This guy melts aluminum cans into a guitar

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There is no rule that says a playable guitar has to be made of tone woods.


"The Taylor Pallet guitar was originally conceived in 1995 as a way of proving to the guitar world that the quality of wood is not the only factor in building great guitars, Bob wanted to prove that the quality of the luthier was just as, if not more important than the quality of the wood by building a guitar entirely out of Pallet wood. This was a complete shock to the acoustic guitar world and the outcome far exceeded the expectations of everyone. It was in fact a revelation that a guitar made out of Oak Pallet wood back and sides with a 6 piece top of non-descript Pallet soft wood could sound so good and play so well, it was actually a very striking looking guitar with some very distinct features. The Forklift inlay was designed by Larry Breedlove and made out of Formica and Pearl, they also went as far as placing aluminium dots where the nail marks were in the wood to resemble the head of a nail which is a great touch that helps set this guitar apart from anything else that has been on the market."

I played this very guitar at the 1995 NAMM Show.





There were only 25 made and they bring $15-20K.
 
Rustyt1953 said:
1939.

Click to expand...

A bit before that was "the rail"
Taken from Les Paul's site.

THE RAIL – ELECTRIC GUITAR BEGINNINGS
Les Paul began experimenting with electrifying his guitar when he was in his early teens. He connected a radio as an amplifier to his acoustic guitar, but he wanted to hear just the strings vibrate and he wanted the strings to vibrate longer.

Using a short length of steel railroad rail and two railroad spikes, I invented a device that could give me a consistent reference point for my experiments. I took a guitar string and fastened it at each end of the steel rail, using the spikes like a bridge and nut to raise the string so it could be plucked. Then I took a telephone microphone, wired it into Mom‘s radio for amplification, and placed it on the rail under the string. I soon figured out that the tremendous solidity of the rail allowed the string’s vibration to sustain for a longer time, and there was no feedback.
 
Rustyt1953 said:
The early Kramer and Travis Bean guitars had aluminum necks. They sounded OK but intonation would change with temperature and the neck always felt cold.
Click to expand...

I think I remember a few graphite neck models in the late 80's.
Not sure why that didn't catch on. It'd be supremely stable
 
Pete Haycock of the Climax Blues Band had an aluminum guitar in the late 70s/early 80s. I liked the tone.


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0-6o0xUBPs[/ame]
 
venomballistics said:
I think I remember a few graphite neck models in the late 80's.
Not sure why that didn't catch on. It'd be supremely stable
Click to expand...

Modulus basses are very popular.

This is my 1995 Turbo Sweet Spot.

Graphite neck, Ebonol finger board, ash body w/chakte kok top.

Best bass I've ever owned.




 
In the '80s I'd read about the carbon fiber Bond Electraglide, with the sawtooth neck. The "frets" were molded as a sawtooth shape, and it had advanced electronics for the pickups. It was something like $1200 or more. Then I was in Boston at a guitar shop and they had one, marked down to $350 for some reason. I guess they didn't sell and went out of business. I went home, but kept thinking about it, so I called the store to see if they still had it. I had them ship it to me.

It was a fun guitar with a nice tone, and I enjoyed playing it, but the electronics didn't agree with me so I removed them and installed conventional pots and switches. It was poorly balanced, so I added weights inside the hollow body.

I eventually sold it for not a lot of money, but if I'd kept it original it would probably be valuable today.
 
I have an arbor press a friend made from melting cans and aluminum scraps. He poured it into a sand mold block then machined the block into a press. Remelt the machined scraps and do it again.
 
MelvinWalker said:
I am frankly speechless at the ingenuity of some people...Well worth the watch if you want to see how to forge aluminum cans into a gorgeous playable electric guitar.
Click to expand...

A very creative and talented guy. This video displays some mad wood working skills.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sacV1-XbyCM[/ame]
 
In 1994 I sold this Fender Custom Shop Harley-Davidson Strat to a Harley dealer in Atlanta for $17K. There were only 109 made. They are now bringing upwards of $30K.

Fender produced these incredible guitars to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of Harley Davidson Motorcycles. The hand-engraved HD art accents the custom made aluminum body and pickguard that is plated in chrome and gold. The figured birds-eye maple neck features an ebony fretboard with stainless steel frets and an engraved “90th Anniversary Edition” plate at 12th fret.






 
A 80+ year old Hungarian emigrant live in my apartments in the early 1980's. I saw him in a vacant lot using a block plane and went to investigate. He had made the plane, the sole was rounded end to end and side to side. He said he made the fitted seats on captain's chairs with now days, but use to make violins with it. He invited me to see some of his violins. One he had just finished was entirely of Black Walnut. He claimed it would never be a great violin, it had no soul! I guess he knew a great violin when he made one, His very first one still plays in the New York Philharmonic.

The materials will only make a differance in the right hands!

Ivan
 
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