Jump to content

My Les Paul..... So Far


Recommended Posts

Hey all

Ive been lurking in the background here for ages and I thought it was about time I posted a couple of pics to show you all where Im at with my first build

Specs:

Les Paul - Brazillian Mahogany body and neck

- Lacewood cap and headstock - to be staind green or blue or I might leave it au natural - dunno yet

- Ebony fretboard - Paua inlays and jumbo frets

- Gotoh gold tuners, bridge and tailpiece

I still need to buy all my electronics, but it will have

- Seymour Duncan pups - neck SH-1 (4conductor wiring) and bridge SH-5

- Push-push pots (Im doing the Jimmy Page schematics)

It will be finished in nitrocellulose lacquer

Ive still got a bit to do , but now Im getting close to the end Ill start posting more pics

By the way, this is a fantastic forum and Id like to thank everyone who contributes to it, as I probably wouldnt have got this far with out all the information available here :D

dayvo :D

P1010383.jpg

Body

Headstock

Body again

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Me Likes :D

+1 for the lacewood

Great in progress pics too, dayvo.

I see you drew up plans for two alternate dimensions. Which did you do end up using and why?

And what are the cut outs in the plans for?

congrats on the build, and Happy Birthday

Stu :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments,guys

Oz Tradie, I used the overhead dimentions.

They are not exact and my guitar is slightly smaller than a genuine Les Paul

The side view was something I was experimenting with to get an idea of the neck and headstock angles

The cutouts are'nt anything, I needed a large piece of cardboard to do full size plans and as my wife used to work for Nestle, I borrowed it. It is part of one of their promo bins :D

Maurits, These are the shades of blue and green I might try to achieve

Blue

Green

dayvo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice work Dayvo - it all looks very clean and well attended to.

How deep is the carve? It looks pretty shallow, but I find my carves look shallow if I flow all the curves smoothly, and they pop once there's some gloss to show off the contours. The once that look dramatic pre-finish tend to look a bit clunky once they're shiny.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice work Dayvo - it all looks very clean and well attended to.

How deep is the carve? It looks pretty shallow, but I find my carves look shallow if I flow all the curves smoothly, and they pop once there's some gloss to show off the contours. The once that look dramatic pre-finish tend to look a bit clunky once they're shiny.

Thanks Setch

Im wrapped - a good word from one of the masters :D

The Lacewood was only 12mm thick at the start

To get a reasonable curve on the carve, the sides are only 1-1.5mm thick

I originally was'nt going to have binding but I could see it would look crap without it

Ive washed some Metho over the Lacewood and grain looks fantastic

By the way Im thinking of bleaching the Lacewood before I stain

dayvo :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm liking the quality of work on this one Dayvo. It's a really nice guitar and the Lacewood is spectacular.

I think I'd like to see this one more natural looking - maybe a hint of amber to bring out that lacewood but nothing too much. Although saying that, a really nice green would suit the hardware - IMHO blue suits silver Hardware more than gold.

Either way it's your guitar so it's your choice. I'm intrigued to see which way you go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Dayvo. That's nice, and you're not too far away.

I'll be interested in your choice of finish. I really like it the color it is and think it would look great with a clear finish, but whatever floats your boat. A nice translucent color like you're thinking, but whatever shows off that lacewood.

Gotta love those Pauls... :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah me too the woodwork looks very nice, good to see someone using something othr than flame or quilted maple. Dunno about green or blue(please not blue) though. Second thoughts green would work,Green on top and clear on the back and sides and oiled neck would be my pick.Green and gold very Aussi.

Kev (Syd)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

Hey All

Its been a while since I posted some pics

When I posted the original pics the neck wasnt glued on

Ive been busy around the house and have only managed to do a few things since then

I glued the neck on and routed out the knobs and switch cavities

I changed the shape of the headstock to Gibsons bookpage style

Ive also added most of the hardware and strung it up

This was to show a few muso friends where Im up to with it

It basically needs a final sand, staining and lacquer and Im there

I still need to buy pickups and knobs

Ive decided on Seymour Duncan pearly gates(neck) and duncan custom (bridge)

Hopefully it will be finished sometime in March

dayvo :D

back

back

back

top

top

front

top

Edited by dayvo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi dayvo,

really nice work there fella.

As you hadn't decided on the finish & several people suggested amber I took the liberty of making a mockup of the three colours...I'm sat at work twiddling my thumbs & I couldn't resist.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/bil...rog/Dayvox3.jpg

Hope it helps

disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for any differences between the image & the actual finish :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no problem, any excuse to get the digital easel out :D

They were done in photoshop. I tried to get as close to the two images you supplied as possible, added the burst, added some subtle shading & highlights to accentuate the carvetop & a overlayed a reflection image to make it look laquered...but I had to fade it out quite a bit because it hid the wood which is why they look more satin. I tried to make the grain "pop" a bit but it's very tricky to do without actually painting the figuring...& guitars like that are made to be seen in the flesh anyway :D

I personally liked the blue the least. I'm not keen on gold hardware but I thought that it worked well with the green & amber. I liked them both for different reasons, the amber looked more classy & the green more modern...but it's up to you at the end of the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Here we are, 2 years since my last post on my Les Paul build and I've finally got around to finishing it

I had a lot of problems with the nitro lacquer and as a result had to completely strip it twice before

getting it right, solvent popping being the culprit both times

What is the saying, 'patience is a virtue' :D

Anyway, rather than ruining all my hard work (I was tempted to drop kick it across the garage more

than once), I put it aside and concentrated on my first amp build (all the electronics are completed, I

just have to finish building the cabinets), and making myself a decent work bench

Specs:

Brazilian Mahogany body and laminated neck

Ebony fretboard

Lacewood caps

Paua trapezoid inlays

Bone nut (handmade)

Black binding on body, neck and head

Finish, gloss nitrocellulose lacquer

D'Addario strings

Hardware, Gold Gotoh tuneomatic bridge and tailpiece, and tuners

Gold pickup surrounds, toggle switch, strap holders and various screws

Stewmac jumbo frets

Pickups: Neck 8.5k, Bridge 14k. They were made by Mick Brierley here in Oz

Electronics: I have the Jimmy Page Mod using 4 push-push pots and a 3 way toggle switch to allow for coil, series/parallel and reverse phase switching

dayvo :D

102_0218.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0213.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0211.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0183.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0180.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0178.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0181.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0216.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0190.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0189.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0208.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/102_0210.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/P1010724.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/P1010725.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/P1010696.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/dayvo/P1010692.jpg

Edited by dayvo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a BEAUTIFUL finish on the top!!! Is that the natural grain of the Brazilian Mahogany? It looks like a reptilian skin in some of those shots... amazing. Seems like the 2 years was worth the wait for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...