Our Souls inc. Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 In this thread : http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...t=0&start=0 I was looking for opinions as to what type of wood I may have found at the local flea market. It appears to be African Mahogany and I had planned to make a proper Telecaster out of it , but then the Tele went Pine and I cutted out an Explorer from this one piece slab. The only other Explorer I have done is the pine / pallet one so I figured WTHN , you know? Here it is so far , jigsawed out and hit with 50 and then 80 grit. I rubbed the top with some 120 and wet it for the pics. I decided to leave the carving on the back cuz aminals are tasty. Still got a lot of work to do , but here she is so far.... Thoughts ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I think the animals will look stupid. Hey... you asked. sweet wood score though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I think the animals will look stupid. Hey... you asked. sweet wood score though I dunno- at first- I thought- ewwww- but then I thought- hell- I think that is exactly what makes this sweet. SHAKA ZULU!!!! +1 on the wood score- always cool to find something and recycle it for something as sweet as a guitar. Remember- no one has to see the back- I say leave it- when people say- nice explorer you can flip it over and say 'Shaka Zulu!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinhold Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 The animals are sweet... without them it would just be "another explorer copy". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAK Guitars Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 (edited) The animals arent doing it for me gotta say. Also I dont know what your methods are but for me, they would make it awfully hard to do a good job on the rest of the work you need to do i.e. routing cavities, drilling, etc. Also unless your doing a pickguard and a topmounted bridge, you're going to have to do some drilling or routing on the back, which will be a biiettch. Forget doing a control cavity cover on that back too. Combination of that and the left over finish from the carvings just looks real messy IMO. If I were you, I'd take 'em out. Just my $0.02. Edited March 10, 2010 by WAK Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Yeah, I have to say... I would have gotten rid of the animals before i did any work to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Given the overall quality of the piece, I'd say leave the animals alone. The grain pattern and such are pretty fugly, so scraping the gazelles off the back is more trouble than it's worth unless you paint the guitar. Nice flea market score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalien21 Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 i think the animals are sweet. it's going to be tricky getting that finish off without damaging the carvings tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nalo1022 Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I personally would have cut it the other way around and had the animals on the front. Then again I love weird **** like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buter Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Leave the zoo, it might not be everyone's pint of beer but it's definitely different! If it had been me, I also would have had the carving on the front. Use a pickguard and front rout it to save the animals. Buter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 It looks great, love one piece bodies, the animals might feel good, and I wouldn't remove the original finish on the back, that and the carving gives the guitar history, clear over the whole shebang. Mang this issue has polarized the respondents, preserve the wildlife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johns Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Definately diggin the carving. Although as already mentioned, will make sitting the thing down to work on a bit difficult! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Foreigner Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I personally would have cut it the other way around and had the animals on the front. Then again I love weird **** like that. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snerdsville Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Laminate over the refrigerator art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Wow - the crowd is split on the wildlife ....... It's stayin' . I'll list my reasons for it : 1: I wanted to preserve the original artists work in SOME caliber. 2: The front would've been awkward for routing/etc with the 3d aminals , so the back it is. not to worry , I have a lot of sanding/smoothing / rounding to do back there. 3: Thats what I want. Since its plain-jane on the grain , I may paint it black. Defiitely doing a front rout / PG ( good call B ) and it will be a Stop bar /TOM / 2 Hummers , 3 way - "traditional" Explorer . I still haven't decided on a set neck or a bolt on - or what material I should go with - I have : Padauk , Willow, Maple and Mahogany. I'll probably lam a Maple/ Mahogany or a Maple / Padauk neck for it - What would you do ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Laminate over the refrigerator art. Ha ! this thing was 2+" thick and 22"X30" .........it weighed around 25lbs. Definitely NOT fridge art , lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Built Guitars Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 keep the critters. Lam up the maple and mahogany for the neck. Good strong neck, reletively easy to shape, and it looks cool. At least thats what I'd do..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I personally would have cut it the other way around and had the animals on the front. Then again I love weird **** like that. +1 to that. Id have done the same thing. Maby Our souls isint as messed in the head as we all think he is ? DUDE !! YOUR NOT GETTING ALL UN-WEIRD-AFIED ON US ARE YOU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I like the grain on the front - knots and all. Since you're going to leave the critters, it really fits.\ With the body coming from the flea market, go for the oddball neck to match: willow with a maple f/b. You could put a mahogany pinstripe between the neck & f/b to help separate the two light woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I personally would have cut it the other way around and had the animals on the front. Then again I love weird **** like that. +1 to that. Id have done the same thing. Maby Our souls isint as messed in the head as we all think he is ? DUDE !! YOUR NOT GETTING ALL UN-WEIRD-AFIED ON US ARE YOU Ha ha ! only for long enough to "prove that I can" to myself as well as others ...... I'm tired of people implying that I only build odd stuff because I "can't" build normal guitars ... I just build what comes to me and shy away from making things I could buy elsewhere. This piece of wood is probably a couple of decades old and has a nice high pitched "Biiiing" to it when tapped. It really deserves a traditional build IMO , so I'll do my best on this one. Heck I might even make / use templates to rout it. So - willow, maple/mahog lam ala John or K.I.S.S. the thing and go with mahogany neck / maple board? and set neck or bolt ? I'm still undecided. How do we feel about a camo swirl???????? - JK . That would be awesome tho - Oh - and the aminals on the front would've been great , but trying to mount/rout the bridge and pups would've been a bear ! and it would've put the animals on display and I like them 'hidden' back there ..... Like Mr. Natural says " SHAKA ZULU" lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I'm actually a little surprised you didn't put the animals on the front as well, but the point is moot now. I'd go with a mahogany neck and a dark fretboard, maybe some of your padouk. You could work a little of the carving (if you have any usable scrap left) into a backstrap for the headstock or a trussfod cover to balance it out. And I'd finish it with clear with a translucent black burst which would tie into the finish on the back art. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I'm actually a little surprised you didn't put the animals on the front as well, but the point is moot now. I'd go with a mahogany neck and a dark fretboard, maybe some of your padouk. You could work a little of the carving (if you have any usable scrap left) into a backstrap for the headstock or a trussfod cover to balance it out. And I'd finish it with clear with a translucent black burst which would tie into the finish on the back art. SR Solid advice. Thanks. I will definitely stew on that........... I do have all the scrap left. That's one nice thing about using a jigsaw. You only lose 1/8" of product all the way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alloyguitar Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Honestly, I'd leave the animals and probably the natural color of the wood. Then if anybody saw it, you could say that you built it out of a carving you bought at a flea market... ...which is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moth Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I like the artwork because people will be like, "That's a pretty sweet explorer!" and you can be like "Yeah, I made it out of some furniature I found at a flea market" and then you can turn it over. I love when people do that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 Heck I might even make / use templates to rout it. I think a template route on this one will look schmicko, go for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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