Scavenger music - what's he doing now? -from piano to guitar

Scavenger

Hi,
I thought I'd start a new thread for this as it's the first completely new build I've started since moving into my new workshop. For anyone who hasn't seen what I do before - I make guitars exclusively from reclaimed timber notably from old pianos. Most of the wood I use is 100 years old.
Just when I thought I could concentrate on something other than a tele ...someone asked me to make them a tele. This one is going to be a thinline, the exact spec hasn't been agreed yet but he wants Jascar gold frets and hardware. He has one of my solid bodies with a beechwood neck which he likes so this my well have the same , maybe a walnut board to show off the frets.
It starts with one of these:

Not this exact one (this one is being turned into a drinks cabinet) but a scrap piano, it can no longer hold a tuning and is of no use as an instrument. It usually takes more than one piano to provide the right types and thicknesses of wood to make a guitar. I have contacts and a plentiful supply.

From left to right: the panel that sits bellow the keyboard, it's about 18mm thick , poplar with veneer (not sure what sort of veneer) when I remember to flip the template this will form the back of the body.
In the middle is a top panel from above the keys. These usually have a central panel that is made from various laminates about 6mm thick. This will form the cap on the body.
Next is the panel I'm actually going to use, looks like a single piece of walnut with rosewood veneer on both sides.

Close up of the top section.

Ready for clamping. A second layer of 18mm poplar is stuck around the edge to form the cavity. The neck pocket and bridge pickup route with be done once the cap has been glued on.
Lastly...the body for a Les Paul I'm working on just to prove that I do occasionally work on things that aren't teles.

alexh

That's great. Will you leave the original finish on the wood or redo it?

Scavenger

alexh said:

That's great. Will you leave the original finish on the wood or redo it?
I'll redo it. I used to go to great pains to try and save the original french polish (it scratches if you look at it) but I've found that it's easier and in most cases looks far better if I strip it and apply an oil finish. There is usually attractive grained veneer hidden under murky layers of old shellac.
The white wood that you can see on the edges also gets oiled and darkens over time to blend in with the top.

Chris.B

What a great use for wood that would otherwise be scrapped. 

Looking forward to following this build - thanks for posting. 

Scavenger

Chris.B said:

What a great use for wood that would otherwise be scrapped. 

Looking forward to following this build - thanks for posting. 

I started using piano wood initially because I was broke and it was a resource that I could get for nothing! 
No progress on the thinline today , I only had enough clamps available to do one side last night, I clamped the other side this morning. I may work on the cap tomorrow. 
The LP is coming along though (I'll stick to the tele in this thread) I've posted a couple of pics on my facebook page:
 https://www.facebook.com/Scavenger-Music-697594160378026

Scavenger

I cut the pieces that will form the cap yesterday but noticed that they are badly warped. I should be able to flatten them when i clamp them to the body but it will be easier to work on them if they are flattened before hand. I'm leaving then under weights on a flat surface for a few days. This is par for the course when using reclaimed timber.

To reduce the weight and enlarge the chamber I also did some routing on the body. Apologies for the poor picture quality , my phone died last week and my camera followed suit yesterday. I'm borrowing an unfamiliar phone to get these pictures.


Hopefully the fret wire will turn up soon and I can make a decision on the materials for the neck.

Scavenger

Still no phone or camera but I have come up with a simple solution - wait until my partner comes home , borrow her phone, get her to send the pictures to me by Messenger, I download the picture to my laptop, upload them onto Flickr then copy and paste here. Simple.
  F hole.
I cut this out with a coping saw then cleaned it up with files. I'll neaten it up when i sand and finish the front.
 I painted the chamber under the hole black, I think it looks better through the f hole.
 A blurry picture of the neck , walnut with oak board, Jescar gold frets and ebony front dots.

Chris.B

This looks as though you will have guitar full of character by the time you have finished it.

I'm enjoying the progress updates. 

Fuengi

Great thread. 

Scavenger

Apologies for absence , I could start an entire new thread on my phone / camera woes , anyway things have moved on:
Sneaky peak at what's developing:

I had to use new maple for the binding , I'm working on reclaimed timber binding but until I perfect it I'm buying it in. The rest of the timber is reclaimed. Walnut neck (from a grand piano lid) oak board, ebony dots. The body has rosewood veneer on the front. The gold hardware and neck is just placed on top to give an idea of what the finished guitar will look like.

Side view showing the different layers , bellow the maple binding it's poplar with the piano's veneer running through the middle. Once oiled the poplar will darken , sometimes even as dark as the rosewood top....and sometimes no more than this...only time will tell.

From the back. Neck as yet unfinished ,I like to leave the original finish on the back of the heastock to show where it came from. It will look less scruffy when it's fine sanded and oiled.
The big scratch on the back is historic and sadly too deep to sand out. It was only faintly visible until I stripped off the shellac , I suspect this was re polished at some point in it's past. Oh well that's what you get for using 100 year old reclaimed wood.

Greatape

This is awe-inspiring stuff. Can't wait to see the finished article.

normula1

Me neither. In the modern consumer society, what you're doing is wonderful.

longjaw

Great work, this would be better placed in the 'Making & modding' section!

Scavenger

Finally! Despite coming together very quickly to begin with things slowed to a trickle toward the end, trouble with the binding and faulty components seemed to haunt my every move ...but it'snow  ready for testing. I managed to catch the last bit of sun this afternoon and get some pictures.

Scavenger

A couple more pictures taken by the workshop window that capture the colour better.

Teyeplayer

Incredible work, absolutely love what you are doing with reclaimed wood and the history it conveys.

Scavenger

The Les Paul prototype is getting it's first coat of linseed today. I'll add more for two or three days then finish with danish oil.

Scavenger

Thinline telecasters seem to be my thing these days. Someone saw the previous one and ordered something very similar:

Sorry for the variable picture quality , I have a phone with a better camera but the art of photography is still a mystery to me.
My next project is to build a heavy relic bass. I've selected all of my most worm eaten and battered timber for the job:
From left to right: Sapele from a piano, 100 years old, nice gnarly grain, this will be the neck
An oak fretboard blank that I previously rejected due to it's ancient worm holes. The holes had the remains of the glue the
 was used to cover it in veneer so they predate the piano it came from.
Oak board from the same source that will form the back of the body
An orange box that I found in the garden that will form the front.
There are also bits of a bench that will form the sides:
Close up of the worm eaten top:
The story so far:

There is more  on the Scavenger Music facebook page and a full build diary on Basschat.

Jeremiah

These look great, do you make anything Strat-like (with a tremolo?)

Scavenger

Yes , I've been meaning to for ages but keep getting distracted by people wanting other stuff!
PM me for a quote if you have something in mind.

Jeremiah

I'm not intending to buy a guitar right now, but maybe later in the year I'll be thinking about it