Stinking Fish Guitars

30/05/2026

I've been at a bit of a loss as to what wood to make the fret board from for this build..
I didn't think I had anything suitable so the plan was to go and raid Gary's shed.
I had one last look through a stack of offcuts and trimmings and low and behold hiding from view was this gorgeous bit of Tasmanian blackwood.. It was bang on big enough almost to the point where I was beginning to think I'd made it for another build and put it aside and forgotten it..
I'll not put binding on it as that will masks the lovely grain figuring on the side..
The rods have been epoxied into the neck so that's all done.. Going to have to put things aside for a little while to catch up on some other stuff.
Also I have a wee issue with my table saw that needs sorting but super happy I found this beautiful bit of wood.. When the finish goes on this stuff really razzles and dazzles..

28/05/2026

I have two friends, Ken and Gary, that have been absolutely pivotal in me learning what I have thus far. No one learns in a vacuum, everyone needs a mentor or mentors and I'd never have gotten this far without them.
This morning I was in the workshop delighting in having the opportunity to break out my favourite Stanley 7/12 router plane and something hit me, both these men come at woodwork from different angles..
One of those men makes dust, the other makes shavings, one is a very talented hobbyist the other a top of his game professional and I'd not really noticed or fully appreciated the importance of those differences.
Gary is a hobbyist and when he goes into his workshop he makes dust, lots and lots of dust in fact if there is a machine capable of making dust that man has it and uses it..
Ken on the other hand is a life long professional but when he talks about going into the workshop he always says going to make shavings.. Sure he uses a lot of machines but his mindset is sharp blades, hand tools that literally make shavings.
I think that is why my workshop has ended up the way it has, part machine, part hand tool.. I love the accuracy of the machine but love the time spent guiding a hand tool that makes a perfect shaving.
Why is this important or worthy of one of my rambles, not sure but as you get older these things come into focus much more acutely..
I guess what it means is that when I gift someone a guitar that is not so much indicative of me but indicative of the gift those two men gave me and somehow that really means something..
This is an aside but I think I now fully understand why Ken has the name Owen prominently written on the stunningly gorgeous wooden bike he built for himself.

21/05/2026

Might not look like much but progress is progress but my mind has been preoccupied with other things..
I actually can't remember the last neck I did that wasn't laminated, I'm really hoping and trusting it'll be okay, I'm sure it will it's heart Rimu..
The colour won't come up until the finish is applied..
Anyway the neck and heel are done just have the head to finish off before gluing it up and fitting the rods..
I have no idea of what to make the fret board out of at the moment, I think a raid on Gary's shed is in the wind..

17/05/2026

I have no idea how the US postal system works but considering it's 2026 it needs a serious overhaul..
I have the last guitar waiting to be finished, I buggered up the sticker for it I had then decided what the hell I'll order another..
That was on the 27th of last month, as of today the tracking number says it's finally in the air, not arrived here, just left the US..
It's a sticker for # # # # # sake, put it in an envelope b**g a stamp on it and go..
The stupid thing is it didn't have to go a gazillion miles overland to get to a departure point.. The place I bought it from was in Illinois, the place it departed the country was, you guessed it Illinois. It took 20 days to get from one part of the state to another..
Ah well in the meantime it looks good on the wall but dang it should have been done and dusted by now..
Just to add to my 1st world problems I buggered up a the heal on the neck for this bass so it's an emergency trip tomorrow to raid Gary's shed..

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11/05/2026

This next bass I'm going to go for a different look, something softer, more understated..
The box itself is not shiny with lots of fancy design work, it's simple and muted.. I've spent a bunch of time rummaging through the stack looking for combinations but most of the stuff I have is dark or stuff I have other plans for everything just seems to overpower the subtlety of the box..
So thievery has prevailed and I've stolen this lovely piece of Rimu from Gary's shed.. I'm even resisting the temptation to laminate it up with other woods, just simple golden Rimu on a soft pale yellow unvarnished box.. I will do the fret board binding in a dark wood just to set that off..
I've been lead to believe (true or not) that laminated wood is stronger than straight wood so to get that ni**le from out of the back of my head I'm going to b**g in four titanium rods into the neck instead of the normal two.. That should hold the thing in place..

07/05/2026

well it's finally buttoned up, the strings are on and when plugged in it makes a noise..
A little bit of a 60hz hum but it's a single coil pickup , you have to expect some..
It's quite possibly because of the strings I've used.. I had a rummage through the drawer after a set and I found a pack of Pink Neon Fluorescent strings.. Where they came from lord knows because I don't remember buying them but I figured what the hell and b**ged them on..
What it means is even though the bridge is earthed the strings aren't..
Ah well not my problem someone drew the short straw and got pink florescent :)
I've hunted and hunted and just can't find that sticker so I've done the dumb thing and ordered another so the Visa card has got another workout..
In my hunting adventures looking for the sticker I found some buffalo horn so I'll make another nut from that..
All in all not far from being thrown in the post..

