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Do these woods go well together? (pics)

Discussion in 'Tele Home Depot' started by thecableguy, Aug 31, 2015.

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  1. Aug 31, 2015 #1
    thecableguy

    thecableguy Friend of Leo's

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    I was going to change direction a bit on my build challenge guitar that I will be finishing off soon. I got a coupon code from Bow River Woods, where I order my tops from, so I ordered a nice maple burl drop top. I had glued up an alder blank for the challenge build, and I'm not sure if I should use the burl top with it. Usually with maple I'd use a darker wood like walnut or mahogany. I need some opinions here. I'm thinking if I do use these woods, I'll probably stain the alder a bit dark or tint the lacquer a bit and leave the burl a bit lighter, maybe with an amber stain. I'll put plastic cream binding around the edge as well. What do you folks think?

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  2. Aug 31, 2015 #2
    DrASATele

    DrASATele Poster Extraordinaire

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    Love the idea, color scheme should really bring out the figuring in the burl. A darkwalnut or black on the alder with that top tinted amber will look nice.
     
  3. Aug 31, 2015 #3
    adirondak5

    adirondak5 Wood Hoarder Extraordinaire

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    I think that burl top would look good with anything Brian ;) , but if it was me it would go with a nice piece of mahogany :twisted:
     
  4. Aug 31, 2015 #4
    thecableguy

    thecableguy Friend of Leo's

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    Can alder be stained or dyed? I read that it doesn't accept stain too well and tends to get blotchy.
     
  5. Aug 31, 2015 #5
    DrASATele

    DrASATele Poster Extraordinaire

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    It does get blochy, you need a pre-stain conditioner. which is a fancy way of saying a finish mixed with 50% or more of thinner aka a washcoat. It helps a lot. Do this pre-stain/ washcoat 10-15 minutes before the stain.
     
  6. Aug 31, 2015 #6
    DrASATele

    DrASATele Poster Extraordinaire

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    What medium are you using? Polyurethane? Lacaquer? Resin?
     
  7. Aug 31, 2015 #7
    thecableguy

    thecableguy Friend of Leo's

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    I usually use water based sealer and lacquer. Brite Tone from Woodessence.
     
  8. Aug 31, 2015 #8
    thecableguy

    thecableguy Friend of Leo's

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    I do love mahogany Herb. One reason I am leaning toward the alder is because it's nice and light.
     
  9. Aug 31, 2015 #9
    Ripthorn

    Ripthorn Friend of Leo's

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    Alder with a little oil darkens nicely. Not quite to mahogany status, but not too far off either. I think the combo looks good, I love me some burl maple.
     
  10. Aug 31, 2015 #10
    teletimetx

    teletimetx Doctor of Teleocity

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    Agree - it looks like the OP has a nice bit of alder, but I think a nice piece of mahogany would look better. Just my 2cents.
     
  11. Aug 31, 2015 #11
    DrASATele

    DrASATele Poster Extraordinaire

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    I probably won't direct stain the Alder, is your sealer tintable? I'd hit the body with the water sealer thinned no more than 20%. Then tint a round or 2 of full strength sealer, if you can. I didn't have much sucess getting the pices of alder I had to take a direct water stain. It would raise the grain, I would sand that down but in somespots lose some or all of the color. I then tried tinting a heavily thinned shellac and that seemed to work very well. I would think the waterbased sealer would act the same the only difference is the thinning ratio is much less.
    Then shade in to the color you want with your lacquer.
     
  12. Aug 31, 2015 #12
    thecableguy

    thecableguy Friend of Leo's

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    Some tung oil would probably look pretty good on there. Nice suggestion. It's going to be paired with a quarter sawn curly maple neck that would also be nice in oil. I'm not necessarily trying to make the alder as dark as mahogany, just to contrast it with the binding and top.
     
  13. Aug 31, 2015 #13
    thecableguy

    thecableguy Friend of Leo's

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    I think I could probably tint the sealer. It's almost water thin as is. They do sell a thinner for the Brite Tone products.
     
  14. Aug 31, 2015 #14
    kissTheApex

    kissTheApex Tele-Afflicted

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    I'm with Herb Brian, a nice lightweight genuine mahogany or a chambered sapele/african mahogany would be great with that burl.
     
  15. Aug 31, 2015 #15
    Captain Nutslot

    Captain Nutslot Friend of Leo's

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    Trans white on the alder and straight natural top. Nice and glossy
     
  16. Aug 31, 2015 #16
    jimdkc

    jimdkc Friend of Leo's

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    I like that idea!
     
  17. Aug 31, 2015 #17
    thecableguy

    thecableguy Friend of Leo's

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    Ahhhhh, so... many... options!! :D
     
  18. Aug 31, 2015 #18
    lbridenstine

    lbridenstine Friend of Leo's

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    If it were me, I would do something like this to the maple and leave the alder the color it is. And probably a black veneer between the alder and maple.

    [I think these are all poplar burl, but you get the idea]
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  19. Aug 31, 2015 #19
    Matthias

    Matthias Friend of Leo's Gold Supporter

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    Do it! I think it'll make an interesting change. Maybe light colours with a tort binding, though?
     
  20. Aug 31, 2015 #20
    Picton

    Picton Friend of Leo's

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    I'd want more contrast, if it were me. I've never liked the thought of tinting/staining wood in situations like this; to me, if you want the body wood to be darker, then choose a darker body wood.

    But, with that said, I think Lisa is onto something: a veneer in between to provide contrast could work well.
     
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