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Thought this might be a fun topic.

Some time I ago I posted to tell everyone about four large boards that I "found" in my workshop that were being used as shelves (supported by bricks). I didn't really look at them until I took the arrangement apart to make room for another work table. Turns out the shelf wood is either mahogany or sapele. I have troubles telling the difference. So Chad Goobey re-sawed one and a half of one of the boards, we shared the results, and now I'm making a guitar out of it. So far, I've got the neck roughed out, the sides bent (linings are being installed as I type this) and the back halves thicknessed and ready to join. I've got some of Bob's special priced sikta for a top. I really don't know how well this will turn out, but I don't see why I shouldn't have a decent guitar in the end. Anyway, I'm getting a bit of a kick out of making something that could be good out of what might have been considered junk.

So anyway, my question is this: who else out there has examples of making silk purse's out of sow's ears? Care to share the story and the results? What became of the guitar?

This is the first guitar I've built in a while with no destination in mind so I don't even know what I'm going to do with it when I'm done. In fact, in that regard, it may not get finished for a while as next week I'll have to get back to assembling a guitar that is waiting for varnish to harden - and I have a nephew waiting.

Cheers,
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Pat my friend I don't know if you know about the guitar(s) that Taylor made out of pallet wood?

If not I will try to find something about them - I know that they were taken to shows for the public to try out too.

Though i'd hesitate to call it a guitar.... my first project is being made of scrap.

The top is made of some kind of cedar that is really clapboard from my barn. Once i got the layers of paint off and cut around the rotten pieces, it actually looks kinda nice. You just have to ignore the smell - a bit reminiscent of horse urine if you ask me. I'll probably end up finishing both sides to seal in the smell if it doesn't grow on me in the meantime.

The rosette is being made from the side of a speaker i made 40 years ago out of mahogany.

Back and sides is poplar i have left over from when we built the house.

Not sure what i'm going to do for the neck yet.... may laminate some poplar and whatever i can find.

Rob

Thanks for reminding me about the Taylor pallet guitar Hesh. I had, in fact, heard about that once but didn't think about it at the time I posted. So, with your prompt, I Googled it and found all kinds of info. I never knew that Taylor put out a limited edition pallet series. The best pictures I found of it are here:

http://www.laguitarsales.com/pages/3157 ... Pallet.htm

Very cool. I like the fork-lift inlay. Perhaps the ultimate silk purse from sow's ear?

As an aside, the more I read about oak as a wood for back and sides, the more I want to give it a try. There was a recent thread about it on the acousticguitar.com forum:

http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ul ... 2;t=003990

where it got very good reviews. Al Carruth really likes it but laments the fact that it is difficult to sell an oak guitar. Perhaps just because oak is too common.

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I don't know if this qualifies, but I posted pictures last summer of the parlor I built for my daughter from a board that used to be part of her grandpa's cattle yard in South Dakota. It turned out to be old growth Douglas Fir that he remembers being dropped off in 1960. The backs and sides were Martin Guitar 00-18 rejects that had a wormhole right where the binding ended up.

Is that what you meant by a Sow's Ear?

It wasn't exactly a sow's ear, but, more years ago than I care to remember (about 45) my then-boss threw out a wrecked chest of drawers and some bookshelves. My beady eyes lit up because they seemed to be all solid mahogany, so I salvaged them and kept the wood. Strangely, the nicest wood was the drawer bottoms. Since then, more than one person has told me that cabinet makers didn't like curly grained wood. I still have the top of the chest of drawers which is one piece about 3' 6" long, 18" wide and 3/4" thick.

I made the guitar in 1971, the accordion in 1989 and the bass in 2003.

Sorry about the photo quality. Thet are old colour prints that have been scanned.

An accordion!!?!!! Wow! Well, as I write this, three planks have been pulled from my stash of mystery crate wood from Asia. I've had this stash of wood for about 15 years, and still don't know what it is. A friend wants me to build a uke, so I thought I'd use some of this stuff for a prototype and see how it goes. I don't even have a clue about how it will sound, but the stuff made a beautiful coffee table, so I'm reasonably sure I can make it look good. And, as I have said in the past, if it's a total failure I can always fill the body with potting soil, plant a vine in it, and hang it on the wall!

I had the opportunity to pick up some old hand hewn oak beams from a barn cerca 1850. Looking at the growth rings, it was apparent that this was from a very slow growing tree, over 20 rings per inch!

After quarter sawing 5 or 6 beams I was about to use it for firewood, there was a lot of insect damage, cracks, and an occasional nail hole. Then I remembered seeing pictures of the Taylor pallet guitar. I ended up with just enough for a four piece back, sides, and neck, albeit with a few nail holes that were unavoidable.

I bought a sitka top from LMI and finished the guitar this summer. It sounds great...very loud and bright. There is a small picture of it to the left in my avatar. I have a few pictures that are not very good quality that I will try to post.

Chuck

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Dave and Dave - very impressive!!!!!

All of the instruments are beautiful but I really like the accordion - sweet!

Going to try pictures again

Chuck

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I wonder how many blades they went through sawing up all those nails in that pallet guitar run? Sheesh.... that makes me skin crawl....
Or mabye the nails were removed then sections of the nail replaced into the nailholes when the sides were thicknessed and sanded flush ,,, dunno
definitely cool to look at though....
Cheers
Charlie

If you liked taylor pallet guitars, have you seen Bennedeto's Lumber yard Archtop. Also check out Fyle's wisky cask guitars.

Most of my builds come from the dumpster at a local woodshop.

I have the bar top from a powerstation social club bar (2" thich solid mahogany)waiting to be utilised and a pile of cherry back & side sets that need thicknessed.

for these pair of mandos I bought the tops and the fretboards. the bridges are ebony from the black keys of a dead piano, back & sides cherry, necks mahogany....



centre strip on the neck is lumber yard maple and the bridge on this used to be a part of a coffee table......



I LOVE scavenging!!

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