Bamboo Guitar

This is an electric guitar me and my dad made back in 2014 out of a couple bamboo cutting boards.

This was my first build, so I decided to go ahead and buy a pre-built neck. Maybe next time I'll feel a bit more ambitious and make my own. I went with a maple neck with a Strat style headstock.

I started by outlining my telecaster on a large piece of paper, then slowly changing the lines until I got this funky fin shape. I ended up buying two large bamboo cutting boards for my wood.

I like the simplicity of the Les Paul Jr., so I decided to go with a single P90 pickup. This one was a Gibson pickup, but if I had it to do over again I might have gone with a Seymour Duncan. I also had to order the pickup as a "soap-bar" and get a separate "dog-ear" cover and plate.

I used my Epiphone Les Paul as a guide on where to put the bridge.

I used a scroll saw to cut out both boards separately.

A generous amount of wood glue and clamped it up to sit overnight.

Gave it a whirl on the belt sander, and cleaned up any excess glue and cutting discrepancies between the two boards.

After the glue dried, it was time to route out the neck pocket. I looked up the angle Les Paul necks are usually set at, I believe it was 5 degrees.

I went ahead and put in the tuning pegs. I got Fender locking tuners, and am very happy with them.
Bolted in the neck.

I guess I could have saved a few dollars and gone with a generic plate.

We used a couple bolts and some washers to make a temporary floating bridge, while I found the proper spacing.

I strung up both "E" strings and finally got the bridge in a spot where they both intonate well.

Marked and drilled the holes to mount the bridge.

Drilled the holes for the volume and tone potentiometers too.

Now that I knew where the bridge was going to be, It was time to route out the hole for the pickup.

Drilled the hole for the jack, as well as a narrower hole for the pickup wire.

Lots and lots of sanding.

Alright, so this was my first go around. I bought “all purpose outdoor” wood stain from Sherwin Williams, not exactly the most traditional method. I was using sponges and old socks, so my coat wasn’t exactly perfectly even. Oh well, it’s “pre-weathered”.

Exciting, we're almost there!

I looked up the original wiring diagram for a Les Paul Jr. and just followed that.

I used tin snips to cut out a cover for the electronics. It's not fancy or sexy, but it sort of fits my rough stain job.

I ended up stealing the string tree from my Tele while I waited for the one I ordered.

All the hardware is in place and I broke out a fresh set of strings!

There she is in all her glory!

View this project on Instagram and Imgur.