Rainbow Tele: build thread with a twist!

[woodman]

finally embarking on the build from rainbow poplar i've been threatening for months. got all the hardware assembled, neck arrived yesterday, and i'll be going up on the mountain on Monday to my ol' buddy Iron John's woodshop to hack out the body.

the twist: i love build threads and await each post eagerly, trying to soak up info from the wizards on the forum who dazzle me with innovative techniques, thinking outside the box, and pure skill at their craft. however, on this thread, instead of wowing everyone with my prowess, i'll be begging for good advice on how to proceed!

Iron John's a master woodworker, but he's never done a guitar body before. we'll be using Ron Kirn's templates and instructional materials, flying by the seat of our pants. John lives up at the top of the world by eastern standards, a quarter mile from the Appalachian Trail ... half his yard's in North Carolina, the other half in Tennessee. he'll have the body roughed out by the time i get there on Monday, and we'll proceed from there.

i've posted this pic of the body blank before, but here it is again in case you missed it:

[garytelecastor]

I really can't wait to see it. Should be cooooollllll!!!!!

[woodman]

this is a USACG neck, purpleheart fretboard on dark grained maple with a quilted crossgrain. never seen anything like it before! Tommy and the boys outdid themselves on this one ... the pics don't do justice to the quilting, but if you use your imagination, it's enough to get an idea.

now i'm headed to Mike McBride's (Giant Guitars guy) to sculpt the headstock into Tele form in his shop.

[Buckocaster51]

Originally Posted by woodman

, i'll be begging for good advice on how to proceed!

That's going to be a great looking guitar.

Advice?

Measure twice, cut once.

Go slow with the router. Take the least amount of wood you can with each pass.

Always know where your fingers are.

Never try to cut corners.

You'll have fun.

I'll be looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[tdowns]

That's gonna be awesome woodman!!

[woodman]

Mike managed to sculpt the Tele look in quick time -- he's a case! he can make anything out of metal or wood in a heartbeat. i saw this chrome barrel-type selector switch on one of his axes, and asked, "where do you get these?" he said, "you get 'em here!" he gave me one, pic to follow in hardware phase.

so here's how the headstock turned out -- we left kind of a fat shoulder like the Merle Haggard tele. hand-sanded and cleaned 'er up with mineral spirits ... really popped the grain!

tomorrow: Wipe-On Poly! i won't use many coats, wanna keep the wood feel on the back as much as possible ... maybe an extra coat or two on the headstock.

[Nick JD]

That Ebony and the dark maple are going to fit perfectly with the rainbow poplar!

[woodman]

actually, it's not ebony, it's a wood called purpleheart. here's a day-old pic that really gets the true color of the fretboard.

[boris bubbanov]

Very stunning, visually.

It will be exciting to see what these different wood type look like next to one another once they all pop!

Excellent concept.

[jwells393]

What color are you going to paint the body?............................................. .... just kidding.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by jwells393

What color are you going to paint the body?............................................. .... just kidding.

i was thinking about going with solid black.

here's another pic that's actually more true to the fretboard color than that last one:

[woodman]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

It will be exciting to see what these different wood type look like next to one another once they all pop!

my biggest nightmare is that i'll put it all together and the purples will CLASH! oh, the humanity! decorators everywhere will be sneering at my gauche taste!

but this is meant to be a player, not an art guitar to hang on the wall. i suspect that after the audience has had a few drinks, it'll look just fine.

[jwells393]

Hmmm.......... .... how do you grow a rainbow tree?

Oh man ............. that could be a problem ......... clashing purples. Hmmm.....maybe a name for a band.

[BillyG]

The neck and the body both look stunning. What are the pros & cons of poplar as a tone wood and how does it compare weight wise?

[woodman]

Originally Posted by BillyG

The neck and the body both look stunning. What are the pros & cons of poplar as a tone wood and how does it compare weight wise?

poplar's fairly light, about like alder. Fender has made poplar Tele's from time to time, but they've always been painted solid colors because it's normally an ugly wood, sort of greenish-yellow.

there are two schools of thought on what causes the rainbow characteristic. one attributes it to mineral deposits in the soil; the other asserts that it happens when a tree splits (lightning, etc.) and the interior is exposed to oxidation. me, i have no idea. all i know is that when i saw that plank, i said, "that's gotta become a Tele!"

[ThreePlyGuy]

My woodworker uncle made some projects with Purple Heart, they really inspire comment.
Woodman, you have our attention now!

[Volitan]

Oh my god, this is gonna be awesome...

subscribed!

[woodman]

Originally Posted by ThreePlyGuy

My woodworker uncle made some projects with Purple Heart, they really inspire comment.

it's a beautiful wood ... plus, i've got a cosmic connection to it. check out my license plate:

[sean79]

That's some crazy looking wood. Looking forward to the build. Good luck.

[neocaster]

Originally Posted by woodman

it's a beautiful wood ... plus, i've got a cosmic connection to it. check out my license plate:

You deserve as many purple heart Teles as you can get your hands on, woodman. This one will be a great start. I'll be reading from the edge of my seat.

[GiantGuitars]

Wood,
Good seeing you yesterday.

Hopefully the tone of the new guitar will be as diverse as the grain on the body and neck. You're gonna be in for a pretty wild ride.. Is that plank from the back yard of a chemical plant in Jersey? Did they spill anti freeze on the ground?? Somebody dump the contents of their meth lab near the trunk??

Just kidding, you know I love a nice featured slab...
Remember, everything nice and tight when you put her together...

MM

[jclark]

Off topic I know, but wanted to check in and say thank you Wood. I never served (something I'm unhappy about now) and never had to because of everything vets like you have done for me and this country. I'll always be thankful for guys like you.

