Good to see this thread re-activated again by some guitar playing / building RRB brothers!
@Palepainter , those are some cool, crazy, wild axes! And it's always fun to see what
@GuitarlCarl is up to; I love the Duncan '59s.
My winter project this year was to build another Tele - style guitar. I really liked the fully chambered, 4 way switched, Barncaster I built in August of 2020 outlined in the thread. It's been my main go-to electric for the past two years. I wanted something similar, but with different characteristics this time around. I'm a pretty straight forward player, couple of solid settings and I'm good. So I stuck with the Tele design, and the 'Thinline' style body, single side chambered under the F hole. Then I went with a humbucker in the neck, and an extra hot single coil for the bridge pickup to pair well with the neck pu.
Merle Haggard style black pearl pick guard, on top of my custom finished blue burst top. It's a figured maple top cap, and I used 3 colors of Angelus leather dye to create the burst effect. Sealed it with Varathane Sanding Sealer, then 4 coats of carnuba wax on top for weather protection. Many of our gigs are outdoors in MN, humidity, sweat, sun, etc. The neck is a roasted maple neck with an ebony fretboard. Really like the feel and playability of the neck.
Here are a few photos of the process and finished product. Tried it out last week at an open mic here in Mesa, I'll see if I can attach a video of part of a tune.
See if this link takes you to our rendition of "..... Tonk Woman"....
https://www.facebook.com/100000485053213/videos/pcb.7755873027772122/1302688246807746