GCollier Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Here are some photos of my first guitar build. It is a Les Paul double cutaway style with a through neck. The body is sapele and the neck is a 3 piece laminate of maple and makore. The fingerboard is an ebony 24 3/4 scale that I bought from Stewmac. I wish I had taken more in progress picks, but my anxiousness to make some woodworking progress got the better of me. As you can see from the photos I have routed only the bridge pickup so far...as soon as it gets warm enough to work in the garage again I'll rout the neck pickup. I still have lots of shaping left to do on the body, I intend on doing some carving if only to reduce the weight a little. The hardware is going to be all black. I have some Wilkinson locking tuners, and a Badass wraparound style bridge. Any comments, particularly on how I might finish this guy would be welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassisgreat Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 (edited) I love the Sapele body! It looks beautiful, great work! Edited March 8, 2008 by Bassisgreat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bygde Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 I'm a big fan of natural oil finished if its a nice piece of wood - might look a little different for a LP shape rather than the normal high gloss and/or burst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italian~Boy Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 wow that wood looks beautiful, perfectly done so far from what i can see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 For this kind of shape/guitar style, I think clear gloss is pure class. I like oil finishes, but I don't think they 'fit' with every type of design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 For this kind of shape/guitar style, I think clear gloss is pure class. I like oil finishes, but I don't think they 'fit' with every type of design. Yes...I am leaning very strongly toward a clear finish. I think I'll go clear laquer, just so I can really get the grain to pop on the sapele. I expect that the makore will also take on a more reddish hue. I still have a long way to go before I get to the finishing stages though. Funny I am not even finished this first guitar and I'm already thinking about the next one. I am starting to regret my choice of black hardware, I think that gold would have been a better choice...oh well...the money is already spent...maybe next time. Hopefully it will be warm enough next week to make some more progress...I'll keep you updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italian~Boy Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 yea i agree with you, the gold would have a much nicer look, they would really go nicely with the wood with the clear finish, maybe you could save the black hardware for the next project your thinking of, and order some gold hardware for this one? just a thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Not me, I like the black ware idea for that guitar, I think it'll look real nice all finished. Going with straight clear should look great also. Doing it clear should really bring out the colors in those woods, I think its going to look amazing, though it already does. For some reason I can't get over how nice the inlays work on that guitar, very done. Best of luck, keep the pics coming in as you go. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Not me, I like the black ware idea for that guitar, I think it'll look real nice all finished. Going with straight clear should look great also. Doing it clear should really bring out the colors in those woods, I think its going to look amazing, though it already does. For some reason I can't get over how nice the inlays work on that guitar, very done. Best of luck, keep the pics coming in as you go. J Thanks!l I hope the black hardware looks ok when installed, should be anything but common looking. I went with the standard diamond inlays from Stewmac, this was my first time doing inlay work! I was surprised at just how easy it actually was (granted I have a lot of patience and have done my fair share of woodworking). Nothing against complicated inlays, but I wanted something simple. I used a homemade router base with a dremel using a 3/32" ball cutter bit. I crazy glued the inlays to the fret board then scribed around them. I removed them with acetone and routed away...not much to it really. I've attached a closeup of the inlay work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italian~Boy Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 yea i like those inlays, i might use them in mine whenever i actually get some money haha. I'm just a to worried about screwing it up, making the hole to big for the inlay or something like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 oh man, I can't stop clicking this thread just to look at the first two pictures you posted, I love it. The inlay looks really clean too, great job. I can't wait to see it finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Well it was warm enough in the garage for me to do about another half hour of work. I routed the 2nd pickup cavity and also did a bit of carving in the cutaway around the neck. I'm still not sure whether I will duplicate the carve in the other cutaway...or leave it nice and beefy. Thanks again for all the positive comments! I;ve learned a lot here over the last while, now I am just trying to apply what I have learned. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exoticwood Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Looks Good , just wondering if you are from Neptune NJ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wohzah Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) You might not want to leave that guitar out in the cold, the joints will change size as well as the wood acclimates to its respective environments (until it is finished). Other than that it is a great guitar I think using a tung oil as a finish would help to bring out the grain very well. Good luck! Edited March 12, 2008 by wohzah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I LOVE this guitar. The understated design is FABULOUS. Beautiful work man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customguitar Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I love the look of the neck in your second pic. The maple just looks like it falls into the curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted March 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 You might not want to leave that guitar out in the cold, the joints will change size as well as the wood acclimates to its respective environments (until it is finished). Other than that it is a great guitar I think using a tung oil as a finish would help to bring out the grain very well. Good luck! No worries...I bring it inside when I am done working on it. Things here should be warming up a bit in the next few days, so I may get a bit more done. I need to order a french curve scraper to finish up some of the carving...at least to make it easier. I am going to try and keep the lines clean and simple so I dont expect to be chewing away a ton of wood. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted March 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Well the snow has melted, so I managed to get some more work done. I have attached a few pics showing the subtle carve on the top, and also the carve on the back. I wiped on a bit of mineral spirits to get an idea of how the finished grain will look, I've definitely settled on a natural finish. I've got to decide on exactly how I want to wire this thing before I drill for the control knobs. I have a set of volume pots with a DPDT pull switch, so I will likely set up the humbuckers for coil taping. I also have a pair of concentric pots that are just begging to control some kind of internal electronics, perhaps an internal TS808 or a simple JFET boost...lots of possible options. Just a bit of drilling....and lots of sanding and spraying to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Nice looking guitar. Nice work too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassisgreat Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Looks like it's going great! I'll say it again. I LOVE that sapele. Mahogany and its variants are so beautifully understated. Then when you get a close look, everything pops. Pure class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 thats great!@ for your first project thats a very nice clean build congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPA or death Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Nice guitar bro. Reminds me of those older Carvins, especially with a clear finish. You've done some real clean work there. Look forward to seeing the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted June 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 Well it's finally finished! After numerous other projects that put this one on hold I finally had time to finish this beast and get to play it! The finish is Minwax clear gloss poly, I applied 12 coats using nothing more than spray cans. I filled the grain with 2 part epoxy before the clear coat, and sanded it all to 600 grit. It turned out pretty well for my first guitar. I am quite happy with the look, feel and sound. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bygde Posted June 22, 2008 Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 WOW! What a beauty! How does it sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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