Now this was not going to be a "normal" archtop in any way, but one built to look like a snapping turtle. And when I saw The Padma post about a turtleback, I thought maybe he got the same idea. Turns out he is doing something entirely different than I had planned.
My plan is to have a carved back, top, and sides, all carved to look like the body of a turtle with the legs and tail kinda folded in. And the neck will be a stretched out turtle neck with the turtle head incorporated into the headstock. No, I am not crazy
So the guitar back will be modeled after the shell of a snapping turtle. Here is one that I will use as a reference:
This one is almost 18" long, so I just have to size it up an inch or so.
Now, the top of the guitar will be carved like the lower shell, which on a snapping turtle is quite small. Most of the top will be carved into the lower surfaces of the legs which will continue onto the carved sides. Here is a rough sketch of the layout of the top on the white spruce wedges:
The small outline in the center is all that is actually turtle shell, the rest is skin. Ignore the outline of the regular guitar which I crossed out.
I plan to carve the back and sides out of basswood. Then the whole thing will be realistically carved and painted, including the neck, to look like the actual turtle. Like this:
Ya, that one is wood, too:
I can use this one for a reference for the front half.
Here are a couple more views:
And I have a bunch of snapping turtle leather that will give me reference for the surface textures of the rest of it:
The only parts that will look like normal wood will be the fingerbord and maybe the bridge.
It will be a while before I get this one going, but thought I had better get the idea reserved here before one of the more adventurous souls here beat me to it
G
