Mythology and Wood

Rat Bait Guitars: Two Telecaster‑Style Bodies Born from Salvage and Spirit

Bodies in the North Devon workshop, waiting for their final touch. Soon they’ll be finished off, waxed, and dropped onto eBay—two Telecaster‑style bodies are more than wood, they bring history to the party. These aren’t factory‑fresh slabs of tonewood; they’re fragments of forgotten lives, reshaped and reimagined into instruments with battle scars, and soul.

Each body is a genuine Rat Bait Guitar Body, built in October 2025 from salvaged materials and shaped in a rat‑infested shed in North Devon. They’re not showroom pieces—they’re artefacts of survival and reinvention. Their silhouette nods to the quirky Woolworths guitars of the 1960s and ’70s: Japanese‑made, budget‑friendly instruments that were once dismissed as cheap knock‑offs, only to become cult classics decades later.

This is the same spirit—taking what the world throws away and turning it into something that screams.


Materials & Origin

Every body carries its own layered history:

  • 1970s Austrian dining table – once a place of family meals, now a resonant slab of tone.
  • Old roofing timber – beams that sheltered lives, now reborn as the backbone of sound.
  • Exmoor Spruce – local wood with a wild edge, grounding the build in Devon’s landscape.
  • Sections of an Ikea bookcase – mass‑produced flatpack, now carved into something utterly unique.

All reclaimed. All reimagined. All finished in natural beeswax, giving the wood a warm, tactile glow that honours its scars rather than hiding them.


What Is Exmoor Spruce?

Exmoor Spruce is a native softwood found in the rugged uplands of Exmoor National Park, known for its resilience and character. Grown in harsh, wind‑beaten conditions, it develops tight grain patterns and a distinctive tonal quality that makes it ideal for musical instruments. Unlike commercial spruce varieties, Exmoor Spruce carries the imprint of its wild environment—each piece tells a story of survival, shaped by the moor’s unpredictable weather and ancient soil. It’s wood with attitude, and it fits the Rat Bait ethos perfectly.

More than just a local material, Exmoor Spruce is a statement. It’s the sound of wind through trees, the weight of rain on gorse, the echo of hooves and history. When carved into a guitar body, it doesn’t just resonate—it growls. It’s not about purity or polish; it’s about presence. And in the hands of a player, it becomes a voice for the untamed.

The mythology of Exmoor runs deep—feral, windswept, and defiant. These bodies channel that outsider energy: rough silhouettes, raw finishes, and a stance that feels more like a weathered figure on a moor than a polished showroom piece. They wear the look of the land—scarred, elemental, and proud of it. The guitars don’t just echo the landscape; they embody its folklore.


The Beast of Exmoor

Lurking in the shadows of local legend, the Beast of Exmoor is said to roam the hills—a phantom predator with glowing eyes and a taste for livestock. Descriptions vary: a black panther, a spectral hound, a creature born of fog and fear. Whether myth or misidentification, its presence haunts the moor’s psyche. These guitar bodies carry a whisper of that gothic energy—feral outlines, claw‑like grain, and a sense that something untamed lives within the wood. They’re not just shaped by tools, but by stories. By the idea that even in the age of algorithms, something wild still watches from the bracken.


 

Specifications:

  • Style: Telecaster Type
  • Routing: Standard Tele neck pickup + Tele bridge pickup
  • Finish: Hand‑waxed, raw, and ready for players who want character over perfection

Why Rat Bait?

Because these guitars aren’t about sterile precision. They’re about defiance. About taking discarded scraps and proving they still have a purpose. About building in a shed where the rats scuttle in the corners, and still managing to carve something that can make you look good on stage.

Each body is a reminder that music has always thrived on the margins—punk, blues, garage rock, DIY scenes. These guitars belong there too.


Two bodies. Two chances to own a piece of reclaimed chaos. They’ll be up on eBay soon—raw, handmade, and unapologetically imperfect.

 

Bargain Barnwood Telecaster Body

Telecaster Body – Routed for Standard Tele Hardware

This is a genuine Rat Bait Guitar body, built in October 2025 from salvaged materials and shaped in a rat‑infested shed in North Devon. Its silhouette nods to the quirky Woolworths guitars of the 1960s and ’70s—Japanese‑made, budget‑friendly instruments that have since become cult classics. Hardware (pickups / neck etc.) shown in images are for example and not included in the sale – the item is the body only.

The body carries a raw, rugged finish with visible dents, scratches, and scars from its past life. Every mark is part of its story. Please see the photographs for detail on its texture and character.

Materials & Origin

  • 1970s Austrian dining table
  • Old roofing timber
  • Exmoor Spruce
  • Sections of an Ikea bookcase
  • All reclaimed and reimagined in the UK

Specifications

  • Style: Telecaster Type
  • Routed for: Standard Tele neck pickup + Tele bridge pickup
  • Approx. Thickness: 43mm
  • Neck Pocket Width: 56mm
  • Weight: 2.3kg
  • Finish: Raw, unfinished – ready for your fettling and final touches

Why Choose This Body?

This is not a factory‑perfect blank—it’s a piece of reclaimed history, reborn as a guitar body. Its barnwood aesthetic makes it ideal for a unique Partscaster build, offering both sustainability and individuality. Designed to fit standard hardware, it’s a versatile foundation for luthiers and players who want an instrument with soul, grit, and a story to tell.

The Phoenix Rises

Salvage, Soul & Sonic Rebellion

‘When you pick up a guitar, you’re not just holding wood and wire—you’re gripping history. Not just the hands that played it, but the scars it carries, the timber it was born from, and the battles it survived. Rat Bait Guitars don’t chase perfection. Each component has its own previous life story, resurrection and metamorphosis. If you’re interested in an instrument with a story, Rat Bait Guitars are worth considering.’

