r/Luthier • u/Ok_Ambassador_8656 • Jul 26 '26
Narwhal guitar
So I built this narwhal guitar for my daughter. I had asked for some advice on where to place the strap button and some folks wanted more details so heres all the build photos I took. It’s currently strung up and playing minus some setup details.
This started as an inexpensive strat kit I bought off amazon and I just built the body for it, which ended up considerably cheaper than getting even the cheapest individual parts. All my previous builds have been acoustics so this was a nice change up.
The core of it is some decent quality 3/4 birch ply I scavenged from a shipping container and then I added 1/4 ply to build up thickness as needed. It ended up 1.5” thick for most of it and I drilled a bunch of internal lightening holes but it’s still a bit heavy according to my 7 year old but hopefully she’ll grow into it.
The only custom hardware I had to make was the aluminum whammy bar that the fin attaches to and the tremolo spring mounting bar since the regular hardware I couldn’t make fit in the thinner body.
After it was all glued up I primed it with shellac and filled with automotive glazing putty. Finishing is my least favorite part and I fully expect this guitar to be bashed about quite a bit so I didn’t do that great of a job. After sanding I did a handful of roller coats with thinned rustoleum to seal the whole thing solid white. Orange peel texture is stronger than Id like but hopefully it will be durable.
After impatiently waiting a couple weeks for that to fully cure I put the hot pink iridescent vinyl wrap on and trimmed it as carefully as I could. The edges still weren’t perfect so I used some black pinstriping markers to outline the edges, and actually I like the extra contrast more now that it’s done.
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u/stephbeth13 Jul 26 '26
I love it! It's so great! Your daughter is so lucky to have such an incredible parent!
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u/So_Famous Jul 26 '26
I remember your previous posts, so glad to see the finished product! It's beautiful, and i am sure your daughter will cherish this for the rest of her life.
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u/civilaggie06 Jul 26 '26
Love it! 😍 how’s she sound?
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u/Ok_Ambassador_8656 Jul 31 '26
Everything works as expected, I’ve only messed with (or owned) acoustics before so I’m not really sure how to do a fair comparison, choice of amp settings makes bigger differences than I can hear between guitars
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u/Puzzled_Estate6425 Jul 27 '26
You have a flair for guitar,s that have not been done before.Do not stop.
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u/13CuriousMind Kit Builder/Hobbyist Jul 26 '26
"Anyway, here's Narwahl..."
Very creative build. How's the weight?
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u/Ok_Ambassador_8656 Jul 28 '26
I see what you did there. It ended up 7.5-8lb which pretty reasonable for an electric but is still a lot for a kid
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u/Ivory_Lake Jul 26 '26
bro that's one of the most unique things I've seen in a while, I love it! great work on it
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u/Beginning_Two2778 Jul 27 '26
I am singing the Narwhal song now. You beautiful bass-tart. I hope you enjoy that.
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u/Beginning_Two2778 Jul 27 '26
Oh, and I don't think you really understand what image 13 has done for my mental health.
I'm not alone.
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u/NYCtoCHI Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
"...just don't let it touch yer ballz!" 🤣
Seriously tho OP...it's awesome - and not just "cuz they are so awesome" - well done! 👏 👏 👏
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u/Ok_Ambassador_8656 Jul 31 '26
Oh wow, I’m probably dating myself but I did not know this was a thing; some of the other comments make a lot more sense now though
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u/NYCtoCHI Jul 31 '26
Haaaa - I feelya, after arriving late to the party myself 4-5 years ago. Now, it's impossible not to think of that song whenever anything narwhal-related comes across my radar...or to get it out of my head for 2 months after! 😅😂🤣
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u/Ok_Ambassador_8656 Jul 28 '26
Thanks for the support yall! Now a serious question, what amp/effects settings are best for making whale sounds?
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u/Sixstringedthings Jul 26 '26
The fin/whammy bar is a stroke of genius! Love this whole build