| Author |
Topic: black walnut aprons, birdseye top... |
Ben Banville
From:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
|
Posted 1 Apr 2012 4:36 am |
|
| i'm having a pedal steel guitar built, and chose black walnut for the aprons and neck, with birdseye maple for the top. does anyone know of any guitars out there built using black walnut or other wood types which are less hard than maple? any thoughts on how the walnut may affect tone, or, being slightly less rigid than maple, may perhaps affect cabinet drop? who builds 'em with exotic woods? |
|
|
 |
Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
|
Posted 1 Apr 2012 5:56 am
|
|
| When I ordered my Sho~Bud from Shot Jackson there was quite a choice of woods. Mine had some CocoBolo wood in it among others. |
|
|
|
Ben Banville
From:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
|
Posted 1 Apr 2012 6:25 am
|
|
greetings erv! cocobolo? i bet it looks great. have you got photos of it? it would be nice to have a viewing. any thoughts on how that choice of wood influences the tone?
thanks for posting. |
|
|
|
Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
|
Posted 1 Apr 2012 4:59 pm
|
|
Ben - I don't know why you put this in the Humor section.It's not a laughing matter hehehe 
Maybe b0b might put it in Pedal steel?
Anyway, a couple of things to paint a realistic picture
Cocobolo is a harder wood than Walnut; it's more like hard Maple
The aprons in the guitars that I build offer little more than decoration, since I build a metal frame all around - 1/4"X 2" aluminum rails front and back that are screwed to the end plates. These carry the whole load, and the routed-out aprons(to inset the rails)makes little or no difference to cabinet drop.
Rosewood (closer to walnut) and walnut itself has been touted a good tone wood for pedal steel. I guess time will tell eh, Ben?
_________________
BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/ |
|
|
|
Ben Banville
From:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
|
Posted 1 Apr 2012 5:21 pm
|
|
| i re-posted the above thread to the pedal steel section...didn't know that if you post FROM the humor section, the thread STAYS in the humor section...oops! |
|
|
|
Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 9:43 am
|
|
Here is a Marlen Speedy West model that used either cocobolo or pot roast for the front apron.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
|
|
|
Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 9:47 am
|
|
I just checked my notes -- it was not pot roast after all. It was cocobolo. Which, by the way had separations along half of its glue joints.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
|
|
|
Ben Banville
From:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 11:06 am
|
|
chris, that's one fine looking instrument! beautiful contrast between light and dark, and whatever method you used to glue 'er up turned out great. thanks!
bent, thanks for the typically excellent and thorough explanation. |
|
|
|
Chris Reesor
From:
British Columbia, Canada
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 1:12 pm cocobolo and glue
|
|
Yep, definitely not pot roast, but nearly as greasy.
Cocobolo is sometimes quite oily and therefore difficult to glue and finish. Modern epoxy with the right formulation handles the job well, but probably wasn't available when that guitar was built. Sure is pretty, though.
Chris
_________________
Excel Superb U12, MIJ Squier tele, modified Deluxe Reverb RI, Cube 80XL, self built acoustics & mandolins |
|
|
|
Ben Banville
From:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 2:31 pm
|
|
chris, using the image of the pot roast, lets just think of it as the meat on the bone, or the physical structure of the cabinet...therefore the TONE, would be like the gravy itself emanating from the roast. throw in some mashed potatoes and a cruciferous vegetable (bass and drums) and i bet you get a hearty meal!
[/i]
above is a pic of my humble rig, on which i while away the hours until the real medusa shows up. not as pretty as yours! |
|
|
|
Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 4:47 pm
|
|
The light finish on the old Marlen looks like it was finished in clear lacquer and has yellowed with age.
Beautiful.
Ben take a look at the pics I sent you . I think the birdseye/walnut combination will look great.
I'll post a pic on here when the thing looks a bit more presentable, or leave it to you, Ben.
_________________
BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/ |
|
|
|
Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 5:03 pm
|
|
Here is the finish under the necks -- disregard where the color bled.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
|
|
|
Ben Banville
From:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 6:27 pm
|
|
hi chris, i wasn't sure what was meant by "red bellies", but the red stains in these last photos certainly point to an explanation. serious cracks in that last shot, did you reinforce the wood when you glued everything back together?
chris reesor, wood love to see shots of your self-built mandolins. i play a bit myself, but never got comfortable w/ standard tuning, eventually settled on a "sawmill" fiddle tuning. G,D,G,D, low to high. having more fun with that one. |
|
|
|
Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
|
Posted 2 Apr 2012 8:11 pm
|
|
I did not glue that cabinet back together. It was too far gone. It was dismantled and sold for parts so folks who had Marlens with just two knee levers could make their guitars more usable with today's changes. The llittle inlayed pieces of maple and whatever were missing and the rear apron was almost entirely detached and, well, you can see the severe cracks in the curly maple. The fretboards went to others who needed them, cast changer surrounds and keyheads went to make loafers into D-10s again, pickups were needed by others. I think all I have left are the legs and a few bellcranks and bent aluminum pedal rods and a lot of Klusons. I like Marlens a lot, but that one was a mistake to buy.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
|
|
|
Martin Weenick
From:
Lecanto, FL, USA
|
Posted 4 Apr 2012 9:25 am
|
|
Ben, here is a couple guitars I built a while back. The front one has cocobolo aprons and neck. Cocobolo is oily and you have to really clean the parts to be glued with laquer thinner just before you glue it. I use waterproof TiteBond wood glue and have not had any seperation problems. I will use another typy of wood next time such as Black Walnut , etc. rather than cocobolo. Cocobolo is very expensive.. Martin.
_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7 |
|
|
|
Martin Weenick
From:
Lecanto, FL, USA
|
Posted 4 Apr 2012 9:34 am
|
|
Ben here is another I built useing all Curly Maple and I just dyed the aprons and neck. It does not have any finish on it yet. I think this looks as good as the one with cocobolo. Martin.
_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7 |
|
|
|
CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
|
Posted 4 Apr 2012 10:14 am
|
|
Martin, give that lil' pup a bone
he makes some outrageous steels !  |
|
|
|
Ben Banville
From:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
|
Posted 4 Apr 2012 10:30 am
|
|
hey chris, it's really a drag you had to scrap that steel! were you at least able to fire it up and hear it?
martin, those look absolutely fabulous! i'm not sure if it's some form of OCD, or what, but apart from listening to great steel melodies, i love looking at 'em...same with peterbuilts and kenworths, or harleys and indians! can't get enough! thanks for sending the photos. |
|
|
|
