Chris G Posted August 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Ok I have fixed my tenon. I ended up cutting some veneer from the left over pieces of the neck. I did not take any pics of the veneer or gluing, but after sanding, measuring, sanding some more this what I got.Here is the first stage of sanding. You can see the veneer on both sides.Here it is after sanding.You can hardly see the fix. The tenon is a tad too tight, but I will take a little mover off the sides.It also is butting up to the body better. A little more work and it will be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted October 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Just wanted to let everyone know that I have not given up yet. Here is a couple pictures of progress. Will post full progress soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexisguitars Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Very cool build. Really interesting to see how the process with the set neck is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Good to hear you are still plugging away Chris.SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Hey Everyone hope you all had a good holiday. Back to my build it is now about 90% done. I have had a great journey this past year and learned a lot. I have put countless hours, blood, sweat and tears in this build. Its again I will say its not perfect and I have had to redo the frets 3 times. I was not expecting the fret job to be that hard. I could have been done by the summer/fall if I did not have to redo and fix a lot of my mistakes. I think I could have been done by summer if started my build routine at the start. After I was half way through, I started to wake up really early like 4am to get work done. With my wife in school doing a Masters Degree and 2 small kids I was having problems finding time during the day and weekends to work on the guitar. I started to have trouble sleeping, because I could not get it out of my head. That is when I started to wake up early before work and on the weekends. It worked out well, I would get what I wanted done before the family wakes up and then can focus my time with them not the guitar. What is left on the guitar is clean the binding, some touch up jobs and clear coat. I am going to use True Oil for the clear. This guitar with all the issues it has still sounds and plays great. I like to call myself a guitar player, but my friend is amazing and he thought it played great. So lets get on with it and show the 6 months of progress. Head stock veneer Bandsaw time! There is the inlay I got from Shark Inlay. Binding Some gaps Gaps filled Made my own radius blocks Sanding down fretboard Inlay time I did not want to spend 50 on stewmac dermal base and the new dermal router base sucks, so I found an older on on Ebay for 10 and had to modify it to fit my dermal. Filling the small gaps Done I think i did god on my first inlay job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 First fret job out of 3 should have done it when the fretboard was glued on the neck. Binding on the fretboard Seeing how it looks. Got the pickups in. Tried to get the little nubs on the fret ends but did not work out like I wanted. I ended up not doing the nubs. Headstock inlay time. Put a small amount of glue under the inlay to get outline, but ended up braking off the G. The Wax paper melted on the epoxy. First sand. Filled again with epoxy and dust Done. Pickup Routing time. Done and did not screw it up. Neck Cave time. I really enjoyed this process. Its finished sort of. I ended sanding down the neck a few more times to get the feel I wanted. Test to see how it looks Tailpiece holes drill. I borrowed the drill press from my uncle and had to give it back before I drilled the holes and ended up screwing that up. I had to redo the holes. They are not even. Drilling to ground wire hole Side dot on the neck. I used guitar picks for that, but was unhappy how it turned out. I ended up redoing them later on. Made the control cavity plates. Gluing the neck. Fret job number 2. Removing the frets. I ended taking too much off the frets when leveling them. The binding on the left side was too thin so I I had to redo that as well. I had a backbow at the first fret, not sure way maybe to wood moved. I watched a ton of videos to fixed this and this was the first attempt. Second attempt and also had a slight twist in the neck. I used the tuners to straighten the neck and applied heat. Before I did the second attempt I had the strings on and was dealing with high action and could not get the bridge any lower or adjust the truss rod any more. I still have a slight twist in the neck but it is a positive since its on the high e but it fixed my high action issue. Here is a pic of the high action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 How are you feeling about the guitar and the process now you've got through the finishing post for the first time? I guarantee you that your next one will be ten times better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 After I got all my issues fixed its time to start staining. I used Kada dyes for the stain. They are a great value at 15.00 and get 5 colors. I was unsure on the color I wanted to do and did not want to get the premixed colors. Once I got the colors blended and did some test I was ready to apply. First layer. Sanded down. Second layer. I sanded down the second layer not as much as first but did not take a picture. Here is the third and final. You can see the fix on the holes for tail and bridge. Grain fill and stain I do need to touch up on the stain in the back. After it dried I have some splotches. Wiring time. I could have when ahead with the clear, but I could not wait until I heard it and played it. I also wanted to make sure everything was good before the clear. This was my first sodering job and you can see some burn makes, but its done and sounds great. I cant believe that it all started from this. What I have learned. 1. Have good quality tools and the correct tools for the job. I have gotten some cheaper tools and tools that I thought would work, but ended up making more work for me in the long run. 2. Fretting seem like it would be an easier task, but it was a lot harder then I thought it would. It also goes hand in hand with good tools. I may had a harder time with the frets, because of some of the issues, but was able to get it all fixed. 3. Dont get ahead of your self and stick with the plan. I had to double back and rethink some of the stages, because I got to ahead. 4. Maybe I should have picked an easier guitar to build. I know with this being the first time I ever for everything a Les Paul might not have been the best chose for my first build, but stuck with it and turned out great. I know you all told me to give up and start over and I know its not perfect, but plays just as good as my USA Strat or other guitars. 