All Maple Thinline

egads that's beautiful!

Thanks!

Peace,
Mark

I put together the frame for my spray booth and even built a stand so I can mount and rotate the body during spraying. I still need to figure out how I'll mount it to the stand but shouldn't be too tough. Throw a couple of sandbags on the bottom for stability and I'm good to go.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/bth09.jpg

I saw some slick, but expensive, clamps online that I replicated with wrap around insulation...just lay the plastic over the pipe and slip on a piece of insulation. It clamps it down real well. You can see from the plastic I used in this shot that I bought a roll of 4 mil plastic for the walls.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/bth06.jpg

Tomorrow, I spray clear coats!!!

Peace,
Mark

Very innovative! I love inexpensive solutions like this...

Cool! Make sure you also cover the concrete floor - even though you're spraying clear it'll show up.

I set up the booth down at our set shop...Nick JD, the floor won't matter...it's seen far worse over the years.

Here it is with one pass of plastic done.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/bth10.jpg

And the second. I cut a slit down one side and made a flap out of scraps to close it off. It was vented off the back side and out an overhead door.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/bth11.jpg

And here are some shots with the first coat of clear.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin33.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin34.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin35.jpg

More coats tomorrow and Sat.

Peace,
Mark

amazing mate. cant wait for the end, just want to see them together and finished.

The reds on each guitar look the same. Did you use the same mix?

The reds on each guitar look the same. Did you use the same mix?

They're not the same. The maple thinline was dyed directly on the bare wood. I used TransTint Bright Red with a touch of Mahogany Red. The red on the Texas Tele is a deeper red and was sprayed on in lacquer shader coats until I liked the color. It was the same TransTint Bright Red but mixed with TransTint Black to darken it.

You can see the differences in this straight on shot. Even though they both have only one clear coat on them, the Texas Tele's red is much deeper because of the lacquer shader coats underneath.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/reds.jpg

Peace,
Mark

The weather is holding up progress on the finishing. I'll post pics as soon as I get them sprayed.

Peace,
Mark

I'll post pics as soon as...


Spit Spot then.... Jump to it!!

:mrgreen:

hows the weather man? Hopefully you can do some good work soon. You have followers now. cant wait to see more pictures with more finish.

Cheers Jeremy

Man... the depth of the colour and grain on the texas one is just breathtaking... It is so rare to see a blue on a guitar and for it to look that good... I'm just blown away with it...

hows the weather man? Hopefully you can do some good work soon. You have followers now. cant wait to see more pictures with more finish.

Cheers Jeremy

It's looking really good for this weekend...our highs will be back in the mid 40's. I should be able to get the shop up to 65-70, no problem.

Fingers crossed.

Peace,
Mark

Man... the depth of the colour and grain on the texas one is just breathtaking... It is so rare to see a blue on a guitar and for it to look that good... I'm just blown away with it...

Along with the beautiful job nature did on this one, I think the difference is since I didn't want too much variation in the tones within each color, I didn't manipulate the figure by dying and sanding it back. I just used shader coats over the raw wood...no sanding sealer either.

I'm hoping to get it finished this weekend.

Peace,
Mark

Mark, Where did you get that binding and what size is it? The binding shows nicely on the face of the guitar.

Next time I need to set my binding deeper and not shave as much off, but if one uses thicker binding to begin that would be helpful.

Mark, Where did you get that binding and what size is it? The binding shows nicely on the face of the guitar.

Next time I need to set my binding deeper and not shave as much off, but if one uses thicker binding to begin that would be helpful.

I got it from www.stewmac.com (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bindings,_trim/Plastic_binding/White_Plastic_Binding.html) It's .250" tall by .090" thick. I probably scraped it down to .080" finished thickness. It shows better vs starting with .060" and scraping down to .050".

The vent on the thinline was done with .060" but since it was edge glued without a channel, I didn't have to scrape it down.

Peace,
Mark

Of course. I forgot the binding...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin29.jpg

Looks fantastic....Wonderful job...:razz:

I hate to even post a slight negative message, but I am very curious.

Is it just the woods, i.e. The Texas face wood shows perfect, but the red looks like maybe it got a little over sanded, is this the case ? Like maybe the black step took little more than expected, and sanding was the fix ??

Not putting down your work 'what so ever', I am either right or wrong in the assumption on a physical level, and I do not mean the question any other way, but apologize if it comes off as derogatory in any way. :oops:

I hate to even post a slight negative message, but I am very curious.

Is it just the woods, i.e. The Texas face wood shows perfect, but the red looks like maybe it got a little over sanded, is this the case ? Like maybe the black step took little more than expected, and sanding was the fix ??

Not putting down your work 'what so ever', I am either right or wrong in the assumption on a physical level, and I do not mean the question any other way, but apologize if it comes off as derogatory in any way. :oops:

That's not negative at all. No problem.

