Hey! Time for another lame thread by Garagetone. Somebody please just tell me to shut up when I've posted too much here...
Anyways, I guess I'll start at the begining of the day, since I've been wanting to share with you guys the greatness that is living walking distance from the Fender Factory in Corona...
I woke up with one plan today; build guitars. My Jazz Stang is 95% complete, and just needed some final touches. A basswood Jag Stang for a fellow member just needs the roundover bit and some contouring with a spokeshave. The second attempt at a laminated comp stripe was glued but not planed, and was in 2 pieces that needed joining... But it all suddenly felt like work. So I went out to run errands and get fresh air.
I decided I'd get a closer look at the factory I've ignored my whole life (yeah, even though I've been playing guitar since I was 11). It always just seemed like it would be a giant tease to even know what happened in this personalized version of Wonka's factory... So I headed over there to see what I could see.
The landscaping and architecture was designed to induce lust in guitarists. The closer you get to the custom shop, the more they lay it on.
I'm sure this had plants growing in it during better times?
Even the fence posts had chrome headstocks on top.
These headstocks were like 12 feet high...
Just before security yelled at me and sent me on my way, I saw a GIANT dumpster full of discarded cut blanks. I'll try to get the pic next time. I'm talking about like 1000 bodies... I assume they sell the scrap wood for whatever, mulch or something...
So that's what it's like living in Corona. I'll take pics of the Fender museum next time. I think they have one of Kurts guitars in there...
After I left the factory, I decided to go shoot the sh*t with other manly people at the lumber yard. When I was in there rifling through stacks of hardwood, I found a 2"x2"x8' length of teak in the midst of much meatier pieces. "How much for the splinter of teak?" I asked the one person I always go out of my way to deal with. He gives it to me for $5.00!
I took it home and cut it into 2' lengths, and I gathered all the rest of my scrap pieces for a planer sesh...
I didn't know what I was going to make at first, but at some point I remembered that I've been wanting a Duo Sonic, and happen to have a lot of parts toward one already...
I had the most BEAUTIFUL pieces of scrap to carry such a name. Check out this Flamed basswood? I thought basswood was supposed to be ugly!?
All your favorites are there, and besides the teak I just bought, they are all pieces of other guitars that are scattered throughout the US now 😀
(left to right) Mahogany, ash, basswood, walnut, poplar, and teak.
Next they met some glue and clamps.
Within the next week or so the blank will meet the planer again, then a plethora of other tools, before meeting these guys:
To become something like THIS
I'll keep you all updated, if you care. I'm probably going to post this exact thread on another forum or two; I don't know if that's a faux pas, as I'm still new to posting on forums at all.
