Pointy baritone build

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I bought a baritone neck a while back to attach to a Strat that I've since sold, so I decided to build a new body for the baritone neck. Here's the initial design.



Body is one piece swamp ash with a spalted beech top.

 

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Comments

  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    After a few design iterations I made a first template from 5mm plywood...



    ...which was then transferred onto MDF.


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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14321
    IMHO, the headstock would look nice with a veneer of that spalted beech. (Yes. I know that it would be a pig to attach it.)
    Be seeing you.
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    IMHO, the headstock would look nice with a veneer of that spalted beech. (Yes. I know that it would be a pig to attach it.)
    Exactly my plan! If I cut it carefully the piece between the horns should be the right size. I practised the technique on a recent mod that worked well.


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  • UnclePsychosisUnclePsychosis Frets: 12880
    Looks great. 

    I seem to recall that @Andyjr1515 is your man for veneers. 
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    Looks great. 

    I seem to recall that @Andyjr1515 is your man for veneers. 
    Thanks, but I'll try to reduce the thickness on a spare piece of the top wood and use that.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Looks great. 

    I seem to recall that @Andyjr1515 is your man for veneers. 
    Thanks, but I'll try to reduce the thickness on a spare piece of the top wood and use that.

    Hi, @AustrianJohn  

    It's looking good :)

    I didn't pitch in because I guessed that.  Your spalted beech looks like it's 3-4mm thick?  An offcut would be perfect as a headstock plate.  I like the previous one you did in the photo above - what wood was that?
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    edited July 2017
    Andyjr1515 said:

    Hi, @AustrianJohn  

    It's looking good

    I didn't pitch in because I guessed that.  Your spalted beech looks like it's 3-4mm thick?  An offcut would be perfect as a headstock plate.  I like the previous one you did in the photo above - what wood was that?
    Hi @Andyjr1515

    The wood in my last project was burl, but I don't know from which type of tree. The spalted beech is 11mm thick. I'll aim to get that down to about 3mm for the headstock. For the body I'll leave it at 11mm.

    Cheers, John


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    I thicknessed the body blank from just over 5cm to 3.5 cm with my router sled.

     



    Having spent what seemed like hours generating sawdust, creating the body was quick - cutting the rough shape with a bandsaw and then using the MDF template and router to tidy up the edges.



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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Andyjr1515 said:

    Hi, @AustrianJohn  

    It's looking good :)

    I didn't pitch in because I guessed that.  Your spalted beech looks like it's 3-4mm thick?  An offcut would be perfect as a headstock plate.  I like the previous one you did in the photo above - what wood was that?
    Hi @Andyjr1515

    The wood in my last project was burl, but I don't know from which type of tree. The spalted beech is 11mm thick. I'll aim to get that down to about 3mm.

    Cheers, John


    I think both look great.  The spalted beech is lovely :)
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    Top has been trimmed so interesting figure runs through the horns, then glued.



    Body has been routed. I had planned to do the neck pocket rout after the top had been attached, but I'm worried that the relative softness of the beech top would make it difficult to attach the template. Now I can use a bottom bearing router bit to rout the top.



    Edge of rear cavity has been routed for the cover.



    I'll try to make the cavity cover from this glued offcut from the top, or I may use this piece for the headstock - we'll see.


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    Headstock reshaped then thicknessed.

     

    I cut some thin slices from the spalted beech off-cut and managed to make both the cavity cover and headstock veneer.



    Top is being glued to the body.


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    Here's the top, both dry and wet.


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    I'll be using these to carve the top. The spalted beech is strange to work. Some parts are like concrete, while right next to that is a patch as soft as balsa wood. Have to be careful.

     

    The cavity cover is a good fit. But the headstock veneer didn't work as planned, I'll have to use a thicker piece - but that's for another day.


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    Second attempt at applying a spalted beech plate to the headstock worked.


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    Lots of work still to do, but it's starting to look like a guitar.


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  • Flink_PoydFlink_Poyd Frets: 2490
    Second attempt at applying a spalted beech plate to the headstock worked.



    That's lovely. I like how the darker parts of the grain flow from the nut end of the headstock, draws your eyes along it.
    Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow.....


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    Second attempt at applying a spalted beech plate to the headstock worked.



    That's lovely. I like how the darker parts of the grain flow from the nut end of the headstock, draws your eyes along it.
    I'm glad you like it. I was pleased it worked like that - for the body and the head stock (and indeed, even the rear cavity cover) I had to cut the wood carefully to get interesting figure in the right place. I think the look of the spalted beech is quite spectacular, but the mix of wood density makes it a b*gger to work with.
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    edited July 2017
    Top is routed and carved. Unfortunately, the wood was so soft around the hole for the volume control that it crumbled, necessitating a patch to repair. Although I love the look of spalted wood, I'm not sure I'll use it again as its variable texture makes it difficult to work with.

    I washed the back with a black stain then sanded it off. This makes the grain stand out nicely.



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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    edited July 2017
    After three application of Tru Oil and one of Briwax the cavity cover is looking good.


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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666
    A few coats of Tru Oil, without any additional stain, have brought the colour out of the spalted beech top.



    I'll use a chicken head control knob (or something equally unusual) to make a feature out of the repaired hole.
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