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I'm gonna get a big ass chunk of mahogany and carve out a body. I'm gonna try to remove as little wood as possible, so it'll be a Fender style hardtail and a bridge pickup wired straight to the output jack (no control cavity).

Now, what body style to use?

I'd say tele if you want it to be really simple...

BC Rich Ignitor.

i voted jazzmaster, but i would actually say the gretsch bo diddly rectangle style.

Me to, do a one pickup Jazzmaster in neck-thru (ton of wood=ton of sustain).


Originally Posted by PRGMe to, do a one pickup Jazzmaster in neck-thru (ton of wood=ton of sustain).

I think I'm leaning towards the Jazzmaster. It's gonna be a bolt-on, however, as this is my first try at building.

for your first time i'd go tele for sure. far less things to mess up since there is no forearm or tummy cuts.

-Mike


Originally Posted by XSSIVEfor your first time i'd go tele for sure. far less things to mess up since there is no forearm or tummy cuts.

That was my initial thought, but I've done lots of woodworking in the past, just never a guitar. I'm not incredibly worried about the added difficulty of any contouring, as I've been blessed with access to all the right tools, and an above-average amount of patience


Originally Posted by JB_From_HellI'm gonna get a big ass chunk of mahogany and carve out a body. I'm gonna try to remove as little wood as possible, so it'll be a Fender style hardtail and a bridge pickup wired straight to the output jack (no control cavity).

Now, what body style to use?

I wanted the same thing..... I liked the look of strats but the feel of teles so i made a strat shape body but without the forarm and tummy cuts so it felt like a tele..... but looked like a strat..... and it was a hardtail with 2 humbuckers.... Mahogany with fancy maple flame top.... stained blue

A Strat body allows you to try a lot of variations.
A Tele body is simpler, not much electronic probabilities but will probably give you a better sound because of the way the strings are mounted and the amount of wood you have.
A LP body has more electronic variations than a Tele but is more difficult to make with the contour and set neck. It will also sound as good as a Tele.
A JM does not have a lot of after market stuff at the time being, so you may get stucked with very few pickup options.
You said you have above average amount of patience and the right tools. I hope you have the right stuff too. (No offense here, just good wish)
I would go for a Tele.

For my answer to the poll, it wont really matter IMO!

JB, dont start with good wood! Start with crap and see how it turns out unless you want to flush hard earned money down the drain! Trust me on this! Dont waste money on a very nice peice of wood on an experiment! Tools and a bit of woodworking experience are only are aprt of the equation! That bit of woodworking experience is not in guitar building. Some of the same principles apply but, it is a bit of a different ballgame!

You should know that I know what I am talking about on this matter!


Originally Posted by theodieYou should know that I know what I am talking about on this matter!

Ya know I know ya do

What kind of wood should I use? I obviously want something that's similar to mahogany (working wise). BTW, even with the quot;realquot; one, I'm not going to bother with any figured, quilted, flamed bull****. Just a chunk of wood with as little wood removed as possible

for the sake of simplicity on a first-time project, i would go tele or lp jr. basically something without forearm/tummy cuts and excessive edge radiusing.

For some cheaper homemade bodies i bought boards of Basswood and Poplar for next to nothing from my lumber source.... I do buy expensive Mahogany too but i have a bunch of old necks that needed bodies and bought some cheaper wood... For about $20 Canadian per body for wood costs i made strat and tele bodies... Ended up using car paint on them....

WhoFan


Originally Posted by WhoFanFor some cheaper homemade bodies i bought boards of Basswood and Poplar for next to nothing from my lumber source.... I do buy expensive Mahogany too but i have a bunch of old necks that needed bodies and bought some cheaper wood... For about $20 Canadian per body for wood costs i made strat and tele bodies... Ended up using car paint on them....

WhoFan

Holy crap... that's like $15 per body for me. I figured I'd have to use something ****ty like pine to practice on!


Originally Posted by JB_From_HellHoly crap... that's like $15 per body for me. I figured I'd have to use something ****ty like pine to practice on!

Ya well the rough boards are not expensive of Basswood and Poplar... I'd buy a 2inch x 7inch x 6 foot board and get 2 bodies out of it for about $40... I have axess to a pro wood shop that is in my work's building... so i can plane, glue it, and machine it at work for free.... works for me.... i do find Basswood can be a funny wood to route out... The router causes a lot of tear out and fuzzy edges sometimes with basswood..... I made a double neck strat body out of basswood for less then $35 in wood....

Find out who sells quality lumber in your area.... you will not find guitar wood at most lumber stores....

Jazzmaster... coolest all-time body shape. If you want to follow Odie's advice, you could just glue up a slab of Home Depot poplar. My first DIY body was glued up from 6 pieces of 3/4quot;, three boards wide, with the seams offset between the two layers. The Les Paul snobs would be appalled, but it was dirt cheap and stronger than hell.


Originally Posted by WhoFanFind out who sells quality lumber in your area.... you will not find guitar wood at most lumber stores....

My dad (who has all the tools amp; garage) was telling me there's a specialty wood outlet somewhere close to us. Supposedly you can get just about any type of lumber there.

Out of alder, poplar, ash, maple, amp; basswood, which is the easiest to work with?


Originally Posted by JB_From_HellMy dad (who has all the tools amp; garage) was telling me there's a specialty wood outlet somewhere close to us. Supposedly you can get just about any type of lumber there.

Out of alder, poplar, ash, maple, amp; basswood, which is the easiest to work with?
i'd say Alder and Poplar are pretty good.....

The jazzmaster body shape is bootylicious.