The 2 finishes are at very different stages. The Texas Tele has about 10 coats of finish on it. These were applied in the form of tinted lacquer for each color. Then a single clear coat over the entire body. The thinline was dyed directly onto the wood with alcohol and has only a single, thin clear coat on it. The grain does show differently between the two. But it's nothing more clear coats won't solve.

I started clear coats on both of them on the same day, got one coat on and then ran out of time and warm weather. We're back in the mid to high 40F's this weekend and the shop should stay in the 65F range. I hope to get more clear on both.

Peace,
Mark

Well, the weather is cooperating, the body and neck are level sanded and I'm ready to spry more clear coats. I'll have more this evening or tomorrow.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin36.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin37.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin38.jpg

Peace,
Mark

I sprayed 4 coats of clear yesterday. This one's in the home stretch. Moare clear today then a lvevl sanding before final coats.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin39.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin40.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin41.jpg

Peace,
Mark

looking good Mark.....very good.

that looks awesome, 1 question though. Why do you put the binding on before painting, instead of painting it, binding it, then clearing it all? thanks.

looking good Mark.....very good.

Thanks!

that looks awesome, 1 question though. Why do you put the binding on before painting, instead of painting it, binding it, then clearing it all? thanks.

Thanks!

I do it for several reasons. The binding is glued into the channel so any adhesive whether, tight bond, CA or Weldon Cement, would squeeze out and damage the finish. Plus I like to leave the bindings slightly proud of the channel and scrape them level with the top and side. Scraping at this point could easily damage the finish. I'm sure it's different for others.

Some level the binding after finishing...I don't see the payoff being worth the risk. Some spray color right over the binding without masking...they have great skill at scraping the paint from the binding before clear coats.

Peace,
Mark

Nice spray booth, but how are you keeping the dust out of it?

Nice spray booth, but how are you keeping the dust out of it?

I abandoned the spray booth. I'm using our set shop where I work. It's nice and clean. I tack it off between coats, no issues yet.

Peace,
Mark

The grain is starting to come out much more now on the thinline, looks good.

Well, this step has been a long time coming but I finally got it level sanded and buffed out. I still need to do some hand work on it but it's close.

All level sanded and ready to show it's final color.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin42.jpg

And here she is. To think this started with a pile of maple scraps...

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin43.jpg


http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin44.jpg

I hope to finish polishing and get it put together tomorrow. I'm very anxious to play it again and see it's final form.

Peace,
Mark

wow. she's looking beautiful!

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin44.jpg



Wow! worth quoting

Beauty!!

never played an all maple tele, hope there'll be enough bottom in the sound

congratz, i wanna see this lady all dressed up soon :)

Sorry it's taken me so long to upload pics. I've been slammed at work...good problem to have I guess. I took these in the edit suite with less than desireable light and photography skills, but they show some nice detail...the parts that are in focus anyway. :oops:

My friend, who's an excellent photographer and has all the soft boxes and strobes, is going to help me with photos when I get my other 4 builds completed.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin104.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin107.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin106.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin109.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin113.jpg

Peace,
Mark

Wow Mark. In a forum full of awesome builds, that's one of the awesomest!

A few more angles. I waited a bit for the sunlight to fade some to pick up better reflections.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin122.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin116.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin117.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin120.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin123.jpg

Peace,
Mark

Bee-uu-tee-full. What's not to love. Great finished guitar, Mark.

Gorgeous guitar!

Beautiful indeed! How does she SOUND?

been waiting for this one to finish so i can say

what a stunna this guitar is!

awesome stuff Mark

Bee-uu-tee-full. What's not to love. Great finished guitar, Mark.

I am so happy to have this guitar completed. Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement along the way.

Gorgeous guitar!

Thanks!

Beautiful indeed! How does she SOUND?

Thanks! I don't think it changed much at all from the dry fit test.

All Out (http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline2.mp3)

I plan to record another version of All Out this weekend. If I don't get to that, I'll post some sound samples for sure.

been waiting for this one to finish so i can say

what a stunna this guitar is!

awesome stuff Mark

You're very kind. Thanks for following the build and staying with it during the delays. It feels great to have this one done!

Peace,
Mark

:shock: Great tone! Biting, but not spikey in the least.

The guitar sounds well balanced and very capable of claiming it's sonic space in a band mix.

What a beautiful project and fitting end. My hat's off to you sir!

:shock: Great tone! Biting, but not spikey in the least.

The guitar sounds well balanced and very capable of claiming it's sonic space in a band mix.

What a beautiful project and fitting end. My hat's off to you sir!

Thanks! From someone who knows tone and pickups, high praise indeed.

Peace,
Mark

Very very nice!!

Mark

She sounds as good as she looks....very nice work man.

Here are some sound clips I recorded in the 15 mins I had this afternoon. Just a bunch of noodlin' actually. Not my proudest guitar moments. Clean neck middle and bridge thru my Line 6 FlexTone II with some delay. The bridge pickup is a Texas Special and the neck is a Custom '62 Reissue.

