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Victorian Muleskinner This ended up being sort of a cowboy steampunk kinda thing. The top is a piece of beech barn siding, sanded down just past the grey weathering. The back is yellow poplar, and chambered so there is open space behind the knot hole. Neck is black walnut and beech, with a persimmon fretboard. Bridge pickup is Motor City Afwayu, with an Amalfitano tele neck pickup. An unlikely combination for sure, but was specifically requested by the customer who likes to be able to go from High gain crunch to super clean prettiness. This definitely does that, but apparently requires some fancy footwork. The bridge is a basic hardtail affair I made from brass with compensated tele saddles, and covered with an antique cast iron drawer pull. The control plate is also victorian era, a copper plated doorknob backplate. Very simple controls, which gave me a chance to use this big old cool knob which I only had one of, and is almost doorknob size. Pickguard is rusted roof tin laminated to bakelite sheet. More pictures~ Headstock Back of headstock detail other side back

Laser cutting a mirror surface? Do you have to do it from the back side?

DeWalt 621 is the best I have ever used.

I think you might like the Mulberry you mentioned in another post. The red mulberry we have here in the states is not nearly as hard as cherry. I assume what you have is black mulberry, but I think it would be similar.

Don't feel stupid, there is a lot of conflicting information out there, especially on guitar building forums. Well, my statement that slower growth in ring porous trees produces lighter wood is established fact, but I just came across a US Forest Service document that has an interesting twist to this regarding the swollen butt portion of ash trees growing in swamps. Scroll down to the bottom to read that part, but definitely read the rest as well: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fpltn/fpltn-d011.pdf I would have thought, based on what I know and have experienced that this portion, with its wider growth rings would be very dense and hard; but this seems to indicate otherwise. All I can figure is that the cells take on more water than they normally would (ash typically has a rather low moisture content) and become slightly larger. Then, when the water is removed in the drying process, the resulting lumber is lighter than normal. This is just a rough, partially informed theory. Please do NOT interpret it as fact. Edit~ I don't know how this relates to Master Yoda's swollen butt, but I would be hesitant to question him about it. Another thing to note about Black ash is that due to its lesser strength and darker color, it has been usually sold at a lower price. This seems to fit in with Fender's early production strategy. Here is another good piece addressing the differences between white and black ash: http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-272-W.pdf

This is exactly the opposite of how it happens in real life. I have read the same story many times, and I hate to say it, but it really doesn't hold water. My belief is that it is a myth that has been repeated enough times that it is accepted as fact.

Awesome! Keep in mind that is lead paint on it, though.

To make things more confusing, black ash *is* northern ash~ it does not grow further south than West Virginia, while white ash grows all the way down to the gulf states

Well, on the common market, there is usually no differentiation between the different species of ash. If you look in a tree book, you will see "swamp ash" listed among the many common names for most of the species. Black ash tends to be lighter in weight than the rest, but they all can vary quite a bit. Faster growth produces notably heavier (and stronger) timber in ring porous species like ash, oak, and others, as the non-porous portions become larger than they would if the tree grew slowly. The porous rings are developed early in the season and do not vary as much in thickness as the solid rings which develop in the prime of the growing season. Most of the older timber that grew slowly has been cut, and the subsequent growth is, by nature, happening much quicker.

That is more or less the case, yes, and as time goes on, the "acceptable" weight range for "swamp" ash will probably get higher as the lighter stuff gets used up. BTW, the typical weight of white ash is about 42 lbs/cu ft. Black ash is around 34 lbs/cu ft. Your blank is 35

I've used the current BK flat 50 set, as well as the Keystones, both awesome.

Well, that and having to foot the bill for their services. If your shipment is inspected and they decide you don't have the proper documentation, or haven't filed the right papers and paid the accompanying fees, they can pretty much make you life hell if it fits their bureaucratic needs.

Cool, thanks! Looks super nice with the black hardware.

Where do you get your 3/32" phenolic? I can only seem to find the black paper grade in 1/16" and 1/8"

You are probably thinking of the Australian wood that is called sassafras, since that is what tends to get mentioned more often here. Real sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is very much like ash in terms of grain and figure, but not as hard, and a medium brown color. You will know it by its smell the moment you cut into it. I wouldn't use it for a fretboard, but it would probably make nice back/side material. Cherry has been used quite a bit for backs and sides. Jason Lollar uses it in his archtops. Apple would make a nice fretboard~ it is usually pretty dense and fine grained. Peach is very similar to cherry, but I bet what you have is small, unstraight pieces. Maybe a headstock veneer. Chestnut is too weak and brittle to use in an instrument, but if you have any, hang on to it for other special projects.

I understand Avenger's position, because I have the same reaction to Christian symbolism. I'm not just saying this to be contrary, either. We all have our own personal comfort levels in this regard. I think John does a pretty good job of expressing his without pushing it too far. Believe me, I have witnessed "too far" before.

I went with the V. As I said in the build thread, it is one of the coolest Vees I have seen. In addition, it is certainly the best display of wenge grain I have seen. Verhoeven's 5 almost stole my vote, but the sunburst neck, which is quite nice in its own right, doesn't look right to me on that body. Other than that, I absolutely love the colors, especially in the rosette. Gorgeous! I really like the blue LP, and the Bigsby looks great on it. Alessander, if you are still having problems with it not returning to pitch, I would attribute that to the heavy string breakover angle on the bridge, as it looks like you got everything else right. The Jupiter is cool too, but I would have left out the little stub at the end where the Bigsby is supposed to go. Without the Bigsby, it looks like it is supposed to have a second, horizontally opposed neck and somebody forgot to install it. I really like the finish on the warlock, but for some reason I end up fixating on the rusty diamond plate in the background.

I think it looks more Gibsony than Epiphony

Very nice, what kind of coffee are you using?

Not as rusty as mine Really liking this, Wes; you and RAD have me contemplating a V build.

I dunno, I rather like how it looks after a good 50 year soak in the elements.

Makes very nice fretboards. It may be stable in terms of shrinkage, etc., but it will move around, especially if it has funky grain, like it usually does.

Mesquite is great for fretboards.

They got nothin on me. I don't use any wood from outside the US In fact, probably 90% of my wood comes from within a 50 mile radius of my shop. Now, if the old man down the road figures out what happened to the door of his barn, that could be a different story.

This is one of the coolest Vees I have ever seen. Excellent!