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Les Paul in progress...


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Well, in response to the helpful post requesting more pics, I decided to withhold pics for a week. :D

OK, so I was actually on holiday, but I'm back now. More pics tomorrow when I'll be completing the control cavities and drilling for the pots and switches. Course, I'll be more inclined to post more, *better* pics if the blank post has skipped town.

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I thought we had at least one place on this site where people acted normal and didn't disrupt posts with adding useless junk, but I guess I was wrong. I think that his post should be deleted. I think of it as having no respect for anyone when you make a post like that on a serious thread like this. Keep that kinda stuff in the rant sections of the forum. We are forunate enough to have Setch take his personal time to make such great post of his Les Paul building. He didn't have to do this you know. Hopefully you'll show some respect and edit your post.

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Setch, firstly I would like to congratulate you for the execellent work.

I would like to ask you about this "pickup angle", did you calculate it? or it is a free angle between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge?

thanks a lot

Hélio

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Setch, firstly I would like to congratulate you for the execellent work.

I would like to ask you about this "pickup angle", did you calculate it? or it is a free angle between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge?

thanks a lot

Hélio

Thanks!

You're bang on with the pickup plane - it's simply the flat plane created if you join the end of the fretboard to the bridge. To be precise, I mark it from the end of the fretboard, to 1/4 inch infront of the bridge, so that the bridge will be located on a flat area.

Camcool - Apology accepted and appreciated. More pics will be up soon, but I was rushing to get the routing done before work, so there aren't many process shots. I'll try and get some of the cover recesses being done tonight.

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Well, pretty sparse pics - once again work is a distraction from the important stuff :D

Here's the guitar after drilling for the controls

66_potsandswitchdrilled.jpg

And after routing the rear cavities and cover recesses. I'm real close to gluing the neck now, I just need to shape the heel and head transitions.

67_cavitysrouted.jpg

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great pics :D  B)

'hank you... Here's some more....

Time has come to shape the heel and head transitions of the neck. First, I want a reference to work to. I chose a neck profile I like, in this case the neck of my last guitar, the DC which is currently sitting pretty as GOTM :D

68_neckprofileguage.jpg

With the profile gauge next to me, I rip into the neck with a big'ol'rasp. I take away symetrical swoops on either side, just aiming to creat a 45 degree angle between the sides and back of the neck.

69_neckshaperough01.jpg

Once I guesstimate that I've taken enough, I start to create a curve across the whole neck, leaving a narrow flat area in the very centre, so I don't start removing depth by accident.

70_neckshaperough02.jpg

Then, I use a long strip of sandpaper, a scraper, and a bit of 240 grit paper on a rubber block to smooth and refine the shape, until I'm more or less happy with it. In the back ground you can see the two rasps I use, the surform for bulk removal, and the rubber sanding block (sitting against the surform).

71_neckshaperough03.jpg

Then it's pretty much the same deal with the heel... in the background of this is another highly specialised tool - a can of antifreeze with 80 grit taped to it. I use this a lot in the heel shaping. The paper covers 2/3rds of the can, and by running the area with out tape against the neck, I can shape the heel without taking away thickness. So far the heel is just roughed with the rasp.

72_heelrough01.jpg

Getting closer, still only rasp work...

73_heelrough02.jpg

And finally, after the can has been used, and the heel scraped and sanded to 240 grit (sorry for the focus!).

74_heelrough03.jpg

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Somebody asked eariler if this was going to be a 100% ala Gibson Les Paul, or if I intended to tweak it at all. One thing that I've never liked about the LP design is the jack plate - I think it's clunky and unnecessary. Here's my solution - A prize* to the first to guess how it's done.

75_recessedjacksocket.jpg

*Disclaimer. There is no prize. I'm a tightwad.

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Very very close Scott - I drilled the hole all the way through with the 22mm spade bit, then glued a mahogany plug in with a hole drilled for the jack. Your prize is the esteem of the other project guitar users... or nothing, depending on how you want to look at it :D

76_recessedjacksocketparts.jpg

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