The Gift

[martyb1]

This is a very special build
Our neighbors are about to celebrate their 100 year anniversary of living in our community.A little history.
The main person in this family is 75 years old.They live 3 miles away from my farm,which I bought from my mom and dad a few years ago.This guy played in the band which my mother and father played in for 25+ years.They traveled all over playing in little country halls and old school houses.His youngest son is 1 year younger than I am.When I was growing up we spent a lot of time together.We did pretty much everything together.Hunting,playing hockey,baseball,you name it.If I wasn't at their house he was at my house.
OK,on this guys fathers original homestead stands an old barn,which is now owned by his oldest son.His son has tried to talk him into letting him burn it down for many years with no success.He says it's a landmark and should stay there until it falls down.
He has asked my mother and I if we would come play some music on their anniversary( family reunion) that they are having on July 26th.All the old band members will be there,except my father that passed away a little over a year ago.This guy has been a great family friend since I can remember,and has really supported me since I have started building guitars.
OK,so last Monday night I got an idea.Never dawned on me until then.Why not do a special build and give it to him the night of their reunion.Is there enough time!!!!!!There is if I use this water based lacquer.It cures really fast.
I contacted the son and asked if I could take some wood from the old barn and he said,take it all,hehe
This old barn is in pretty bad shape.I had a terrible time finding enough decent wood to work with.


I headed into it with my chainsaw and come out with this



Yep,thats cow poop on the 2x8

I took my belt sander and cleaned up all the dirt and other stuff off the wood,gut it to length with the skill saw and headed to the planer.

[Southern ILL]

Good stuff.....

[martyb1]

Not really knowing what I had to work with,I found out once at the planer,the 2x8 was fir,as I suspected.The 1x12's turned out to be cedar.
I planed down the 2x8 ,jointed it and glued it up.I ended up with a blank just over 1" thick.The one cedar board was in pretty good shape and it was actually rough cut to 1 1/4".I took a piece and ripped it,bookmatched it and ended up with just under 1/2".The rest or the wood was pretty bad,I could not book match.I ended up with a 0.20" set,which I used for the back.It worked out that combined total was just under the 1.75",1.71" to be exact.Good enough.
I didn't really know at this time what the outcome would be,and being in a major hurry,didn't take much for pics of the glue up,or routing.
I have to say though,it all worked out pretty good.Here is the result

[Boubou]

Cool, a Barncaster

[martyb1]

Next was neck pocket time
Did that,ferrule holes,jack hole and lots of sanding





Time for some sealer.

[martyb1]

OK
Some more history

8 years ago,they were away for the weekend.While they were gone,the heater on thier hot tub shorted out,caught fire and burned their house to the ground.
In the basement of the house was this guys original stand up bass,a 70's something Fender Precision and and a couple acoustic guitars and one electric guitar,not sure what it was,a Gibson I think
Anyway,after all was settled,he decided not to replace his basses,just his guitars.He bought himself a nice acoustic but said he didn't replace the electric because it wasn't listed on his insurance and there really wasn't the money to replace it.He also told me one night that he really liked the look of his Precision,a 3 color burst,and if he was to ever get another electric that is what it would be,so.......
Whats a guy to do

After a few coats of sanding sealer,a unwanted friend


I laid down the first coat of lacquer,with a slight amber tint.The cedar is actually pretty yellow so we wont need much

[axmaker]

me likey the knots left on......

[buck7617]

That is looking great. I hate those little bugs I probably killed a 1000 last night. That's what I get for living by a rice field.

[martyb1]

Like I mentioned,this has to get finished by the 26th so I have been working pretty hard on it.
Next I laid down the start of the black outer ring.Not sure if this is the correct way to do a burst but it works for me.I was just more concerned about the edges now and will touch up the black later.I laid a piece cardboard on the top to stop any overspray getting on to the amber



Then I mixed up the color for the middle ring.I used Burnt Sienna and a touch of red.Forgot to take pics though

After that was dry,I touched up the black.
Turned out pretty good





Without the flash

[Buckocaster51]

I think the neighbor will like that.

Thanks for sharing.

[GilmourD]

So you're gonna burst it? :D

[sean79]

Looking good. What gun are you using for the burst?

[furrfurrfurr]

one of the nicest bursts i've seen. although, i like the 2-tone the best.

