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A Pair Of Gibby Tribute Builds.


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Positioned the template directly on the top, the neck pickup will end up slanted towards the neck, just like on the originals.

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And the neck pickup cavity was routed.

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Same thing with the bridge pickup, taking good care with the alignment with the "new" centerline.

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Now I am pretty much stopped until some orders get delivered. I'm expecting the Bigsby, the bridge, and the headstock overlay (this one is seriously delayed)…

Until some of that arrives, the only thing I can do is advance the fretwork...

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You even got the traditional Gibson tone-hole in the neck pocket correct! I hope you left bits missing underneath and loads of shavings running about in the cavities also, as is traditional? :D

Really. How Gibson has ever managed to successfully build something as complex and work intensive as these guitars is beyond me.

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You even got the traditional Gibson tone-hole in the neck pocket correct! I hope you left bits missing underneath and loads of shavings running about in the cavities also, as is traditional? :D

Really. How Gibson has ever managed to successfully build something as complex and work intensive as these guitars is beyond me.

But of course !! After careful measurement of several vintage examples I built-in a "tone-hole" of the resulting average dimensions !! :D

You know what, there's even some speculation that the "tone-hole" was there for a purpose: Some people say that, since Gibson inserted the necks top to bottom with the guitar held vertical, the gap in the pocket was a buffer to collect the excess glue. B) Make your own conclusions... I have the feeling that some "vintage enthusiasts" try to find clever justifications to things that were, more probably, sloppiness and chance.

It is amazing indeed that something this complex was actually put in production (and kept in the catalog all these years). Ted McCarty came up with the brilliant idea of the semi-hollow, but the craftmen who had to actually make it happen must have hated him !! :P

(I try not to leave shavings inside the cavities, there's a limit to being "vintage correct") B)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, the different parts I have been waiting for are being delivered, albeit rather slowly...

But the Bigsby arrived, and also the bridge and the pickguard bracket.

What is taking forever are the headstock overlays... And I was essentially stopped by this.

I first tried to source the loose pearl logos from DePaule, and this is the logo I used on the LP build. But then I commissioned the overlays (holly rectangle with the logo already inlaid) from a german shell supplier. I ordered some "standard style", 1.5mm thick, with just the logo and some "custom style" overlays, 2.5mm thick with the logo and the split diamond.

Right after sending the payment I lost contact with these guys, and when I was considering contacting Paypal for a claim I finally got through to them. They are WAY behind schedule, some problem with some machine, they tell me. Eventually they delivered the "standard" overlays, but it is unclear when they will finally deliver the remaining ones.

These are the overlays, the quality of the work is quite good, though.

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Since it is unknown to me when the proper "custom" overlays will be delivered I decided to unblock things and proceed with one of the overlays I already have....

Cutting the 5 pieces of the split diamond proved to be easy enough: it's all straight lines. I thought about breaking out the "sexy" band saw again, but the jewelers saw and the belt sander did the job perfectly.

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Since the symmetry of the array is rather critical I opted for just gluing the drawing of the split diamond on the overlay and scribe the limits of the routings using a ruler.

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As I was scribing I noticed that this holly wood is not only rather soft, but it also exhibits very little additional resistance when cutting across the grain. Soon it became obvious that the cavities could be just cut-out with the sharp, scalpel type knife.

I also cut the opening for the TR adjustment, this one free hand with the dremel on the router base.

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Glued the pieces in place with the usual trick of the epoxy mixed with ebony dust.

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And now I have a "custom" headstock overlay, I think the end result is quite acceptable. Only a bit too thin though, so I laminated it to some maple veneer to make up the needed thickness.

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Just like I did with the pickguard, with the original headstock template I cut another one with the ledge for the binding using the binding router bit.

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Glued the rough cut overlay to it with some double sided tape and used the binding router bit again to trim the overlay to the final size.

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This definitely was a lot of work. But in the end it was very rewarding.

I did the multi-ply binding on the overlay first, as it required the mitering on the different joints and this was easier to do on a stand-alone piece. And then I glued it to the headstock. I used four screws in the tuner pilot holes for alignment and to avoid slippage while clamping.

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On the headstock I applied the external white binding, to ensure a good bonding to the headstock too.

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After scraping and sanding the headstock binding was ready.

