Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

[NorthstrumGuitars]

Well, here's something that I believe may be unique to the guitar building world.

Here's something I call a burn etched finish that I'm guessing will look killer on a body with the right stain, type of wood and grain. I don't believe this method has been used to finish a guitar body before.

http://m.imgur.com/IIgIhnu

And I'm thinking about making my headstock logo like this. Obviously not that specific logo, just using this method.

http://m.imgur.com/WVqf5y8


It's called burn etching ( for lack of a better term) and I'm just wondering if this has been done before ? I'm sure it has so I'm just wondering if you know on which guitars specifically. I think it looks good and could easily be applied with a branding iron. I think it could also be used to easily put an etching into a fretboard. You could even fill the etching with some enamel paint if you wanted to.

Anyways, what do you guys think about applying a headstock logo with a branding iron like that? What about the body finish? And do you know if any of this has been done before? And what do you think about burn etching the fretboard and painting the it with enamel paint? I think just the black burn mark would look better anyways though.

As many of you may or may not know, I'm making my own guitars. The Northstrum Veracity.

A one piece hardtail mohagany 70s Strat, with a 30 SS jumbo fret 27" scale maple neck and ebony fretboard. Locking nut. Gotoh bridge. Dimarzio D Sonic in the bridge and something cleaner in the middle position.

I was going to do pearl inlays and still might, except I'm thinking I might be able to use a branding iron to etch the patterns. I could make patterns out of thin steel and basically brand the fretboard with all kinds of intricate patterns.

Anyways, I'm sure you guys the the idea. Looking forward to tapping your collective knowledge and hearing some feedback.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

That form has been used in many types of woodworking of course. But maybe not so much in guitar. There are a few Western themed guitars that might have that 'branding' type feature - I'm thinking Tele's with leather pickguards and the like.

But I'm sure if you came up with your own iconic version that you would have something interesting and little used. Finishing over the top could be the key.

 

[NorthstrumGuitars]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

I was thinking of doing it to a maple top, but I'll probably do it to a slab of mohagany and then run it through the thickness planer and sand it until the etchings are flush with the surface. Then I'll stain with either a dark stain or coloured one, like red. I think red with the black etching would look sick.

What do you think about applying this technique to the fretboard though? It would be a very fast and efficient way to do a pearl inlay. I could literally etch an intricate pattern the whole length of the neck in 10 seconds if I wanted to. It would probably look cool without the pearl inlay too.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

Certainly on maple it would look striking.
On Ash I think the effect would be similar....you'd have to make sure the grain was not so prominent. Mahogany would be the same....the pores if filled with something dark could overwhelm the etch if you're not careful.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

Isn't this how Warmoth puts their logo on all their bodies and necks?

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

Check some of TazRules threads,I think...

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

Back in 2014, I saw a 12-part series of videos from the ESP Custom Shop where a guitar player called Kagrra Akiya created his own custom guitar right in ESP's custom shop under the guidance of an ESP builder.
On video 4-1 (07/12) he used a small blow torch and a fire-proof sheet that he had cut the shape he wanted, to burn said shape on the guitar.

Unfortunately I can no longer find it anywhere on the net but the video was called "ESP_Custom_Shop_Handmade_Guitar_By_Kagrra_Akiya_4-1"

 

[ChAoZ]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

:spam:

 

[jtees4]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

Not sure if this is exactly the same, but Gibson had the Firebrand guitars many years ago:

 

[Mincer]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

The Firebrands were in 79, I think. Very cool, rustic looking guitars.

 

[Sirion]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

Yeah, I used to have one of those. Flat top, all mahogany with an ebony fretboard. Mine was nice but I never really bonded with it as the frets were tiny. I've actually never thought about the logo being unusual, but when you mention it, I distinctly remember mine being like that.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Are these building techniques new to the guitar building world?

Gretsch made a model with a branded "G" on the body back in their '50s heyday. But I've never seen one with an intricate design like you showed. I think there may be a one-off here and there, but no production guitars as far as I know.

I seriously considered doing a woodburned design on the headstock of the guitar I built from scratch but changed my mind. Mainly because I no longer own the woodburner I had as a kid.