Electric Guitar
The Inspiration and Result
This project started when I walked into a guitar shop and saw a guitar that was exactly what I wanted. Well, not exactly… The shape was incredible and resonated with me, and the I’d been looking to get something with humbuckers. But then I started asking questions. I like asking questions. Questions like: Wouldn’t it look cooler if the pickups weren’t covered? Could you get rid of the pick guard? If I want something stripped down like that, could I have a raw wood grain finish? What pickups would I buy if I made my own guitar? What does that switch on the left do? Do I need that for my playing style?
Before I could stop myself, I was spinning out on what the guitar I built would look and feel like, how it would play, and how I could turn this idea into a reality.
Did it turn out perfect? No. But first try’s rarely do. I learned a ton, feel a connection every time I play it, and there’s always rev 2 down the line…
The Workflow
I researched and ordered all the components I wanted for my custom build, then measured and modeled them to ensure compatibility. Creating the cavities from there was the easy part.
I bought a piece of Swamp Ash and am lucky enough to have a friend willing to machine the body for me on his CNC. By tabbing the top and bottom, the machining only required two setups and a lot of finish sanding from me.
I stained the body to match the neck finish. Interestingly, imperceptible stress marks from machining, at least on the raw wood, were highlighted through the staining process.
I had to make some final tweaks after applying the clear coat and chase any pre-existing holes, but everything fit more or less as expected.
I progressively sanded all visible surfaces, applying grain filler because of Ash’s open grain structure
I applied several layers of clearcoat with the addition of progressive sanding, then a final polish
