Blackguard Jehucaster!

**Jehu** · 08-01-2018, 09:43 PM

I felt it was time to upgrade my partscaster, so I got to work turning these...

Blackguard Jehucaster!-0-wood-jpg

Into one of these!

Blackguard Jehucaster!-dsc_0102-jpg

The body is a New Zealand native called Kahikatea, and the neck is Birdseye Maple -- a reflection of both my NZ home and my Canadian roots. Bareknuckle Flat-50 pickups, hot rodded bridge by Marc Rutters, EVO gold fretwire, bakelite pickguard, and thin oil finish.

Blackguard Jehucaster!-dsc_0110-jpg

I made the position markers using epoxy and sand from Piha, one of our local black sand beaches:
Blackguard Jehucaster!-piha-south1-jpg

I kept things fairly conservative except for a couple of minor sacrileges, including a subtle arm bevel as well as an eased edge where the back of the upper bout meets the chest.
Blackguard Jehucaster!-dsc_0105-jpg

Overall I think it turned out pretty well. The figure in the maple is quite spectacular!
Blackguard Jehucaster!-dsc_0107-jpg

**Dedalus** · 08-01-2018, 09:57 PM

Love it, Jay.

**AlsoRan** · 08-01-2018, 10:35 PM

You are truly "good with the wood," my man!

**Mark M.** · 08-01-2018, 10:41 PM

Wow!! Beautiful!

**Alder Statesman** · 08-01-2018, 11:14 PM

Fabulous rig! A real attention getter.

**wzpgsr** · 08-01-2018, 11:26 PM

Love that neck!

**citizenk74** · 08-01-2018, 11:27 PM

Nice work! Congratulations, and play it in good health!

**Jehu** · 08-02-2018, 12:43 AM

Thanks, dudes!

**rabbit** · 08-02-2018, 12:57 AM

Great work, extremely tempting!

**TOMMO** · 08-02-2018, 04:52 AM

Marvellous!

**feet** · 08-02-2018, 08:25 AM

you have another one of those lying around? maybe a thinline/offset? with filtertrons? and a 12" radius? and maybe the big 70s headstock? and possibly bound? with a tort pickguard? maybe in vintage white, but sonic blue or grey is fine, but possibly with a white pickguard instead, if that is the case?

dumb question, but can we see more of the inlays? i want to see the shiny sand or whatever. that sounds really cool.

**Dave70** · 08-02-2018, 09:17 AM

Damn that guitar is a beauty! Love it!!

**neilspeers** · 08-02-2018, 11:23 AM

That is a truly lovely guitar, well done

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**Woody Sound** · 08-02-2018, 12:32 PM

What an elegant Tele.

**guido5** · 08-02-2018, 12:47 PM

Stunning instrument! Well done!

**Boston Joe** · 08-02-2018, 02:08 PM

Outstanding!

**jazzbow** · 08-02-2018, 02:48 PM

Jehu, I love your work.

**Jehu** · 08-02-2018, 05:57 PM

Thanks for the kind words, folks!

Originally Posted by feet

you have another one of those lying around? maybe a thinline/offset? with filtertrons? and a 12" radius? and maybe the big 70s headstock? and possibly bound? with a tort pickguard? maybe in vintage white, but sonic blue or grey is fine, but possibly with a white pickguard instead, if that is the case?

All these things are possible, but the finish might be a hurdle. I'm not set up for spraying, so I hand apply the finish and use stains directly on the wood for colour. This can make for a lot of experimenting to get a colour match on a particular piece of wood, and opaque solids are pretty well out.

Here was what I was aiming for; I think I got somewhere in the ballpark...
Blackguard Jehucaster!-example-jpg

**Jehu** · 08-02-2018, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by feet

dumb question, but can we see more of the inlays? i want to see the shiny sand or whatever. that sounds really cool.

No problemo. Here is the sand itself:
Blackguard Jehucaster!-dsc_0143-jpg

I was really hoping that the pretty twinkly sparkliness would show up in the inlays, but unfortunately it didn't really. But I know what they are, and it's cooler than plastic!
Blackguard Jehucaster!-dsc_0118-jpg

**feet** · 08-03-2018, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by Jehu

All these things are possible, but the finish might be a hurdle. I'm not set up for spraying, so I hand apply the finish and use stains directly on the wood for colour. This can make for a lot of experimenting to get a colour match on a particular piece of wood, and opaque solids are pretty well out.

don't feel bad. you can go ahead with any finish you like, since it is free anyway.

that hand staining gives a much different look than your average tele. familiar, yet not.

Originally Posted by Jehu

I was really hoping that the pretty twinkly sparkliness would show up in the inlays, but unfortunately it didn't really. But I know what they are, and it's cooler than plastic!

maybe you could mix in a little glitter? or try drum wrap, like gretsch does with it's binding. still, that's some cool sand you got there. very few places have the black volcanic stuff. i'm in los angeles and our sand isn't black, it is just dirty from all the trash and hobo poop and stuff. so good for you!