Burnt Pine Telecaster

[skipjackrc4]

The first guitar I ever finished years ago was made from pine and burned with a propane torch (this was before this sort of thing became popular, though I never posted anything about it and therefore can't claim credit for setting the trend ;-)). The hardware was cheap and the neck was junk, but I like the body and wanted to fix it up.

I replaced the neck with a torrefied maple neck from Warmoth (I didn't want to deal with making a new neck) and burned it using a soldering hot air tool. The neck was finished using matte Osmo, which worked quite well. I also upgraded all hardware to relic nickel, using Qparts where possible and exposing polished nickel parts to vinegar fumes for anything Q parts didn't make. The fantastic leather pickguard is from "By Bodzi" on Etsy.

Anyway, I'm pretty please with how it turned out all these years later. The Fralin Vintage Hots sound way better than the GFS specials that were in there originally.

 

[brookdalebill]

Eye catching, for sure!

 

[eallen]

Very nice!

 

[VicUA]

A very good project. Congratulation!
I don't know how popular it is now, but personally I like deep-burnt pine covered with hard oil. It's so close to the Japanese wood finish of Shou Sugi Bun. Doesn't affect tone. )

 

[ChicknPickn]

A very good project. Congratulation!
I don't know how popular it is now, but personally I like deep-burnt pine covered with hard oil. It's so close to the Japanese wood finish of Shou Sugi Bun. Doesn't affect tone. )

I'd like to hear more about how this is done - - the burning part.

 

[fenderchamp]

A very good project. Congratulation!
I don't know how popular it is now, but personally I like deep-burnt pine covered with hard oil. It's so close to the Japanese wood finish of Shou Sugi Bun. Doesn't affect tone. )

I need a Shou Sugi Bun to bite Benny Lava!



Seriously though I love that finsh you posted.

 

[VicUA]

I'd like to hear more about how this is done - - the burning part.

Firstly - clean from resin (pine wood has a lot).
I burn with a 2» torch with a high temperature (blue flame). The principle of movement of the torch is no different from the movement of the spray gun.
The first time - until yellow. After the body should cool down completely. It safe the body if it was clued.
Three or four burn it with cooling time in between. There will be a lot of coal. I clean with a hard vinyl brush. It's dirty and long procedure. ))
Then I fire one more time.
After that, apply oil with the same brush. Charcoal will dissolve in oil and give a uniform ribbed surface. Further - as the book writes. Remove excess oil and cover several times.
Thats it.
I do not recommend to do this with the neck! )

 

[VicUA]

I need a Shou Sugi Bun to bite Benny Lava!



Seriously though I love that finsh you posted.

)) this stopped the workers of the entire workshop for 15 minutes!

 

[ChicknPickn]

Firstly - clean from resin (pine wood has a lot).
I burn with a 2» torch with a high temperature (blue flame). The principle of movement of the torch is no different from the movement of the spray gun.
The first time - until yellow. After the body should cool down completely. It safe the body if it was clued.
Three or four burn it with cooling time in between. There will be a lot of coal. I clean with a hard vinyl brush. It's dirty and long procedure. ))
Then I fire one more time.
After that, apply oil with the same brush. Charcoal will dissolve in oil and give a uniform ribbed surface. Further - as the book writes. Remove excess oil and cover several times.
Thats it.
I do not recommend to do this with the neck! )

Superb. Thank you!

 

[Papa Che]

The first guitar I ever finished years ago was made from pine and burned with a propane torch (this was before this sort of thing became popular, though I never posted anything about it and therefore can't claim credit for setting the trend ;-)). The hardware was cheap and the neck was junk, but I like the body and wanted to fix it up.

I replaced the neck with a torrefied maple neck from Warmoth (I didn't want to deal with making a new neck) and burned it using a soldering hot air tool. The neck was finished using matte Osmo, which worked quite well. I also upgraded all hardware to relic nickel, using Qparts where possible and exposing polished nickel parts to vinegar fumes for anything Q parts didn't make. The fantastic leather pickguard is from "By Bodzi" on Etsy.

Anyway, I'm pretty please with how it turned out all these years later. The Fralin Vintage Hots sound way better than the GFS specials that were in there originally.

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That is a nice looking Tele! I would prefer the ashtray 3 saddles bridge on it but that’s matter of taste.

 

[RobinBFoss]

I just made a body out of mahogany and torched the outside, but I overdid it a bit and a couple thin cracks appeared. I'm now repairing them with epoxy.

 

[RobinBFoss]

Here's a question! I've had a couple hairline cracks form after torching the outside of this piece of mahogany. Should I just put linseed oil, use a heavier varnish, wood glue, epoxy? What would be best for preventing the crack from becoming worse?

 

[skipjackrc4]

Here's a question! I've had a couple hairline cracks form after torching the outside of this piece of mahogany. Should I just put linseed oil, use a heavier varnish, wood glue, epoxy? What would be best for preventing the crack from becoming worse?View attachment 1151374

That body is turning out nicely. Assuming that you're done applying heat, I think I would approach that by wicking some thin CA glue into the crack. You probably don't have to fully fill the crack if you don't want to - just get enough glue in there to soak into the fibers and prevent further spreading. I've done that on several things that have held up over a decade.

If you plan to use a penetrating finish like oil or varnish, I recommend a seal coat of the finish before gluing. That will prevent staining by the glue. You could then (probably) apply further finish over the glued crack. As always, test on scrap.