Simpson Pine Partscaster

[Big Mike Simpson]

Here is my Pine Partscaster project. Guitar Mill Pine body, Allparts TMO-fat neck, a leather pickguard I made and some other stuff. Still deciding between Callaham or Glendale hardware. I have a set of 50's Classic pickups I may use or I might even spring for some Nocasters or Fralins. I am really happy with the quality of the Guitar Mill body.

It is not assembled yet I just laid the parts together for the picture. Planning on a garnet shellac sealer coat and clear nitro finish.

[Big Mike Simpson]

One more of the body grain...

[Big Mike Simpson]

Here is a few of making the pickguard. I used a Fender guard as a template.



Here is the pattern traced on and the outline cut made.



Edge beveler done


This shot has most of the tooling done, it's not completely dry and there are a few finishing touches to add before I add the dye and finish.... probably an antique coffee brown.

[Pete Galati]

I love that pickguard.

[The String King]

Lovely grain in that body! I also love the pickguard. Is working leather a hobby of yours?

[Big Mike Simpson]

Thanks, I wanted a pickguard that was not completely tooled that still had some blank space. I have not done any leather work before. When my dad passed away in 92 he left me a 30 pc set of the tools, the hammer and the marble slab to tool on. I did a couple of test pieces and read a few articles and jumped in... It's kinda fun, I will probably make a matching strap too.

[maestrovert]

it's lookin' killer already, can't wait to see it completed & hear it Twangin' !

[RomanS]

Looks very nice, love that pickguard!

[Home Grown Tele]

Mike, outstanding job!!

I have a Guitar Mill pine body in Fender Blonde gassing off in my garage right now and a leather basketweave pickguard from Doug Halliday at LAYLI for it.

Keep us posted on your progress!

[gtech]

Very nice work.

Thanks for the inspiration. I wanted to make a leather pickguard for a while, and you re-installed the idea in my head...

Good timing because this week I have to go get some stain for a leather bracelet I am making for my wife. I will check for some leather at the same time

I also like that you didn't fill the entire PG with the design. That's the way I like them.

Gilles

[japasul]

Wow, that looks amazing! The leather goes really well with the pine grain, methinks...

it would be nice to have a pictorial explaining the tools and techniques a bit of that leather pg making....

Cheers
André Ripoll

[gtech]

Yesterday, I talked to the guy who made the leather guitar cover for the tribute Elvis artist from the Elvis Story here in Quebec.

He showed me how he did it when I asked him about leather PGs for the Tele...

Very interesting talk. That's where I buy my leather and I showed him what I wanted to do. He is waiting for the kind of leather that I wanted to buy for a leather PG, but I think a separate thread could be needed on this subject...

A leather guitar cover could also be a nice project

For now, some info on leather is there

http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?act=idx

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/index.asp

Gilles

[jaydawg]

What a great project. The grain on that body is very nice and I love, Love, LOVE the pickguard.

[ThreePlyGuy]

WOW! That's really special, terrific looking project.
Can't wait for more!

Good luck with your projects!

[Lostheart]

Wow...the Pickguard looks amazing. Good job!!!

[Arlo]

Mike,

WOW that guitar has some amazing grain bro!!
And like everyone else says, I LOVE that guard. Outstanding.

Arte can't wait to see your new Piner too bro.

[Stefan]

I want that guitar!!!!!!

[Big Mike Simpson]

Thanks to all for the kind comments on the pickguard. I am very happy with the Guitar Mill body grain. I told them that it would be finished in an amber clear and I didn't mind waiting for a clear piece, they did a beautiful job book matching the grain on this 2 piece body. I will post some more pics as I get the finish and the hardware on. I'm planning on a garnet shellac sealer coat and clear nitro finish on the wood and probably an antique coffee brown on the pickguard. I thought about tooling a Bee on the pickguard but I will probably just leave it alone.

Thanks again.

[Home Grown Tele]

Originally Posted by Arlo

Mike,

WOW that guitar has some amazing grain bro!!
And like everyone else says, I LOVE that guard. Outstanding.

Arte can't wait to see your new Piner too bro.

Arlo my bro, make sure you get some video of the gig this week in Limeyland and post it up here on the page!!

Sorry for hijack Big Mike!

[JohnnyAtomic]

Here's my tooled leather and pine tele.



BTW Big Mike did you buy a Jerry Jones guitar from me a long time ago (maybe a turquoise 3 pickup one??)

[BarnesTO]

Originally Posted by JohnnyAtomic

Here's my tooled leather and pine tele.



BTW Big Mike did you buy a Jerry Jones guitar from me a long time ago (maybe a turquoise 3 pickup one??)

