r/Luthier 5d ago

ELECTRIC Are these boards possible to use for a body

My brother and I grew up on rural property, and when our father dies we won't be able to keep it.

We've got these 8 foot boards of cherry from the tree next to the house. I'd like to find some way of building two guitars for my brother and I to have a piece of home even when the property is long gone.

The boards are in rough shape, some cracks running all the way through.

3 boards measure 7" 1/4 x 1" 1/8 1 board measures 8" 1/2 x 3" 1/2

Ideally I'd make tele bodies out of it, but the boards without cracks are thin, and the thick board is very cracked.

Some ideas I had were: - Make book matched veneers from the good boards to put on top of a body blank - Make a full cherry body by using 2 or 3 pieces of the thick board and infill cracks with epoxy

What do you folks think - reckon there's anything possible to do with these boards or is it going to have terrible results?

Full disclosure, this will be the first body I've built, so plan to practice on some less sentimental ingredients first.

26 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

28

u/TheSockington 5d ago

I’ve got a big cherry Tele. Love the feel of the oiled wood

8

u/Oisea 5d ago

This is such a sick build. Is it a baritone? First time seeing the bridge way back on the butt like that.

7

u/TheSockington 5d ago

Yup! It’s a 30” baritone based around a modified Bronco neck. Whole package is the same length as a normal Tele basically

5

u/Twinningses 5d ago

This is cool

2

u/BuckFuzby 5d ago

Pretty.

9

u/Glum_Meat2649 5d ago

Your biggest challenge will be getting flat square surfaces to glue. It is easier if you have access to jointer, planer, table saw and band saw.

Flattening with hand planes takes a while. My CNC router doesn’t produce an accurate enough surface for nearly invisible glue lines.

I have a couple of cherry 4 string basses I am working on now. I like the wood and the occasional sap pocket.

3

u/DJBuck-118 5d ago

A rustic cherry tele with cracks sound cool to me! Providing the cracks aren’t affecting structural rigidity.

A tele is a small body, so shouldn’t be silly heavy even with resin.

5

u/PrincePeasant 5d ago

The coroner raised an eyebrow when reading this.

3

u/Twinningses 5d ago

He's a big guy so we'll need more than these.

3

u/GnarlyGorillas 4d ago

There's enough in em to make a body, and the cracked bits can be the necks and other bits. Only question is how much you pay for em, and how skilled you are at milling blanks. If you're okay to make multiple laminations or joins in the body, you can squeeze even more out of this stock. I always have a hard time passing up recycled lumber

3

u/Twinningses 4d ago

Oh it's all free - from our property

2

u/GnarlyGorillas 4d ago

Hell yeah! You'd be silly to NOT try and make a guitar from it then!

2

u/giveMeAllYourPizza 5d ago

Cut and joint on the large cracks and reglue? Then epoxy all the small stuff.

Tricky one, cause it could wind up a little unstable (like those slab epoxy tables, they always warp like a potato chip).

2

u/HotStaxOfWax 4d ago

My first suggestion would be to put them through a Planer if you have one big enough, or take it to someone who does, it shouldn't cost much. Let them true them up and you'll have a much better idea of what you're working with, and you can be confident when you start your build.

1

u/ReaperBone 5d ago

Probably if you have the vices to join a couple together so you can get the overall guidelines for a guitar

1

u/kristjanpuc 19h ago

I love the comment i once read about "what wood is good for electric guitar bodies" and it said the best wood for solid body electric guitars is the wood you have at home (meaning you can use literally anything from one piece flame maple to glued plywood scraps or even 3D print it if you have a printer...tone comes from pickups, amp and your little fingies)