Strays deserve love too!

[Mike Sherman]

So I'm sure we all have castaway pieces of wood in our shops that aren't perfect, or are cut-offs, but we just can't discard so it becomes "B-stock". I've been thinking I should have a back-up bass at shows, so it was time to use some of the homeless that I couldn't use on a customer build.
I've had this billet of sausage quilt that has a rogue burl cluster in one spot that I always offer as an option for a top when quilt is specified - no takers. I like weird stuff like that so it's perfectly fine with me! I also had two cut-offs of African Mahogany from each end of a 12' board that was unusually heavy for AM. I prefer heavy basses so they finally get some love too.

I didn't take many pics during the build, but it will be done on friday. It's a 34" scale Drop-top set neck.

Here it was before fretting and finish work. I layed it out so the burl cluster landed on the upper horn so the burst will make it more subtle.


I decided to shoot a Bengal Burst on this one. The top was stained black and back-sanded twice before adding color. Anyways, her she is after nitro top coats. I'll take some better shots of it on friday when it's finished.

[Julie Moriarty]

Mike, I've had a very rough day. Then I see your gorgeous work and I realize if I ever expect to feel good about the instruments I've made, I had better find a tropical bar that serves ice cold rum runners, with a hefty splash of Meyer's on top. And once that kicks in, maybe I won't feel so bad about how really pathetic my work is.

BTW, how did you get that maple to pop like that? My experience with quilted has been slightly better than really frustrated.

[Shawn Pixley]

Mike, very nice! You said a it is a set neck. Do you have a hidden M&T at the neck / body joint? I don't see the traditional tapered dovetail.

[Mike Sherman]

Shawn, it's the typical M&T neck joint. I always incorporate a fret board overhang on my set necks.

Julie, You're doing fine work! Don't be so hard on yourself.
To get the maple to pop, It's stained with black dye and sanded back, then repeat that process.
Here is a pic after the first round of stain and back sanding.

[Julie Moriarty]

To get the maple to pop, It's stained with black dye and sanded back, then repeat that process.

Maybe the problems I've had with quilted come from going natural. I've used BLO to pop the grain but it was more like blob the grain.


You can see the right side came out dark while the left was fairly light. This was BLO, shellac then lacquer. I've experimented with it since this project but that process always turns out the same. On the guitars I've built, I did the black dye/sand back method and they worked well, but the maple was figured and not quilted.

[Mike Sherman]

That has to do with the figure and run out of the grain. The dark sections are softer than the white sections, so they absorb the stain/oils deeper. Watco Danish oil works well on quilt as it's slightly darker than BLO. I've also used light mixture (color to water or alcohol ratio) of dye with yellow and a drop or two of brown added to help pop the grain.

[John Coloccia]

That's quite a stray, Mike. Beautiful work as usual! It's nice to see a pro make a guitar for themselves for a change. Did you do anything to the A. Mahogany or is that just clear?

[Mike Sherman]

That's quite a stray, Mike. Beautiful work as usual! It's nice to see a pro make a guitar for themselves for a change. Did you do anything to the A. Mahogany or is that just clear?

Thanks, John. I carried the burst color over to the mahogany.

I also dug into my private stock and whipped up a Tele this week.

[Julie Moriarty]

I also dug into my private stock and whipped up a Tele this week.

Show off!

Mike, you do amazing work! I don't know where you get your wood, but it's gorgeous.

[Mike Sherman]

Show off!

Mike, you do amazing work! I don't know where you get your wood, but it's gorgeous.

Thanks Julie. We are fortunate to have several wood mills to pick from here in New England.

Sorry about posting the Tele. I was inspired by all the Tele threads on here. I really don't build many bolt-on instruments so it gave me a chance to dust off the tooling.

[John Coloccia]

Honestly, Julie, I really prefer the natural look myself, but a long time ago, someone (who we'd all like to go back in time and strangle) decided that guitars shall have dead flat, high gloss, insane finishes, and now we're stuck with it. What's funny, though, is I think they look GREAT on basses, but I also think just a simple oil finish also typically looks great on a bass. My personal preference on guitar, however, tend towards somewhere in the middle, i.e. I think just simple oil typically looks too plain, and wild finishes look too wild. But that's strictly just my personal preference, and I think I'm in the minority!

[Mike Sherman]

Finished it up tonight. I'll take some better pics when it's day time as my photography skills are less than average.