" thick total, inclding the top but I'm going a bit thicker with mine. I took the resawn pieces down to 1.25". They glued up nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Next was the top. This was a bit of a challenge because I wanted to cut the board so similar grain would be at the seam since the top won't be bookmatched. I took a light pass thru the planer on each side to evaluate the figure on each. This side is a bit more quilted than the other. I've gotten used to using this method to cut boards to length. I have a chop saw but the time it takes to drag it out and set it up makes this method more attractive. Plus I can cut wider boards this way. Here's a dry fit to check the joint and make sure I get the best layout possible. All glued up. Even though it's not a bookmatch, with the top wet from clean up, it looks fairly symetrical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 While those are setting up, I moved on to the neck blank. I needed to resaw a 1.250" blank. My plan is to make 2 necks as I go along so if something goes wrong, I have another up to the same point. Not as wide as the body billet but a fair task for the bandsaw at 6". Crap. It really bugs me when a resaw reveals something like this. An otherwise beautiful billet with a nasty defect hiding in it. I think I can still get 2 necks out of this. The defect appears to be only .250" inch into the surface. The backside of the neck blank will be cut down by far more than this to accommodate the dropped headstock. I could always put it under the fretboard, but I'd rather not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I know it's the Ernie Ball EVH, but I always fancied the aqua blue quilt. I don't own this guitar, but I had one just like this in my hands at IRC music in Indianapolis for $1650 back in 95', but didn't by it. Oh hindsight..... Bill That is a beautiful color. It's interesting to see one that's not done in a burst. It's a nice look. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali-Blues Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I'm liking the purple burst, The body has a real funk feel, and I think purple is most fitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 More work on the top. After the top came out of the clamps, I placed the template and centerewd it up to see how much I need to add the each side. I marked the range on the top that neede to be widened. Then I slid a cutoff along the edge until I found a nice match, transferred the marls and numbered it. Since these were going thru the planer, I transferred the marks to the edges of the cutoff and the top to preserve them. I used a lsed in the planer so I didn't have to crank the screw-drive all the way down to .50" of the planer bed. The clamped piece keeps the seld from moving thru under pressure during planing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 I jointed the edges of both pieces and ripped a strip off the cutoff for each edge. I put the pieces in place to check their fit and as I was taking this pic, I realized from this angle, the grain was reversed on the patches. So, I flipped each piece and found a good alignment....much better. One last check with the template. And glued it up after transferring my marks one more time so I could make sure they didn't slip in the clamps. Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinhold Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 That grain turned out pretty nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solomon684 Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 I think if you lighten the purple a bit on the 3rd mockup, the dark and rich one, it would look amazing. Especially considering the grain will be more visible in real life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted March 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 I think if you lighten the purple a bit on the 3rd mockup, the dark and rich one, it would look amazing. Especially considering the grain will be more visible in real life I just used that color as an example but I could see going with it. Seeing the amber color the maple turns when it's damp makes me think in this direction. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.