sam_c Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 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. I think a solid black back finish over the critters with burst edges on the front would look cool. Could you not do something crazy with the back carvings to make em look like cave paintings or something? Id try and work the carving cut offs into the front of the headstock if there is something subtle/small enough to go on there. Maybe recess the tuners slightly with a cove bit to give room for your fingers to get in there and finish it black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuffinPunch Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 This is a sweet build man! My hat is off to you for originality! I might consider doing a bolt on simply because you could potentially save a bit more of the carving on the back by not having to carve out the transition from neck to body. Also, +1 for what Sam said about making the gazelles look like a cave painting. It might be tricky to pull something like that off, but it could look awesome. I was thinking of finger painting or dry-brushing white strokes over the top of the carvings before clear, but it would be difficult to "test" and even harder to make it not look like one of your kids painted it in kindergarten class. Cool idea tho... Maybe just stick with solid black... If you decide to use templates for routing... well I will applaud you! You may even use a template to sharpen up the body and headstock rout, (but thats asking a lot I know) even tho its pretty close already. Cant wait to see the progress on this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 I think a one piece mahogany neck with dark fingerboard would look like the bee's knees on this guitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinhold Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 A spear headstock would look sweet as well, just make it extra pointy and find something that looks like stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Wow ! Thanks for all the ideas and tips y'all . I'm wanting to be as traditional as possible ( banana HS ) but I do love to fook with stuff. The Zebra skin is an awesome idea - I'll likely mask off the pattern and spray it. If I come across some real animal hide form an African creature , that would be awesome , but it'll probably be paint. I'm shooting for traditional looking so as much as I love the spear HS idea , it's not really an "up-front" theme guitar , so I'll keep it subtle. Probably a nice spear inlay , or tribal shield @ the 12th fret spot. I've been looking at African tribal patterns and design work and will probably burn something into the edges of the body in that vein. I'm shooting for a 10 footer - from 10 feet away it'll look normal enough , but upon closer inspection , the uniqueness will show through better. I will give up this hint - There will be no cavity covers on the front or back but the switch and knobs are all in the traditional locations. Silly fun stuff like that I'll change up but the silhouette/knob layout/HS and such should all say; Explorer. Pics as they happen. p.s. - feel free to throw ideas out there ~~I'm prone to change paths mid-stream if it benefits the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Well ..... I have made a Padauk neck blank , one piece with no scarf , and I've made a neck blank out of the scrap mahogany from the tombstone thingy ..... So/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Mahogany all around or Mahogany body/Padauk neck? FB material is still up in the air. Fret dots could be cut from the plugs that they used as nails on this thing. I removed 5 or 6 of them and will be able to make little round mahogany dots out of them. but that wouldn't contrast well with a dark FB. I have : Teak , Willow , Maple, or Padauk .... what would you do? ( order an ebony board you say ??? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinhold Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Padauk neck for sure, FB you could get creative with, but nicely contrasting wood dots with one fancy wood one at the 12th sounds appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Well , here is the neck I'm building for it. I did a hockey-stick-like HS , no templates or drawings or printouts , just a sketch and a jig-saw. I'm happy with it. I managed to get the cavities done like I wanted , no front or rear routs. The fretboard and frets are from a broken neck , I recycled them instead of trashing em , plus it saved me about $45 All the hardware is from a '79 Gibson SG and it looks a bit tarnished , so I might give this some slight ( slight ) relic treatment just to match the hardware. some faded patches just to mimic heavy play. blending the carving into the back a bit............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 That certainly was a find, the animals look great. The neck is looking lush, terrific match for the body. If it was me, I would trace out the headstock on a template, clean up the lines with a flexible curve, smooth the curves back with a file and sandpaper then use the template to trim up the headstock with an underbite bit, trust me it will look amazing but if you don't like my suggestion just tell me to but out beaky and blow it out my poofoo valve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 That certainly was a find, the animals look great. The neck is looking lush, terrific match for the body. If it was me, I would trace out the headstock on a template, clean up the lines with a flexible curve, smooth the curves back with a file and sandpaper then use the template to trim up the headstock with an underbite bit, trust me it will look amazing but if you don't like my suggestion just tell me to but out beaky and blow it out my poofoo valve Muzz - I like your suggestion , I just won't use it. I have this mal-function with templates. I like to use my eyes and hands to carve guitars. This is fresh off the saw and hit with 50 grit , the "pretty" will happen next. Am I crazy for cutting guitars out without tracing tools ? Maybe. I dig the process of penciling in some lines and free-handing them out of the wood. I looked at templates for this one .... they were almost as much as I spent on the whole build . Can't do it. besides , I'm coming up on my goal - being able to freehand guitars that don't look awful. Give me a few years . I'll be turning out head-snappers with no templates. Then what ? lol Only way to get there is to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Foreigner Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 bloody hell. I find it hard enough not making catastrophic, project-killing mistakes when I'm using templates. Freehand would be a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 bloody hell. I find it hard enough not making catastrophic, project-killing mistakes when I'm using templates. Freehand would be a nightmare. Actually , those