Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

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Peter Wilcox
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Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by 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.
walnut-1.jpg
walnut-2.jpg
walnut-3.jpg
Last edited by Peter Wilcox on Wed Aug 10, 2016 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Maybe I can't fix it, but I can fix it so no one can fix it
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Peter Wilcox
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by Peter Wilcox »

The bass - curly redwood top and headstock veneer, alder body, osage orange fret board, alder/walnut neck.
curly-redwood1.jpg
curly-redwood2.jpg
curly-redwood3.jpg
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Dan Smith
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by Dan Smith »

Those are great Peter!
I've got to try some Osage. Really like the look.
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Eric Knapp
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by 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
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by 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)?
-Ruining perfectly good wood, one day at a time.
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Dan Hehnke
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by 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.
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Dan Hehnke
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by Dan Hehnke »

Wait.... do you access all the electronics through the route for the recessed jackplate? Pretty slick!
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Steve Sawyer
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by 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.
==Steve==
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Peter Wilcox
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by Peter Wilcox »

Thanks all y'all for your kind comments - I'm glad you like them.
Jason Rodgers wrote: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.
Dan Hehnke wrote: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.
Steve Sawyer wrote: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.
Dan Hehnke wrote: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.
curly-redwood-electronics2.jpg
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Gordon Bellerose
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by 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.
I need your help. I can't possibly make all the mistakes myself!
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Peter Wilcox
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by 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. :)
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Jason Rodgers
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by Jason Rodgers »

Peter Wilcox wrote:Thanks all y'all for your kind comments - I'm glad you like them.
Jason Rodgers wrote: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.
-Ruining perfectly good wood, one day at a time.
Jerome Hess
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Re: Walnut guitar, curly redwood bass

Post by Jerome Hess »

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

J
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