I really wasn't sure how it would turn out. I had limited experience woodworking and zero experience building guitars so I leaned heavily on the experience of others. A virtual thank you and handshake to Steve Dickey, Jon Sevy, and Robert O'Brien. These guys have all generously shared their experience through blogs and videos. If you've stumbled upon this blog because you want to build a guitar I hope that you find something helpful but be sure to google these guys. They're the pros.
A few facts about Tailgate Guitar:
There is an ant forever embedded in the glue that secures the internal bracing. I did build this outside.
The guitar contains my dna thanks to a misguided chisel that found the end of my finger.
There are well over 200 pieces of wood in the guitar including Mahogany and Rosewood from S.America, Purple Heart from Mexico, and Black Walnut from Illinois.
I'm adding a few more pictures and a link to my son, Dave, playing the guitar. I gave Dave his first guitar 13 years ago, the same guitar that I used as a guide for Tailgate Guitar. Thanks for sticking with it, Dave. You make me proud. Thanks also to my family, especially Kelley, Lawton, and Shannon for all your encouragement. You helped make this a fun project. I love you all.
Tailgate Guitar is not perfect. It has flaws that I haven't mentioned, mostly cosmetic. I love it anyway. I think whenever the potter puts his hand to the clay that a bond is formed. God created us and He loves us in spite of our imperfections. A much grander scenario, I know, but there are some parallels. The guitar can not love me back. It is wood and metal. But in the hands of a musician it can make music. It feels good having been a part of that.
Thank you for reading.
I didn't want to cover the design with a traditional bridge so I made this one.
Bridge installed
My spray booth. I used lacquer from a can.
It started with this black walnut
finally
Finished!
Dave plays Tailgate Guitar