[martyb1]

Saturday night,after chatting with a friend of mine,he asked if I was going to get a special neck plate made for this.I had not even thought about that.I sent an e-mail to the guy that engraved mine to see if he could get it done in time and no problem.
Now the name of our little town is Endiang
It is a Cree word meaning "Our Home"
So I sent a picture of the barn,the explanation of the name and the family name to this guy and here is what he come up with.This will be great



Also to mark the occasion,I decided to add a little something to the back of the guitar.The plan is to present it to him on stage,while he is up there singing.
I printed out a water slide decal and put it on the back marking the date,etc.I am hoping the edges will disappear after a few coats of clear and some sanding.Should work just like a headstock logo

[Jake D]

Really nice job on that sunburst. I love the three tone bursts. What an excellent idea for a build.

That neck plate is a thing of beauty. Nice idea on the water slide too.

[stxrus]

that is absolutely fantastically gorgeous!!

what a great thought. i'm sure he'll be proud.

steve

[Tiki]

Very, very, very, very classy. Wow.

[JDRNoPro]

Marty:

Not only are you incredibly creative and talented, but also extremely thoughtful. Thanks for sharing yet another wonderful project.

The world needs more like you...........

Jim

[refin]

Speechless here--------way to go,he will be very blessed.

[martyb1]

Originally Posted by sean79

Looking good. What gun are you using for the burst?

Actually I use the same gun I use to spray my clear
It is just a cheap touch up gun I got for $9.99 from Princess Auto,
kind of the equivalent to your Harbor Freight,similar to this



I just turn my paint flow way down and set my spray pattern with almost no fan
and do lots of passes.Like I said,probably not the correct way,but it works for me

[downeastboy]

Marty -

Just incredible - all the way around. Beautiful burst, neck plate and inscription. Best of all, something done from the heart.

[adamjs69]

Jeez, what an awesome thread! Thanks for sharing this with all of us!

[telechance]

simply amazing!

[BAW4742]

Awesome guitar Martyb1! Beautiful job on the finish. That's a really nice sunburst.

That decal is really cool too as is the whole thing. Definitely a one of a kind. Using the reclaimed lumber is wonderful.

[daviddoubleu]

Very nice build
awesome sunburst

[Roli]

Man, you're amazing! Picking up all kinds of woods and building high quality guitars out of them, I love it!

By the way, the title of the thread is spot on; The Gift - you have it.

[ThreePlyGuy]

Marty, there are no threads I enjoy more than yours, you are the man to see when it comes to projects. That piece is beyond special and you are a friend indeed, very very cool this time. Outstanding!

[e-merlin]

Very thoughtful, Marty! That's a beauty.

[shades]

Marty, Marty, Marty...wow.
The world needs more like you.
What a wonderful build project.
Thanks for sharing with us.

[hekawi]

everything about this is beautiful. Marty, you are an Artist and a Saint.

Please tell us what happens when you present the guitar to them.

[51Nocast]

What a great story and a wonderful thing to do. I can't imagine a guitar that could possibly mean more to someone. I hope we get to see pics when it is completely finished and string loaded. I love what I see so far and the story behind it makes it even more beautiful.

[mistermullens]

This is one of my favorite build threads I've ever read here. I love the history that goes into this Tele. Its a great story and so far, a stunning guitar. I can't wait to see the finished product.

[e-merlin]

Somebody should do a video documentary of the event along with some interviews for the city historical society. This is an event of historical significance for the people in your city.

[Tim Armstrong]

Marty, I'm just plain gobsmacked.

Absolutely beautiful work, you are indeed an artist!

Cheers, Tim

[Dean Gray]

Incredible, and a wonderfully generous act.

[Rich Rice]

Awesome, my friend. Class act all the way.

Rich

[Nick JD]

Now, that's a custom guitar.

[skunqesh]

Marty, you're a class act thru and thru!

That guitar is truly from the heart.
thanks for posting this story.
btw - love that neck plate, just beautiful!

[martyb1]

Originally Posted by e-merlin

Somebody should do a video documentary of the event along with some interviews for the city historical society. This is an event of historical significance for the people in your city.

Thanks for the kind words guys.I can't wait to see the look on his face that night.I have to figure out just how we are going to present it to him.I was hoping to somehow include his mother.She just celebrated her 100th birthday a month ago,and maybe his grandson who plays in the NHL.Just don't know yet.
e-merlin,you have to realize that Our Home(Endiang) today has a population of 28

[ROADMAN]

outstanding Marty...must feel real good to be able to
respect your friends in such a way...you truly ROCK!