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.

[nuhobby]

Hi again!

Yeah, for the last good many years I've been more into woodworking than playing guitar (long story, no shared music taste between me and my wife...).

Anyway, I had several months off work and the fantasy to build a guitar came true. It's not the prettiest, but I was tickled that things I wished to change sonically between other guitars and this oak-body guitar generally did work out.

I'm out of practice, but here's a sound sample:
https://youtu.be/TF17Ssjv1DM?si=faxooGtfdaYejS9i

[banjar]

Originally Posted by nuhobby

Oh man, I'm excited on this one!
It's my 2nd build of a guitar, and the first time I've bent my own sides -- with a hair curling iron!

Rift-sawn red oak is the body...

That is very sexy. I am planning a non-musical red oak steam bending project and this is encouraging. I'm curious what the process is for using a curling iron?
I don't own one as I don't have any hair.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by banjar

That is very sexy. I am planning a non-musical red oak steam bending project and this is encouraging. I'm curious what the process is for using a curling iron?
I don't own one as I don't have any hair.

Probably saw your curling iron in a thrift store when you donated things you will never need again. Going to cost you a whole $5 to get it back again. Oh well, at least the money is going to a good cause.

[banjar]

Originally Posted by printer2

Probably saw your curling iron in a thrift store when you donated things you will never need again. Going to cost you a whole $5 to get it back again. Oh well, at least the money is going to a good cause.

Well upon further pontificating I realized a curling iron may not be up to snuff for the 3/8" thick stock that i need to bend. But if I ever get around to that guitar I'd like to build someday...

[printer2]

Originally Posted by banjar

Well upon further pontificating I realized a curling iron may not be up to snuff for the 3/8" thick stock that i need to bend. But if I ever get around to that guitar I'd like to build someday...

That might be a little thick, a steam box I would guess. If it is a challenging bend I would get a bottle of Suppersoft II to help.