erikbojerik

Isabelle has dropped into my lap a 70 ft oak (white oak) and some big branches from an old cherry. Some of the cherry is even large enought to make a few 2- or 3-piece bodies, and I know a guy who can dry out some slabs for me. The question is...how would they sound? Has anyone made a solid-body out of oak or cherry? thanks!

Good choice sticking with the big 70s headstock, another feature that will make it unique. Though I'm personally not crazy about painted headstocks. Check this guy out for the proper decal; his auctions get run off regularly, but then reappear. "click" How about carved ebony vol/tone knobs? I've seen 'em somewhere... Looks great!

Razor blade or Xacto knife is not a bad way to go.

I dig that back-side soundhole...! And there's nothing like a rectangle for great tone!

Yes, in this chat the word "material" means cloth, not paper. I think with plywood, it would be best to sand it as flat as possible (don't use a planer), fill in the grain as much as possible with grain filler, then follow the tutorial steps for the material finish. There are 2 basic types of "plywood", the "classic" kind is where you have lots of thin sheets glued together. The other kind (now used in the US construction industry almost to the exclusion of classic plywood) is ofter referred to as "OSB", which consists of lots of chips of wood (with all different grain orientations) in a mass of glue. It is stronger than classic plywood. Neither one will plane worth a darn, you must sand it flat. It is interesting..."material" can refer to almost anything. I once worked for a concrete crew and the stuff was always "material"...go figure.

In my investigating, it seems that Paduok is a bit like rosewood, which (with my neck combo) means nearly all rosewood. But before I worry about the finish, I'd like to know what the tone and the attack would be like (e.g. bright? avg? dark? sharp? rounded?) It is semi-hollow, so weight is not an issue.

...compared to my 'standard issue' alder body? I'm thinking of taking my 12-string neck (maple/RW fret board) and switching it over...what would be the difference in tone?

WOW bud! That sounds great! I'd never heard the sound from a walnut guitar before, sounds meaty but with good snap. Pretty cool. Please post the phosphor and nylon versions too!

Neat idea...though on reflection, I think I'd need to stack them (two balls in each headstock hole). With only one ball per hole, the strings would dig into the wood on top of the headstock and keep going out of tune as they dug further in.

A kook friend of mine once did this... Took a standard SKB hardshell case, ripped out the inside of the bottom half leaving only the plastic shell (top half left intact, covered with plastic). Took his axe and carefully wrapped and taped the whole thing in a single layer of foam, making sure the foam didn't overlap itself anywhere. Next, he filled the bottom half about 1/2-full with many spray cans of this liquid foam insulation stuff, set the guitar in, and shut the case. All this stuff oozed out the edges when he closed it. Left it overnight. Next morning he opened the case and carefully cut through the foam around the guitar, removing the top half; the bottom half of the foam was stuck like a layer to the (now hard) insulation. Fit like a glove! I think he later glued some kind of fabric over the foam. He may also have wrapped the guitar in plastic first, then foam, don't remember exactly. I'd worry about fumes eating into the finish...

Those skinny ferrules in the headstock...I know Dave you made your own, but I don't have ready access to a lathe. Can those be gotten anywhere?

Hey Dave Thanks! I had seen a 12-string Jackson V that gave me this idea, but I'd never seen this Washburn guitar before. Since I want to do this with a double-Strat body, the Washburn is very close to what I want to do, just with a Gotoh 12-bridge instead of the TOM. With the Gotoh the octave strings are top-loaded through holes (like a Tele bridge), so I could go straight from the bridge to the tuners. Now if I can find a low-profile PUP to jam in there! Maybe a Fishman so that I can remove it in case I hate it...??? Erik

If the guitar is a flat-top (as I suspect), lay it flat (horizontal) while you spray it. Spray it until you get a nice "wet" look, but not too much near the edge (RUN!). If you insert some nails or screws in strategic places, you can lay the body on a bench nearly perfectly level but with the face (or back) of the guitar standing off from the table. Spray one side nice & wet, wait a little while (so the paint can set up so it won't run), flip it quickly and spray the other side nice & wet. If you get a few runs, they will be entirely on the sides of the guitar and can be sanded out realtively easily. If you have belly or forearm contours, you need to be a little more careful about runs (=thickness of coat) than with a standard squared-off tele.

Yeah, thanks Bud. It was your reply that inspired me to post on this specifically. This has really got me thinking...on an unmodified Strat-style body, the octave strings could end up being pretty long between the bridge and the tuners, maybe even longer than with a trapeze-type tailpiece. Maybe I'll stick a PUP under there just for kicks! Maybe another (adjustable) bridge too, so I could tune 'em up! Help me out here guys...I've seen y'all do some pretty original stuff...

This is actually for a 12/6 doubleneck Strat proj. I'd like the necks to match (maple/maple with big Fender CBS-style headstocks), but I'd prefer not to cram 12 tuners onto the headstock (along with a clusterfunk of string retainers). What I'd like to do is place 6 small tuners on the body somehow, past the bridge, and have 6 small ferrules in the (stringthru) headstock of the 12 neck. Has anyone tried placing tuners at the bridge? Pics would be helpful. thanks!

Hey Dave, OK, yeah that's sort of what I was thinking. So let me get this straight, the tuner posts stuck out of the front of the body (pointing away from you if you had it strapped on) behind the bridge? How did you attach the extra 3 strings at the headstock? Ferrules thru? Or just thread it thru the post of the tuner? Or something else?

