Electric Build

[thebolo]

Not sure if this is the right subforum or if I should be in build/repair, but this things not acoustic.

Anyways, this is a project I've been working on. A couple years ago I found a piece of junk walnut in the barn and decided to try carving a top out of it. Last year, I rescued said piece from the woodbox and decided to actually make a guitar out of it. Instead of a traditional electric, I decided to make two halves and join them. I realized the folly in this later because I literally have to take the whole thing apart to get inside...

My build philosophy for this one has been "just go for it and see what happens" and so it's turning out really cool. I've got a buddy of mine making some pickups for it right now and after that I'm ready to put it together and see how she sounds. Just thought I'd share so heres some pictures.

[Steve DeRosa]

I love the control knobs - any way of making them functional...?

[Dru Edwards]

It's going to look amazing! Did you seal the wood?

As Steve said, great control knobs.

[thebolo]

I"m pretty happy with the way the knobs turned out. Thanks.

I thought about leaving this one raw, but good judgement got the better of me. I laid on a couple coats of TruOil and it turned out pretty nice.

Thanks for the comments.

[Dru Edwards]

Keeping it raw wouldn't be a good idea. Moisture could get into the wood and those cracks could spread.

When are you planning on having it done?

[thebolo]

I"m hoping to get it done in the next few weeks, although that may not happen because right now I'm trying to graduate, find a job, place to live, etc...

The only thing thats holding me up is the pickups I'm having a friend make. I'm going to visit him this weekend though, so hopefully we can figure something out.

After I get those pickups it's just a matter of a bit of routing, then assembly.

[thebolo]

Routed the pickup channels and wired everything else up. Now I'm just waiting for my buddy to wind me some pickups. No pics right now because I'm lazy...

[jaybones]

Very cool looking build! Very nice work on carving the top, and I love the knobs as well!

Are they functional? And how did you do it? I'd like to do the same thing, and I though I would take an existing knob and cut it down so the cap sits close to the surface of the body. Use the interior splined shaft of the knob for the pot shaft and some epoxy to bond the bottle cap to the modified knob.

[thebolo]

Pics because I stopped being lazy. This is how I did the knobs. Filled it with epoxy then drilled a hole in the center. Finding the exact center is kinda tricky though so be careful with that part. Although if you mess up you can just fill it with more epoxy and try again. I also decided to dome the knobs. I like the way it looks and sits on the guitar a lot better. But stinkin Blue Moon has got these anniversary caps for a while and I like the other ones better. I've been collecting bottle caps from all my drinking friends so I should have quite the collection of knobs when I'm done.

[moon]

I was wondering how you did that. Great idea

[Dru Edwards]

It's an innovative solution on how to keep the caps on. Great looking guitar!

[thebolo]

I was pretty happy with the way they turned out. The nice thing about the epoxy is it is soft enough to be able to push the splines in but hard enough to still hold its shape.