shad peters

Some of you already know, but for those who don't, about a month ago my shop was completely leveled by a fire. It was a total loss, wood, equipment, tools, everything. Recently I had a chance to buy a pretty large quantity of east indian rosewood and gabon ebony fretboards at a pretty steep discount. Under normal circumstances I would probably keep most of it, but in light of the recent shop fire I think I'm going to try selling a good chunk of it to help get some extra cash flow going. It helps me get back on my feet and saves you guys a little money, seems like a win win to me. They are all good seasoned wood that's ready to use, I bought them from another builder and some pieces were as much as 25 years old, and what I would consider first grade quality. The EIR is almost all blanks, and the avg dimensions are 2.5" at the nut end, 3" at the heel end, and 5/16" thick. Most fall between are 19.5-21.5" long. If you have any specfic dimension needs just let me know. I'm gonna ask 8 dollars a piece for the EIR blanks, 7 dollars for 10 or more. if you are interested, please use your Paypal email address and message me at petersinstruments@live.com. Please include your shipping address so I can let you know what shipping will be, the quantity you are interested in, and if you have any coloration preferences. I'll field any questions in this thread so I don't have to answer the same thing over and over again. If you want to mix and match 10 of each i'll do the discount on it that way to. Here's a few photos of avg EIR boards, they are all really nice. I also have 23 rosewood boards that are tapered, slotted for a 25.5" scale and 22 frets, and have a radius of 12" on them. They have been prepped for offset 3/32" dots, and 1/16" side dots. here is an example of one of these boards, I have quite a bit of ebony, but I don't have any blanks left, that stuff sold pretty quick. What I have are all slotted, some are radiused, some are already drilled for side dots, some are bound already, etc. So, here is everything I have at the moment, all broke down into groups. I have numbered each individual board so that you can reference specific pieces that you want. most of these slotted ones have a couple locating holes drilled in the back side, but they shouldn't hurt anything. These ebony boards are also closer 1/4" thick where as all the rosewood boards were closer to 5/16. So this first group of boards was marked as 25.5", but by my measurments they look like 25.4. All I have to check them with is a tape measure since all precision measuring tools were in the fire, but I am pretty confident they are 25.4. Four of them have 20 fret slots, one has 19, and one has 21. they are all marked in the photo. These boards also have a radius. I checked it against a sanding beam and they appear to be 12". They are a little dirty, but will clean up really nice. I'd like to get 30 a piece for these. These two are a little odd, it took me a while to figure them out. I am just about positive that these have been cut for a 25" scale, but the nut "slot" had not been cut yet, you can tell there is a lot of headroom left to make that last cut. So if you buy these you can either use them as they are which would be an 18 fret board with a 23.5ish inch scale, or you can make that last cut for the nut and have a 25" 19 fret board. these two boards are already tapered and measure 1 23/32 at the first slot, and 2 7/32 at the last slot. not drilled for side dots, and no binding. you can trim these and ad binding to make them whatever final dimensions you want. I think 22 a piece on these would be fair. These next two groups of boards have exactly the same specs as the group in the last photo except that they appear to be two thin pieces of ebony laminated together to make one board. I didnt realize there was anything like this mixed in when I bought them, but they should still make a good fretboard. I'm gonna ask 18 a piece on these since they laminates, they are still really nice looking boards. Here are four boards slotted with a 26" scale for 21 frets. There is some room left at the bottom so you could cut a few more fret slots if you wanted to. no radius, no binding, and really good dark color. I think 24 a piece on these would be fair. This group of boards has a 25.5" scale length, 12" radius, and each has been pre drilled for 1/16" side dots, and offset 3/32" face dots. They are slotted for 22 frets, but the ends have had some unique treatment, so some may find it best to trim them down for a 21 fret neck or less. these measure 1 7/8" at the nut and 2 7/16 at the last fret. I'd like 25 a piece for these. These boards are exactly the same as those photographed above except that they measure 1 23/32 at the nut and 2 5/16 at the last fret. 25 a piece for these as well Here is that unique treatment of the ends that I was talking about. This group of boards have a 25.4" scale, pearl dots, ebony binding, 22 fret slots, and no radius. they measure 1 7/8" at the nut, and 2 3/8" at the heel end. They have the same treatment of the end of the board as the last two groups did. I'd like to get 25 a piece for these. Here is another group with a 26" scale length. These have already been bound in ebony, they are flat, and have 20 fret slots. They measure 2" at the nut end and 2 7/16 at the heel end. I imagine they would probably need to have the binding trimmed off, have the board resized, and then new binding glued on unless you just wanted a really wide fretboard. 22 a piece on these These three are kind of odd balls, they are the same the other 25" scale boards in that they have been pre drilled for inlays and side dots, have a 12 radius, and have the same treatment at the heal end of the board. but one has ebony binding on it, and all three are laminated and have a mahogany strip glued to the back. I'm just gonna ask 15 a piece on these since they are kind of wierd. here are two more odd balls that didnt fit in with the other groups, both have the nut width written at the top of the board. one has rosewood binding, the other has ebony binding, the ebony bound one is flat, the other has a 12 inch radius, both have 22 frets. the rosewood bound one has been prepped for fretboard inlays. 20 a piece on these two boards.