Built from Ruin, Made to Scream

Take the body featured above: a Frankenstein of salvaged wood—fence post, roof offcut, shed panel, and the carved heart of a guitar once devoured by woodworm. Treated, reshaped, and reborn into a retro 60s/70s silhouette inspired by Teisco and Kay designs, it’s a slab of tone with old-world charm and unapologetic grit.

  • Neck Pickup: from a Manson Guitar (Matthew Bellamy)

  • Bridge pickup: early 2000s ceramic single pole.

  • Tailpiece: retro chrome clamshell, because why not?

This isn’t a museum piece. It’s a relic with soul. Read more here

Imperfection as Identity

Rat Bait guitars are built in a shed that smells of glue and sawdust, not sterile polish. Parts are from the 1970s to the 2020s, mixing eras to create instruments that sound better than the homogenised clones flooding the market. They’re rugged, battle-scarred, and ready to scream.

  • Reclaimed materials: furniture, fence posts, roof timbers, flooring.

  • Custom-built bodies: Telecaster, Stratocaster, and the occasional Japanese oddity.

  • Body prices start at £35.00. Each one is unique. Each one is alive.

What Players Say

  • “Lovely Telecaster copy in scavenged wood, looks great and plays beautifully! Rat Bait are great luthiers!”
  • “Arrived on time—very good guitar, best I’ve ever had. Sound is deep, all perfectly set up.”
  • “Item was very well packed, as described and arrived very quickly. Excellent comms all round. Very happy—thanks! :)”
  • “A really nice guitar, unique and obviously made with great care. Exceptional value. A great addition to my collection!”
  • “Awesome, I would deal with again… lovely looking guitar, leaving to settle and look forward to playing it.”
  • “Perfect little Telecaster body.”
  • “Lovely Telecaster copy in scavenged wood, looks great and plays beautifully! Rat Bait are great luthiers!” 
  • “Arrived on time—very good guitar, best I’ve ever had. Sound is deep, all perfectly set up.”
  • “Item was very well packed, as described and arrived very quickly. Excellent comms all round. Very happy—thanks! :)”

These aren’t just guitars. They’re outsider art. Punk relics. Sonic protest pieces.

Why Salvage Matters

Every salvaged guitar is a strike against waste. A nod to sustainability. A celebration of character over gloss. By repurposing discarded timber and broken parts, a voice is given to materials that would otherwise be silenced.

Each guitar built is a story stitched together with defiance and solder. And if you’re the kind of player who values raw tone over showroom shine, welcome home.

Because each guitar body is handcrafted, genuine Rat Bait Guitar products are few and far between. Their rarity is why purchasing one of these creations should be seen as an investment.

Barnwood Hybrid Telecaster – Coming Soon

Barnwood Hybrid Telecaster One-Off Build from Salvaged Chaos

Handbuilt in North Devon, this guitar is a collision of eras and styles: a Telecaster silhouette fused with Stratocaster guts, crafted from reclaimed roofing wood and a shattered Strat shell that refused to die. It’s not just assembled—it’s resurrected.

  • Body: Strat-routed Tele shape, salvaged timber and broken Strat shell
  • Neck: 22-fret maple with rosewood-style fretboard, slim profile, lightly nitro-finished
  • Electronics: HSS configuration, 3 single coils, 5-way switch, Strat-style scratchplate
  • Hardware: Wilkinson hardtail bridge, new 10mm machine heads, strap buttons
  • Dimensions: 25.5″ scale length, 42mm nut width, approx. 44mm body thickness (± 0.5mm)
  • Weight: 3.3kg of raw tone and rebellion

This isn’t a factory clone—it’s a Frankenstein lovechild of Jedson and Strat, stitched together with defiance and solder. The electrics are mid-range, the tone is old-school twang, and the finish is unapologetically imperfect. Built to be played, not polished.

Crafted from recycled materials, a new old stock neck, and a mix of refurbished and new parts. A one-off barnwood creation, made in a shed in North Devon. Actual photos will be published soon. Similar guitar will be listed on eBay.

Barnwood Hardtail Stratocaster Style Body

 

This Strat body is a genuine Rat Bait Guitar construction, which was made in September 2025. This guitar body is made from salvaged material and a broken Stratocaster type guitar constructed and shaped in a rat infested shed in North Devon. The design and shape is reminiscent of ‘Woolworths’ guitars from the 1960s / 70s – Japanese, retro homage. Please see photographs to view the rugged finish and texture of the body.

This body is part loaded with a white scratchplate from a new guitar, new electrics and new pickups.

 
Stratocaster Body made from recycled materials – body weight 1.85kg (unloaded).
Materials:  Old roofing timber, bits from an old bookcase and a broken Stratocaster body.
This body is routed to take standard single coil pickups. This handmade body has dents, scratches and old paint in places. You might have to fettle this body to suit your needs.
 Hardtail Stratocaster body SSS routed – UK Made
  • Body made from a salvaged material
  • Approx. Thickness: 42mm
  • Approx. Neck Pocket Width: 55mm
  • Approx. Weight: 1.85kg

The Hardtail Strat Barnwood Guitar Body by Rat Bait guitars is a unique and eco-friendly choice for electric guitar enthusiasts. Made from recycled material in the United Kingdom, this body features a natural, red, and black colour scheme that adds a touch of character to any guitar. With a weight of 1.85kg, this UK-made body is designed to fit most electric guitars seamlessly, making it an ideal choice for customising and creating a one-of-a-kind instrument.