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There's a venue in Tulsa called Cain's Ballroom that's been an historic music hall for decades. It was built in 1924 and was the place from where Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys used to broadcast their first radio show, and it earned the nickname The Carnegie Hall of Western Swing. Besides Bob Wills, it hosted other notable greats like Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams Sr, and Tex Ritter.

It was also a hopping dance hall at that time, famous for it's spring loaded, maple floor laid out in a concentric square pattern. There are still folks around Tulsa who have very fond memories of the dances at Cains. Another of it's distinctive features is the 4' neon star in the middle of the roof above the dance floor.



There was a period during the '60s where the place fell into disrepair, but luckily it was purchased and brought back to life in time to see some great modern bands come through, including Jerry Lee Lewis, George Clinton, Jack White, Elvis Costello, and Beck. One of the most seemingly-odd for Tulsa was the Sex Pistols. Cain's was one of only 7 stops on their 1978 US tour.



Today, Cain's is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an iconic building in Tulsa.



So now for the fun part. I was able to get in touch with the family that owns Cain's, and they've given me some of the original flooring to build 4 guitars. 2 of them will be for Cain's, 1 will be a donation guitar to raise money for Tulsa Public Schools music education, and 1 will be part of my Heritage Series.




My Heritage Series guitars are a limited run. There are 77 counties in Oklahoma, and my goal is to get wood from 1 old structure in each county and build one guitar out of that structure. It'll come with a detailed history, certificate of authenticity, and some professional photos of the structure as well. My original idea wasn't to necessarily use historic structures, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to use this wood.

For all the guitars, I'm not going to put any other finish on the bodies. I'll just clean up the maple and let the history come through with the worn, dented, finish of the old floor. Also, each guitar will have a custom neck plate with the CAIN'S logo.

Here's where things stand as of right now:





While I was processing the wood, I was surprised at how many pieces had some really nice birds eye figure.



You'll notice that stamp on the that board. It's the name of the mill that produced the flooring back in the '20s. I did some research on them and found out they were fairly historic in their own right. They were started in the 1870s and not only built the flooring, but they designed and built the machinery to make the flooring. I wanted to preserve that part as well, so the back of the guitars look like this:




I'm hoping to have these done by the end of the month, and I'll be sure to post some finished pics.

Oh, and a statewide TV show came out and did a story on these a couple of months ago. Here's a link to the piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKV_WCoXZqM

Very cool Roger. I grew up in Tulsa and saw some great shows at Cains.

Thanks, Barry. Yeah, that place has some incredible mojo around it. What was cool was the forensics involved while processing the wood. I found several pieces that were fire damaged and then there several pieces of newer stuff and even some walnut patched in for repairs. I'm making the necks from the flooring as well, and I used some of the walnut as the center lamination.

Very cool thread and guitars Roger. This is the kind of stuff that I enjoy the most reading.

Cool story, I enjoy this stuff too.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Neat-o Roger!
Cool that you were able to preserve the patina.
Nicely done!

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Thank you, Hesh. I appreciate that.


Thank you, Steve.


Thanks, dz.

Wow! Very cool. good for you - Mike G

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guitarsbygiltzow.com

They look like dancehall burl! Awesome!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Got a little more done so far this weekend. The bodies are completely finished, and I got one of the pickguards done. Both of the guitars going to Cain's will have a pickguard made from an old Bob Wills 10" record. Since they're too small to do a standard Tele guard, I combined a standard guard and a deluxe guard.



I also ordered in some nice birds eye maple for fretboards, and that wood came in today as well, so I hope to get the fretboards mostly done this weekend also.

Finished up one of the guitars today. This is the one that'll be raffled off in Tulsa to raise money for Tulsa Schools music education.







I've the next neck roughed out on my jig, so I hope to have the next guitar done by next weekend. The cold weather's coming fast, so I need to get off my butt and get these knocked out.

Roger, very cool guitars. Where can I buy a raffle ticket?

Thank you, Glen. I'm not sure how the raffle is set up. I think the folks in charge of that are still working out the details. Once I have some info, I'll be sure to post it here for you.

Thanks Roger, I’ll keep my eye out and I’ll buy more than one for sure!

Way cool, Roger. Yeah, I want a raffle ticket, too!

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George :-)

Just about to get these finished up. The pair that are for Cain's should be done this weekend. This one's been done for about a week, and its twin should be done by Sunday.

Wow!
Love the vinyl pick guard !

Thanks, Alan. Here are a few more shots.

These are the twins that belong to Cain's. They each have a different Bob Wills record for the pickguard: My Home in San Antone and Take Me Back to Tulsa






And this is the only 1 for sale. One of my retailers bought it and has it for sale in their shop right now.

How fast did you have to sprint to save that guitar from the traffic after you took the photo! Really cool guitars and a lasting tribute to the venue. My son has asked me to build an electric for him (usually build acoustics) and I would like to use your idea of the LP pick guard if that is OK with you. Cheers, Bob

Thanks. That's not actually my idea, Bob. It's been done numerous times before, so have at it

A word of caution, though. Depending on what records you use, You'll probably have to use a jeweler's saw to cut it out, and it'll take you a very long time. You can't use a band saw or router because the records are just too fragile. These were old shellac records, and they were exceptionally brittle. Newer vinyl may not be quite as bad, but I'd still probably go with a jeweler's saw.

OK Roger thanks for the heads up on cutting them. Bob

If the record is truly vinyl, I'd put a barrier under it if you're using Nitro...

Hey guys, the raffle is now live.

https://go.rallyup.com/cainsguitar

I'm in