A Lefty Tomahawk, Just For Me!

Mexican Bocote neck with a Panamanian Rosewood fretboard and a one piece Honduran Mahogany body.

Who needs CNC!!!

The Next Round Of Guitar Builds Is Underway

I call this luthier porn...

For those of you with a keen eye, all the necks in this photo are lefties.

Bocote. Love the grain!

One-piece Honduran Mahogany body. This one aint for sale.

Two Maple fretboards with Walnut marker dots flank a Wenge fretboard with mother-of-peal marker dots.

My Next Guitar Build: A Tomahawk Just For Me!

For my next build, I plan to make a no-holds barred Tomahawk. This one will be made from a one-piece slab of Honduran Mahogany with a bolt-on Bocote neck and a Wenge fretboard. Best of all, it'll be just for me.

Thinking Of A Guitar For Myself

I've sold just about every guitar I have ever made. All I have left is an acoustic and a Strat. Over the past couple of years, I have been saving up some wood for an over-the-top build for my own personal guitar. Flamed Maple, a one piece slab of Honduran Mahogany and check out this fretboard:

Lacewood

Staining a Highline Legato

This one has a nice yet subtle flamed Maple top.

That's a one piece Honduran Mahogany body!

Two Necks On Deck

I like the look and feel of a bound neck. It's so clean and smooth. However, next time, I'll glue on the fretboard and sand the seam flush with the neck BEFORE I install the fret wire.

This neck was made with Honduran Mahogany and a Rosewood fretboard bound with white ABS. 

The Highline Envirocasters and a Highline Legato

I know it looks bad, but trust me, all is well. After 14 coats of water-based lacquer, I dry sanded the finish with 320 grit paper to smooth things out. Then, I sprayed five more coats. Tomorrow, I'll dry sand both Envirocasters with 400 grit and follow with a couple of light finish coats. Both guitars will sit for about a week before I commence with the final wet sanding and polish.

Up next is a Highline Legato. That's a one piece slab of Honduran Mahogany.

The top will be bookmatched flamed Maple.

A New Guitar On The Workbench

It hasn't got a name yet, but it'll hardly anonymous. This guitar features a Honduran Mahogany neck and body with flame Maple caps. The neck has a pair of carbon fiber strips to resist twisting and warping. Set-in construction is being used for the neck to body joint and by recessing a tune-o-matic bridge, I'll be able to keep the neck straight.

Electric Guitar Building Update

Now that the Christmas holiday is behind me, I'm back to building my guitars. The Highline Legato is currently resting a few days so the lacquer top coat can cure before I wet sand and buff it out. Hopefully this coming weekend, I'll be able to polish the neck and body so I can put the two together. In the meantime, I've started work on another Highline electric guitar design which will be a single cut with a set-in neck. Here's a shot of the work so far:

There's no substitute for a sweet piece of Honduran Mahogany when it comes to making a guitar neck!

Tomorrow, I'll be getting a 2-1/4" thick, 35" long, 7" wide slab of Honduran Mahogany for the body. My plan is to plane down the thickness and add a figured Maple top, but that will depend on how the grain looks on the Mahogany after I cut the slab in half and glue the two pieces together. If the grain fails to inspire me, I'll start shopping for a nice bookmatched set of flamed Maple boards. Stay tuned!

Coming Soon: The Highline Single Cut

While waiting for my water based lacquer for the Highline Legato to arrive from Target Coatings, I've started the planning phase for the next electric guitar design, which will be named the Highline Single Cut. This guitar was inspired by the Les Paul design, but with several alterations to the legendary guitar's shape.

As you can see in the sketch, the lower horn will be shaped a little differently to reflect my own personal taste. The top of the body will also be carved, but much less so than a Les Paul. My goal is a lighter body without sacrificing the tone you get from a slab of Honduran Mahogany. I haven't decided on a top wood yet, however you can be sure it will be something special.

The headstock will feature my Highline trademark shape and I plan to inlay the logo in Mother of Pearl. I'm not sure yet what I'll do for the markers, but a cool MOP shape is likely.

Of course I'll wind my own pickups for this bad boy and I'm thinking they'll be a touch hotter than a vintage style approach. I love the way Alnico IV magnets sound so that may be what I'll use.

Keep in mind this design is still rough, so it could and probably will change along the way. Stay tuned!