Grateful Dead Music Forum

Finally got around to starting new build. This one will be based around Tiger's wiring schem. I'm sticking with 25.5" scale but shortening the guitar by and inch or from my Wolf and eliminating the tailpiece altogether in favor of a Schroeder adjustable wraparound bridge. Body is Claro Walnut for the top/back. Body shape is closer to an Ibanez Musician morphed with a Wolf. Only doing 7 lamination's of maple and walnut (curly maple core) to keep the guitar thinner at around 1.6". This time I'm going the set neck route just to try something different. Neck lam will be 5 ply curly maple / walnut. Ebony fret board. Just pearl markers rather than fancy inlays except for peg head. I have a question about wiring however. If I am not going for a completely historically accurate wiring schem this time, why would I use the AB Modpot for the neck and bridge tone rather than just using a single CTS or Bourns 500K pot with jumpers on the 5 way as the Dozin schematic suggests. Waldo??? FYI for those of you looking for a resource for thick veneer for laminations without needing to resaw or drum sand your own I found a place I've used for the past few builds called Certainly Wood out of Upstate New York. The have a huge veneer selection but also have a pretty good selection of thick veneer (up to 1/8")

I'll do my best to keep the pictures coming as I go along. I seem to do well until midway through the project.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/vYb51i]

I like your idea of toying with the shape a little bit. I've always found the waist on Wolf to be a bit skinny. If/when I ever get around to either building or having one built, I would definitely go down the same road.

Finding ready made laminations is a really great idea. Re-sawing is NOT an easy thing to do for the uninitiated like myself. That process basically killed my first build attempt. Thanks for the vendor tip.

Looks great so far!

John in San Diego

Looks great so far! Can't wait to see the progress...

I love a good build thread. Looking good!

Rather than starting a whole new thread, this seemed like a logical and timely place to ask for recommendations on sourcing material.

I'm going to try my hands at a Wolf-like guitar, and have been poking around for purpleheart veneer, quilted maple, ebony fingerboards, headstock blanks. All the usual stuff, I suppose.

Any suggestions on the best/most reliable sources?

Thanks!

For the 4/4 and larger stuff I found eBay to be the best source, even for purpleheart. If you can resaw yourself then I found getting an 8/4 block of quilted maple for the top and back on ebay easy. Otherwise Oregon Wildwoods (tonewoods.com) had a great selection of top/back sets in many species and pictures of every set. As for the veneers, most are too thin except for thick veneers. For that, certainlywood.com has a great selection of thin and thick veneers and great customer service. I think between those vendors and ebay I sourced all the wood for my Wolf for around $225.

Thanks for the info!

Fun to watch.

How thick are the veneers in the body? 1/16" or thicker?

The walnut is about 1/16th and the maple is about 3/32. Top and back .23 and core is about 7/8. That gives me a nice thin 1 5/8" body. At that thickness, using maple as the core instead of Purple Heart and shortening the guitar by an inch it seems to be reducing the weight by a huge chunk over the Wolf. Truth be told I didn't chose the veneer thickness. I trying to find ways to reduce the build time by using stock I can find that suits the build rather than the other way around. Buying whole flitches of unbacked veneer saves me a day.

much to love about this guitar, the headstock is really cool!