Thinline Hollow body

WezV

Many years ago I picked up a Hofner thinline body that had never made it onto a guitar.

It had little sand through on top and it still had veneer tape stuck to it down the centre seams. It was stuffed with German newspapers dating to 1965

I started working on it, made a couple of mistakes, and put it away again   time to sort it out now I am a bit more experienced
.   

One of the reasons i stopped working on it



Yeah, i put a big hole in it.   I still have the piece i removed and will be turning it into a bound cavity cover 

Its fully hollow inside and generally in good shape

WezV

Fairly sure it was going to be one of these


I may take some influence from that, but i won;t be turning it into a hofner clone

randella

Jazz box ahoy, happy days!  Any idea what you are going to do with it?  Is there any block there to glue a neck to? Fascinated by how these things work. 

WezV

Yeah, you can see the neck block in the internal shot, but I think it’s quite short

randella

Ah, so you can. I didn’t ‘see’ it, if you see what I mean!

ICBM

WezV said:

Fairly sure it was going to be one of these

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's a President body.

WezV said:

Yeah, i put a big hole in it.

Why?!!!

WezV

It was about 12-13 years ago.  Seemed like a good idea at the time

Gonna take a bit of work to neaten up, but I will still be happier it’s there by the time I come to wire it up.


The hofner pictured above is a senator, I think that tallies up with the binding channels I have here

ICBM

WezV said:

The hofner pictured above is a senator, I think that tallies up with the binding channels I have here

What exact date were the newspapers? The Senator didn't have a cutaway until very late 1965/early 1966.

WezV

Memory says mid 60’s, which fits.

WezV

I got this cleaned up a bit and put a coat of sealer on. next job - binding.   it will be a simple black/white scheme, less fancy than hofner probably intended but i think its going to look pretty damn good

 I also finished the rear access started many years ago.   Its still going to be a bit ugly, but at least its neater and I will glad of it when it comes to wiring  .  i will glue a shelf on the inside to hold a cover



And the ripple in the maple has really popped, which is nice.  changes my finishing plans a bit though

PhilKing

That will look stunning.  What pickups are you going for?  Gold foils might be a good option.  A maple neck with a dark board would also look nice on it.

ICBM

Is that actually maple, or sycamore? I know they’re closely related.

WezV

I would guess sycamore given the origin.  European maple for the americas. Sycamore is a totally different species to them

WezV

PhilKing said:

That will look stunning.  What pickups are you going for?  Gold foils might be a good option.  A maple neck with a dark board would also look nice on it.

It’s all up in the air, but gold foils or filtertron are top of the list.

i want to get the neck made and fitted to the body before I decide that.  The neck block is only about 1.5” long, so it’s not going to be my usual sort of join.

i do have the remains of a vertithin  bass neck I was tempted to use... but I might go in a non-hofner direction instead

ICBM

A bass would be nice - although does the Verithin have a different neck joint position, being a double-cut?

WezV

ICBM said:

A bass would be nice - although does the Verithin have a different neck joint position, being a double-cut?

 it has no fretboard so I could make up the difference with a longer scale.

but chances are I will make it into a guitar

tge big dilemma is now finish.  Clearly the back wants to be seen, but the top has a section where it’s been sanded through.... might still work for a burst, but would need to be heavier than what I am after for the back.  

ICBM

WezV said:

tge big dilemma is now finish.  Clearly the back wants to be seen, but the top has a section where it’s been sanded through.... might still work for a burst, but would need to be heavier than what I am after for the back.  

Goldtop or blacktop, obviously .

Or this... remarkably, this was my guitar 30 years ago. I didn't do the paint job! That was the chap who owned it after me. But I did recognise the guitar when I saw it on stage a few years ago, by the pickups and the 3-knob control plate... although the Roberts radio knobs I used seem to have disappeared.

https://scontent.flhr4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/417666_384460058233027_142080772_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=e00ec97d74c5bcafa4f0a99f8c2ab329&oe=5B2DB573

It's the one I rescued after someone cut through the top braces to fit DiMarzios.

Andyjr1515

A Hofner President was my first steel string .  Nearly 50 years ago!!!!! 

 Gosh - that makes me feel a bit poorly!

One of the "why did I ever get rid of that?" ones.

Love to see what you are going to do with this, @WezV

WezV

Goldtop is a real possibility

this weeks task is to clear out the room at the back of the workshop to make a dedicated spray room.  Then I have a shiny new compressor turning up.  Hopefully it will mean I am less reliant on rattle cans or other sprayers and can actually do finishing and woodwork at similar times.

Winny_Pooh

Filtertrons and fender blue or green on the top.

Roland

Andyjr1515 said:

A Hofner President was my first steel string .  Nearly 50 years ago!!!!! 

Ditto. I’ve still got mine, but the early necks didn’t have a truss rod, so it is now unplayable.