Neck (http://www.crenshawweb.com/neck.mp3)

Middle (http://www.crenshawweb.com/middle.mp3)

Bridge (http://www.crenshawweb.com/bridge.mp3)

Better clips when I have a chance to spend some time in the studio.

Peace,
Mark

Very very nice!!

Thanks!

Mark

She sounds as good as she looks....very nice work man.


Thanks Steve!

Fantastic work!!!

excellent

amzing guitar man.

Fantastic work!!!

Thanks B!

Peace,
Mark

excellent

Thanks man! Good to hear from you!

Peace,
Mark

amzing guitar man.

Hey, there you are. Good to hear from you again. Thanks for following along on this one.

Congrats to your fellow New Zealander & Telecaster Master, Keith Urban on his Grammy win!

Peace,
Mark

Wow...beautiful work....I really like the color looks fantastic...

You know, been watching this one progress for ages and was never convinced about the top... compared to the Texas it never floated my boat you know, but... seeing it finished I am just blown away, I take it all back. That is beautiful work Mark, beautiful. 10 out of 10.

You know, been watching this one progress for ages and was never convinced about the top... compared to the Texas it never floated my boat you know, but... seeing it finished I am just blown away, I take it all back. That is beautiful work Mark, beautiful. 10 out of 10.

Wow! Thanks for the kind compliments. I do appreciate knowing that the final product swayed your view of the concept. I would like to say I knew it would come out the way I envisioned it, but too much happens in translation between idea and reality to be certain. I can say that I'm very pleased with it and I still get a bit of a rush when I walk into the studio and see it sitting there. Hope that never fades.

P.S. I will finish the Texas Tele soon...I promise! It's curing, to be buffed out as we speak.

Peace,
Mark

Wow...beautiful work....I really like the color looks fantastic...

Thanks! I appreciate your comments. Glad you like it.

Peace,
Mark

I finally got around to weighing this guitar fully assembled. It's a delightful 6.5 lbs. It's well balanced body to neck and lays against my ample tummy very comfortably. :shock:

To close this one out, I just want to say thanks to all who followed along and especially to those who offered comments and encouragement along the way. Even to a few who challenged me and helped me to see things from another perspective.

This forum is a priceless resource and I hope in some small way, I've added to that.

Peace,
Mark

TDPRI's most amazing build. I have become so inspired by this. Thank you!

TDPRI's most amazing build. I have become so inspired by this. Thank you!

Hmmm. That's very kind of you to say. Keep reading, there are many fine builds here and much, much more to inspire you.

Thanks!

Peace,
Mark

Wow!! What a great build... love it!

Wow!! What a great build... love it!

Thanks Freaktone! It's been awhile since I read thru this one. It was a fun build...still one of my favorite guitars.

Very nice indeed

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/fin122.jpg



This guitar came up on one of the recent topics and I just remembered...

This build and the great result was the reason that got me into guitar building. And after four veneering, five dying, two varnishing and one decal failure, here is the result:

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh517/denizdurdag/2012-06-21231340.jpg

Guitarnut, I both love you and hate you equally for infecting me :mrgreen:

Very nice indeed

Thanks!

This guitar came up on one of the recent topics and I just remembered...

This build and the great result was the reason that got me into guitar building. And after four veneering, five dying, two varnishing and one decal failure, here is the result:

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh517/denizdurdag/2012-06-21231340.jpg



Cool! That came out nice. The PG is a nice touch on red. Glad to hear my build had some influence on you.



Guitarnut, I both love you and hate you equally for infecting me :mrgreen:

I both appreciate and resent that statement equally... actually, I appreciate it more. :mrgreen:

I'm embarrassed to admit I've only just read through this build.

Stunning.

And, I will be stealing all your hard-earned bending knowledge!

Stunning.

And, I will be stealing all your hard-earned bending knowledge!

Thanks evanrw!

I've learned a bit more since this build. I did a similar style for my 2011 Challenge Build but out of mahogany. I changed my caul and clamping approach. It worked much better the second time around.

Plus, I adapted my ROSS as a thickness sander to dial in the thickness of the sides before bending...got them down to .070" pretty easily.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/2011/body20.jpg

2011 Challenge Build (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2011-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/263867-guitarnuts-2011-tdpri-build-challenge-thread.html)

This is what the caul looks like now. If I do bending again, I'll make my body core like this and clamp the sides in place before the top and back. Hindsight, you know. :wink:

http://www.crenshawweb.com/2011/body58.jpg

That's a really awesome guitar you've built there. Congrats

Next, I set up my resaw table/fence and cut the top and back. After a few passes thru the planer, they look pretty good.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/body23.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/body24.jpg

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/body25.jpg

Then I cut the veneers that I will use to wrap the sides. I cut these off the edge of a billet so I'm not sure the figure patterns will match up well. I may recut these from the flat side of the board so they match better...they're beautiful though, I'll keep them for another project.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/thinline/body26.jpg

That are nice pieces of wood...woowh..