Danelectro-ish build

[Junior64]

I had posted this build on a couple other forums before I found this site, so I thought I'd share it here.

I found an NOS Japanese tremolo on reverb, a really simple top-mount piece, and wondered what kind of guitar it might look good on. The simplest guitar I could think of was a Danelectro, so I did some research on their history and came up with a plan. I built it similar to the way they were built, in this case 1/8" masonite front & back over two layers of a 3/4" plywood perimeter with a central spine, painted with 'hammered copper' paint and a textured vinyl band to cover the edges like they did. And I moved the switch to the top horn like an LP; I like that location better.

NOS Japanese whammy from the 60's:

Full size sketches:

Edges cut & sanded to shape:

Plywood halves cut out:

Masonite rough cut to shape:

Determining pickups location:

All glued up & edges rounded over:

'Tone Ninja' roasted maple neck; I shaped it to be similar to and old Silvertone shape:

Setting up all dimensions:

Paints:

Body primed & painted:

Vinyl edge banding applied:

Done:

 

 

 

[Bizman62]

Your build quality is as tidy as your workbench area! And using the hammered look Rust-oleum on masonite and plywood was clever as it "hides surface imperfections". Getting those materials flawless would require a ton of fillers and primers which might crack due to moisture changing the proportions of the masonite.

I've sometimes toyed with the idea of building a Dano style guitar, they have a certain vibe. Almost ghetto,,,

[Junior64]

Thanks. That's my indoor bench where all the finish work & wiring happens; all the dirty stuff happens out in the garage:

I would encourage anyone to try building a Danelectro style guitar; they're remarkably simple to build. I used a router for the neck pocket and rounding over the edges; the rest was all done with a jigsaw, a sanding drum in my drill press, and some files & Forstner bits.

I glued the body together using a cutting board and cat litter for weight:

The most difficult part for me was locating the cutouts for the lipstick pickups; that's a little tricky. Otherwise, easy peasy.

 

[ScottR]

You've got some intriguing stuff going on in your garage.

SR

[Junior64]

Those were done a while back. I'm always looking for something interesting to build.

 

[Professor Woozle]

I like the sparkly Phantom!

[henrim]

Some funky stuff going on here!

[Junior64]

Other oddities:

[henrim]

Ok, I said funky too early Keep on it!