Dave, man that's gorgeous and totally original. Very cool! What, may I ask, got "cut out" ? 3 tuners from the original 9-string idea? I've been thinking of making a 12-string using 6 normal headstock tuners, and 6 tuners down past the bridge; was it along those lines?

Keep in mind, also, that a thicker maple top will add brightness to whatever wood you're using for the bulk of the body. Thin veneers don't add anything, but you'll notice a difference in tone starting at about 1/4 to 3/8". It all depends on what sound you're after. A distinct advantage to thicker tops is that, if you make a finishing mistake, you can sand back down to wood and start all over.

Keep in mind...the recipe I described above (Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane, clear gloss) does NOT involve shooting it from an air gun, it is straight from the stock aerosol spray can (I ain't got no air gun...). So it comes out thin, but I apply several passes (5-6) per coat with the body lying horizontal (so it won't run). It definitely looks "wet" when I put it on, not misted. I put down 2 coats of this, about 1/2 a can total. This HAS to be thinner than any single coat of wipe-on from any roller. I sanded and buffed after 11 days (as above). After 2 weeks total the finish is pretty hard, but I can still leave a small dent with my fingernail. I'm hoping it will harden a bit more, but if not, I guess it will relic quicker (unintentionally....). My total finish is significantly thinner than derek's, which I think may be why it has dried quicker. The clear coat buffed out looks comparable to my Fender MIM Strat, only a few light finish scratches in the reflected light. This is my first refin, so perhaps my eye could use some training, but it looks good to me. The total refin, in materials, cost me maybe 30 bucks. I figured, at that price, I'll give it a shot! This thing will ultimately be a 12-string Strat...should be done in a few days.

derek, I would bet that one coat from your roller would be thicker than my 2 coats of spray (depending on how thick the roller nap is). I sprayed it on thick enough that I got one run on the side, but it was pretty minor. I would spray one side (lying flat), wait 10-12 minutes, flip and spray the other side, wait 10-12 minutes, then repeat. The sides were mostly overspray from the front and back applications. The thing I like best about the whole recipe was how little work I had to do to get a good gloss. My impression is that the time between poly coats allowed the coats to melt into each other, without flowing out too much. If you use a roller, one coat is probably all you need, but you may end up working harder to sand it flat and buff out.

Not on a neck end, but how 'bout a whole body...? Minwax poly update... Tests with Minwax Fast-drying Polyurethane and water-based Polycrylic (both Clear Gloss, spray cans from Home Depot), on maple blocks sanded down to 600, 2 coats Minwax sand & sealer, sanded to 600, 3 coats white acrylic primer (Rustoleum 'Painters Touch'), 4 coats yellow acrylic (Rustoleum 'Americas Finest'). Fast-dry Polyurethane: 8 coats, 15 minutes between coats Polycrylic: 10 coats, 5 minutes between coats Results: Way too thick, after 3 weeks finish is still gummy. Compared to the raw yellow, the Fast-Dry PolyU has slight ambering; the water-based Polycrylic is slightly milky, producing almost a faded yellow. Based on this, I went straight to my S body (prepped as above, but sand & sealer sanded down to 1000) and shot 2 coats of the Fast-Dry Polyurethane, with 20 minutes between coats. First coat was thinner than the second. After 11 days the finish was nice and hard, slight orange peel. Sanded with 1000 & 1500 (no rings!), 3M Perfect It II (3X), then finally Meguiars Swirl Remover 9.0 (3X). It looks great! At least as good as the finish on my (black) MIM Strat, and about half as thick. And cheap! The all-Home-Depot/Pep Boys finish! This is not as good as Ty at Roxy will do, but not bad on a shoestring.

Drak, Sweet piece...the finish is really fine! Question; would polyurethane stop the oil seep as well (or better?) than catalyzed lacquer? What is the tone of Cocobolo?

What is your experience with necks from Allparts? I know about USA Custom guitars and Warmoth...how do Allparts necks compare IYO? Specifically, I'm looking for maple/maple Fender-type necks with big CBS-era headstock. thanks!

Try USA Custom Guitars, click under the link "Do It Yourself" at top-right. They've got all kinds of fretboards; dimensions aren't specified, but just contact Tommy. USAGC has really excellent customer service, Tommy is a great guy. USA Custom Guitars

I'm right now in the middle of a side-by-side test of Minwax fast-drying polyurethane and Minwax water-based polycrylic (both from spray cans, on top of bright yellow). The only firm conclusion, 3 days into this, is that the yellow base coat under the polyU is definitely "darker", and that the polycrylic is more clear and gives a truer yellow (compared to the uncovered base coat). The difference can be seen indoors and in the sun. This first trial, I put it all on a bit too thick (10 layers of polycrylic w/15 minutes between layers; 8 coats of polyU with 20-25 minutes between layers), trying to get them to "melt" together, so I basically have one big thick layer that has remained "gummy" but is firming up very gradually. If you're going for a glossy finish, I've heard that sanding through layers of polyU can cause rings to appear...if poly is allowed to dry completely between layers, then successive layers don't "melt" into each other like with nitro. I've heard variously that these rings may or may not disappear during the buffing stages; I'll let y'all know what I find out with my own tests. Also check out my similar post at USA Custom Guitars forum... http://www.usacustomguitars.com/usacg/