This is with four coats of Tru-oil ( gunstock finish)...I'm going for a satiny slight gloss finish... The grain and character of the Sapele really pop..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742243703.jpg

The grain looks almost completely different with the oil on it!

I took it outside to do some wet sanding 600/100/1500

The Sapele looks amazing..

Waiting for parts....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742329346.jpg

Looks great. Almost like a leopard.

Tim - this looks awesome. What do you have planned for pick guards? It seems like a shame to cover it up, also a shame to scratch it.

I'm thinking no pick guard...

And if I did get a pick guard it would have to be a custom one, off the shelf wont work...The body is routed for three strat pickups, but Telecaster controls

beautiful! well done..

Almost done.. waiting for some parts

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1743265081.jpg

^^^ pretty sweet.

I bet you can’t wait to play it.

Its finished, I did an initial set up, and put strings on it Wednesday.. Ill give it another day or two with tension on the neck and do another set up....But it plays nice..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1743806618.jpg

Looks great!

Beauty!

What's happened with case prices?

If you read my retirement thread, my former workplace offers points to spend in a rewards catalog, and I picked $400 of Guitar Center gift cards. I'm thinking of picking up another guitar, but most of them don't come with cases, or even bags. I looked on FBM for cases, but they're few and far between, and new ones are $180 or so. But, for around $200, I can buy a used Squier model in a Fender USA case. I figure I could resell the guitar for at least $100, and have a more reasonably priced case.

I was talking to my brother-in-law Saturday night, and he thinks instead of another guitar, I should get a Spark amp. I saw a few posts in this thread from 2022 from people who had one. Any update or recommendation there?

I use the spark occasionally if in the backyard or on the porch. I wouldn’t have it as my only amp. If you want a portable battery powered amp then I think it’s pretty cool

If you're not in a rush, you can watch the "Stupid Deal of the Day" each day on Musician's Friend. Would a gig bag cover your needs?

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid

beautiful!

I have a spark, it’s okay for practice or jamming with recordings with headphones.

This one is almost done. Commishened about a year ago. They are just waiting on the Seymour Duncan chrome pickups (we changed from Nickel after it was assembled). Prestige does an amazing job with these custom shop 1/1 guitars.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749962039.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749962053.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749962074.jpg

And the inpsiration behind this build (ya that was me)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749962092.jpg

Cheers