Dismal Ax

Chambered sassafras body with quartersawn white oak top

Maple neck with black locust fretboard.

Hipshot Ultralite tuners and hardtail bridge.

Homespun J-style pickups

Weighs 7.2 pounds

This is a new design, and I haven’t decided what to call it yet.

The body is cypress, with a mildly distressed milk paint finish, and the neck is walnut, with a persimmon fretboard.

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This is one I started last October, in hopes of having ready for the show, but ran out of time for.

Body is elm barnwood rafter sections, hollowed, with a red milk paint finish.

Neck is maple, with black locust fretboard. 22 frets, 25″ scale.

Homespun single coil pickups, bridge: 10k ohm DCR, neck 8k.

Aluminum compensated bridge/tailpiece combo.

Hipshot classic tuners.

Weighs 7 pounds.

This one is a custom commission I just finished.

Body is four sections of salvaged elm barn rafters, with edges hollowed out prior to joining.

Neck is walnut, with a quartersawn Osage orange fretboard.

Bigsby B5 vibrato tailpiece and Mastery M1 bridge.

Hipshot Griplock tuners.

Pickups are my homespun humbuckers.

This is another one of the axes I re-did for the show last November.

Here is how it looked originally, in 2015:

And now:

Body is sassafras, with a milk paint finish, lightly sanded back to show the grain.

Neck is maple, with a black locust fretboard.

Bridge plate is made from a small stainless steel serving tray.

Switch plate is made from an electric motor data plate.

Pickguard is Formica.

Tele-style pickups, bridge: 7.5k neck: 7k

Grover mini rotomatic tuners.

Weighs 7.4 pounds

Fourth in the series of railroad themed guitars for Rail Yard Studios, made from a couple types of mahogany-like timber salvaged from the decking of decommissioned railroad cars.

Another double-cutaway model, with chambered body and arched top, displaying the original tongue and groove joints along the edges, this one with a distressed milk paint finish on the body.

The tailpiece and pickguard are made from an iron strap hinge, and the control plate from a tin utility pole sign.

The New York Central emblem is an antique cereal box prize.

Hipshot classic tuners, handmade brass fixed intonation bridge, two homespun humbucking pickups.

Third in the series of railroad themed guitars for Rail Yard Studios, made from a couple types of mahogany-like timber salvaged from the decking of decommissioned railroad cars.

One of two double-cutaway models, with chambered bodies and arched tops, displaying the original tongue and groove joints along the edges.

This one features a pickguard made from a stainless steel builders plate from the running gear of a diesel locomotive.

Last photo shows the Timken roller bearing serial plate I forgot to add.

Single coil pickups, 9.2k/7.5k

Brass compensated tailpiece, Hipshot tuners.

Weight 7.5 pounds.

Another one I decided needed some more visual interest.

This is how it looked when I built it in 2015:

And now…

Body is sassafras, chambered, with chalk paint over milk paint, and distressed.

Control plates are antique door hardware.

Pickguard is cut from the face plate of a produce scale.

Pickups are my homespun humbuckers, bridge: 8kohms dcr, neck: 7.1kohms dcr.

Weighs 7.2 pounds.

Second in the series of guitars for Rail Yard Studios.

The top on this one is pine bead board with its original green paint, salvaged from the doors of the old railroad freight station in Watertown, Tennessee.

The rest of the wood is salvaged from the decking of decommissioned railroad cars.

Control plates are antique door hardware, pickguard is rusted roof tin, and the tailpiece is an antique cast iron drawer pull.

Kluson USA tuneomatic bridge, Hipshot tuners, two homespun humbucking pickups.

This is the first of a series of guitars in collaboration with Rail Yard Studios, made from a couple different species of mahogany-like timber salvaged from the decking of rail cars built to carry coils of steel.

Single cutaway model, with milk paint finish.

Pickguard is made from an antique clock pan, and control plate from a brass machine plate.

Kluson USA bridge plate, Hipshot tuners, 2 homespun single coil pickups.