xlr8 Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 I'm a bit reluctant to post this as Setch did such an amazing job with his Les Paul progress/tutorial thread. Never the less I thought I'd show how I'm going about building one with the tools/skills I have a my disposal. I'm not saying this is the right way, it's just my way. Tim the owner of Bare Knuckle pick ups (www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk) asked me to build him a Les Paul after seeing the Teles I built a couple of months ago. We quickly settled on a spec and I set about sourcing the wood. Brazilian Mahogany (London), East indian Rosewood (L.A) and Fiddleback Maple (Durawoods) Before I cut the Maple on the bandsaw I jointed the centre edge on the Woodrat, www.woodrat.com, a fabulous bit of kit that I use all the time. Then it's off to the bandsaw. This was such a nice thick piece, and as I only planned on a 3/4" top, I cut it twice to give two halves for the top and another, approximately 3/8", for some fingerboards in the future. You can see the pencil lines in the first pic. As I'd already jointed the centre it was then just a question of glueing the boards together with the sawn face up and leaving to dry overnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 That's going to look top notch I bet. Nice looking wood. That woodrat thing is neat looking. I bet that comes in handy. I like the clamps too those besseys? My friend has a bunch of them, I always "borrow" them when I do glueups.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Fruit Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Looking good Neil! Can i just ask what pick ups are going in this one (i know they will be Bareknuckles, but which ones)? It would be interesting to know what his personal faves are! Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 That's going to look top notch I bet. Nice looking wood. That woodrat thing is neat looking. I bet that comes in handy. I like the clamps too those besseys? My friend has a bunch of them, I always "borrow" them when I do glueups.. ← Yep they are indeed Besseys, not cheap but they work so well. The Woodrat is fantastic, I use it for so many of the guitar making processes - I hope to show some more as I go along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Looking good Neil! Can i just ask what pick ups are going in this one (i know they will be Bareknuckles, but which ones)? It would be interesting to know what his personal faves are! Matt ← Tims sending the pickups to me this week Matt, as soon as I know, you'll know. I just fitted some Mules in my SG2000 - just awesome, like a lightly warmed PAF. My favourites LP tones are those from Thin Lizzy and Gary Moore and these hit the nail right on the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Fruit Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Yea very tempted by those beautys. Cant wait to see what im sure will be another stunning Morgan! Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 looking good bro! I love the use of rosewood in necks. It helps balance out a heavy body. It also sounds great. I would consider using some light weight tuners too balance the LP body better. That rosewood is quite a bit heavier than maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Before glueing the Maple cap to the Mahogany I route the control and switch cavities, also the wiring channel. I used titebond two to attach the cap to the body, clamped it overnight and then using my 1/2" birch ply template marked the body for bandsawing. You'll notice that the guitar is waaay too thick at this point but there is method to my madness I now use the pin router to take a light skim from the top of the maple ensuring I have a good flat surface from which to start the carve. When I'm happy with the cap I flip the body over and thickness the Mahogany side until I achieve the required overall depth. I then attach my template and route the final body shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 You do very nice work. You seem to really plan ahead. I'm sure that will be reflected in your final products quality. Keep up the good work and thanks for the great pics. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 It already looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted May 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 Next up was to route the body to its 'proper' dimensions, so it was over to the pin router and with the template attached to the bottom the spiral cutter did its bit (ha ha). I use a slightly oversize pin at first, about 1mm, and make three cuts each approximately 1/3 of the body depth. When that all looks good I change the pin to one which matches the cutters diameter and make three more passes until the body is the same size as the template. This is the body after the final pass on the pin router. You'll notice I've drawn the contour map (downloaded from the MIMF forum) on the cap. Each line represents a 1mm increment which I'll use the pin router to remove. I did this very carefully freehand (no template against the pin) until I ended up with the stepped top you see below. You can't see it in the pic but I stopped short where the neck tenon will be. next it was time to break out the concave spokeshave and knock the ridges off. Because of the flame I found it best to angle the spokeshave at around 30 degress to the direction of cut to avoid tearout, it certainly made short work of it and I was ready to attack the carve with the sander after 10 minutes or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 Very clean! That is going to be a sweet guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbefusk Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 I want my own tools too so I can make guitars like that, the one I'm making at school is a couple of divisions down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted May 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 I want my own tools too so I can make guitars like