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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:23 am 
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Cocobolo
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Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:40 pm
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
There's a venue in Tulsa called Cain's Ballroom that's been an historic music hall for decades. It was built in 1924 and was the place from where Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys used to broadcast their first radio show, and it earned the nickname The Carnegie Hall of Western Swing. Besides Bob Wills, it hosted other notable greats like Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams Sr, and Tex Ritter.

It was also a hopping dance hall at that time, famous for it's spring loaded, maple floor laid out in a concentric square pattern. There are still folks around Tulsa who have very fond memories of the dances at Cains. Another of it's distinctive features is the 4' neon star in the middle of the roof above the dance floor.

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There was a period during the '60s where the place fell into disrepair, but luckily it was purchased and brought back to life in time to see some great modern bands come through, including Jerry Lee Lewis, George Clinton, Jack White, Elvis Costello, and Beck. One of the most seemingly-odd for Tulsa was the Sex Pistols. Cain's was one of only 7 stops on their 1978 US tour.

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Today, Cain's is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an iconic building in Tulsa.

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So now for the fun part. I was able to get in touch with the family that owns Cain's, and they've given me some of the original flooring to build 4 guitars. 2 of them will be for Cain's, 1 will be a donation guitar to raise money for Tulsa Public Schools music education, and 1 will be part of my Heritage Series.

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My Heritage Series guitars are a limited run. There are 77 counties in Oklahoma, and my goal is to get wood from 1 old structure in each county and build one guitar out of that structure. It'll come with a detailed history, certificate of authenticity, and some professional photos of the structure as well. My original idea wasn't to necessarily use historic structures, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to use this wood.

For all the guitars, I'm not going to put any other finish on the bodies. I'll just clean up the maple and let the history come through with the worn, dented, finish of the old floor. Also, each guitar will have a custom neck plate with the CAIN'S logo.

Here's where things stand as of right now:

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While I was processing the wood, I was surprised at how many pieces had some really nice birds eye figure.

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You'll notice that stamp on the that board. It's the name of the mill that produced the flooring back in the '20s. I did some research on them and found out they were fairly historic in their own right. They were started in the 1870s and not only built the flooring, but they designed and built the machinery to make the flooring. I wanted to preserve that part as well, so the back of the guitars look like this:

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I'm hoping to have these done by the end of the month, and I'll be sure to post some finished pics.

Oh, and a statewide TV show came out and did a story on these a couple of months ago. Here's a link to the piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKV_WCoXZqM



These users thanked the author RogerC108 for the post: Mark Fogleman (Tue Sep 12, 2017 1:31 pm)
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:05 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Location: The Woodlands, Texas
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Very cool Roger. I grew up in Tulsa and saw some great shows at Cains.


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:57 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
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Thanks, Barry. Yeah, that place has some incredible mojo around it. What was cool was the forensics involved while processing the wood. I found several pieces that were fire damaged and then there several pieces of newer stuff and even some walnut patched in for repairs. I'm making the necks from the flooring as well, and I used some of the walnut as the center lamination.


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 4:18 pm 
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Old Growth Brazilian Rosewood
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Very cool thread and guitars Roger. This is the kind of stuff that I enjoy the most reading.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:47 pm 
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Cool story, I enjoy this stuff too.

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"Music is what feelings sound like"


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:19 pm 
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Neat-o Roger!
Cool that you were able to preserve the patina.
Nicely done!

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:59 am 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
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Hesh wrote:
Very cool thread and guitars Roger. This is the kind of stuff that I enjoy the most reading.

Thank you, Hesh. I appreciate that.

SteveSmith wrote:
Cool story, I enjoy this stuff too.

Thank you, Steve.

dzsmith wrote:
Neat-o Roger!
Cool that you were able to preserve the patina.
Nicely done!

Thanks, dz.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 11:47 am 
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First name: Michael
Last Name: Giltzow
City: Boise
State: Idaho
Zip/Postal Code: 83709
Country: usa
Focus: Build
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Wow! Very cool. good for you - Mike G

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 4:33 pm 
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First name: Alex
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They look like dancehall burl! Awesome!

