Marzocchi705 Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 My next project is a Les Paul, mahogany body 1 3/4" thick, carved bookmatched padauk top 5/8" thick, Mahogany neck, Rosewood board 12" radius 25 1/2" scale. Reason for the unusual choise in topwood, 1 - it costs less than figured maple 2, its not often you see a mahogany/padauk guitar, i want to see what it sounds like and 3, i can get 2 tops out of the stock ive bought. Any ideas on how this will actualy sound? Heres a pic i did on kisakae I think it looks quite good. And heres the wood that has arived. wood. Im still waiting on my padauk and hardware. For electronics, standard les paul config (2vol/2tone - 3way), PAF's (dont know what brand yet, im gona use my epi's pickups for now). Hardware, TOM, Grover machines, black speed dial knobs. The next 2 weeks are gona be used for making templates and planing out exactly how im gona tackle it. I cant get any plexi, so MDF will have to do for templates. Hopefully this will turn out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 (edited) From what i´ve heard, the top wood won´t make much of a difference in sound...I say go for it, it looks really nice, and i like the no inlays thing Edited October 9, 2005 by eddiewarlock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 (edited) From what I've heard, your wrong. I've heard that padauk is a very heavy dense wood. My guess would be most likely a bit brighter than a maple top with better note deffiniation and would weigh more also. I also like the use of no inlays. I always thought LPs look better with no inlays. May I ask why you wan't to go with the 25.5" scale? That will make it sound way diffrent than any LP and more like a strat with LP woods. Edited October 9, 2005 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Sweet-lookin' guitar. I'd guess, like Godin SD, that you might get a bit of extra 'bite' compared to the maple top. Mostly, I suspect it could end up really heavy, so I'd reccomend chambering. Then again, I think Les Pauls are generally just really heavy guitars, so chambering's always a good idea :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian d Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Nice looking guitar. The guitar I'm currently working on is Padouk body, and I love the look of it and the way it finishes. FWIW, I think that black or gold hardware will look better than chrome or nickel.....but then I think that about every guitar Looking forward to seeing the real thing develop. Cheers, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 I've worked with padauk a bit, it is pretty dense and has some oil in it, big open grain (slightly more so than mahogany). As I recall, it is denser than maple but more open-grained; in all, I think you'll get that characterstic LP sound. Because of the oil, padauk dust is serious bad stuff, it will never get out of your lungs. I use a real respirator (not just a dust mask) when working with it. It gets all over your tools & blades & bits, but it works & finishes really well. Wipe down padauk surfaces with acetone before gluing; removes some of the oils. Freshly cut surfaces are bright orange, it will gradually darken to a nice dark cherry-orange kind of color, more reddish-orange than your mock-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Godin, i have a pre sloted 25.5" board here, i also like the extra room in the upper frets for soloing. Brian D, i just prefer chrome and/or nikle hardware, or black chrome, but i think black chrome wouldnt be at home here. Erik, i know that the wood will be a bit diferant than in the mock-up. I dont know if your familiar with bedlam guitars, he made a SG for my ex-girlfriends uncle, i had it for about 2 months or so, heres a link for you. I liked that guitar alot, the tone was good. I have a full resporater mask, a proper one, at school, where i will be cutting my wood. Heres my saw. Just incase you wanted to know what i was useing, its the schools, but its mine in a few years when it gets knocked down. Tomorow im going to make the body template, using plans from the MIMF. Im glad you all seem to like the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 What's knocked down mean? Is that some Scottish slang for falling off the back of a truck? LOL Just kidding, I assume that means when it gets replaced with a newer model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 LOL, knocked down just means there demolishing my school and building a new one, but its all privatised so there getting all the equipment replaced, the said theyl give me the saw for £1 (and yes, i have that in writing) As far as scotish slang goes, i dont understand most of it myself, dads from canada, mums from england, i dont get 'exposed' often. Im getting exited about this project, hehehe, i cant wait to start building tomoro, even if it is only the templates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Small update. Today i made the body template, took about an hour, and it still needs a bit of fine tuning but heres a pic anyway. The material is 18mm MDF, i cut it using a jigsaw. Tomoro i will make the pick-up cavity templates, and maby the control cavity if i have enough time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Small update. Today i made the body template, took about an hour, and it still needs a bit of fine tuning but heres a pic anyway. The material is 18mm MDF, i cut it using a jigsaw. Tomoro i will make the pick-up cavity templates, and maby the control cavity if i have enough time. ← Might just be the angle the photo was taken at, but the upper bout looks a little too large for the lower, with the waist a bit too far down for my taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggs Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 I use padauk and Cuban mahogany for my chambered body guitars. Padauk may be brighter in tone than you think. Remember, it is sometimes used for bass necks because of its strength. I felt after "ringing it out" that it would be too bright in tone for a solidbody, so I chose the chambered route using 1/4 inch thick padauk for the top and back with extensive chambering of the mahogany skeleton. This became a tone dream combination! I did use Honduran mahogany (laminated for strength) for the neck. You can see and hear one at