Gonna start a new 5 string build ...Ziricote and Spanish Cedar

[Dark Horse]

The body will be Spanish cedar with a ziricote top. Spanish Cedar is very lightweight, and is actually a lot closer related to Honduran mahogany then it is toany type of Cedar. It’s also quite beautiful, A lovely reddish color. Ziricote, of course, is a beautiful and hard wood ... has lovely dark grain patterns on it. I will probably do it with a b/w/b bound top. The plan is to route for 2 Bartolini P2 Shaped pick ups, though I’m still deciding between a few makers. It will also be rear routed for the controls. It will not be a precision bass shape, I am just using that template to kind of show what it would look like as far as the grain. I will update as the build progresses

 

[charlie monroe]

Damn, son.

I've got my front row seat ready to go.

 

[GMC]

Those look like nice bits of timber. Looking forwards to seeing how your build progresses!

 

[Dark Horse]

Gluing up the ziricote top...

 

[Bassworship1]

That top wood is gorgeous.

 

[Dark Horse]

Here’s the glued up blank ...

 

[Arie X]

i like spanish cedar (cedro) i use it all the time in acoustic guitar builds. it's my neck and block wood of choice. if you encounter the usual pitch pockets, sop is to sand and seal them up quickly right before final dimensions and you'll be ok.

looks like a nice project.

 

[charlie monroe]

So nice, Andy.

 

[Dark Horse]

i needed to make a body outline template, so I grabbed some 1/2” mdf and drew the shape ....

Then grabbed my trusty jigsaw to rough cut the shape ....

A bit of time on the random orbital sander, and then some hand sanding and my template is done !

I also made a template for the Bartolini P2 shape soapbars. Not sure that I’ll use Bart’s, but several manufacturers like Aguilar, Nordstrand, etc also use this shape. I’ve always liked this shape pickup....easy to rout well, big enough to rest your thumb on, but doesn’t take up so much real estate on the top that it messes with the looks . Anyway, here’s a pic ....

Then it’s time to place the template on the body blank and position it. Here’s what I came up with ....

I think it’s even and pretty symmetrical, and I love the grain. It’ll look awesome when finished.

 

[Dark Horse]

Here’s the body shape rough cut. I left more room around the outline than I normally would because ziricote is “chippy” and splinters around the edge of you aren’t careful. I’d rather spend more time routing and sanding, and not take a chance of ruining the top.

 

[Jisch]

I've been eyeing ziricote tops, looks great.

 

[Dark Horse]

i like spanish cedar (cedro) i use it all the time in acoustic guitar builds. it's my neck and block wood of choice. if you encounter the usual pitch pockets, sop is to sand and seal them up quickly right before final dimensions and you'll be ok.

looks like a nice project.

I used it to make this body, and loved the weight and tooling properties. It’s really nice stuff to work with.

 

[Dark Horse]

So nice, Andy.

Thanks ...I think it’s gonna look great when it’s all done !

 

[Dark Horse]

I've been eyeing ziricote tops, looks great.

It’s a really striking wood. Tremendously beautiful, in my opinion. I’d love to see what you’d make with it !

 

[charlie monroe]

I've waited years for you to build a coffee table.

It's about time.

Still looking for that hippie sandwich you talked about a while back.

 

[Dark Horse]

Body outline routed and sanded to shape ....

I’m debating whether or not to do a bound top. (B/w/b)....The contrast between the Spanish Cedar and Ziricote is actually very nice, in my opinion ......

Hmmm..... thoughts ?

 

[Dark Horse]

I've waited years for you to build a coffee table.

It's about time.

Still looking for that hippie sandwich you talked about a while back.

I’m Making a “sandwich “ Tele for my brother

Alder and walnut stringers, walnut back, mahogany core, and curly mango top with binding...

 

[charlie monroe]

My first thought is it doesn't need binding, but humor me and tape some up against it for a comparo

 

[charlie monroe]

The Tele is gorgeous. Nice work, man.

 

[Dark Horse]

My first thought is it doesn't need binding, but humor me and tape some up against it for a comparo