Alex

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:11 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
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Got a little more done so far this weekend. The bodies are completely finished, and I got one of the pickguards done. Both of the guitars going to Cain's will have a pickguard made from an old Bob Wills 10" record. Since they're too small to do a standard Tele guard, I combined a standard guard and a deluxe guard.

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I also ordered in some nice birds eye maple for fretboards, and that wood came in today as well, so I hope to get the fretboards mostly done this weekend also.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:23 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
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Finished up one of the guitars today. This is the one that'll be raffled off in Tulsa to raise money for Tulsa Schools music education.

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I've the next neck roughed out on my jig, so I hope to have the next guitar done by next weekend. The cold weather's coming fast, so I need to get off my butt and get these knocked out.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 11:48 am 
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Koa
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Roger, very cool guitars. Where can I buy a raffle ticket?



These users thanked the author Glen H for the post: RogerC108 (Sat Nov 04, 2017 12:52 pm)
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 12:55 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
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Thank you, Glen. I'm not sure how the raffle is set up. I think the folks in charge of that are still working out the details. Once I have some info, I'll be sure to post it here for you.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 2:56 pm 
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Koa
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Thanks Roger, I’ll keep my eye out and I’ll buy more than one for sure!


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:36 am 
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Way cool, Roger. Yeah, I want a raffle ticket, too!

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 3:00 pm 
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Cocobolo
Cocobolo

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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
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Just about to get these finished up. The pair that are for Cain's should be done this weekend. This one's been done for about a week, and its twin should be done by Sunday.

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These users thanked the author RogerC108 for the post: Clinchriver (Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:01 am)
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:05 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Wow!
Love the vinyl pick guard !



These users thanked the author alan stassforth for the post: RogerC108 (Thu Dec 14, 2017 9:13 am)
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 9:18 am 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
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Thanks, Alan. Here are a few more shots.

These are the twins that belong to Cain's. They each have a different Bob Wills record for the pickguard: My Home in San Antone and Take Me Back to Tulsa

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And this is the only 1 for sale. One of my retailers bought it and has it for sale in their shop right now.

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These users thanked the author RogerC108 for the post: Sandywood (Fri Dec 15, 2017 9:23 am)
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 9:33 am 
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Cocobolo
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First name: Bob
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How fast did you have to sprint to save that guitar from the traffic after you took the photo! Really cool guitars and a lasting tribute to the venue. My son has asked me to build an electric for him (usually build acoustics) and I would like to use your idea of the LP pick guard if that is OK with you. Cheers, Bob



These users thanked the author Bob Orr for the post: RogerC108 (Thu Dec 14, 2017 10:23 am)
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 10:23 am 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
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Thanks. That's not actually my idea, Bob. It's been done numerous times before, so have at it [:Y:]

A word of caution, though. Depending on what records you use, You'll probably have to use a jeweler's saw to cut it out, and it'll take you a very long time. You can't use a band saw or router because the records are just too fragile. These were old shellac records, and they were exceptionally brittle. Newer vinyl may not be quite as bad, but I'd still probably go with a jeweler's saw.



These users thanked the author RogerC108 for the post: Clinchriver (Thu Dec 14, 2017 12:59 pm)
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 1:15 pm 
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Cocobolo
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OK Roger thanks for the heads up on cutting them. Bob


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 2:40 pm 
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Koa
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If the record is truly vinyl, I'd put a barrier under it if you're using Nitro...


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 2:20 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
First name: Roger
State: Oklahoma
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Glen H wrote:
Thanks Roger, I’ll keep my eye out and I’ll buy more than one for sure!


George L wrote:
Way cool, Roger. Yeah, I want a raffle ticket, too!


Hey guys, the raffle is now live.

https://go.rallyup.com/cainsguitar



These users thanked the author RogerC108 for the post (total 2): Glen H (Fri Jan 05, 2018 8:08 am) • Clinchriver (Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:59 am)
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:59 am 
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RogerC108 wrote:
Glen H wrote:
Thanks Roger, I’ll keep my eye out and I’ll buy more than one for sure!


George L wrote:
Way cool, Roger. Yeah, I want a raffle ticket, too!


Hey guys, the raffle is now live.

https://go.rallyup.com/cainsguitar


I'm in :mrgreen:



These users thanked the author Clinchriver for the post: RogerC108 (Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:07 pm)
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