Unfortunately no, I worked out of our garage which was covered under our homeowners policy, but uknown to us our policy was written in such a way that in the case of any "bussiness activities" taking place in the structure they will not cover the building, or bussiness related contents. The insurance companies definition of "bussiness" is so broad that if I had had a garage sale out there they probably would not have covered it. Its a pretty scummy situation.

Hey everyone, I have had a lot of different people tell me that they would like to help, and while unable to do so financially, would like to send tools and stuff. If anyone would like to help in this way I have compiled a list of tools that I lost in the fire that are smaller and easy to ship. This is by no means a comprehensive list, I just rattled things off as they came to mind and wrote down a couple pages worth. If you plan to send anything please put down what you will be sending in the comments section so that others can know what is being covered, and send me a pm here, or a message on Facebook and I'll get you an address. Thanks again to everyone for all the encouragement and support! we have been blown away by the generosity of people. https://www.facebook.com/notes/peter...30793400318412

Time to resurrect this thread! Its been not quite a year ago since my last go at this guitar came to an untimely demise. Since then life has been kinda nuts but i managed to squeeze in some time here and there to make a new body and was able to salvage the nek from my first attempt. and now it is just about ready to go under finish, Here is a recent pic, I'll try to take some more soon.

I don't feel bad voting for myself this month cause i knew from the start the howl-o-body was pretty well a shew-in, that is a stunning instrument for sure and a deserving winner. I wish I had cnc capabilities, but for me thats pretty well out of reach, so those bigsby's are all hand carved, there is really no other way to do it far as I can see.

Peters JR. Style build. This is the first guitar out of my shop to feature the wooden bigsby idea. I have a few other in the works and a couple that were actually started before this one, but this is just the first to get completed. Its a pretty basic build that just uses top of the line materials and hardware. Spec list: Top: 5a quilted maple Back: mahogany Neck: 5a curly rock maple Headstock veneers: quilted maple Fretboard: east indian rosewood Binding: east indian rosewood Pickups rings: east indian rosewood Knobs: east indian rosewood Tremolo base: east indian rosewood Purfling: pearloid Inlays: Mother of pearl Nut: bone Bridge: golden age roller bridge Tuners: Grover Neck: std C carve Pickups: lollar imperials Selector switch: 3-way toggle Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone classic single cut by Peters Instruments, on Flickr DSC_classic single cut0142 by Peters Instruments, on Flickr classic single cut by Peters Instruments, on Flickr classic single cut b y Peters Instruments, on Flickr more photos:http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/

the worst thing I found about working with the Oak was that the pores are stinking huge! hence I think it is best suited for satin type finishes (at least for me) but the figured stuff does look beautiful. To see it in person it really even cooler, the curl creates a very unique pattern in the quarter sawn rays, and the combination of the rays and curl together is really breathtaking.

this was a tough month for me to decide but ultimately I had to go with the ash/wenge guitar. nylon one was a pretty close second for that guitar is beautiful

7-string Ranger After some of the guitars entered this month I debated heavily weather or not I even wanted to take the time to enter, but I haven't finished anything new for a bit, so I figured I might as well. This is my first seven string guitar, its made from all domestic wood consisting of a curly quartersawn white oak top and neck, chambered black walnut back, curly black walnut pickup covers bridge base and knobs, and hickory fretboard. Its got dimarzio pickups, hipshot tuners, and switchcraft/cts electronics. This guitar is kinda outside the norm for me as far as style goes, but it was an interesting excursion into the world of extra strings- a good intro for the baritone 8 string hollowbody I'll be starting on soon. Just figured I'd throw it up for kicks. just to address the inevitable comment ahead of time it is not sitting on the concrete, I just like to concrete as a sort of industrial backdrop for some guitars, rest assured it is resting safely upon cork pads. ranger #4 seven string by Peters Instruments, on Flickr ranger #4 seven string by Peters Instruments, on Flickr ranger #4 seven string by Peters Instruments, on Flickr ranger #4 seven string by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

