Special Projects
Battleship Texas
Find out how we turned wood from an old battleship into a custom electric guitar!
At Old Market Guitarworks Every Instrument Is A “Special Project”
Building guitars from historic woods affords us the opportunity to use materials from some amazing places. Kenosha, WI is home to the Snap-on Tools Company. Snap-on is one of the companies that has helped build America by manufacturing great tools for several industries. When they tore down a century-old factory they provided OMG with some beams from the building. We’ve completed a series of guitars and hand-wired tube amplifiers that will be used by Snap-on as prizes for an upcoming contest. One set will stay with the company and displayed in a museum that will share the story of Snap-on’s first century of business!
Erin Coburn, a talented blues guitarist played a Snap-on First Century Tele-style at The Zoo Bar, Lincoln, Nebraska.
From cracked and worn deck material to beautifully finished guitars and basses, OMG is demonstrating how ship materials can be repurposed rather than discarded to landfills.
Like 3.5 billion other people around the world, OMG watched with awe as the Battleship Texas (BB-35) was towed to Galveston, Texas, to begin a $34 million restoration. OMG got in touch with the Battleship Texas Foundation and arranged to pick up several beams to build guitars—prototypes really—from the battleship’s worn deck material. The results have been as beautiful as they’ve been resonant! The three prototypes were recently sold by the Foundation and another series of instruments has been started. Instruments can be ordered directly from OMG. A portion of proceeds from every instrument built from battleship material will go to help restore and maintain this historically significant, de-commissioned US Navy vessel.
The “Templarcaster” source material was buried in a searcher shaft for over a hundred years. The pine absorbed minerals and sediments, turning the wood gray and giving it a very earthy scent when carved. We can’t wait to see how the wood’s muddy resting place will affect the guitar’s sound and sustain.