Eddie McRae - Dead Man's Hand custom T-Type

[Eddie McRae]

A custom ordered T-type that I finished up with this morning.

Body - 100 year old + Heart Pine with black walnut center stripes and coved edging
Neck - Maple with rosewood fretboard, cherry dot inlays
Finish - Satin-aged nitro lacquer vintageburst
Hardware - acid-etched aged
Actual playing cards, poker chip, and plaque inlayed into body

I had actually ruined (or so I thought) this body a couple of years ago by letting it get away from me under my vertical mill while using it as a pin router to route a binding ledge. It gouged the top and a portion of the side. I didn't have the heart to just trash it so I set it aside on a shelf. Just goes to show, everything is salvagable given the right circumstances. It worked out perfect for this order.

[Eddie McRae]

More pics...

[Eddie McRae]

More pics....

[Jim Bonnell]

Very nice job Eddie. I really like the look of the burst on the body and neck. It always feels great to salvage an old mistake. I have a few waiting around for a brain storm myself.

[Steve Senseney]

I like it too!

Nice save.

[Justin Figley]

Everything on that guitar works really well together visually.

[Eddie McRae]

Thanks guys. The theme of this guitar coincides with the name of the customer's band.

[Mark Swanson]

Cool Telecaster!
What's the name of the band?- Is it "Wild Bill Hickok"?

[Eddie McRae]

Funny you said that Mark. Actually the name of the band is "Dead Man's Hand". And even more suiting, the customer's name is Bill and his nickname in the band is Wild Bill. I got the idea to do this with a guitar years ago when the movie Harley Davidson and the Malboro Man came out. Mickey Rourke's Harley had Aces & 8's airbrushed onto the tank along with some skulls, etc. I actually wanted to do something similar with my Harley back then but decided I'd try it on a guitar. I've had the chips and stuff laying around for years to do it but just never got around to it. So when this customer contacted me and gave me the info about his band and about what he wanted out of a custom guitar, etc.....I suggested it to him. Gave me an excuse to go ahead and try out the idea.

[Thomas Dooher]

Fan-Freaking-Tabulous! Again, you make me sick!

[Tim Douglass]

Sweet! Nice execution of the theme.

[Eddie McRae]

Thanks! The one word I kept in my thought process throughout this entire build was..."Saloon". And I'm happy with how it turned out.

[david frassetto]

A simple concept well executed! Great Job!

[David King]

Eddie,

I love the guitar but I'm curious to know more about the vertical mill /pin router set-up. Do you still do this from time to time? What speed can you get your spindle going to? What applications is it suitable/safe for? You knew someone was bound to ask...

[Eddie McRae]

David, I have a 3HP 9x42 mill. Max speed is 4800 rpm so it's not suitable to use as a pin router except for maybe in very light work situations. I made a pin table that mounts to the mill table which you can then align and index under the spindle. In theory, it was a good idea but I quickly realized that the mill speed just wasn't suitable. I do still use it from time to time but only to finish cutting F-holes (using templates) which have already been rough-cut into a top. Basically, it's just used to finish out and clean up the edges of the F-holes. I use the pin setup for all my resonator customs as well as any other guitar that I build with F-holes but other than that, it doesn't get used.