kinds of boo-boos happen more often with templates , or so it seems to me. Bits wandering , clamps sliding , mis-aligned , BACKWARDS ! I've heard a lot of tales with templates. Of course , the trade-off with free-hand is the templates ability to reproduce the same guitar repeatedly , and get clean precise cuts. To a degree at least. I could churn out 'splorers and strats/teles all day by hand and make em all look good enough when compared side by side with a proper one. The thing that holds me back right now is my own building and finishing skills , which I'll only improve if I practice. One guitar at a time , I suppose. Try it out on a headstock shape once. Draw it out and jigsaw it. rasp and sand to taste. Its fun. I just compared my HS up there ^^ with an overlay of a real hockey stick and for a "look once , draw and cut" its really close to accurate. I have enough meat to trim in one spot to make it exact , but I overcut the bottom curve by a bit already. After tidying , it'll be a bit smaller than stock , but I'm still happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Built Guitars Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I use templates. But have never bought one. I make my own templates. Most often AFTER I freehand one out.Sometimes the body template gets made 1st. This way I can make the next one quicker. To me, paying for a tracing of a guitar is insane. I either freehand draw out the guitar, or trace one I want to build. More often than not the former. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I use templates. But have never bought one. I make my own templates. Most often AFTER I freehand one out.Sometimes the body template gets made 1st. This way I can make the next one quicker. To me, paying for a tracing of a guitar is insane. I either freehand draw out the guitar, or trace one I want to build. More often than not the former. No doubt , and to each their own , I say. I don't knock anyone who uses templates , and actually recommend it. I just don't do it myself , out of this twisted desire to feel like an artist , lol. I think of it more as wood-carving with a distinct set of parameters I'll do a side by side shot of mine and a Gibby when I'm done. Should be fun ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 ...but if you don't like my suggestion just tell me to but out beaky and blow it out my poofoo valve I've certainly done that on more than one occasion. Not only to you but to others. I think it's absolutely HILARIOUS when someone gets offended and on their high-horse when you don't do what they say. It's like they think there's only ONE way to do a thing - theirs - and that's it. I'm really glad you get it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 ha ha ! me, too. I appreciate all the advice put forth , but in the end , I do what I can with what I got. Like I always have , . I have learned a LOT from interacting with the people here , both in discussions and just by observing. I like to think that I , like many others , have taken ideas from what I've seen here and contributed my own ideas to what is seen here. They are there to ignore , study , question or disregard , but the interaction and reports on all the different ways to swim the channel - thats the key to me. BTW - totaly off topic - The Comicaster will be up for sale later today. I'm taking a break before final setup/tuning , then I'll do a vid clip and put it on the 'bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkRockerLuke Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I realy like the carving, as an aspiring artist if this was hand done by the original creator then you would've done hi,/her an injustice by not keeping it. Besides it adds character to it. Can not wait to see it completed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I realy like the carving, as an aspiring artist if this was hand done by the original creator then you would've done hi,/her an injustice by not keeping it. Besides it adds character to it. Can not wait to see it completed! Thank you - I appreciate the comment and agree wholeheartedly about "dissing" the original artist by removing their work. I like to think I elevated it to another level and actually got it viewed by alot more peole than would have seen it. Not that it does the artist any good , but yeah , incorporating it into the build seemed more better than destroying all those hours of carving. Pics soon - she's coming along good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundAt11 Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 I totally dig the African wildlife on the back. It's distinct and different, plus, it adds a little bit of the vibe from James Hetfield's "deerhunter" Explorer copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 ...but if you don't like my suggestion just tell me to but out beaky and blow it out my poofoo valve I've certainly done that on more than one occasion. Not only to you but to others. I think it's absolutely HILARIOUS when someone gets offended and on their high-horse when you don't do what they say. It's like they think there's only ONE way to do a thing - theirs - and that's it. You know the other one I like? Hold on. I'll do it to you ..... Block of wood with hole drilled in it was originally my idea, I don't mind you using my techniques but I really do think you should credit your sources I'm really glad you get it! I certainly do, and more than most ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 OMG ! John stole your idea too ! ( proof ) http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...43068&st=15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 BTW - totaly off topic - The Comicaster will be up for sale later today. Gonna give us some link-age to the listing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 BTW - totaly off topic - The Comicaster will be up for sale later today. Gonna give us some link-age to the listing? Sure thang ....... http://cgi.ebay.com/Pine-body-Tele-style-C...=item4a9fb20f7f buy it !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkRockerLuke Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I realy like the carving, as an aspiring artist if this was hand done by the original creator then you would've done hi,/her an injustice by not keeping it. Besides it adds character to it. Can not wait to see it completed! Thank you - I appreciate the comment and agree wholeheartedly about "dissing" the original artist by removing their work. I like to think I elevated it to another level and actually got it viewed by alot more peole than would have seen it. Not that it does the artist any good , but yeah , incorporating it into the build seemed more better than destroying all those hours of carving. Pics soon - she's coming along good. Your welcome and I cannot wait to see how this turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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