Curly Wormy Maple experiment

[Geeze]

Is the front too ugly to post?
(I am a fan of recessed spring cav.)

My old computer died and I haven't gotten all the pics transferred yet. That guitar was milled out on a knee mill at a buddy's shop. I suspect I'll end up doing the same way on this one.

Russ

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I'm a climate change denier, too. (Actually there's no question the climate is never completely unchanging, but there's no proof that human activity is the cause of any of it.)

But tonewood? Zero doubt in my mind. I'm surrounded by too much evidence to deny it. And as I said previously, it's trivially easy to find several strat types made in different body woods and feel and hear the difference for yourself. Pick one with basswood, one with alder, and one with swamp ash and compare them. You'll hear their differences before you even think about plugging them in. And you'll feel and hear the difference when plugged into any halfway decent amp.

I made an all mahogany LP and one with standard construction, both back around 2001. They're night and day different instruments, plugged in or not. Totally different sounds. If you heard recordings of both guitars you'd never believe that they were both LP types and even that they have the same model pickups. (They do.)

I'm very much into the scientific method but some scientists are so rigidly closed minded that they refuse to believe evidence that doesn't come from a laboratory environment.

 

[junk notes]

Ruokangas thermal ageing

 

[Geeze]

Long days at work this week so last night I sanded the 1/4" left over cap and laquered it to see what a natural finish looks like.

Today I'll sand the other side out and experiment with single and two tone dyes and lacquer.

I became measuring out a spare Jackson body I have for the neck, pickup and FR cavities for a CAD file. I gin up a solid model for CAM down the road as a buddy in TX has a furniture sized CNC router.

Russ

 

[MarshallDog]

Long days at work this week so last night I sanded the 1/4" left over cap and laquered it to see what a natural finish looks like.

Today I'll sand the other side out and experiment with single and two tone dyes and lacquer.

I became measuring out a spare Jackson body I have for the neck, pickup and FR cavities for a CAD file. I gin up a solid model for CAM down the road as a buddy in TX has a furniture sized CNC router.

Russ

Wow, beautiful...I say leave it natural!!!

 

[South Park]

You are killing me nice job

 

[Geeze]

Wow, beautiful...I say leave it natural!!!

Come on Dog, you know me I can't leave ANYTHING alone. The Jackson body in previous pics was dyed orange then sanded back giving it a very warm finish. I gotta try the two tone as well.

 

[neikeel]

That cap would drop nicely on a mahogany body for your next project!

 

[Geeze]

That cap would drop nicely on a mahogany body for your next project!

True! I'm going to send it to my woodworking buddy in Texas who told me I should just hang the actual body that started this experiment as art on the wall.

Sanded and base dyed.

Now getting lacquer.

Russ

 

[Geeze]

Lacquered. The sanding is a bit uneven as I used an orbital. With all of the rounds and angles on the body it will be a hand job.

Russ

 

[n9rnl]

Big legged woman ain't got no soul.

 

[Greg70]

That is one beautiful piece of wood. It's going to look fantastic regardless of what finish you put on it. Just don't paint it! lol

And I love the completed guitar you have pictured above, particularly the matched grain back covers for the trem springs and pots. Classy touch.

 

[Geeze]

I love the completed guitar you have pictured above, particularly the matched grain back covers for the trem springs and pots. Classy touch.

Thank you. I'm thinking to expand to the pickup frames as well - just don't know what contrasting wood yet. Maybe knobs too.

Russ

 

[Greg70]

Thank you. I'm thinking to expand to the pickup frames as well - just don't know what contrasting wood yet. Maybe knobs too.

Russ

Would you have to laminate the pickup frames? Otherwise it seems like a very thin cross section of cross grain that would be prone to splitting.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I'm showing you this because you might like it. I call this my "Supernatural" finish. It's a stained finish that just makes the natural maple look MORE like natural maple. It's a combination of red, yellow, and brown stains that are blended into the wood using a rag soaked in lacquer thinner. It's just the right finish for when you love the natural look but want to crank it up!

This was the first guitar I made that I consider to be essentially perfect. I made no mistakes. There were no errors. No setbacks. It just went together right.

 

[Geeze]

Would you have to laminate the pickup frames? Otherwise it seems like a very thin cross section of cross grain that would be prone to splitting.

I don't know but I'll try a couple different types of wood. The maple covers on the Jackson are about 1/8" thick and haven't had any issues.

This was the first guitar I made that I consider to be essentially perfect. I made no mistakes. There were no errors. No setbacks. It just went together right.

That is stunning!

Russ

 

[MarshallDog]

View attachment 82167

I'm showing you this because you might like it. I call this my "Supernatural" finish. It's a stained finish that just makes the natural maple look MORE like natural maple. It's a combination of red, yellow, and brown stains that are blended into the wood using a rag soaked in lacquer thinner. It's just the right finish for when you love the natural look but want to crank it up!

This was the first guitar I made that I consider to be essentially perfect. I made no mistakes. There were no errors. No setbacks. It just went together right.

IMO that color and finish would look awesome on that slab!!!

 

[anitoli]

View attachment 82167

I'm showing you this because you might like it. I call this my "Supernatural" finish. It's a stained finish that just makes the natural maple look MORE like natural maple. It's a combination of red, yellow, and brown stains that are blended into the wood using a rag soaked in lacquer thinner. It's just the right finish for when you love the natural look but want to crank it up!

This was the first guitar I made that I consider to be essentially perfect. I made no mistakes. There were no errors. No setbacks. It just went together right.

That is killer.

 

[Barfly]

Sexy!