guitar101 Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 I bought a Warmoth alder body over a year ago and finally finished it. It was on sale probably because of the Mango wood cap on it. I installed a Mighty Mite neck (very nice). I initially tried brush on lacquer but I had a lot of problems. I ended up finishing it using water based aniline dye, amber over yellow. I used Minwax poly to finish it. I started with brush on then swithched to rattle can. Southpa thanks for the advice. I couldn't get it as smooth as your example but a heck of a lot better than what I was getting. I sanded out the small imperfections and finished with wipe on poly. Thanks to all who gave advice. I will practice before I do another one. This is my first attempt at doing any type of fine finishing. The pickups are Bill Lawrence noiseless L280's with a push pull switch to put the bridge and middle in series. They sound awesome especially the bass strings. The tuners are staggered locking Sperzels. The Tremolo is a Wilkinson/Gotoh VS-100. I made a logo using water slide decal paper. The serial number is my clock number at work. I work in a Steel Mill ( punch clock, union, the whole nine yards).. Now I have to learn more than a dozen chords, my son is the musician. I got him to break it in by playing the opening to Little Wing. There are a couple of small sand throughs but I couldn't bear to strip it again for the the fourth time. I am already thinking of starting another Strat maybe a Swamp Ash one. I have a left over pickguard from assembling this one. Boy I sure have gained a lot of respect for the guys on this forum who build from scratch. Anyway here are some links http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0313-1.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0329.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0324.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/IMG_0325.jpg http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugl...=1179006940.pbw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 13, 2007 Report Share Posted May 13, 2007 I like the mango! You are probably the very first person on this board to cross the finish line with a mango top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 13, 2007 Report Share Posted May 13, 2007 I agree, I love the mango, especially with that finish! How was it to work with, can you compare the tone of the guitar to any other woods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted May 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2007 I agree, I love the mango, especially with that finish! How was it to work with, can you compare the tone of the guitar to any other woods? Sorry I can't I'm not a musician and don't have any experience with very many guitars. So comparing it to another Strat I don't have enough background. Tony... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 13, 2007 Report Share Posted May 13, 2007 Ooooh, sorry I didn't catch that when I read your post. In either case, mango looks so cool! From just a visual standpoint, the product is quite an achievement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted May 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2007 Ooooh, sorry I didn't catch that when I read your post. In either case, mango looks so cool! From just a visual standpoint, the product is quite an achievement. Thanks a lot. I left out the mistakes in the pictures but I am already thinking of doing another. This is addicting. Tony java script:add_smilie("","smid_32") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooten2 Posted May 13, 2007 Report Share Posted May 13, 2007 Wow, cool! I like the mango too. I haven't been able to find any big enough for a guitar, only ukes. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalwarrior Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 I recently bought a one piece body blank of 108 yr old mango. It has the best looking 3D grain I have seen in person. Unfortunately there is a knot on the back and some bark around the edges. I haven't decided if it would best to fill the knot with something, or to cut around it and make small scale guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubab0y Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 I'll comment on your guitar in a minute, it made me hungry and I'm gonna go grab something to eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 I recently bought a one piece body blank of 108 yr old mango. It has the best looking 3D grain I have seen in person. Unfortunately there is a knot on the back and some bark around the edges. I haven't decided if it would best to fill the knot with something, or to cut around it and make small scale guitar. could you not design the shape to have the knot in a control cavity or something similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Wow! I’m super impressed with this guitar. Do you have pictures of the mango top in its raw unfinished state? If not, is mango wood yellow or amber to begin with? I also like your choice of pickups. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalwarrior Posted August 15, 2007 Report Share Posted August 15, 2007 I recently bought a one piece body blank of 108 yr old mango. It has the best looking 3D grain I have seen in person. Unfortunately there is a knot on the back and some bark around the edges. I haven't decided if it would best to fill the knot with something, or to cut around it and make small scale guitar. could you not design the shape to have the knot in a control cavity or something similar? Unfortunately the knot is not where I would normally put a control cavity. I have been looking at small travel guitars lately, and although I don't travel I think some of them look pretty cool. This is how the wood was when I bought it. I didn't cut it to that shape, and I wasn't the one who drew the outline on in liquid paper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 Wow! I’m super impressed with this guitar. Do you have pictures of the mango top in its raw unfinished state? If not, is mango wood yellow or amber to begin with? I also like your choice of pickups. Nice work. This is the best I can do. I started by dying it red but sanded it off and switch the color to yellow. http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugl...5dec16060-2.jpg I made about every mistake that's possible. But it finally got done. Tony... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 I recently bought a one piece body blank of 108 yr old mango. It has the best looking 3D grain I have seen in person. Unfortunately there is a knot on the back and some bark around the edges. I haven't decided if it would best to fill the knot with something, or to cut around it and make small scale guitar. could you not design the shape to have the knot in a control cavity or something similar? Unfortunately the knot is not where I would normally put a control cavity. I have been looking at small travel guitars lately, and although I don't travel I think some of them look pretty cool. This is how the wood was when I bought it. I didn't cut it to that shape, and I wasn't the one who drew the outline on in liquid paper Where did you get the mango veneer? Tony.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalwarrior Posted August 16, 2007 Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 It's not a veneer, it's over 1.5" thick. I got it at a wood trade show here is Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted August 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I recently bought a one piece body blank of 108 yr old mango. It has the best looking 3D grain I have seen in person. Unfortunately there is a knot on the back and some bark around the edges. I haven't decided if it would best to fill the knot with something, or to cut around it and make small scale guitar. The knot is on the bottom you coud fill and paint the bottom and dye and clear thge top ?? The wood looks great!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 you can make a battery box where the knot is! or some inlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 surely you could just use it as a top and then the knot wouldnt be a problem at all. unless its a very deep knot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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