unfortunately I just don't think that there is a chance at saving the back as much as it pains me to say so. the body landed in the worst possible way, hitting the ground in the least structurally sound spot. It landed on the lower bout at the tail end of the guitar so all of that stress went into end grain, and since the electronics plate was out there was no additional wood to help absorb the blow so there is a good size and a big crack in the back as well. I am fairly certain had the back stayed solid the top would have been fine. Even if I could save the back I'm really just a builder, not a repairman, and I'm not particularly confident in my ability to safely remove the neck without doing irreversible damage to the body. I also feel that the carved heel would make removing the neck with heat even more difficult. I have some more redwood that I actually like better anyway, and while the limba was beautiful I know I can find more, and there are things that I could do better the second time around.

welp, much to my dismay this guitar met and untimely demise last week. I have a rack on a shelf for my works in progress to sit on and without realizing it I didnt get it seated in well enough after working on it. 5 minutes later while working on another guitar I heard this one come crashing down to the concrete busting the top.... sad day. The neck is still good so I think I can save that and make a new body, but its really going to slow my progress down on this one though. Not sure when I'll get it done now.

I mentioned in the original post that the tailpiece was a surprise. I have been working on a bigsby style tremolo where the base is made from exotic woods instead of aluminum. I like bigsby's but the look just doesn't really go with my guitars, they are kinda bulky and its just a lot of shinny aluminum on top of the guitar. I'm working on two right now, one is from rosewood, the other from maccasar ebony will go on this guitar. I did a test run with some hard maple and it was plenty strong enough to hold up to the tension so the ebony and rosewood should be fine. not sure if others will find this as cool as I do, but I'm stoked about it, I'm loving the way this is turning out. especially the ebony one. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr (this is the rosewood but it shows the next step in the process) Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

I have seen it used so many times I assume it does pretty well. On the whole limba reminds me a lot of mahogany, the way it feels and works, the weight, so I am expecting a neck that behaves similarly, but this is my first experience using it so I am still learning about it, I guess I'll see once its all finished.

Thanks, I really like the way it came out, most of the hardware willl be coming from that same piece of wood. I think you'll probably change your mind once it has finish on it, or maybe if you could see it in person, it has some similarities in color to bubinga, but its pretty distinctive I think. Didn't get a whole lot done that I can actually show as progress shots this week, but I did carve the heel and more or less finish that part up. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

alright, so I got the headstock back veneer glued on and was finally able to get vollute shaped and glue the neck into the body. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

That is a high compliment! thanks for the kind words.

here is a shot I took of the top today, I have done the refining on the carve and sanded it down to 220. this shot was taken with a little lacquer thinner on the wood to show the color Can't wait to see this with finish on it. by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

well I got out the neck jig yesterday and got through routing out five neck pockets, among them was this build. It was the first one that I did for that day, so it did not turn out as absolutely snug as I would like for it to, but it's still a plenty good joint though. you can pick up the guitar by the neck with no issued and its not been glued in yet. this neck jig is based off what myka uses with a few changes of my own. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

that one I just bought off of amazon. It was the only one that I could find any type of review for.

Yesterday I started the hand shaping of the neck and man does that round over reduce the work, with the dragon rasp, a good cleanup file and a cabinet scraper I'll bet I had a more or less refined carve inside of 20 min, it was great. I need to wait to carve the volute until I get some maccassar ebony to put a veneer on with. I just ordered a gorgeous piece from gilmer yesterday and it will be the source for the veneer, and all the other wood fittings and appointments dotted about the guitar. I won't do any carving on the heal until the neck is set, and thats when I'll do the final refinments to the rest of the neck as well. I'm thinking about making a fixture to hold my neck solid at both ends that sit on a pedestal for use while carving. has anyone made something like that before? It'd be nice to see some other ideas before jumping in and making it. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr here is neck with a little alchohal to show the curl, its not super strong, but it's still gorgeous in my mind. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

I believe there has been some sort of mistake, you clearly have me confused with someone who knows what they are doing lol.

I am loving this build! can't wait to see it complete

I rebuilt my over arm router recently, its still not an industrial router by any means, but it does get the job done. one of these days when I move to a new shop and have more room Ill rebuild it one more time from steel.. but thats besides the point. Since rebuilding it and upgrading the router it has become a much more useful tool and I'm able to do much more with it. for example, I can now easily set it up to do a rough carve on my necks, which saves quite a bit of time. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr Here is the rough carve after two passes on the router, it turned out quite well. Untitled by Peters Instruments, on Flickr

diggin that tele, Hitone gets my vote

Yeah, I'm planning to bind the end, I just haven't got there yet.