American Chestnut Tele

[jl3297]

I haven't posted in a long time, but this I wanted to share! This one was a custom build for a friend. The top body wood came from a 300-year-old piece of American Chestnut! If you don't know, these North American trees nearly became extinct in the early 1900s from an asian blight. Now its rare to see any taller than 15-20 feet before dying off. This particular piece came from a plank house that was built in the late 1700s. Combined with the Black Walnut it gives off a very warm, nutty tone!

top: reclaimed American Chestnut
back: Black Walnut
neck: Black Walnut
fretboard: Big Leaf Maple
pickup: DiMarzio SDS-1

 

[bullfrogblues]

That looks great!!!

 

[Barncaster]

Really well done! Do you have a demo vid of it?

Rob

 

[Rod Parsons]

I put an SDS-1 pickup in the bridge position of my strat and love the sound.. Very loud............. It really kicks butt. You are the first person that I have read about who uses this pickup... How do you like it???.... Nice guitar, by the way.... American Chestnut is very rare wood today.

 

[Elias Graves]

Very nice!

 

[Quake-caster]

Nice, thanks for posting! I've got a pile of reclaimed chestnut remnants from a fancy flooring shop. I am thinking of gluing them up into a table top, but I'm sure there are a few that could be a nice guitar top.

What did you finish it with? Thanks again!

 

[fretman_2]

Just beautiful!!!

I haven't posted in a long time, but this I wanted to share! This one was a custom build for a friend. The top body wood came from a 300-year-old piece of American Chestnut! If you don't know, these North American trees nearly became extinct in the early 1900s from an asian blight. Now its rare to see any taller than 15-20 feet before dying off. This particular piece came from a plank house that was built in the late 1700s. Combined with the Black Walnut it gives off a very warm, nutty tone!

top: reclaimed American Chestnut
back: Black Walnut
neck: Black Walnut
fretboard: Big Leaf Maple
pickup: DiMarzio SDS-1

 

[crazydave911]

Now that, is just the sweetest thing I've seen in awhile

 

[OpenG Capo4]

Theres something with the lines that makes this seem different from the standard Tele outline, in a good way. It may be the forearm relief carve and the pickguard shape. Or it may be that the rear bout is more rounded. Whatever it is, I like it.

Whats Chestnut like to work with? It seems to me that it'd have similar properties to Oak, no?

Theres a local mill near me that has Chestnut, but I have too much lumber in the shop as it is.

 

[dtermined2play]

Just beautiful. Great craftsmanship.

 

[Engraver-60]

Somewhere near Jackson, TN was a barn made entirely of 200 year-old chestnut. A friend of mine tried to buy the barn and disassemble it, but the owner refused. The owner destroyed the barn about 10 years ago with a bulldozer. What a travesty!!. Some many things go by the wayside - nice to see at least a few piece of history preserved. Beautiful guitar.

 

[jl3297]

Thank you all so much for your comments! Let me reply to some questions:

Really well done! Do you have a demo vid of it?

Rob

Thanks! I don't have a video at the moment but I will put it up as soon as I have it!

I put an SDS-1 pickup in the bridge position of my strat and love the sound.. Very loud............. It really kicks butt. You are the first person that I have read about who uses this pickup... How do you like it???.... Nice guitar, by the way.... American Chestnut is very rare wood today.

Yes I love the SDS-1 for this particular guitar. It really helps to bring out the warmth of the Walnut+Chestnut combo. Especially as a single pickup guitar, I think the SDS-1 is perfect - just enough treble to maintain clarity but loads of warm lows. That's totally this guitar's owner's playing style too - nothing that sticks out too much but still has a bold tone.

Nice, thanks for posting! I've got a pile of reclaimed chestnut remnants from a fancy flooring shop. I am thinking of gluing them up into a table top, but I'm sure there are a few that could be a nice guitar top.

What did you finish it with? Thanks again!

I just did a simple tung oil finish. I tend to go for a more natural oil finish rather than a thick glossy lacquer.

Theres something with the lines that makes this seem different from the standard Tele outline, in a good way. It may be the forearm relief carve and the pickguard shape. Or it may be that the rear bout is more rounded. Whatever it is, I like it.

Whats Chestnut like to work with? It seems to me that it'd have similar properties to Oak, no?

Theres a local mill near me that has Chestnut, but I have too much lumber in the shop as it is.

Thanks for your words! Yeah the Telecaster is definitely my favorite solid body shape, and this is my take on it. I made it asymmetrical as you noticed. It is sort of skewed so when it hangs on somebody's body it looks like gravity warped the standard shape.

This particular piece was air dried for decades so it was super dry and super easy to work with. It's not as dense as oak, and much easier on bits. Overall it was a pleasure to work.

Somewhere near Jackson, TN was a barn made entirely of 200 year-old chestnut. A friend of mine tried to buy the barn and disassemble it, but the owner refused. The owner destroyed the barn about 10 years ago with a bulldozer. What a travesty!!. Some many things go by the wayside - nice to see at least a few piece of history preserved. Beautiful guitar.

That is truly a sad story... to think of all that chestnut wasted! You should have snuck in at night after it was bulldozed and snagged as many scraps as you could!

 

[PLAYONIT]

I have built a couple of American Chestnut Teles.... one of them has been my number one for a few years now. Has a 1/4" flame maple top 4way wired Fralin Blues specials and an out of phase switch... So it was really exciting to see the great guitar you have built with such a wonderful wood....

 

[Quake-caster]

Thanks for the response!

By the way, I was so excited about the chestnut, I missed that it has one pickup. Excellent...

 

[jl3297]

I have built a couple of American Chestnut Teles.... one of them has been my number one for a few years now. Has a 1/4" flame maple top 4way wired Fralin Blues specials and an out of phase switch... So it was really exciting to see the great guitar you have built with such a wonderful wood....

Very nice! Have you posted it to the forum? I would love to see it! Maybe we can start an "American Chestnut Tele" thread...

 

[PLAYONIT]

Very nice! Have you posted it to the forum? I would love to see it! Maybe we can start an "American Chestnut Tele" thread...

Here you go A couple of pics

 

[Bentley]

Sickly!

 

[Crafty Fox]

Walnut + Chestnut gives a "nutty tone"; pun intended? LOL.
I love it, it has a simple and graceful elegance. I too like the SDS-1. I put one in my Strat (bridge) over 30 years ago and wouldn't change it.

 

[boris bubbanov]

Very beautiful.

I think of making a chestnut Tele, every time I see small chestnut saplings growing along the trails (like today).

 

[Dewgits]

Very nice Jason! Was this the one for Scott? I'm about to build a tele for myself, birdseye maple neck, probably swamp ash body. Maybe Alder.