Ultra budget Red Oak guitar

[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...

Just tried a couple of frets and 6 strings, and it's sounding quite nice in 1st position!





I mis-calculated my headstock, so I've got to fix that shimmed nut.


Have a great week!

[hubcapsc]

That's terrific!

-Mike

[printer2]

And a lot of teenage girls in the future are now going to wonder where their curling iron is. Looks good.

[Truckjohn]

Nice!

I've built several out of quartersawn oak. Don't discount it as a tonewood. Very good stuff, and it bends like a dream.

I even did one with an oak neck. I wouldn't recommend an oak neck, but only because of the weight and difficulty carving. Otherwise, it's fine. Strong, stable, etc.

[redir]

I've built several white oak guitars now, even the necks, and it's a fantastic wood for guitars IMO.

So whats going on with that G string tuner?

Never would have thought a curling iron would do the trick

[nuhobby]

Thanks for the encouraging feedback!

Yeah, not only the G tuner needs its hole fixed, but every one of the tuners needs to be swapped to the opposite side of the head stock. I am also realizing I really need to do a better job on the fret installations, so I have ordered some tools.

Basically, I skipped a number of steps to get to a live guitar, because I was so anxious to hear whether it sounded viable or not. I really do think the red oak is superior to the combination of mahogany and walnut that I used on my last guitar. Plus, this is the smallest guitar I have made, and my tastes are going that way.

[Whit51]

Looks great! Good to hear that it bends easy.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by nuhobby

Thanks for the encouraging feedback!

Plus, this is the smallest guitar I have made, and my tastes are going that way.

I really enjoy building small guitars. The last one I finished, I built to what a 14 fret size 2 might have been if Martin had built them. Possibly the nicest sounding and loudest yet. At 12 1/4" wide. Easy to play on the couch.

[nuhobby]

@ Fathand,
That's beautiful! It also has a more "knee friendly" waist than mine has. I was worried about mine during the body build, but once I attached the neck, I saw that the pivot-over-the-knee fear wasn't going to be so bad after all.

[Mungo Park]

Wow, nice to see an oak guitar, I am working on one as a test
guitar to see how I do. Glad to see someone else has the same idea and it worked out well. I find oak an excellent wood to work with. Glad to here it translates to a guitar

[Haussmann]

https://fraulini.blogspot.com/2014/0...tic-woods.html

[Treenewt]

Originally Posted by Haussmann

https://fraulini.blogspot.com/2014/0...tic-woods.html

That’s a great article. I do think folks have become more open to alternative wood choices in the ten years since it was written. The times, as they say, are a changing. Younger players especially seem more willing to try non-traditional woods. Lowden has had much success with Bog Oak and walnut, as have quite a few independent luthiers. Jayne Henderson has made some gorgeous guitars and ukes with oak!

Walnut is one of my personal favorites, and I’ve built a couple OM-style guitars with it that turned out quite nice. Cherry is a very underrated wood in my opinion. I built a 00 out of figured cherry that is my favorite guitar at the moment. I haven’t used oak for back and sides, but I did bind one of my walnut guitars with it and it turned out great. I’m keeping my eyes out for a set to work with.

[Treenewt]

Also just saw a new build from Jeff Jewitt with white oak back and sides.


Also, apologize for hijacking the thread OP. I really dig your white oak single O!

[kurth]

very nice guitars. Maybe a zero fret for a solution ? good work

[nuhobby]

Thank you all!

I did a full re-fretting, and I'm breathing easier! It's not a bad guitar at all.


5 weeks before & after...







Playable oaken axe:




Have a great week!
Chris