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Monday I picked up a few small pieces of Sapele that had beautiful grain, close to that of mahogany. I decided to take the body shape I had designed and do a Thinline Tele style build.

I put together some poplar for the core:


I cut and bookmatched the top:


I cut some thin pieces for the sides. Here they are next to the top:


I plan to cut the back similar to the top and cut some hard maple or pine (something white) for the binding.
How will I bend it you ask?

Here is my homemade bending iron:


Thats all for now, will update soon!

Nice. I really like Sapele. It has a beautiful shimmer to it I think.

I'll be watching this one closely. I'm planning a similar build in the future.

Neil

Whoa, that's a serious MacGyver bending setup. Best of luck! I'm looking forward to seeing progress pics.