Query regarding best method for end-face grain joint

[Adam Savage]

Greetings folks,
Having had a long-gestating project in my head for quite some time, the arrival of another 'Build an electric guitar' book recently from the chubby chap in a red suit has persuaded me to actually get something done about it.
The idea is to do my take on EVH's Frankenstein guitar (you know, the red bodied one with lots of white/black tape on it), using a simplified design for the stripes, and using a combo of padouk for the body and sycamore/maple for the stripes. I am quite happy with the idea of how to do the stripes, but my one stumbling block is what will be the best method of gluing the stripes, as there will be not-quite-end-grain to face grain joints.
Would Titebond be ok for this? Or would something like cascamite or a PU be better? And would it be advantageous to size the end grain with a diluted form of whichever glue?
Thanks for any help,
Adam Savage

[Brad Heinzen]

Are you talking about having the stripes running through the blank, and that's where you get the end grain joints? If so, I'd just sneak some joinery in there where it won't show through after you shape the body - perhaps some 'stopped' loose splines. A wing cutter on a router works pretty well for cutting the mortises/slots. You could also dowel clear through the stripes. End grain can be tough to glue because of the end grain itself, but also because of the different expansion rates between the neighboring materials.

[Michael Lewis]

Gluing up a 1/8" cap with various woods at various angles to make the "stripes" should be doable without compromising the structural integrity of the body. Or you could glue it on as an overlay of thinner veneers (marquetry). I wouldn't glue up various blocks of different woods and odd angles for the full thickness of the body and expect structural stability. You need to remember that wood expands and shrinks across grain with changes in relative humidity. A cap of 1/8" or less should not cause too much difficulty from a structural perspective.

[Adam Savage]

Thanks Brad, Michael.
I had considered using biscuits to assist gluing surfaces, and I suppose dowels would be similar. I hadnt quite considered the differing expansion/contraction rates between the end/face grain however (although that particular nugget of knowledge isnt new to me).
Regarding structural stability - how much of an issue is it likely to be? I realise, of course, that there will be some reduction in stability from a 'pure' body blank, but is it likely to be reduced such that it would be compromised as an instrument? (The guitar will most likely not be gigged and would remain in my centraly-heated house).
I wonder if I should accept a slight aesthetic reduction (i.e. not having the stripes go all the way through, and miss out stripes on the body edge), in order to make the project acheivable with minimal hair loss and expletive vocalisation? As a slight amendment to your suggestion Michael, I wonder if routing some channels in the body blank, to a depth of say 1/4" and varying widths, might be a lot more achievable, and still retain the structural soundness? I could always leave the stripes-through-body until I am more confident in my joinery...

Cheers,
Adam