that, the one I'm making at school is a couple of divisions down. ← At least you're starting young, I'm 43 and started my first guitar over the Christmas period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbefusk Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 Yeah, I'll see if i can acquire some tools in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 Great work so far! How are you finding the Clifton concave spokeshave? I was eyeing one in the Axminster catalogue for quite a while, but it was a little spendy for me. Looks like a nice tool. Out of interest, how was the shipping on the maple from Durawoods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted May 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Great work so far! How are you finding the Clifton concave spokeshave? I was eyeing one in the Axminster catalogue for quite a while, but it was a little spendy for me. Looks like a nice tool. Out of interest, how was the shipping on the maple from Durawoods? ← Hi Setch, The plane is great, although as you say it's a little expensive. With regard to Durawood - I have family in the States that I visit regularly so I get it shipped to them and carry it back myself. I've bought several pieces from them for future projects and it's all top notch, can't fault their service. You might recognise the jig below, I first saw it on your Les Paul thread and subsequently checked out Mykas site. I'm using my Bosch router from my table router set up with the plate still installed as it gives a nice wide stable base whilst I machined the area of the neck tenon to five degrees. I used the method described in Melvyn Hiscocks book to determine the correct angle. Next I used my Lie Neilson jointer plane (you definately wouldn't like the price of this one Setch ) to form the pickup plane - the area from just behind where the fingerboard ends to just in front of the bridge. It's not a measured angle as such, if you draw a line perpendicular to the centreline at those two points and plane the area flat you end up with your 'pickup plane' I then did a little more work on the carve but I won't finish it until after I've routed the neck mortice and added the binding. Speaking of necks, Tim - the new owner plays in an Ozzy tribute band and is a serial neck abuser, bending the things to within an inch of their lives so I knew it had to be strong. I decided to make the neck a threepiece. I started by ripping some of the rosewood down the middle and reversing it for an opposing grain. Marine epoxy was used to join the two pieces... The blank is a little thick as you can see but I plan on cutting it to thickness on the bandsaw so that the offcut can be used to make the fingerboard, so it matches the neck exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Great work, I like the Teles you made last month and I'm looking foward to see this one finished. I was making a "Mykas" jig, but decided to wait until I get back to the states, I'm glad I did, because I was going to use aluminum straight pieces, but after weeing the plexiglass that you used, I think it is a better idea, not only it will enable me to see whats going on, it will let the shop light shine thru, for better lightning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Every time I see one of these threads it makes me even more tempted to place my order! Excellent work so far Neil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8 Posted May 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Next job was to cut the scarf joint, I do this a little differently by using the woodrat. Here you can see a mahogany neck clamped in the mitre box - I forgot to take a picture of the rosewood one . I've used twelve degrees but the beauty of this jig is you can set it to any angle you want without making a new jig. The mitre box holds the neck square and level to the woodrat then it's just a question of winding the carriage left and right , x axis, with the crank handle whilst sliding the router baseplate along the y axis. The depth of cut it controlled by the routers own plunge mechanism. This leaves an accurate cut ready to accept the headstock blank. Here's the headstock glued and clamped, again using marine epoxy. I have to go and do some 'real' work for the next few days but I'll post another update just as soon as I can. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmarch Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 great tools and jigs...I'm starting a shopping list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Neat idea on teh scarf joint. When it's done can you go back to the woodrat to take the waste corner off the peghead panel and line up with the neck bed? or will you just saw and plane it.. I was agonizing over a scarf joint last night as my table saw blade isn't high enough to make the cut clean.. something like this would have been better. of course I don't ahve a woodrat so that doesn't help me much I suppose But it wouldn't be hard to build a jig where you cut your neck blank, line the two pieces up at an angle, clamp them together and slide a router across the top to cut them both to teh same angle.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Great work Neil! Thats already an awesome looking guitar! Btw, what are the dimensions of your headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meegs666 Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 (edited) simply beautiful so far. makes me wish i had that kind of talent. i might try an lp now. Edited May 15, 2005 by Meegs666 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Great work, great pics. You'll notice I've drawn the contour map (downloaded from the MIMF forum) on the cap. Each line represents a 1mm increment which I'll use the pin router to remove. Is this easy searchable on the MIMF site, or hidden deep in one of the threads? Would love to have that too. Did search on "contour map" but couldn't find it. A link to it would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.