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Then it was stained black. This time I decided to stain the wood itself. I used the StewMac transtint black, almost undiluted. The holly wood takes the stain very evenly. Then I cleaned the pearl with wet Q-tips and paper towels. The binding had to be scraped clean with a utility knife in the old school way.

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Now I'll let it dry overnight and tomorrow I will shoot a couple of coats of clear to the headstock face to seal the black in. Then I'll be able to drill the tuner holes and finish the neck sanding before setting the neck to the body.

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Hey Blackdog,

Ive been travelling for the last 4 and a bit months with my wife through Europe so i havent been on PG much, but, I do stop by regularly to just watch this thread unfold. By far, my most favourite thread on PG, maybe ever.... Your work is simply stunning and you have done a tutorial on my favourite guitar of all time (ES335 :D ). Its looking amazing mate, can't wait to see both of these finished!

Chad.

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Thanks Dave. Miters were not easy, the most difficult was the center of the "open-book" at the top of the headstock. I did that one a couple of times, the third attempt was a success. The others were considerably easier.

Hi Chad ! Thanks for the comments. My all-time favorite guitar has always been the Les Paul, but I have to admit that lately I find the 335 more and more appealing.

In any case, and for obvious reasons, a Les Paul build will never be as interesting as a 335. It is an unusual beast, and very seldomly found as a home-built project.

When I was considering my options for rebuilding the destroyed ES-335 I had, I searched the internet for a thread about building one, and could not find much. I would have loved at the time to find a thread like the one I'm trying to keep here. I'm glad you find it interesting.

OK, progress to report !!

After letting the black tint dry (nasty stuff, it will put black stains on anything that comes in contact with it), I sealed it with a couple coats of clear. The clear really brought up the contrast between the black and the pearl pieces. Now that it was stabilized I drilled the tuner holes. In two steps, vintage style, 8mm on the front (for the threaded bushing) and 10mm on the back for the tuner body collar. This is for Grover Rotomatics, Kluson wafer-backs would have been different, but 1959=Grovers.

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With the headstock finished, the next step was setting the neck. I loosely masked the fretboard because it is pretty much finished (only final polishing remains), and I didn't want to marr it while sanding the heel.

I had a very good neck fitting, so just one clamp was enough.

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After the glue set I could fine shape the heel for a good flow towards the body sides, and sand it flat to the back of the body (I had left it a bit proud on purpose). I was a bit afraid that the final size of the heel would be too small after the template mistake earlier in the project, but it ended up perfect !

A few (shameless) pics from different angles to show off a little…. :D

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And now I have something that looks suspiciously similar to a guitar... :D

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Next steps: fit the nut blank to the slot and install at least a dummy nut. Install the Bigsby and the tuners and run at least the two E strings to find and mark the proper location for the bridge by checking the intonation.

@Mods: I know that I violated the 4 pics rule, sorry, but there were only 3 pics in the previous post.... B)

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@Mods: I know that I violated the 4 pics rule, sorry, but there were only 3 pics in the previous post.... :D

We're not post nazis! As long as people don't "rip the piece" then it's no problem. The board can be set to manually limit the number of images per post but it is not necessary to be so cut and dry.

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Superb work So far BD - I've been away from PG for ages,(not done much guitar work recently) but this thread has sucked me back in. The headplate looks great, I was concerned the clear would show up differences between the stained wood and the black filler, but it has popped it and unified it beautifully.

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Hi Chad ! Thanks for the comments. My all-time favorite guitar has always been the Les Paul, but I have to admit that lately I find the 335 more and more appealing.

In any case, and for obvious reasons, a Les Paul build will never be as interesting as a 335. It is an unusual beast, and very seldomly found as a home-built project.

When I was considering my options for rebuilding the destroyed ES-335 I had, I searched the internet for a thread about building one, and could not find much. I would have loved at the time to find a thread like the one I'm trying to keep here. I'm glad you find it interesting.

Hey BD,

Ive searched the net as well looking for a good build thread for a 335 and haven't really come across one either, so from all the people on the net looking for one from now on... Thanks! :D

I guess it's not such a home built guitar because of the formed top and back plates. I also found that guy who you got your top and back through and reckon what you have done is the best option in building one. You see 335 builds where people carve the top and back but it's not the same IMO and would produce a totally different sound from an original. They really are a beautifully designed guitar and yours is gonna be awesome when its finished!

