I've got wood.

I went to Kellogg Hardwoods today, finally! David and Sarah (Liz's brother and his girlfriend) were here all last week, so there went the best laid plans of mice and men...

But it is done now.

I purchased a piece of mahogany for bodies and a piece of maple for necks. The mahogany is a bit on the thin side (13/16") so I will be laminating two pieces together for bodies. Which is really perfect because I wanted to do a semi-hollow with the mighty Gretsch-esque anyway.

Check it out...



The above pieces are the wood! Wood is pricey! I spent a fair bit on it - a little over $100. I did get some big pieces, as you'll see later.




This is the maple that I'm using for the neck. Pretty nifty, eh?



This is Sipo Mahogany. At $12/ board foot, it isn't the cheapest lady at the dance, but it sure is pretty! I feel almost blasphemous painting this.



I told you it was a lot of wood! The maple is about 7' long, while the Sipo clocks in at just over 8'. See the look on my face? I'm either (a) pained at spending that much on two boards or (b) trying to figure out if the timer function is working on the camera. Which do you think?

Now let's see some measurements. I put the camera away and got out the iPhone for this next bit, so hopefully it isn't too grainy. I promise to rig up the camera and the tripod in future, but I was a bit excited about actually starting this project.

So first, the maple...



It's about 4.75" wide, but not quite...hmmm - I have some options here. I could try to save as much as possible by ripping it down the middle, and probably get a ridiculous quantity of necks out of it. How wide is a neck again at the base? I'll have to check my drawings. Of course, this is my guitar, and I can do what I want I suppose.


Now, on to the Sipo:




Here is the width! 17"! Damn!

The length is -



- 97". 8' 1", for those that can't do the math or are lazy and on summer vacation.

One thing I forgot to tell you is this...



CRAP! I huge check! I have to lose about 4" of wood due to this. To make sure it doesn't continue, I think I'll use a really thin blade on a jigsaw. I didn't see any circular saws lying around.

I was going to do the math tonight, but I think I'll do it tomorrow. Time to play some Wii, or maybe just go to bed!

UPCOMING: Measurements and project start! Yippee!