David Ivy Posted January 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 Cut fret slots and rough cut the fret board shape. Next step installing the truss rod and gluing the fret board on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted January 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2021 I don't know if I mentioned it but I am also building a LesPaul flat top inspired guitar for myself this one is a bolt on neck.I the moment I have maple veneer glue drying. But here is a look at it before I glued the veneer. The inlay are sticker but on the carve top I want to try doing wooden inlays. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted January 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2021 So Here is the flat top with curly maple veneer on it. Now I'm gluing the veneer on the headstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted January 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 I did a little more work on my flat top Les Paul guitar. I will get back to my carved top Les Paul ,but I want to finish this flat top first. I have templates to cut. & sand before I can carve the top & the inlays for the fretboard. Anyway here's some more on my flat top LP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted January 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2021 I got a little more work done on my flat top Les Paul tonight. I had to make templates for the control & switch cavities. I also carved a bone nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted January 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2021 I also routed & glued the cream binding on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted February 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2021 Stained the back & sides with red mahogany stain. Then using Rit clothing dyes I dyed the curly maple veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted February 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 I thought it looked blotchy so I added some purple to the light spot in the middle of the top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted February 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 @Bizman62 Thank you Sir ! I appreciate the likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 @David Ivy, I like your way of doing. Although not quite reaching the perfection of the GOTM winners your builds have character. Most importantly you seem to be getting the crucial measurements right! A well playing guitar is what matters, not fancy woods or stellar finish. A neck that fits your palm, fret ends that don't take your DNA, perfect intonation and low enough action, that's what really matters. The rest is eye candy. Adding purple to cure the blotchiness was a good idea. Further, using the same solvent as the dye has (water, alcohol, whatever you've been using) you can wash the lighter areas for a better blending. Sanding back is one method, washing back can be as efficient without the risk of going too deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted February 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 @Bizman62Â Thank you Sir, I used steel wool to lighten the center but it just looked blotchy and I had already put a coat of tru oil on. I mixed dye with tru oil and layered blue then purple. I thought the purple added a nice look to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 3, 2021 Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 I agree with the purple, didn't know you already had applied oil. Since mixing dye with TruOil seems to work, you can blend the burst by applying dyed TrueOil to the edge and clear on the center, sweeping the clear from the center towards the edge. That would be similar to using water based dyes on bare wood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted February 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 I think I have put about 6 coats of tru oil so far. In all I'm looking to put about 8 coats on. For those who want to know where is the carved top Les Paul? It's coming soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted February 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 By the way the writing on the headstock is a little blurry but it says ivy guitars. Less Talk.....just a little play on words.  Kind of like saying shut up and play. Lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted February 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2021 So I ran into a bit of a snag. My neck Had too much of an angle on it so I cut the heal down. That didn't work so I took a kit that I built that has a Tuneomatic bridge set up on a bolt on neck. I took the measurements from that one at the heal of the neck & The neck pocket of the body. So I added wood to the neck pocket & cut the neck heal down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ivy Posted March 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 I finally finished the purple burst flat top. I was able to get the neck angle correct. And got all of the wiring straightened out. Looks good and plays good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 4 hours ago, David Ivy said: Looks good and plays good. The burst sure looks better on the finished guitar than in the first pictures. I'm still hesitant about doing a dye burst on my current build, the test pieces didn't look convincing enough... For looks I'd change the knobs to black/silver ones to match the hardware. Doesn't affect playability, though. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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