5. I got really lucky!! With the issues it does have it does not hurt the playability. Yes I would like the action to be a bit lower, but it is spec to Gibson les pauls and I can deal with it. 6. I never thought something like this would help center me and clear my head. I had a great year at work with promotions and rises and have to give credit to this project for that. It is amazing how the project clears your head and helps you focus. I have a problem with ADD and finishing tasks and this project has changed me for good. 7. I found a new talent I never expected. I know I need to hone my skills, but think this could turn out to be great future in guitar making as a hobby. 8. Creativity. I never thought I could be this creative before. Not just the process of the build, but think of ways to fix mistakes making jigs, and more. I want to thank everyone on this site, other sites, videos I have watched for the tips and advice that helped me through this. I know I stopped posting half way through and the reason for that, first was time and second I felt like some of the comments were a bit harsh. I would never tell someone to give up and start again. I am a solution seeker and do not like to give up if there is a way to fix it. My profession is in Computers and Networking and if I found an issue and could not fix it with my knowledge I would find a way to fix the problem. If I just gave up on a hard problem or issue, I would not be where I am today. That is way it has taken me this long to finish. I found the solutions to the problems in my build and found ways to fix them. I want to thank my wife for putting up with my obsession. I am not done yet, but almost there. I will keep everyone posted once it is completely finished. Thanks Guys and chears!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 40 minutes ago, Prostheta said: How are you feeling about the guitar and the process now you've got through the finishing post for the first time? I guarantee you that your next one will be ten times better. I feel great about it I think it turned out better then I have thought. Yes it may not be perfect and the next will be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Sorry Guys I now realize there are some duplicate pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Don't worry about it! Better than missing ones. Wow, that top colour just nails it! Between finished and unfinished there is a magnitude of difference in looks. Excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Man, you did a lot of work since you last posted.! I'm very impressed with your stick-to-it-ness. The guitar did turn out very nice, and yes it was an ambitious choice for a first build. Nothing like playing that first one and hearing how good it sounds, huh? Congratulations and well done!] SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Congratulations! So.... what are you thinking for the next one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 On 1/2/2016 at 11:46 AM, Prostheta said: Don't worry about it! Better than missing ones. Wow, that top colour just nails it! Between finished and unfinished there is a magnitude of difference in looks. Excellent! Thanks!! The Color really turned out great. Once the clear goes on you should see all the colors and it will pop. On 1/3/2016 at 7:13 PM, ScottR said: Man, you did a lot of work since you last posted.! I'm very impressed with your stick-to-it-ness. The guitar did turn out very nice, and yes it was an ambitious choice for a first build. Nothing like playing that first one and hearing how good it sounds, huh? Congratulations and well done!] SR Thank you ScottR!! Yes it was a very special moment once I plugged her in. On 1/3/2016 at 9:38 AM, KnightroExpress said: Congratulations! So.... what are you thinking for the next one? I am going to take a little time off from building, I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I will start planning out another one in spring. I am thinking another Les Paul for the next one maybe a tele. I am going to go to the saw mill were I got all the wood from and start getting ideas. They have pretty much everything you could want for guitar making. My thought for another Les Paul is since I have already got one under my belt I can really make it perfect. On 1/4/2016 at 7:52 PM, Chuck_Chill-Out said: Nice work! Thank you sir!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 That's really good! I love the overall look and am really pleased it sounds good too . There's nothing quite like playing a guitar you've built yourself.... Can't wait to see the next one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooltouch Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Hey Chris, I'm new to this forum, but not new to building and I found I could really relate to a lot of your difficulties -- and your perseverance in overcoming them. I'm the same way -- I don't like giving up either. But boy do I sure hate making mistakes. I've found that often it takes an inordinate amount of time to fix a simple mistake, so it really has kept me on my toes to try and avoid them in the first place. I've build "only" acoustics so far and I too would like to build a Les Paul type of solid body electric. Seeing you scratch build a Paul as your first guitar has pushed me in that direction, rather than buying a kit of precut woods. I think you've done an outstanding job and any visible mistakes just add character to the finished product. Plus, they act as constant reminders what not to do on one's next build. I plan to observe your next build closely and pick up as many pointers as I can. Again, congrats on a job well done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 I couldn't say it better myself, @cooltouch. Mistakes strengthen your skills and should serve as a reminder that you are developing. If you do the same thing reliably forever, you're staying the same. Growth requires stepping out of comfortable bounds and taking on new information, whether that be from success or "less than success". To put it another way; in less than six pages, @Chris G has become a better builder. How is that a bad thing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 On 1/10/2016 at 10:50 AM, cooltouch said: Hey Chris, I'm new to this forum, but not new to building and I found I could really relate to a lot of your difficulties -- and your perseverance in overcoming them. I'm the same way -- I don't like giving up either. But boy do I sure hate making mistakes. I've found that often it takes an inordinate amount of time to fix a simple mistake, so it really has kept me on my toes to try and avoid them in the first place. I've build "only" acoustics so far and I too would like to build a Les Paul type of solid body electric. Seeing you scratch build a Paul as your first guitar has pushed me in that direction, rather