Pestvic Posted June 28, 2012 Report Share Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) So I decided to try and remake my dads first guitar he misses for Christmas. This is it.(well a pic that i found that looks exactly like it.) 1954 les paul deluxe I dont want it to be exactly like it. but pretty dang close. With some of the stuff I add to my builds of course. I also wanted to make the same guitar I'm making in the NMVDI002 build thread. Except green this time with a gold center burst. Here is a test color rough body top gluing NM top rough body Edited June 28, 2012 by Pestvic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted June 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) tops chambered body and tops rough tops glued to body Bodies routed to template Edited June 28, 2012 by Pestvic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted June 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) backs rounded over tops coved for carve And that's all I got done today :-P Now I sit trying to figure out the dang carve for the LP I cant figure out how to draw something that looks good/symmetrical . Edited June 28, 2012 by Pestvic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Still trying to figure out how to get the carve closest to the original. I don't have a Les Paul and pics aren't helping. so I was wondering if you guys could post pics of your LP carves? That would help a bunch Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted June 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 Started the carve on the LP. The dang chisel knocked a chuck out of the center... i need gouging files . but it still came out pretty awesome. Its like a unique little cove for the trem to have room to pull back on. Ill start the NM tomorrow as this took a long day to do... Tired... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piercefield Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 That looks damn near like one i made from left over scrap maple... My son was wanting to try and build one so i gave him some scrap maple that was too short for a body, but it was like 19 inches wide but only 14 long.... He glued (2) 1 inch slads together placing the clamps directly on the wood, then cuts it out with a jigsaw... It looked absolutely horrible lol. After that he was pretty much done with it... It layed around for a couple years and one day I thought I would take a stab at it.. The grain is running sideways and i figured it would sound like crap but amazingly enough it sounds awesome... Wood burned a rose on it and the vine goes all the way around the back... Had an old imported china neck blank laying around with vine inlay and matched it up... (use to order those for $35 before i started making my own) Turns out everyone that sees it is crazy about it... imperfections just add to the character Looks like yours is going to be killer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 For sure man, I'm actually really happy with how this is turning out. Even though its my dads guitar, I show it to him from time to time to see what he thinks. He thought the "mess up" was an awesome unique addition to the guitar. He didn't even know it was a mistake. Even said it would be good for the trem. So it worked out perfectly. He doesn't even know its his guitar yet haha. The best way to surprise someone is to keep the gift completely obvious until Christmas day when I say. "Here you go dad, this one was yours. I built it like your very first guitar but this one is everything you wanted." (he always said the Gibson was to heavy and this and that... so I fixed all those things for him Ill post some progress pictures in the next hour or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) started staining the top. I think the color came out perfect! Now its going to be a challenge to get that brown burst on there without an airbrush haha There was a lot more figure than I thought! Anyway, I have NO idea why I didn't do this sooner... I went to the local Harbor Freight and got a 5" sanding disk with a 40 grit paper for my grinder and carved the NM. It was SOOOO FASTTTT. Took about 10-15 minutes instead of 1-2 hours... So now here is the NM waiting. I still got to use this new AWESOME scraper and finish up carving the NM. The horns I decided I will finish fully with the scraper. They were just to sharp/tight for the 5" grinder to get (for me anyway so far). Oh and this is little Sadie. She loves watching me work. She always points to each guitar and says "Sadie's guitar?" haha I cant wait until shes old enough to play one. Or build one for that matter. (Don't worry she stays inside when I actually sand or work.) Thanks for looking Edited July 2, 2012 by Pestvic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piercefield Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Figure looks great! I Have never been much on the sharp corners like on the NM... I could always see me about 6 beers deep hitting something and a huge chip cracking lol... Carve is looking very nice! I could never get my kids interested till they were about 7 or 8... but then they learn so fast, by the time they are 20 they can far surpass the master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 haha definitely. "Student surpasses teacher". Sadie is awesome we bought her a elmo drum kit and every time I practice guitar, she runs to her drums and plays with me haha. As for the horns I use a hardner/ petrifier on them so they dont chip and it works amazing. I've hit things, dropped, etc. on the red guitar build and no chips whatsoever :-P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piercefield Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Hmmm What are you using for a hardner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I was using this minwax stuff. works pretty good I havent had problems with it before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 How do you like that Carruth scraper? Better than a normal (thin) one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 kinda. its works really well but its like touchy. you have to angle it just right and scrap certain directions with it cause you cant bend it as much as a thin one. it still works awesome and fast though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 kinda. its works really well but its like touchy. you have to angle it just right and scrap certain directions with it cause you cant bend it as much as a thin one. it still works awesome and fast though I worried about trying to sharpen it without an expensive wetstone. It says to use a hollow grind on it... that requires a nice sharpening setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 yeah if you watch the video you have to adjust and center your grinder and what not... It does stay sharp though. I've carved a lot with this thing over the course of two guitar body's and 3 necks. Still sharp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Carved nm Stained black and sanded back Stained green Added a golden wash that comes out in the light. WOO I've always wanted a green guitar natural back Edited July 4, 2012 by Pestvic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Sealed the guitars Here is both sealed. I'm not sure I'm happy with the LP.... Its that cove section that still has those dang messups and sand marks. Maybe it wont look so bad after I do some hardware mockups. If not I'll have to sand back and what not. Anyway, This is where they are at. I don't have Some parts to start the necks yet so this is where they will sit and cure until then. Ill probably re-sand and stain the LP until those parts come in. Edited July 4, 2012 by Pestvic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piercefield Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Great job with the black on the NM... great highlighting of the figure... The sealer really made the cove stand out on the LP... I'm not so sure now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 The sealer really made the cove stand out on the LP... I'm not so sure now Thats exactly how I feel... GAH.... Ill see how it turns out in the end... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Yeah, I would buzz the top off the LP and put a new one on But the green guitar is looking awesome, colour, shape, grain, everything, Rockin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Yeah, I would buzz the top off the LP and put a new one on But the green guitar is looking awesome, colour, shape, grain, everything, Rockin +1 Adding a black burst during the clear coating process would look killer on the NM too. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Yeah, I would buzz the top off the LP and put a new one on But the green guitar is looking awesome, colour, shape, grain, everything, Rockin I wish I had the tools to do it I think I might just restart that project :-\... As for the NM yeah its coming out GREAT haha. I'm taking my time on every section of the build. This is going to be the build I show and try and sell to the locals who have been wanting me to make them one. I do want to add a burst but I dont know how to get a good one on there without a Airbrush setup. Any ideas? Im willing to try it out. I got to route out the rest of the pockets tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted September 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) Parts! Layed out Started the neck. Routed truss rod, Installed. Started the 10 degree headstock angle heres the neck up to the fretting stage. headstock is a little off. Had to move the tuners a bit. The headstock fits them perfect now though Then I painted the back of the guitar black. I caved and got rid of the natural back :-P god i love the figure Edited September 13, 2012 by Pestvic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pestvic Posted September 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Here is the binding/contrast on the side I'm STOKED! I really want to thank everyone on this site who has helped and just posted amazing builds and information that gave me inspiration and knowledge to get where I am now. I would never imagine a build this awesome and good coming from myself this fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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