2 Almost Done Projects

[Mr. Preston Swift]

I've had these projects going for quite a while now but never seem to be working on them. They're both almost done and should be finished up in the next few weeks.

The builds arn't that clean seeing as they are my first ever woodworking projects and i'm not made of tools or money

First:

Neck Thru Explorer with laminated Padauk and Sapele wings with a cherry neck, ebony fb, and quilted maple pickguard.

I got all the part of of Ebay. The tuners are Wilkinson double locks, tune-o-matic roller bridge, turquoise dots, electronics are yet to come after the finish.

The neck is really thin, so thin that i thought it would bow uncontrollably so i strung it up to make sure it was ok and so far after 2 months nothing is wrong.

For the finish i was planning on going with Minwax wipe on poly, i have yet to finished or even rough sand so it looks really messy.

The pickups are whatever i could get for free or cheap. The bridge is a Seymour Duncan JB from a long time ago that a friend donated to me and the bridge is a no name alnico hum that surprising isn't bad for 15 buck. For the electronics i'm going to go for a 3 way selector and 1 tone 1 volume.

The frets are rough at best cause it's my first fret job but they arn't too bad. The nut is a preslotted and shaped graphite one that i bought at guitarcenter and shimmed with maple veneer. The body has a tummy-cut to make it more comfortable. I basically spokeshaved until it felt good in playing position. I really like it despite the poor craftsmenship. It feels solid and is lightning fast, the strings are right down on the neck and is good for speedmetal and hardcore.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0044.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0045.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0046.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0047.jpg

Next:

Semi Hollow Les Paul Double Cut

This is my first build being refinished. It's an oak body, quilted maple top (i got it cheap so don't freak about the solid colors) with a cherry and walnut neck with an ebony fb and an EIR headstock veneer.

The cambering is made up of a left, right and small center chamber. I routed it using a drill press and chisel cause i didn't have a router then. Idk what pickups i'm using yet but i do have gold gotoh tuners, a gotoh adjustable fixed bridge. It's going to have a 3 way selector and 1 tone 1 volume. The neck is like an LP's but a tad thinner. I really like the neck. The nut i'm putting on it is a roller. I strung it up a few months ago and it played just fine. It was finished in a thick tung oil/poly blend and was dyed blue. It looked cool but the quality wasn't that good. I decided to refinish it in Krylon purple with metallic gold rose that i made using a stencil that i also made. I really like purple guitars. As you guys can see the quality isn't too hot but i was 15 when i started it and had no prior woodworking experience. All the imperfections will pretty much be covered up so it should look decent. I think in the future i may remake it cause i've gotten a lot better haha.

I think i might have left out some important details so if you have any questions just ask.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0054.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0048.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0050.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd172/a...ar/IMG_0052.jpg

[Blazer]

That looks good, nice work on the explorer.

[Kenny]

Dude those are awsome! i really like the explorer. Great job man!

Kenny

[wood is good]

Wait, Im confused. What does getting a quilted maple top cheap have to do with painting it a solid color? What was the point of that?

[westhemann]

I imagine he likely had an issue and screwed up the top,and painting it covered it...

In the future I would not tell these guys you covered up any type of figured wood...they are a bit overzealous about that...as if painting wood is sacrilege or something..

to me most wood is ugly when it's bare,so you either need to color it to make it look good,or paint it entirely...wood needs help to be at it's most beautiful..

the funny thing is that most of the guys who cry about natural beauty in wood are the same ones who want their women to be coated in makeup and jewelry..

Though in truth I am just as bad...I prefer natural beauty in women and want my guitars all colored and painted

Though tattoos are nice..but again...I am not much for inlays...

[Mr. Preston Swift]

I imagine he likely had an issue and screwed up the top,and painting it covered it...

In the future I would not tell these guys you covered up any type of figured wood...they are a bit overzealous about that...as if painting wood is sacrilege or something..

to me most wood is ugly when it's bare,so you either need to color it to make it look good,or paint it entirely...wood needs help to be at it's most beautiful..

the funny thing is that most of the guys who cry about natural beauty in wood are the same ones who want their women to be coated in makeup and jewelry..

Though in truth I am just as bad...I prefer natural beauty in women and want my guitars all colored and painted

Though tattoos are nice..but again...I am not much for inlays...

I like natural too haha. I originally dyed it blue but had some slight imperfections that were eating away at me. The maple looked awesome in blue but i didn't want to have to deal with sanding everything down bear again and i was in a purple mood so i took the plunge and painted it a solid color. I think it's a waste of a good piece of quilted maple but i bought it for 8 bucks just to add some thickness to the thinner piece of oak i used for the body so i don't feel that bad.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Mr. Preston Swift

[wood is good]

I was just curious to why he specified it as quilted maple, when it was painted. Just seemed kinda strange to specify that it was quilted even though it was painted.