LOVE it....I'm wanting to maybe do a pine Tele in the future, Eldorado pickguard, perhaps? Pine and leather just look so good together, don't they? I'm also curious about the B-16 Bigsby, but have no idea how to install or set one up....

Johnny, what was the handle for your Bigsby originally intended to do? Looks like something for flipping steaks on the grill (in a GOOD way)....very cowboy/campfire like. How do you get it in a case though?

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by BarnesTO

Johnny, what was the handle for your Bigsby originally intended to do? Looks like something for flipping steaks on the grill (in a GOOD way)....very cowboy/campfire like. How do you get it in a case though?

You hammer it into the ground and attach your dog's leash, so it won't run away.

[gtech]

COOL leather PG...

Next step is a guitar cover

Gilles

[BarnesTO]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

You hammer it into the ground and attach your dog's leash, so it won't run away.

Oh, ok....I was WAAAY off! LOL

[Big Mike Simpson]

Originally Posted by JohnnyAtomic

BTW Big Mike did you buy a Jerry Jones guitar from me a long time ago (maybe a turquoise 3 pickup one??)

It was not me... I have mostly old stuff...

[n3rrd]

I have a potentially stupid question for you guys. The main poster of this thread is building a guitar with a pine body, and a few others have said you want pine for your guitar.

What properties of pine make it desirable for a guitar body?

I'm not trying to nay-say pine bodied guitars. I'm honestly very curious because I've heard other people slam on pine when used for this sort of thing before and I didn't understand that either.

[Home Grown Tele]

Originally Posted by n3rrd

I have a potentially stupid question for you guys. The main poster of this thread is building a guitar with a pine body, and a few others have said you want pine for your guitar.

What properties of pine make it desirable for a guitar body?

I'm not trying to nay-say pine bodied guitars. I'm honestly very curious because I've heard other people slam on pine when used for this sort of thing before and I didn't understand that either.

Do a search on Arlo West on YouTube. It may help to answer some of your questions.

[crawdad]

I bow down to Guitar Mill. Their work is incredible and this pine body rules. Love the leather guard too!

[n3rrd]

Okay. He's a great player and has an awesome sound going, but so did Hendrix and he played neither a Tele nor a pine guitar.

Is it just something you want to build a guitar out of? I can totally understand that. Or are there reasons that have to do with the wood itself?

Just trying to understand! lol.

[BarnesTO]

Originally Posted by n3rrd

Okay. He's a great player and has an awesome sound going, but so did Hendrix and he played neither a Tele nor a pine guitar.

Is it just something you want to build a guitar out of? I can totally understand that. Or are there reasons that have to do with the wood itself?

Just trying to understand! lol.

I like the rustic look of it....from what I understand, you can French polish pine, which is basically applying a wax, then buffing it with a bootbrush (am I right?) I think it would age gracefully and with character as well.

[bendingtens]

Originally Posted by gtech

Yesterday, I talked to the guy who made the leather guitar cover for the tribute Elvis artist from the Elvis Story here in Quebec.

If you want to go for that real authentic Elvis cover for your martin, this guy seems to be the guy to do it:

http://www.guitarcovers.com/products.html

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by n3rrd

I have a potentially stupid question for you guys. The main poster of this thread is building a guitar with a pine body, and a few others have said you want pine for your guitar.

What properties of pine make it desirable for a guitar body?

I'm not trying to nay-say pine bodied guitars. I'm honestly very curious because I've heard other people slam on pine when used for this sort of thing before and I didn't understand that either.

It's very light and very resonant. A pine Tele is bright, clear, balanced, and rings like a bell. Leo's first batch of Esquires were made out of pine.

[gtech]

Originally Posted by bendingtens

If you want to go for that real authentic Elvis cover for your martin, this guy seems to be the guy to do it:

http://www.guitarcovers.com/products.html

Yes, but at almost twice the price.

[guitarbuilder]

I'm not trying to nay-say pine bodied guitars. I'm honestly very curious because I've heard other people slam on pine when used for this sort of thing before and I didn't understand that either.

Here are a bunch of random thoughts as someone who has worked with wood for nearly 30 years. I think it boils down to a matter of maturity and knowledge. The more you know, the more flexible you become in the acceptance of different woods, brands, labels, etc. The more willing you are to accept the fact that a body doesn't need to be 2 lb of swamp ash or alder opens up a whole range of new timber. The Pointy peghead guitars were mostly basswood and poplar if I recall.
There is a lot of voodoo and mojo with guitars. There is always a flavor of the week so to speak. I seem to recall everyone removing their PAF pickups for Dimarzios, neck through bodies, and lots of brass hardware about 35 years ago.
The bottom line is this in my opinion, if wood is dried, it will transmit vibrations from a string, whether it is pine or oak. Whether you want to admit it sounds good is an individual preference. Why would a wood in the pine/spruce/fir/cedar family be the standard in acoustics, but not be useful as an electric body? If an instrument is properly made with high quality parts, it probably will sound good regardless of what the decal says. However, what I like may not be what you like. That is what makes it fun.
As an aside, it's funny how things change. 15 years ago " experts" poo-pooed 70's era electrics from Gibson and Fender. Now they are commanding thousands of dollars. Who would have thought that would happen?

