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Posted some more pics and such they are Here, I still need to figure out how to make the photos smaller and have lower resolution as they take up alot of space.

I got the body halves glued together, for the back/sides, and sanded it down to get it ready to mount in the mill to do the routing, should make one hell of a pile of wood shaving. I have also gone and started making the tail piece out of some 1/16" aluminum, lots of filing and adjusting, I just had to be different I still need to clean it up a bit more and drill the mounting holes and string holes. Anyhow I well try and post more pics as I go, should be able to get alot done over the christmas break, hopefully all done . Crank up the tunes and work untill my eyes go numb

Holy crap that was one crazy trip, never seen this thread as I am fairly new still so I read through the whole thing. That is one amazingly beutafull piece of art and instrument.

Yes just a bit full of himself

Cool I well try the shoe polish and see how that works, I would get killed for trying the coffee thing though The weard thing about the pics is that when I pulled up the properties for the photo, I have it posted on my website, to get the proper link it was showing up as being only a bit over 300x400, oh well, how do you post thumbnails of pics? As for the feric chloride I knew about that one, I accidently spilled some on a steel table while etching a circuit board for a Fuzz box one time and it almost instantly started to get rust spots on it. Anyway I just wiped it off quickly and it was fine. Anyhow thanks for the replies.

I built a Saga Telecaster kit this summer and was wondering if anyone knew how to age a pickguard? The main reason being that the guitar is painted red with natural wood spikes and the sterile looking pick guard looks out of place and I think it would look much better if it was aged off white to better compliment the color of the spikes. Here is a pic of the guitar for reference.

How do you age a pickguard? I have a Saga telecaster that I put together that I painted red with Natural wood spikes coming up from the bottom which looks cool except that the pickguard is typical saga and looks overly sterile. I was wondering if there was a way to give it an aged look to better compliment the spikes. As an afterthought I should have just left it off and filled the holes. +1 for the feric cloride, I spilled a little on my table saw one time while etching a pc board and it almost instantly started rusting the top which is just bare steel.

Once you strip it back to bare wood, you should be able to stream them out with a wet rag and an iron. As for the neck, could you possibly just bleach the thing to get it to look more the way you want it. I take it the idea is to have the neck better match the white body right?

Thanks, I had forgotten that the resilution of my web site is differnet from most forums, I had the same trouble with a Mazda Pickup forum. As you can see I have way to many hobbies I need to take more pics of things and up date the site some more.

Thanks for the info I might edit that post and just post a link to my webpage for it.

Got around to taking a photo of the plan. Here it is a link to the page for the project. Project page Also took a photo of my design for the headstock, only shows half of it though, haven't copied to the other side yet. I have also revised the design a bit more, I have decided to get rid of the sound hole and run two humbuckers, I might still have a sound hole somewere, might even have them out the sides or bottom. Oh well still working on the design as I do more research Sorry about the size, I did not realize that they would come out as big. Oh well you can clearly see the design though.

Thanks for the reply, I was mainly going for looks with the binding and not really for protection as much. I guess I could try my heat gun then as well. How thick is wood binding typically then any way, I could cut some 1/8" as well if that would work better, or I could also get some spruce.

I would think there is some kind of product for doing this as there are places that well mount a poster on a wood board. You might be able to find a place locally that could help you get the stuff to do it or even do it for you for a small fee.

I have a bunch of 1/4" x 1/16" thick basswood in my stock pile of wood for model airplanes and was wondering if that would be a good binding material for a guitar. Also I was wondering if sinse I do not have a bending rig and am to lazy to make one if I could simply tape one end of the wood strip to the channel cut for the binding, while wet, and use my model airplane covering iron to bend the wood around the corners taping as I go. I think this would work fine. If anyone is wondering the covering iron is one of these, just 30+ years old. I was thinking the curved tip would work good in tight corners as well.

Yeah, I have a book about building solid body guitars, read it cover to cover. I am going to mess around with my original idea and see how the ones in my PRS copy sound as an experiment and go from there. I was mainly looking at different options for now but well probably not get around to pickups for a while now, still have a few weeks of school before break and I do not have time to build stuff. Anyhow thanks for the advice. I am still rumaging around the forum for info and ideas.

Never mind, I have been doing some more reading and these sound like they are probably going to be a bit over powered for what I am going to do that and the local ones are the select models which are appearantly not as good.

I have been looking at the EMG site and was wondering if anyone would have an idea if these pickups would work better then a standard pickup in my guitar, as in be less likely to have feedback issues and such. I am considering them because they are relitively inexpensive and there is a few places locally that have them. I was thinking on using one of the 81's or 85's.