than buying a kit of precut woods. I think you've done an outstanding job and any visible mistakes just add character to the finished product. Plus, they act as constant reminders what not to do on one's next build. I plan to observe your next build closely and pick up as many pointers as I can. Again, congrats on a job well done. Thank you cooltouch for the kind words. After reading your post I was just floored! I did make a lot of mistakes and I would not have any way. I have also had people tell me to give up and turn it to firewood. The mistakes that I have made made me stronger and more knowledge builder. Yes if I did not make those mistakes, taken my time, studied more I would have been done 6 months ago. I think I spent more time on fixing and adjusting then on the build itself. On my next build I will find new difficulty's and hope I over come others I have faced with this build, but every ding, miss cut or miss measurement adds to my skill leave and character of the build. I would like to say on my next builds they will be perfect, but dont want them to be. I am not perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 On 1/10/2016 at 11:35 AM, Prostheta said: I couldn't say it better myself, @cooltouch. Mistakes strengthen your skills and should serve as a reminder that you are developing. If you do the same thing reliably forever, you're staying the same. Growth requires stepping out of comfortable bounds and taking on new information, whether that be from success or "less than success". To put it another way; in less than six pages, @Chris G has become a better builder. How is that a bad thing? Thank you Prostheta!! I new I was going to finish the build when I started, but never thought I would be where I am at now. I have learned more in a year then I would dream of. I look at guitars differently now then before. I dont have any desire to buy any new guitars now (maybe a vintage here and there) I will just build it. Yes it will take longer, but I build it with my two hands and put my blood, sweat and tears in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Back to the build. Like I said I was not finished yet. I wanted to get it all setup so I could adjust and do the finished stage. Here is everything off. Excuse the mess I am working on fixing that bad habit. Getting ready to stamp the serial number Done. The 15 is for the year and 001 for the first build. Here I am trying to fill some of the gaps where the next meets the body. I hope I do not make that mistake on the next build. After able to play it for a bit, I found the neck is a bit thicker then I like. I decided to sand down the neck a bit more. I am not quite done with the neck yet, but almost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I'm going to set you a challenge for your next build Chris, and we'll guide you through achieving it if you want; no filler. For your next build, we challenge you to make gapless joints and avoid the traps that caught you in this one. Up for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 4 hours ago, Prostheta said: I'm going to set you a challenge for your next build Chris, and we'll guide you through achieving it if you want; no filler. For your next build, we challenge you to make gapless joints and avoid the traps that caught you in this one. Up for that? Yes I am going to really study and look at joints on the next build. It was an over site on my part doing that process. I will make sure on the next one there will be no gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2k Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 Hey Chris, Just read through this whole thread (it's fun to be able to zoom through a build that took months of work in 30 minutes or so!). So first, congratulations on finishing the project - the guitar looks great and it sounds like you're leveling up your skills too. Second, thanks for detailing your project's highs and lows. As another newcomer to this, it's good to see some similar struggles and solutions to what I'm facing. With so many of the build threads here done by masters of the craft, I find it tempting to hide the warts in my own project. I don't want to look too bad! But the point is to learn and improve. So you've inspired me in another way - to try to be transparent in my build thread for my benefit and for any other newcomers. I'm looking forward to following along with your next project. Aaron 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris G Posted January 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 9 hours ago, a2k said: Hey Chris, Just read through this whole thread (it's fun to be able to zoom through a build that took months of work in 30 minutes or so!). So first, congratulations on finishing the project - the guitar looks great and it sounds like you're leveling up your skills too. Second, thanks for detailing your project's highs and lows. As another newcomer to this, it's good to see some similar struggles and solutions to what I'm facing. With so many of the build threads here done by masters of the craft, I find it tempting to hide the warts in my own project. I don't want to look too bad! But the point is to learn and improve. So you've inspired me in another way - to try to be transparent in my build thread for my benefit and for any other newcomers. I'm looking forward to following along with your next project. Aaron Thank you Aaron!! The way I looked at it at the start of the build and posting in this forum was if I messed up on something I would have the masters of the craft to help me through it. If I never showed most of my mistakes and had advice on how to fix it or what to do on the next build, it would probably happen again. Same here with all the other forums i have read especially with the les pual. They were all had experience and did a good job detailing the process so I could follow, but they did not make much mistakes, so when it came to mine it was hard to get answers. That is why from the start I joined this site and started the forum. I started a want to be luthier and now after this build I look at myself as an apprentice. These guys are masters and we are the apprentices that is why I show most of my work. There was things I did not post like the 3rd fret job and others. I dont know what the next project will be, but been thinking about making a wall case for this build. If I build a case I will post my progress. Now back to the build!!! Here is the body and neck before last stain. After Cleaning Binding Rounding over the binding. Cleaned the top. You can see the grain before the True Oil After the first coat of True Oil. The grain is starting to POP!! Cleaned the back before the Oil coat After the first Oil coat Here is another closer shot 1 coat down about 12 more. Cheers Guys!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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