First step of this whiskey and cigar themed guitar was engraving and route out for the steel race stripe/barrel banding. I could have routed these out but the laser cut made the fit super snug.
I had to calculate the number of passes to get the right depth and leave the metal stlightly proud of the wood. Fun fact: the 'XXX' marking you saw on old liquor bottles/jugs signified the batch was triple distilled.
I was originally going to use some whiskey barrel guitar knobs I made but they were a little busy. I included them with the guitar in case the owner ever needed knobs to make a matching amp. The neck is also adorned with these same Orange-to-gold glow in the dark fret markers!
Learning curve! Always pay attention to sizing! Tuning machines will partially obscure headstock engraving but you live and you most definitely learn.
Personalized truss rod cover, magnetized as usual. Stains used are Unicorn Spit black waterbased gel stain and Stewmac Medium brown stain.
Back features: Magnetic control plate with quote engraved on backside. Stealth-mounted magnetic cigar cutter with GITD/UV red base. Bottle opener with GITD/UV red base.
Since this was a marriage of wood and metal, waterbased finishes are totally out of the question so I opted for a hand rubbed open-pore finish with tung oil. It feels so nice in your hands and I would love to do another tung oil guitar soon!
Complete and ready to meet it's owner!