Nice shape, good blend of flowing curves and and angles, I normally don't like the real pointy horns but those look real nice and work well with the rest of the guitar. Can't wait to see some pics of the body.

Yeah I am wondering what kind of feedback I well get with the pickup in the hole but I figure I can easly remove it from the hole and cut a pickup hole next to the bridge if it produces to much feedback I just think it well have a nice tone being close to center between the neck and bridge. I figure having the thick sides and such well help absorb a bit of the excess vibrations and hopfully help with the feed back issue. That is the theory at least, I have been doing alot of reading about it and such

Yes I mean conventional, store bought, lumber as I do not have a planner to do my own which would definitly better. I have drawn the whole thing out, I am going with a 25.5" scale like a fender and a tune o matic bridge that puts the strings 5/8" above the top. So all I should need to do is find the elevation based on scale length, should not be hard, I think I well try to cut the pocket at a slope. The head stock on my neck is not leaned back so I am going to taper the head stock as it goes up so that the strings well not be at such a compound angle. The sound hole is basically there so that it is mildly acustic, basically to be different as I have already assembled a couple solid body kits and I have done enough wood working that I think I can pull it off reasonably well. I do not expect it to sound all that great but that is fine since the original that I am taking the body shape from sounds like a tin can itself and it might just sound better, probably not though On the inside I am going to have all the corners and edges rounded in an attempt to inprove sound as well. I well try to take a photo of my drawing and post it, can I just post it here or do I need to have an html for the pic, either way is fine for me.

I started posting about my idea to make a semi-hollow boby electric in the acustic/semi-hollow section, but I think it has progressed out of the realm of what that section is meant for so I figured I would start again here. So far I am in the planning and parts collection phase of the project. What I am going to do: I have this small parlor guitar, that sounds like crap, that I like the shape of, so I traced around the outside and gave it a cut out. I am intending on making the sides and back out of poplar, the sides well be a 1/2" thick ring that well be 1 1/2" tall, ie the thickness of 2-1" boards glued together. For the bottom I am going to use 3/8" poplar and for the top I well probably try to find some nice 1/4" think maple. The lower side ring well have a back bone, so to speak, that well go down the length of the guitar for support, the upper ring well stop about 3/4" past the end of the neck pocket. I think I have pretty much collected all the odd parts I well need, I have a neck, tunners, T-O-M bridge, neck plate, strap buttons and jack plate. I have not gotten the wood yet, as I am still about a month away or so from being able to start building and I have also not gotten the pickup yet either. I think what I well do is pop the Humbuckers out of my Saga PRS that I put together, basically to see which sounds best in the possision it well be in, as I am thinking on possisioning the pickup in the center of the sound hole which close to center between the bridge and neck. One quick question, the neck that I got has a heal that is only about 1/2" think and sinse I am going to use a tune o matic bridge should I cut the neck pocket at the top 1/2" deep and then slope it up to about 3/8" or some thing like that or should I go and just cut it the same depth all the way and shim it up at the bottom? Also would I be considered getting ahead of myself if I cut the head stock and drilled for the tunners before making the body, I do not think it should matter but I thought I would ask just in case there is some reason not to aside from being out of conventional order?

I went and collected the bits and pieces I need to start building. I have not gone and bought any wood yet as I well not have time to start this project until december. So far I have: Neck: $80 Tune-O-Matic Bridge: $26 Tuners: $26 Strap Buttons: $3 Jack Plate: $3 Neck Plate and Screews: $7 Strings: $6 Total so far: $151

No mine is the more for show kind and I guess not a real butcher block, probably tougher though with the grain being lengthwise instead.

Well I might not be using the butcher block for the back and sides, my Dad told me he was intending on using it for other things so I guess that is out. I have come up with an alternative idea though, use 1x4 poplar cut in sections to go roughly around the outside and cut to shape, essentially a ring, and have 1/2" poplar on the back. I well probably keep the Maple top and stain the back and sides charry, which I have done on an amp before and it looks good.

That sounds like pretty much the same material as I am thinking on using, the nice thing is that all the different laminations are close in color and grain as it was an expensive butcher block, hance the reason my dad insisted on keeping the excess. As for what is sounds like acusticly(sp) I would not be to disilusioned if it sounds like a box with strings on it as the actual guitar I am copying sounds about the same, I was thinking mainly for weight, the stuff is heavy, as well as for the novelty of making a semi-hollow. Another question, I was thinking on running a single neck humbucker that well be located in the sound hole which well actually be about 2 inches from the bridge. I figure this well give me some more high end on the neck pickup, being closer to the bridge, for a well rounded sound. Anyway do you think having the pickup in the sound hole well have any negitive effects, feedback wise, if the pickup is potted?