Ultra budget Red Oak guitar

[SColumbusSt]

That is too cool!

My electric bending iron takes literally an hour to reach optimal temperature. I use a hair curler to fine tune wood binding before installing and it takes five minutes for the curler to be ready. You’ve inspired me to try the curler for the whole shebang!

[Treenewt]

Congrats! Looks like a great guitar regardless of species of wood! I’d love to see a pic of the back, too! Well done!

[jricc]

Fantastic! Your guitar looks great, and I admire your skill set. I could never even attempt to do a project like this.

[nuhobby]

Thanks again!

My online photo repository is a bit skimpy, but here are some shots giving an indication of the 3-piece back:








I'm fairly comfortable with woodworking, but guitar building is mostly new for me. With some liberty, I note:

- I've been laid off a few months, living off severance money, so this was a good use of time.

- I am kind of cheap, so I didn't make body molds at all. I even justified myself by finding out that the Froggy Bottom guys don't use molds for body glue-up.

- The hair-curler method didn't happen all at once. Some before-hand experiments with oak in my basement led me to use that rift-sawn red oak (which seemed to bend even better than quarter sawn wood from the same source). Again, being cheap, I didn't buy plastic bindings; I forced myself to use walnut and oak strips for bindings and rosette.


Enjoy your hobbies!

[Treenewt]

That is a great looking guitar, and I love the use of the three piece back. Well done!

Nothing wrong going mold-less. Bruce Sexauer and many others build world-class instruments that way. Just a different process. I’m on #8 and I’ve never used a mold either.

[Fathand]

Looks pretty good for a first build and if it plays well thats icing on the cake. Enjoy it.