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04/05/2026

I'd forgotten to epoxy a small block into Deans one so I've done that but can't lock it up until that cured..
In the meantime today I got a bit of a march on the next.. It's a 3 string upright bass for Jay..
Buying this box was a bit of a hope and a prayer.. The box is designed to look like a crate so instead of having the usual flat top to work with there are these straps across the top to deal with..
Rather than cutting through them I've decided to b**g fillets in to bring it all up to level, if you get my drift..
I think it'll turn out pretty good and if nothing else it'll force Jay to stand up during practice with the band instead of falling asleep on the couch..

02/05/2026

Panic over with the wiring, I had done it right (sort of)..
Gary popped in yesterday and while here had a look and in 2 seconds saw the problem.. A couple of filaments from the hot wire from the pickup were hanging in the breeze and touching the pot case shorting everything out.. He snipped them off and everything worked.. I couldn't even see them but his beady eyes did..
All things being equal it should be done by next weekend if I can find this damn sticker from Deals Gap..
I know I have it somewhere I would never have thrown it out..

26/03/2026

Well it's finally done and I'm pretty happy with it.
It's an AVO Ritmo box and as I am lead to understand Ritmo is Spanish for rhythm which is really in keeping with it now being a guitar.
It seems a long time since I've done a 3 string and it feels a bit like coming home doing another.. I know most like the 4 string but somehow that extra string on a cigar box just doesn't feel right..
It's a 24.75" Gibson style scale length, the neck is made of Ash and Oak with Rimu on the head stock and heel.
The tail is my last piece of guitar usable Northland swamp Kauri.. It's been a delight to work with but swamp Kauri burl isn't like nipping out for a bottle of milk, good bits of burl are hard to get and pretty darn pricey but I'm glad to have had the opportunity to use what many consider a national treasure on a few of my guitars..
As this one is heading up to the Bay of Islands it feels a bit like it's going full circle..
The fret board is the last bit of Birdseye Maple which my good friend Ken sent to me from Michigan when he was living and working there.. Fret markers are Paua but I can't remember what wood the binding is..
The neck contains two Guyker titanium fixed truss rods..
Floating bridge and a C B Gitty flat wound pickup rounds it off..
Gary was around today and gave it his tick of approval.. I have to admit his has a really lovely clean sound with bags of sustain with none of the dreaded 60hz hum.
So there is is another one off the bench and while it awaits its new owner it's snuggled up with some buddies keeping it company..
This has been way too long in getting done but at least it has.
So if Shredder and house decorating will permit I'll get get on and finish the one I started building for Dean.

12/02/2026

Well it's nearly a month since I said I'd be soon back on the bench but this bathroom has conspired to trip me up every step of the way, cost and problems just kept escalating.. However all things being equal and if the gods get on my side it should be done by the end of next week.. (maybe)..

Anyway once it's done and everything squared away this is what is on the table..

Top one is an AVO Ritmo 3 string destined for Pete and Trish which in practice means it's headed into the hands of their son Michael.
So long overdue its not funny..

Next one down a 3 string Rocky Patel 60th Anniversary one destined for Dean.. It looks close but there's still a lot to do...

Bottom left is something a bit different, it's going to be a 3 string upright bass for Jay.. I bought the box in the hope I could make the hardware fit.. As it doesn't have a flat top it was a real hope more than anything else..

Next down is another Rocky Patel Sixty.. It's a long story but I ended up with 3 of them 2 small ones, one of which I gave to Jack for his build and that big one.. I don't have a plan for it but something will happen along the way..

Next one is an Oscar Valladares Heaven and Hell box.. Art work on the box is subtle, silver on white.. In case you can't see it's flames at the bottom and clouds at the top.. I know it sounds odd but I bought that because of a song.. As soon as I saw the name I was instantly reminded of an Appalachian song called Oh Death.. In the song one of the lines is I open the door to Heaven and Hell, that's why I bought it.. Consequently I have to come up with something of that theme..

Last on the right is a Zino Platinum box from their New Yoke Urban collection.. I really struggled over buying this one.. So much going against it, mainly it's really thin and secondly how to make something without screwing up that artwork by cutting stonking great holes in it.. I do have a design in mind but it's stupidly complicated.. It'll be either a spectacular success that'll be mind-blowing or it'll be expensive firewood..
So if I can just get out of this damned bathroom this is what is happening for the foreseeable future