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WezVWezV Frets: 16546
edited August 2013 in Making & Modding
Well, we have a new forum.  all is nice and shiny.   Seems like an ideal time to have a look back over the years and what got me to this point.

I got my first guitar in 1994, I am one of those kinds of people that has to take things apart and try and figure out how things work so apart it came and i spend a long time trying to get it back together.   

In the next few years i spent a lot of money on secondhand cheap guitars, including a nice little collection of shitty tesicos and a few matsumoko guitars and anything else that either looked cool or was cheap

Most of these guitars did not fare well through my uneducated, pre reliable internet experiments

then in 1998 i found Melvyn Hiscocks book and read it cover to cover a million times.  I had much better internet and started finding some of the forums out there.  Gradually my modding got better and better and i actually managed to save some of those older guitars.  I also completed a couple of kit guitars

It took 3 more years of research and experiments, until I moved into my first house and finally had a spare room to make some real mess in

That's how i began.  No tools, no woodwork experience just a lot of research beforehand

My biggest hurdle was getting wood.  Back then it meant a trip to craft supplies.   3 buses, to get to craft supplies in Millers Dale to be told that the guitar wood store is 2 miles back up the road in an old farm... and the road back to buxton for my bus home was closed.  So a 6 mile walk carrying some big chunks of mahogany to just make it in time for the last bus back to Derby   all because I was determined I needed to hand select my wood for that first guitar

That's where we begin - time for some pics

Here is my first guitar:
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The body was cut out by hand with a coping saw and rasped to shape. fretboard was slotted by hand after a lot of careful measuring and cutting I tried to get inventive with the scratchplate and laminated some veneer - terrible idea .  I Invested in my first ever TV jones pickup and the result was playable.  it played in tune.  it sounded great.  it was also about 14lbs as  its 2 1/4" thick mahogany and slightly oversized, the neck shape was terrible and.  Its also my first use of brushed on plastic coating which i used a hell of a lot back then.  It was a good enough start to convince me to do more

And because i can never only be working on one thing i decided to  mod one of my previous kit builds at the same time
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i sliced off the top 1/4" of the body with a handsaw, planed it flat, added some chambers and a new spalted beech top

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Comments

  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    Brilliant idea for a post!!
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    After that  we have a really productive period.  not always good looking  but lots of guitars in a short space of time

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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    edited August 2013
    Then i started to help other people learn, i feel teaching someone else how to do something is the best way to develop your own skills - and it shows here that things get suddenly a lot better
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  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700
    edited August 2013

    The 2 Firebird style guitars are giving me a Firebird chubby....

     

    And the Explorer is sexy.........

     

    Love the work Wez

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    although we still got the odd mostrosity
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    I am in awe of your woodwork skills Wez. 
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    That is what i consider phase 1 which takes us up to about 2004.  My focus has always been on trying as many different styles as possible.  most of these are bolt on necks but you can see i went for through neck early on too.  Just the one set neck and that is the white firebird.

    i will carry on with phase 2 later
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  • Wow, seriously impressive work! I'm so in awe I'm not even going to make a joke about "My biggest hurdle was getting wood."
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    Right, Phase two.  I guess this is when i became happy making  guitar for other people.  I had done a couple of practice commissions before but just for close mates.  things started going a bit further from this point on

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    I think that takes us up to about 2006, quality and materials took a big jump in this stage
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    then i start getting confused about dates and things, but we can put the following work into a few categories - 
    Fanned fret:
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    edited August 2013


    Fenderish (mainly tele):
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    edited August 2013
    Gibsonish:
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  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    I've always loved the variety in the guitars you build Wez.  The blue sparkly La Cab is probably my favourite, even Mrs_MD loves that one.  :ar!
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    Basses:
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    Others:
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    WezV said:
    then i start getting confused about dates and things, but we can put the following work into a few categories - 
    Fanned fret:

     
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    Me seeing (and hearing the new owner rave about) the top one prompted me to commission the bottom one.

    Absolutely no regrets.

    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    Adam_MD said:
    I've always loved the variety in the guitars you build Wez.  
    That's what its about for me.  Ok, i seem to have done a lot of teles and certain shapes and construction styles make repeated appearances.  But i mainly do this because I enjoy it, and i don't get as much pleasure out of doing the same thing over and over again
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    edited August 2013
    Anyway, there we are  - there are a few I have forgotten, or not included as they were not totally my work  (DrBob and stickfiddles teles are an example.  I did assembly and finishing for them but can't claim the rest as my own work)   maybe later i will add a repair, refin, rebuild and restoration post... 

    So we have most of my build history in the posts above.  The idea of this thread is to keep it going with my current work - so i guess now we need my in progress stuff

    This is still technically in progress - just needs new knobs and strings and i think it will be done
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    Same for this one - a few bits left to do:
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    This one is a neck rebuild and assembly job - fretwork and neck finish still to do
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    then there is the one that has been going on forever - it is now sprayed and in the process of being buffed, although we stripped the headstocks back  again last weekend - the finish seems to be a battle on this
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    It will be finished one day!!
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  • Jesus. DROOL at some of those Wez. The sparkly Cab and Japanese flag Explorer especially. 
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  • BucketBucket Frets: 7751
    I had a look at your website the other day as it happens - you've made some beautiful stuff.

    The blue fanned-fret Vendetta, in particular... I would sell both my arms for that one. As counter-productive as that may sound.


    Holy Christ.
    - "I'm going to write a very stiff letter. A VERY stiff letter. On cardboard."
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