GregA Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 I posted this at Harmony Central but thought I may put it up here also... I started working on this project off and on over 2 ½ years ago. I am fortunate enough to have two friends who are expert luthiers and were nice enough to guide me through this process. (I could not have done it without them) The surface of the guitar has been lightly moistened to show the flame in all of these pictures. The nice thing about taking such a ridiculously long time to build this guitar was that every single piece of wood was left to stablize after any major cut was made. Any twisting that resulted because of a cut was then corrected and recorrected. The neck alone sat for close to two months after it was initially roughed out. It will be continually corrected as the build process continues. The result should be a very “stable” instrument as any twisting should be taken care of. (Of course I will need to keep it at a relatively similar humidity as what we have here in Calgary, Alberta. So I guess no trips to Costa Rica for this one!) The body and neck is British Honduras mahogany (each are one piece) and the top is a hand picked chunk of maple from British Columbia. The arch top was shaped entirely with chisels and a scraper and is slightly over an inch in depth at the deepest part. (so yeah...it is probably going to be a back breaker!) The neck joint is a little different than the traditional Gibson neck joint. (see pics below) The angled dovetale was a major task to get right but my buddies swear by it. It definitely seems to me to be a much more solid connection than a basic mortise-tenon joint. CONTINUED BELOW...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregA Posted March 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 The fretboard was one of the more challenging parts that has slowed me down and we are a long way from attaching it yet. (see pic below) Hand planing it down to the right taper, making the back perfectly flat, radiusing the top, cutting the frets, binding the edge, inserting the fret markers into the binding...and still a lot of work to do. Add the fact that ebony is extremely fragile and you have one of the biggest jobs in the entire process! We did nail the binding job on the fret board as the mitres on the corners of the board are invisible. (see the pic on the right) The next step wil be to do the perl inlay and finally, install the frets. We went with the traditional Gibson Les Paul shape headstock (**cough**copy infringement**cough**) but decided to go with a bookmatched piece of flamed maple cut from the same piece of wood as the body. (see pic below) Binding the headstock........that was a challenge. Anyone who has tried binding a guitar knows how involved it can be. Compared to the headstock, binding the body and fret board was a walk in the park. The binding and perfling needs to be cut into six pieces and mitred to fit into the routed grove perfectly. Nothing shows up more that a bad mitre on a binding job and this head stock is far from perfect. We did nail most of them really well (see the first pic below..dead on) but we were a tiny bit off on the "dimple" at the top and the bottom right corner (see the second and third pics below). Still, they are not "blatantly" obvious errors so, on the whole, I am really pleased with the results. It really helps to pull the guitar together since it matches the binding on the body. What's next? After the perl inlay and frets are done, we will be shaping the neck then installing the fret board and making wood covers for the back of the guitar. These covers will be made with a veneer of flame maple cut from the same piece of maple that was used for the top. (the toggle switch cover is already done as shown in the pic below) As far as the finish, I am leaning toward a sunburst of some variety. (heritage cherry perhaps?) We will then install the electronics, tuning pegs, pickups etc. (I am thinking about Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers) What else is cool is that there are seven of us each working on our own Les Paul. All are being built using identical methods to mine. The tops all look great and they are all unique in their own way. I will try to get a shot of all seven together when they are done. Anyway, thanks for reading! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLS Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 WOW! thats look amazing. Great job man. Any ideas on the finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 Very nice! Welcome to PG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 I loooooooove les pauls Great job!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 simply beautiful! How are you goning to finish that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 As far as the finish, I am leaning toward a sunburst of some variety. (heritage cherry perhaps?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 WOO-HOO!!! To have your first guitar come out that nice is...is...is...FREAKIN' COOL! Big Congrats man, she's beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanKirk Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 The arch top was shaped entirely with chisels and a scraper and is slightly over an inch in depth at the deepest part. WoW! How thick was the top, 1 1/4"? $$Cha Ching!$$ Looks SAWEET! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budman68 Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 Those are amazing pics Greg, Thanks so much for sharing them and it looks like you have quite a talent there. Yes, it's nice to have friends that are luthiers but YOU have to posses the eye and the talent for a job that is THAT well done. Great job! Dave-> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 Holy crap! welcome to the forum. I am sure the finishing experts areound here can give some input if you'd like that. Aside from that, is i chambered to relive some weight? That is simply the coolest. I love Les Pauls, and being as Gibson doesnt keep QC on their toes, there is so much to improve on. You nailed a lot of improvements with your own special touch. I like it, I love it, I hear ther's seven more of it Super killer. Great tohave you here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 17, 2004 Report Share Posted March 17, 2004 F*cking awesome man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt76 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Is very spectacular.... really cool!!!! ... Congratulations.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Wow. Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I'd keep that baby natural. There's nothing you need to hide on that thing, why dye it? It's a gorgeous color already! Maybe a little red/orange in the laquer, but nothing very extreme. $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregA Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Thanks for all the kind words guys! I appreciate it! (spent a couple hours today planning out how to shape the mother of pearl I have for the inlay. Looks like we are going to go with a "scalloped" rectangle like the classic les pauls. The link below demonstrates what we are going for http://www.gibsoncustom.com/Historic/LesPa...ies/60LPStd.htm I will keep you posted with updates. Thanks again! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 OOHHH I see it now... I thought you meant you were going to scallop the fretboard... I gotcha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 awesome job, i really like the neck tenon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I never liked LP's, but this one makes me wanna build one. Very very nice.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Coen has seen the light!!! Haleluja!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Good lord! Another Greg from Canada, but this one has talent and a project on the go. Unbelievable work. I think Vintage Cherry would look killer. Leaving it natural would be an excellent choice, as well, though-- the wood is gorgeous. Maybe a subtle amber burst? I dunno... with work that good, almost any transluscent or transparent finish is going to look top notch! Greg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Coen has seen the light!!! Haleluja!! build one, not play one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Maybe a subtle amber burst? I agree with this statement. Whatever you do, SUBTLE is the key word. It doesn't need artificial flashiness when it looks that good already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullmuzzler Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Huh...Speechless.... I.... am.... mullmuzzler | OSSMT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Coen has seen the light!!! Haleluja!! build one, not play one.. How can you build it and not play it? Tou will see the light, but feel the heavy. Resistance is futile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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