Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

[Peter Wilcox]

I finally finished my over-winter builds with these last two.

Guitar - single piece walnut top, walnut headstock veneer, alder body. alder/walnut neck, cocobolo fret board.

[Peter Wilcox]

The bass - curly redwood top and headstock veneer, alder body, osage orange fret board, alder/walnut neck.

[Dan Smith]

Those are great Peter!
I've got to try some Osage. Really like the look.

[Eric Knapp]

Curly redwood! That's some cool looking stuff. The instruments look great too. You seem productive, a goal to aspire to.

-Eric

[Jason Rodgers]

That's a lot of yummy, Peter! Did you do any of that oven cooking on the Osage to advance the oxidation (darkening)?

[Dan Hehnke]

Nice work! I like the way you oriented the grain on the walnut top. And the osage orange fretboard looks cool with the orange dyed finish.

[Dan Hehnke]

Wait.... do you access all the electronics through the route for the recessed jackplate? Pretty slick!

[Steve Sawyer]

I've gotta ask, Peter - I note that these and some other work that you've posted have a beveled edge on some highly figured solid wood. The precision of that bevel suggest that you formed it using a router - is that the case? If so, I'd be curious as to what kind of bit you use for that. If I had to guess, I'd think one of those Quadra-Cut Freud bits, but they don't make a chamfering bit in that configuration.

My limited experience with curly maple is that it can be really tough to work. A high-angle smoothing plane and scrapers work well on flatwork as does a jointer or planer with a segmented (e.g. Byrd) head. I've hand-shaped curly maple (I made a really nice little bow-saw) and it was a nightmare until I finally started using files - anything else including super sharp chisels and spokeshaves gave me terrible tear-out.

[Peter Wilcox]

Thanks all y'all for your kind comments - I'm glad you like them.

Did you do any of that oven cooking on the Osage to advance the oxidation (darkening)?

No, that's the natural color after a year or so. I have another chunk that I cut a bridge off of several years ago, and it's still bright yellow - I have no idea why, same environment.

I like the way you oriented the grain on the walnut top. And the osage orange fretboard looks cool with the orange dyed finish.

The grain orientation was pure serendipity - that's the way the wood fit.
I wiped a coat of garnet shellac on the body to give the redwood more yellow to better match the osage.

I've gotta ask, Peter - I note that these and some other work that you've posted have a beveled edge on some highly figured solid wood. The precision of that bevel suggest that you formed it using a router - is that the case? If so, I'd be curious as to what kind of bit you use for that.

I use a 45 degree chamfering bit for the thicker tops, and a 30 degree one for thinner ones (to give a wider bevel). I go slow and the bits are pretty new, so not much problem with tear out - lucky so far.

Wait.... do you access all the electronics through the route for the recessed jackplate? Pretty slick!

The instruments are chambered, so I drill from the pickup cavity to the chamber. I solder everything outside, then poke it back through the jack hole. I have to tie a string on to the stacked pot shaft (and switch shaft for 2 pickup guitars) and pull it through - not really too hard. I'm afraid to solder to these pot cases (?plastic inside) so I have to run separate grounds. Here's a pic.

[Gordon Bellerose]

Those are nice Peter.
Is that plastic binding?
I remember a comment you made on one of my guitars, saying that the shape was similar to a couple you were working on.
Similar, but not the same, Yours are very nice. That Curly Redwood is pretty.
Where do you buy it?
I don't think I've ever seen it here in Canada.

[Peter Wilcox]

Hi Gordon
Yes, that is Chinese plastic binding.
The redwood was a gift from a friend who makes boxes and cutting boards from highly figured woods. He roams the northern California and Oregon valleys and coasts looking for wood. I believe he got this piece here: http://www.almquistlumber.com/redwoods.html He thought it might make a pretty guitar.

[Jason Rodgers]

Thanks all y'all for your kind comments - I'm glad you like them.

Did you do any of that oven cooking on the Osage to advance the oxidation (darkening)?

No, that's the natural color after a year or so. I have another chunk that I cut a bridge off of several years ago, and it's still bright yellow - I have no idea why, same environment.

Ok, I assumed that this fingerboard was a relatively fresh cut. My first has an Osage headplate, fingerboard, bridge baseplate, and control cover, and all look like that now, taking about a year to mellow. I have enough for 3 or 4 more fingerboards, and although I think the bright yellow of freshly cut Osage is lovely, the honey-amber color matches other woods better. I need to experiment to figure out a good way to get it there quicker.

[Jerome Hess]

nice, I just got a good piece of black walnut from NC that I'm going to use for some necks.

J