strawtarget

I have read a lot about creating an MDF template and using a router to shape the body. I've also read a lot about tear-out and unintended firewood creation. I'm only making one body, so I have no need for reproducibility. I'm also very attached to this particular piece of wood. Are there still advantages to the template+router method that I should consider? It seems like getting close to the line with the bandsaw and then sanding the rest of the way with a drum sander & disc sander might be both faster overall and less fraught with peril. What say you?

I dropped off the mahog. slab several months ago, and Gary just hasn't been able to find time to get it done because he's swamped with other projects. I guess this is kinda small beans for him. He told me I ought to try somewhere else. Bummer, but no biggie. Time to explore alternative options... Godin SD: If I strike out here in Austin, I may just try San Antonio. If you want to give me the contact info for your guy, that'd be great. Desopolis: Are you talking about these guys? If so, I might give them a ring. Any other Austin, TX folks want to suggest some places where I can get a 1-piece body blank milled? THANKS!

Doug at soulmateguitars.com can build you a custom neck to your specs. I ordered a custom neck from Doug for a project I'm currently working on. It is a work of art. Absolutely awesome. And he's a great guy to deal with, too.

Okay after reading a lot of the carvin stuff that Rick500 posted, I'm back to the idea of using an oil finish. So I sent this email to stewmac... ...and I got this response... Would you guys agree that mixing the stain into the first couple coats of tru-oil is the way to go? Thanks for continuing to put up with my long n00b thread here.

Well dang... I was really into the oil idea for a while, but the majority of responders don't think it's a great idea over stain. So now I'm back to my original idea of stain+nitro. Why's this gotta be so complicated? Seems there's two camps: the "just spray it" camp and the "it must be leveled and buffed" camp. Are the following steps "correct"? just spray it 1. Sand it up to 220 grit sandpaper. No grain filler. 2. Stain it using stewmac colortone #5032 "Red Mahogany" stain by mixing with water and rubbing on with a drenched rag. 3. Spray it with 4 or 5 thin coats of stewmac colortone "clear satin" nitro laquer level and buff 4. Level with 0000 steel wool. 5. Buff with an old T-shirt. If so, it seems that I can try the "just spray it" technique and if I don't like the results, I can take it farther. And if I screw up the "level and buff" I can just spray another coat. Also, again, this is my first try at spraying nitro (and I'll be using a rattle can) so I am not expecting perfect results. I just want to start off on the right track.

That's interesting. I went and looked at their site and they have plenty of colors to choose from, too. Plus I went and looked at your carvin bolt finish page and it looks slightly less intimidating than nitro. I've got plenty of time to think about this I guess... I haven't even rough-cut the body shape out of my blank yet. Heh.

Wow, nice pics you guys. Dang. I think I might be sold on trying an oil finish. #1. What does paste wax do for the finish? I'd think that would fill in the exposed grain pores, which isn't necessarily what I want. Am I wrong? #2. How does the "1200 grit, oil, 0000 steel wool, paste wax, buff with T-shirt" process change if I want to stain the wood first? And what kind of stain works best under an oil finish? #3. From the pics posted, it appears that oil darkens the natural wood color just a little bit. Is this the case? (That's fine with me if so.) #4. Rick500: what kind of wood is the guitar on the left? I'd be quite happy if mine came out that dark with no stain! But I'm guessing that's something naturally darker than mahogany. Thanks again y'all.

I like the idea of doing an oil finish because it seems it might be less prone to critical error than using a rattle can. Can you post some pics of oil finishes you've done? I like the flatness of the tung oil finish, but I also kinda like the "white" sheen of a satin nitro when it hits the light. However, since mine will be a flat (not carved) top, the white sheen might not be so complimentary after all since there are no curves to highlight. Another thing i've noticed with some oil finishes is that they remain a little bit "tacky" or "gooey" or "wet" feeling, almost like how a blob of dried epoxy feels (but not to the same extreme). Is that just a poorly applied finish? The satin nitro guitars I've touched feel soft and dry, which I like. Thanks... I can really use all the input I can get. I'd really appreciate seeing as many pics of your oil finishes as you care to post.

I want to finish my mahogany slab guitar body to look something like this... More detailed pictures (click the thumbnails) Here are the aspects of the look I'm after: 1. Shows off the wood grain, but in an understated way. 2. The finished surface isn't 100% smooth- that is, some of the grain texture comes though. (see pics!) 3. The stain distribution doesn't have to be ultra-super-uniform. (Not splotchy, though, either.) 4. Non-glossy, satin sheen. Here's my plan. I can't expect my first guitar finish to come out even close to high-end production guitar quality like the pictured PRS, but am I even on the right track? 1. Sand it with ultra fine grit sandpaper. No grain filler. 2. Stain it using stewmac colortone #5032 "Red Mahogany" stain by mixing with water and rubbing on with a drenched rag 3. Spray it with 4 or 5 thin coats of stewmac colortone "clear satin" nitro laquer What say you all? Thanks!

Awesome, thanks for the recommendation. I'll give 'em a call or a visit. I googled for shady lane and various woodworking words and came up with two companies. This one looked like it was right where you told me to find it on the map, and they have their own website (with the pic).

Vintage Material Supply, Co?

Any good shops in Austin, TX where I can get wood planed and thickness sanded? I don't really have the right tools for the job or I'd do it myself. Thanks!

Cool.... nice to hear that I've probably got a "keeper" here. And very interesting to learn that the wood itself has gotten this dark and it's not stain. Weird! I think if I rip the board to something closer to the desired body width (leaving an extra 1.5 inches on each side) before planing/sanding, I'll have a better chance of getting the full 1.75" thickness I'm looking (for since the overall amount of warp will be reduced). Any reason I shouldn't do that?

So some time around 1995, I had this idea that I wanted to build a guitar. My stepdad took me to a local lumber place and we got a 2" thick slab of flat-sawn (plain-sawn?) mahogany, allegedly Honduran mahogany. High-res picture with flash High-res picture without flash It got put in a closet where it sat for probably 8 years, and moved into a humid Houston garage probably 2 years ago. I saw it in there while visiting the folks, remembered the abandoned project, and now I finally want to turn it into a guitar. I took it back home with me to Austin about a month ago. We bought it in kind of an odd condition. One end is painted over in white paint or primer, sealing the grain on that side. I believe the whole piece has been stained some reddish-orange color. Concern #1: How deeply might have this stain have penetrated? I hope to get down to bare wood. It is flat-sawn and there are some nice grain patterns that I want to try to show off under a translucent finish. I think I'll be able to cut out the body so that the arcs in the grain run down the guitar's centerline. Concern #2: Just about every mahogany guitar I've ever seen was made of quarter-sawn pieces. Is there a fundamental problem with using a 1-piece flat-sawn body? The wood is slightly warped/cupped. It was stored without care... certainly not "stickered and stacked". It's not TOO bad, though. It is my belief that I will be able to take it somewhere and have it planed and sanded flat and still have 1-3/4" thick material. I hope so anyway, since I want a 1-3/4" thick guitar body! Concern #3: After 10+ years of sitting around, should I consider the piece "stabilized", or should I take it somewhere and have it kiln-dried or something? I've looked for checks/cracks on along the edge and found none, but one edge is painted and the other is very rough which makes it hard to tell for sure. Is there anything else I should look for when examining this piece of wood? I need to sweat the small stuff and obsess over as many tiny details as possible here! Seriously!!!