[woodman]

thanx Mike -- in fact, those rainbow planks turned up in a backwoods sawmill during a routine run of poplar. Iron John's a furniture maker, always on the prowl for unusual wood ... he jumped on 'em with a guitar project in mind. when i saw 'em, i was in!

got the second coat of wipe-on poly drying -- man, that stuff is idiotproof -- easy to work with and hard for even a putz like me to screw up! (tip o' the hat to Rob DiStefano for the idea.)

it's chilly here this morning (low 40s), so i'm having to work indoors ... i'm using the oil-based stuff, but fumes aren't much of a problem thanx to a good exhaust fan. i'm not planning a heavy finish on the neck (going for a semigloss), so hope to have more pix up later this afternoon.

[Scott McCray]

Woodman,

First - thank you, sir - for your service and sacrifice for our country. I feel that is something that can never be said enough.

Second - got any more of that poplar layin' around? That is gonna be one awesome lookin' Tele.

Thanks for sharing...

[mowcheeba]

Great looking neck and body wood. Looking forward to see
the final result.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Scott McCray

got any more of that poplar layin' around?

Iron John's got four or five 8-foot-long two-inch-thick planks in his lumber shed. i'll see if he wants to move any of it. i got the pick of the litter, but there's still some good-looking stuff ... he cut two blanks in case we screw up the first one -- here's the other one (not too shabby!)

[woodman]

well, Iron John got ambitious today, got the body roughed out and routed the top! looks like the flash blew out the color pretty bad, but you get the idea ... hell, i'll take it!

one more coat on the neck and i'll have it ... couldn't get any decent pix cuz it was badly overcast and drizzling outside, and inside, the flash wouldn't really give me anything but glare.

tomorrow: head for the mountains!

[Wop Geronimo]

Everything in my bean says that should be ugly, but damn I dig it woody.

[Pete Galati]

Originally Posted by woodman

well, Iron John got ambitious today, got the body roughed out and routed the top! looks like the flash blew out the color pretty bad, but you get the idea ... hell, i'll take it!

one more coat on the neck and i'll have it ... couldn't get any decent pix cuz it was badly overcast and drizzling outside, and inside, the flash wouldn't really give me anything but glare.

tomorrow: head for the mountains!

That's gonna look amazing!

Last I remember seeing that wood, I think it was still a rough cut chunk of wood you were thinking of using.

Nice neck too.

[91xlntS-3]

That is just BEAUTIFUL!! Can't wait to see this one come together.

Go, man, go!!

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Pete Galati

That's gonna look amazing!

Last I remember seeing that wood, I think it was still a rough cut chunk of wood you were thinking of using.

Nice neck too.

yeah, i think you saw the one of the plank setting out in the yard with mineral spirits splashed on it, Pete.

twice now, i've thought i was applying the final coat to the front of the headstock, and each time it's come out looking less-than-finished. ironically, the back of the headstock looks great.

thanx to all you fellers for your encouragement! still a looooong way to go, though.

[Mark-00255]

I like it - being in the unusual wood category myself with a solid mahogany carved-top Tele, and a cedar/maple in the works! I'm using wipe-on poly as well, and it is very nice. My only mistake was getting greedy with color and trying a shellac undercoat first - should have gone straight to poly!

Looking good - really nice work on the routes, too, BTW - very clean.

[Robert(og)]

i have worked with purple heart before, i have some that i was saving for a fingerboard, but i may use it for binding, the stuff i have is extremely purple.
that looks like some cool stuff going on,
i dig the body, reminds me of the old wild wood stuff on the 68 coronados and what not.

[Smirkster]

That looks incredible.

[eddiewagner]

Originally Posted by Scott McCray

Woodman, Second - got any more of that poplar layin' around? That is gonna be one awesome lookin' Tele.

i was just trying to ask the same question.
woody, that will be a wonderful guitar. it´s interesting for me to see you slowly drift away from the "one man-one guitar"-philosophy. the forum finally got you.
good luck with the project. the measur twice, cut once-advive can not be underestimated. on my superlight wawa-body the guy made the control-plate-route a bit to long. looks terrible on the inside. eddie

[cband7]

That is the most interesting Tele body I think I have ever seen! Anyone care to guess what Fender would charge to produce one like that?

[Telover]

That wood is so uncommon I'd leave it as it is, no paint over it. Just a clear coat to protect.
Beautiful. Also the wood of the neck: I don't particularly like the color, it's a little grayish for me, but the figuring is awesome. Great flamed pattern.

[woodman]

Eddie and Scott -- Iron John says he's got plenty left and would be willing to talk. after i get up there, i'll PM or email you. it's not all as wild as mine (see post #26 in this thread). one caveat: there's no guarantee the bright colors won't fade over the years, and the same applies to the purpleheart fretboard. i'll just keep it out of the sun as much as possible and hope for the best!

my anticipation is building to see what the neck and body look like together -- it will either be spectacular or the gaudiest mess this side of a tacky party!!!

i'll be leaving for the mountain in a couple of hours, but by that time, the sun will be up enough to post pics of the neck finish as a parting shot.

[Ed P]

That looks really great - can't wait to see the finished guitar.

[woodman]

this will be my last post until i get up the hill ... neck finish will probably take another coat when i get there. not so gray now, eh?

from here on out, posts will be sporadic -- they're on dial-up modem up there and i'll hafta borrow their computer at their convenience. for you Appalachian Trail buffs, this place is a stone's throw from Max Patch (near Hot Springs, NC).

A caballo vamos p'al monte!
adios for now