www.rockbeachguitars.com . By the way, that will be a STUNNING guitar! I salute you, sir! Boggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Thats cool dude, but your sound files dont seem to want to work on my pc. I have Brazilian mahogany, i doubt there will be much differance tonewise. Im glad you like it, im already in love with it, and its just a pile of wood in front of the cupboard door. But i can see the finished product in my minds eye. hehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sashimimi Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Wow this sounds like it is gonna be an awesome guitar. By the way, your mock up from kiskae looks almoast exactly like my guitar in real life, thats why i like it so much. Keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Going good, just remember that it's easier to get a small template sanded perfect, than the hardwood your using for your body. In other words a little work in the planning stages makes everything easier later down the road. Also, depending on the bridge, and amount of neck wood above the body where it meets, you probably are going to have a neck angle, so you need to draw everything out full scale to determine the optimal neck angle for your guitar. Read this thread first >>>>>>>Determining Neck Angle - Perry<<<<<<<<<<<<< You can angle the neck two different ways, and each one has it's good and bads. You can angle the neck pocket, or the neck tenon. Which are you planning on using? Another thing is that LP's only have the fingerboard showing above the body, so basically 1/4" wood above the body, that means for everything to flow properly, you have to also angle the wood around the neck area so that it's the same amount showing. If you haven't read Setch's great carve top thread.. you should.. and here it is at this link!!! Anyway, what I'm getting at, is that the better prepared you are the less bumps you'll have later down the road. Plan, Plan, Plan, then cut later.. Good luck on the rest of your project!! Matt V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 (edited) yes, that is why i am planning for 2 weeks, using plans from the MIMF and my own drawings, i want it to be right. Im going to angle the tennon, that way it will be a bit easyer than a angled pocket. Im using a 3deg angle. I have a LP that im using for referance. I drew out a plan full scale, i'll get a pic of that in the tomoro, itd in the garage, and i dont want to open it up again tonight. Setch's tut is great, i forgot about that, i remember XLR8's thread where he made a LP. Pencil and paper are the tools of the night, but tomoro the jigsaw comes out and i make templates for my router. This is going to be (hopfully) a well done project, im faily confident with carving, and i have all the info i could posibly want/need at the touch of a button, the search button! EDIT: Mattia, the template is right, i made it with plans from the MIMF, drawings taken from my own les paul and a friends. the upper bout does look big but remember theres still a neck going there too. Edited October 10, 2005 by Marzocchi705 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggs Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Thats cool dude, but your sound files dont seem to want to work on my pc. I have Brazilian mahogany, i doubt there will be much differance tonewise. Im glad you like it, im already in love with it, and its just a pile of wood in front of the cupboard door. But i can see the finished product in my minds eye. hehe. ← I just checked the links to the sound clips and they are okay as far as I can tell. Try right clicking on them, copy the url in properties and past them into your address bar. They should work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Opend it with real player instead of media player, that worked. They sound great, good job! Youve just made me about 20million times more exited a bout this project, hehe, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggs Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I finaly made a start today. I thicknessed my body to 45mm, and my neck to 35mm, i jointed and glued my body and cut the scarf joint and glued that up today. Not to bad for 2 hours work. Scarf being cut. Pic Scarf joint in clamps. Pic (2 clamps were removed for the picure) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Are you going to have enough wood(lengthwise) for your headstock shape? It looks like there isn't more than 6 inches of wood for the headstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Yes, i have enough wood, i thought the same actually but my measurements were right, later on i'll take a pic with the template on, but thatl have to be tomorow, i took it to school to cut the headstock down to thickness and rough out the neck profile. The blank is 35mm thick, atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted November 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 Ok, i have a question, Whats Holly like as a tone wood? Im thinking about toping it in holly right now, i still might go with the padauk, but i can get holly very easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 (edited) Todays work. I used a combination of band saw and scroll saw for this, the scroll saw was used in the cutaway, i have to say i was really impressed with it. It cut alot better than the bandsaw, most likly because the bandsaw needs a new blade, but the scroll saw was just amazing, cut like butter. A pic of the body beside the template can be found here As you can see the bandsaw burnt it a bit. All that is gone now, after alot of sanding. I tryed a search, but it didnt come up with anything usefull, so whats holly like as a tone wood? Edited November 4, 2005 by Marzocchi705 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian d Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 I used a combination of band saw and scroll saw for this, ← So you just band/scroll sawed and sanded? No routing? That's terrific accuracy for a bandsaw. I'd be scared to go that close with a saw - I don't think I could be accurate enough with it. How thick a piece of wood can you use in the scroll saw? Any reason not to use it for the whole body? Thanks, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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