#5 The Deelycaster
Built in late 2025, the Deelycaster is a clone of a 1960s-era Fender Thinline Telecaster, with swamp ash body by Woodtech Routing, roasted maple neck (7.25″ radius ‘boatneck’ profile) by Warmoth, stainless steel frets, Bigsby B16 and Fralin Pickups (Split Steel Pole in the bridge position; Split Rail in the neck.)
My friend Joe Deely passed away unexpectedly as I was making this guitar. I had been sending him pictures of my progress. I’ve named it in his honor.
#4 Open-Back Banjo
Made in the summer of 2025 under the tutelage of Lindsey Liden of Mulheron Banjos in his workshop in Brasstown, North Carolina.
#3 Six-String Lap Steel
#3 – A six-string lap steel guitar, built on commission to the client’s aesthetic and functional design, to pair with their pre-existing eight-string pedal steel.
With extremely low profile body, square tube non-adjustable truss rod, humbucking pickup, and Duesenberg Multibender set up with three (!!!) palm benders.
#2 Stratocaster Clone
#2 – A Stratocaster clone, incorporating a Warmoth roasted maple neck of thick profile and vintage width and radius, stainless steel frets, off-the-shelf alder body, Fender Vintage Noiseless Pickups with a variation on Memphis wiring, and a Bladerunner Super-Vee tremolo.
#1 Six-String Lap Steel
#1 – A six-string lap steel made of cheap pine with square tube non-adjustable truss rod, and threaded steel rods for nut and bridge.
Leo Fender’s first Spanish electric guitar (i.e. the Broadcaster/Nocaster/Telecaster) employed a lap steel pickup slanted to accommodate the different string spacing. Thus, I used a Telecaster pickup, straightened back out to match a typical lap steel string spacing.
The wiring is modeled after a Fender Esquire.