MoreSpaceEcho wrote:

Tom Wanderer wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 7:31 am Thanks! It was so easy. I'm usually working with used parts and I was a bit intimidated to paint it but it was so easy. I just hung it from a string in my garage and went for it.

How many coats did you do?

Charvel has a bunch of current models with that same black ash style, and I don't like it at all, but yours really looks great.

Pretty sure it was 2 really light coats of flat black and 2 light coats of urethane. I had the body hanging from a string and put a mail bin resting on a patio chair beneath it just in case it fell. Well, the string broke and it fell. I was glad for that bit of forethought. Not usually my strong suit. So I think the second coat came after that to fix the mussed paint, although it really wasn't so bad. I strung it up with sturdier stuff after that. I should have taken more notes. I'll have to check the cans when I get home, but it might have actually been a flat black primer. And then satin aerosol urethane applied very lightly. 2 coats. Just enough to cover, not enough to be sticky.

I used the body exactly as arrived. I expected to have to do some filling and at the very least sand it, but it felt great as it was and I thought the grain looked so nice that I wanted to try it as-is. It's plenty smooth but has just that little bit of matte feel. Honestly, I love it. Tauro Woodworks is on fbook, ebay and reverb (based in NJ I think). They have some nutty looking stuff, but the quality is unmatched for the price. You spend less than you would on a GFS body for something that feels like it should cost 5X more.

Tom Wanderer wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 12:55 pm It occurred to me that I hadn't posted pics of any of the guitars that I've made. I've only been doing it for 4 years, but it has become a real source of joy for me.

The first thing I did was the Duo Sonic/Musicmaster. OG 1964 body was totally hacked and painted pepto pink, I think it was like 50 bucks. Got a nice modern MIM Duo Sonic neck on Craigslist for super cheap.

That gnarled and untamed clear pickguard is a great touch. It's the right amount of deviation, as well as reusing existing materials. Thanks for sharing these, they're really exciting.

jirbling rake wrote:

Tom Wanderer wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 12:55 pm It occurred to me that I hadn't posted pics of any of the guitars that I've made. I've only been doing it for 4 years, but it has become a real source of joy for me.

The first thing I did was the Duo Sonic/Musicmaster. OG 1964 body was totally hacked and painted pepto pink, I think it was like 50 bucks. Got a nice modern MIM Duo Sonic neck on Craigslist for super cheap.

That gnarled and untamed clear pickguard is a great touch. It's the right amount of deviation, as well as reusing existing materials. Thanks for sharing these, they're really exciting.

Ha! Thank you! Yes, I love working with stuff I already have and, on a guitar like that, it's already something of a monstrosity and I'm not worried about the neatness of the pickguard as long as it serves it's purpose. If it was actually sharp or something, that would be another story, but it looks more gnarly than it is.

Was able to build one for myself for the first time in 4-5 years. I actually started it the first week of lockdown and have been slowly working on it between other builds. I'm happy with how it came out.

Gosh that is beautiful

Few things look perfect. That guitar is one of them! I love the headstock shape and detail work in the stripes around the body and the sound hole. Is it called binding in that case? Regardless, it's really fantastic in its simplicity. In a fine instrument like that the little details say so much.

Fine if you're into that sorta thing, I guess..

Joking of course. That thing looks fuggin incredible.

Tom Wanderer wrote: Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:37 pm Few things look perfect. That guitar is one of them! I love the headstock shape and detail work in the stripes around the body and the sound hole. Is it called binding in that case? Regardless, it's really fantastic in its simplicity. In a fine instrument like that the little details say so much.

Good question - It's called Purfling.

Elisha that guitar is beautiful, understated elegance. The fretwork looks amazing, thanks for the close-ups. I envy your next of kin

What are the little wooden rabbit-eared things on the bench, just to the right of the guitar? Some kind of clamp, I'm guessing, but I'm not understanding the application.

Yeah that guitar looks amazing! That's a serious set of tools too.