Chad

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Thanks Scott, Osorio, for all the encouragement !

It is indeed a very special moment when the two major pieces are joined together. It is like it all makes sense finally.

The headplate looks great, I was concerned the clear would show up differences between the stained wood and the black filler, but it has popped it and unified it beautifully.

Hi Setch ! It's great to have you back ! (and if it was this thread that lured you back to PG I'm deeply honoured).

The good thing of outsourcing the overlays is that the complicated logo inlay comes already done by a CNC machine. There's very little filler around the inlay, unlike the swiming pool routing I did when I made the overlay myself (in the LP build). The split diamond was also reasonable clean, as it was all straight lines. Right now the transition from stained wood to filler in completely invisible. I presume that over the years the clear will eventually crack around these joints, but in any case that will also look vintage correct… :D

Ive searched the net as well looking for a good build thread for a 335 and haven't really come across one either, so from all the people on the net looking for one from now on... Thanks! :D

I guess it's not such a home built guitar because of the formed top and back plates. I also found that guy who you got your top and back through and reckon what you have done is the best option in building one. You see 335 builds where people carve the top and back but it's not the same IMO and would produce a totally different sound from an original. They really are a beautifully designed guitar and yours is gonna be awesome when its finished!

Hey Chad, you're welcome ! B)

When I was considering my options to attach a new body to the 335 neck I rescued from the broken Gibson I evaluated the solid, carved wood option for the build. Clearly, it is a different instrument alltogether. It may sound amazing in it's own right, but it would only look like a 335.

I also considered building a CS-336 copy, this is the scaled down, hollowed out, solid woods version of the 335. The neck would have also been correct for this model. But, for good or bad, this one is pretty much just a chambered solidbody.

Then I came across Ken McKay and his laminations and it became pretty obvious what I wanted to do.

I agree, it is the formed lamination thing that usually puts the model out of reach of the amateur/casual builder. But it is precisely what makes the ES-335 a unique instrument.

There is a fantastic 58 ES-335 build over at the TDP forum, by Preeb, but he started from a completed body from Ken. Around the same time Preeb finished his prototype, I finished my rebuild (twins, of different fathers...):

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I got some more work done on this one.

Now with the neck set I redrew the centerline, just to be sure. But it was the same as when the neck was loose.

Centered the Bigsby and screwed it in place.

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Installed the tuners and TRC.

Next I patiently shaped the nut slot for a tight fit of the nut blank.

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And shaped the nut accordingly.

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I placed a dummy nut (with some slots) in there and run a couple of strings (both E's), with the bridge mounted on some spacers (to allow the strings to vibrate freely open and at the 12th fret).

I also cut the two slots on the bridge saddles for these strings to get the desired E-to-E spacing. The high E saddle was positioned almost all the way to the front of the bridge, and the low E saddle almost all the way to the back.

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With this configuration I tuned the strings up (not necessarily to pitch) and moved the bridge around until the intonation of the two strings was correct. The bridge was held in this position just by the strings pressure, so I placed the guitar very carefully under the drill press and drilled the holes for the posts right through the bridge holes. These are the standard Gibson posts (6-32), so the drill bit was a bit smaller (2.7mm). And of course, I drilled the holes perpendicular to the neck plane. :D

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Used a pair of 6-32 steel screws to tap the holes.

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And mounted the posts so that just 15mm of them remained exposed. Put the thumbweels in and the bridge could now be mounted.

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Next I installed the remaining strings and slotted the nut accordingly. Used the StewMac string spacing ruler, very useful thing. I used it again to locate the remaining strings on the saddles and slotted them too. Finally I adjusted the depth of the nut slots, took it out and adjusted the overall shape of it so that the strings are supported just by half of their diameter or less.

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So now I'm almost there with the woodwork.

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I only need to drill the hole for running the ground wire to the Bigsby and the strap button holes. Then it will be ready for fine sanding and finishing.

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Beautiful work through and through. I have to say though - I really don't like the logo. The workmanship is fantastic, however a tribute logo "in the style of" a readily recognisable logo easily looks too "cheap Asian copy" if you see what I mean. The quality of the instrument as a whole doesn't say that of course....but the logo man.... :D

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