[JohnnyAtomic]

Originally Posted by BarnesTO

Johnny, what was the handle for your Bigsby originally intended to do? Looks like something for flipping steaks on the grill (in a GOOD way)....very cowboy/campfire like. How do you get it in a case though?

It is a Merle Travis handle for bigsby. It is a fixed handle (not a swing away like most bigsby). You're right about it not fitting in the case well, I installed thumb screws stolen from a locking tremolo instead of allen head set screws to hold it in place. That way i can spin the screws loose and remove or rotate the wire handle in it's socket to get it in the case.

[xjazzy]

Hey Big Mike, how did you cut the pickguard? I have a material like that but don't know how to cut it! specially the neck pickup!!!

[n3rrd]

Originally Posted by guitarbuilder

I'm not trying to nay-say pine bodied guitars. I'm honestly very curious because I've heard other people slam on pine when used for this sort of thing before and I didn't understand that either.

Here are a bunch of random thoughts as someone who has worked with wood for nearly 30 years. I think it boils down to a matter of maturity and knowledge. The more you know, the more flexible you become in the acceptance of different woods, brands, labels, etc. The more willing you are to accept the fact that a body doesn't need to be 2 lb of swamp ash or alder opens up a whole range of new timber. The Pointy peghead guitars were mostly basswood and poplar if I recall.
There is a lot of voodoo and mojo with guitars. There is always a flavor of the week so to speak. I seem to recall everyone removing their PAF pickups for Dimarzios, neck through bodies, and lots of brass hardware about 35 years ago.
The bottom line is this in my opinion, if wood is dried, it will transmit vibrations from a string, whether it is pine or oak. Whether you want to admit it sounds good is an individual preference. Why would a wood in the pine/spruce/fir/cedar family be the standard in acoustics, but not be useful as an electric body? If an instrument is properly made with high quality parts, it probably will sound good regardless of what the decal says. However, what I like may not be what you like. That is what makes it fun.
As an aside, it's funny how things change. 15 years ago " experts" poo-pooed 70's era electrics from Gibson and Fender. Now they are commanding thousands of dollars. Who would have thought that would happen?

I don't know if it's the power of the internet skewing the tone of these posts, but I really was just asking an honest question. I think pine looks great! I haven't heard a pine guitar, so I wanted to know if the wood had qualities that made it particularly desirable.

I agree that alot of people think they know more than they do and automatically assume that pine would be a terrible wood for guitar bodies... I've heard reasons that since pine is a lighter wood, it doesn't transfer vibrations as nicely as wood which is more dense, etc. etc. Most of it sounds like hog wash.

I'm glad I got an opinion from the other side of the fence. Thanks guys.

To stay on topic (even if it's only a little bit) I just want to say that I can't wait to see more progress on this thing. I'm absolutely blown away by the leather pick guard. I had never even thought of something like that before.

[guitarbuilder]

I don't know if it's the power of the internet skewing the tone of these posts, but I really was just asking an honest question.
Hi,
I hope you don't think I was pointing a finger at you or anyone in particular. I was just reponding to the part of your question where you heard that pine was not a desirable tone wood and I tried to show a logical reason why it could be. Obviously it dents like crazy.
I would be willing to bet that we all would be surprised by blind listening tests of what we would consider to be inferior guitars. By the way, I was a guy who had to have a les paul because all my favorite guitar heros were playing one. I was the guy who put the dimarzio in, and I could go on but I think I make my point.

[BarnesTO]

Originally Posted by JohnnyAtomic

It is a Merle Travis handle for bigsby. It is a fixed handle (not a swing away like most bigsby). You're right about it not fitting in the case well, I installed thumb screws stolen from a locking tremolo instead of allen head set screws to hold it in place. That way i can spin the screws loose and remove or rotate the wire handle in it's socket to get it in the case.

Now that you show that pic, I HAVE seen that type of handle, I just forgot. I like it a lot on a B-16 Tele, kinda exaggerated cowboy type, but in a good way. If I ever build a pinecaster with one, I don't think I'd carry it in a case....get it good and relic'd fast

Cowboy'd up....

[MandyMarie]

BEAUTIFUL!