Don’t know if you remember but I mentioned that Wille was building an electric guitar as his final project at school. School’s out so it’s finished!
Wille wanted to design it and build it from scratch. Scratch as in buying planks of wood (here maple) gluing them together and cutting them out to his design.
Aside from maple there’s also mahogany. The origin is a couple of home made cutting boards from my ex father in law’s which he crafted back in the 70’s. The back plate which you can’t see in these photos is made of some scraps of teak which Martin had laying around.
Most of the cutting and drilling was done in the school workshop but some adjustments and additional drilling were also done at home in the hobby room.
The neck was bought semi ready made from China and the metal bits were bought online from England. Here they’re being tried on for the first time.
And here’s the final result. I helped with the sanding and the varnishing at the very end but the rest Wille did all by himself with some input from Martin and a guitar playing teacher at school. Pretty cool, huh?!
VERY cool! It looks fantastic.
He should be very proud; what a great project.
Posted by: Susan | July 11, 2013 at 02:17 AM
It's really beautiful! Is he happy with the sound?
Posted by: Jill | July 11, 2013 at 02:36 AM
Soo cool! Great achievement - and shows he has your genes ;)
My BIL is a very keen guitarist and has quite a collection (though he's never made one himself, he's no DIYer!!). He took my DH on a trip to New York to a guitar heaven and they spent hours choosing exactly the one that BIL wanted - DH said he learned so much just in that time!! BIL also has several custom-made models in various materials.
I love that wood - we kept some pieces of the raw mahogany used on our little boat when it was refurbished...
Posted by: MelD | July 11, 2013 at 02:55 AM
Jill - He is!
Mel - Wille and I also visited a couple of enormous guitar stores in New york :)
Posted by: Carlos | July 11, 2013 at 03:01 AM
What a great project! Apart from the woodworking and the technical bits, it gives Willie insight into the great skills needed to build the things around us that we take for granted.
Looks super - a future family heirloom!
Sunny greetings from Uppsala
Ramona K
Posted by: Ramona K | July 11, 2013 at 03:37 AM
This is the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen. Kudos to Wille!!
Posted by: Yvonne @ Yvestown | July 11, 2013 at 04:44 AM
Really really cool!! I'm impressed!:o)
Posted by: Ellen* | July 11, 2013 at 04:44 AM
wow! the wood looks stunning - the whole guitare looks stunning!! great job!
Posted by: chrissy | July 11, 2013 at 04:49 AM
Wow! Mooks great! Hope he likes the sound. You both are very talented in making different types of thongs. - By the way, what product do you suggest for cleaning the betweens of the bathroom tiles? I have tried also Sini product which is a narrow tight brush for them but I think it is too heavy as wet and sort of melts the paste between the tiles away.
Posted by: Libris | July 11, 2013 at 05:02 AM
Hi, that's one pretty guitar!
Your description makes it sound easy, but must be lot of hard work behind the crafting.
Congratulate Wille to a beautiful instrument. Hope he will enjoy it forever!
Posted by: Helen F | July 11, 2013 at 05:34 AM
Libris - I don't know if my way is the best way but I've sealed the grout with a sealer which makes it less prone to get dirty. Then I spray the tiles and grout and bathtub with diluted Ajax, let sit for a while and then use one of these http://international.vileda.com/upload/0000/9112/BathroomCleaning_bathr_cleaner_MG_0053_detail.jpg?1310653981 to scrub and then rinse with the shower head. From what I've heard from pro cleaners, the idea is to let the product do it's thing for a while and not just spray and wipe immediately.
Posted by: Carlos | July 11, 2013 at 06:22 AM
Wille must be so proud of himself. That's a world class effort, if I've ever seen it!!
Posted by: Courtney | July 11, 2013 at 09:05 AM
That looks so cool. So how does it sound...?
Posted by: Messy | July 11, 2013 at 10:21 AM
Wow, it turned out great!
Posted by: Heather P. | July 11, 2013 at 11:06 AM
Messy - It sounds awesome!
Posted by: Carlos | July 11, 2013 at 11:09 AM
It is beyond cool! I am so very impressed with your boy!
Posted by: ~Michelle | July 11, 2013 at 12:58 PM
Wahnsinn!!
lg ela
Posted by: blackforestgirl | July 11, 2013 at 03:19 PM
Wow that is so beautiful. Talented boy!
Posted by: Pauline | July 11, 2013 at 03:59 PM
That is amazing. So lovely. I love that there is part that is lighter in colour. it makes it unique!
Posted by: Sol | July 11, 2013 at 04:33 PM
Are you kidding me? You all are beyond amazing.
Posted by: Josseline Wood | July 11, 2013 at 06:31 PM
Very Beautiful! Willie is obviously very talented.
Posted by: Liz | July 11, 2013 at 06:47 PM
Truly, absolutely gorgeous.
Posted by: PatriciaW | July 11, 2013 at 06:58 PM
Like mother like son.... beautiful workmanship....
Posted by: robin | July 11, 2013 at 07:18 PM
Very impressive!
Posted by: Annika | July 11, 2013 at 08:52 PM
B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. !!
Posted by: Mig | July 12, 2013 at 05:47 AM
Oh my, that is gorgeous! I think he gets it from you . . . the ability/willingness to tackle anything. Good Mama!
Posted by: t | July 12, 2013 at 10:32 AM
Very cool! Nice to see Wille following in your footsteps in terms of using power tools and making things.
Trevlig helg!
Posted by: Zosia | July 12, 2013 at 11:10 AM
You probably visited Sam Ash in here in NYC, in midtown. It has a huge hands-on guitar selection. That's where I purchased my cream-colored "Eric Clapton" Fender Strat. (Love it!) But Wille's guitar is very impressive -- quite beautiful. Nice work!
Posted by: Eliza | July 12, 2013 at 01:12 PM
That is extraordinary! What a very talented son you have!
Posted by: Haley | July 12, 2013 at 01:45 PM
A musician AND a talented craftsman! Any chance we could see/hear a sample of how the guitar sounds?
Posted by: Peggy | July 12, 2013 at 02:29 PM
WoW!
Like mother like son.:-)
Posted by: jja | July 13, 2013 at 04:03 PM
Jag hoppas han är riktigt stolt över sitt jobb! Den är otroligt vacker och jag hoppas den hänger med tills han är gammal.
Posted by: Laila | July 13, 2013 at 11:35 PM
Vilket projekt! Den blev fantastisk!
Posted by: Anne | July 14, 2013 at 03:04 AM
*Very* cool, I would say! Nothing like making something that most people buy! Our 8 year old built his own desktop computer and his face lights up each time he turns it on :)
Posted by: Gemma | July 14, 2013 at 11:18 AM
Beautiful!! Very impressive. Your son should be duly proud - and you too of course.
Posted by: Mia Gutierrez | July 15, 2013 at 08:44 AM
AMAZING
Posted by: rakefet | July 15, 2013 at 06:49 PM