johnsilver

Wow! Did you wet the wood for the picture? I assume your top finish will be clear. Don't know coco bolo finishing requirements. You'll have to fill the mahogany so can you describe your finishing plan? Ditto on what hardware, but also want to know plans for the neck wood and fretboard. Mahogany neck and rosewood? Humbuckers? What sort of sound are you going for?

I'm sorry, I have no experience with the rotary microplane. I do have a microplane double-handled rasp, and it works very well. It cuts quickly, so I imagine you'd have to use the rotary rasp with care.

Congratulations. You should be proud.

I have StewMac's plans for a "late 50s" Les Paul Custom. It indicates body thickness of 2 7/16" in the middle and 1 31/32" at the edge. It doesn't indicate any chambering, so this is one big boy.

My youngest son has a Cort Viva 7 that he really likes. I believe he got it off EBay for about $200. I don't know the scale length. It looks just like this.

You can look at Setch's Les Paul tutorial that shows routing the binding channel before carving the top. I highly recommend that method for electrics. I cut the binding channel on a Les Paul style I am making after the top was carved. I did that because I was stupid. However, using this guide and my Dremel, I was able to successfully cut the channel for a 7 layer binding. It was painstaking, but came out nice.

This post is a great example of why I frequent this forum. It contains useful discussion by proven builders including a difference of views, which is very valuable to a less experienced builder like me. Thanks guys.

Whoa! A Thinline Tele! Excellent. And I just recently made a pickguard for a Thinline Tele for another project. Have the template and everything. Cool. Thinline Style Pickguard

I just found out why my wife didn't ask the questions. She thought the beautiful one-piece black limba blank was a new cutting board for her kitchen!! I kid you not...

RGGR, that's sick. Now I'll have nightmares. Mattia, how about a double cut PRS style with carved top finished natural? The limba blank is just about the right thickness - just needs a little planing. Maybe with P90s? It looks like the SG is an early favorite. A natural limba SG with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a 59 in the neck? How about a Firebird? Perhaps set up for slide?

Just got a beautiful single piece of Black Limba from Fryovanni. I had no plans when I bought it. Got it because (1) it was beautiful and available, (2) I wanted it badly, (3) I could afford it right now, and (4) I didn't have to leave the house to get it. Too bad this doesn't work for women. Now that I have it. How about? Limba Paul Limba SG Limba Tele The piece is just under 2" thick, so thin for a Paul. Could add a plain maple top with a dark burst, say a tobacco burst with the Limba back. SG or Tele could be finished natural. Or, how about a bass? Thoughts?

Sweet! Let's see some pics of the shop, and the guitar while you are at it. And welcome to the forum.

My piece of black limba arrived yesterday as promised. It's beautiful! My wife was so taken by it that she forgot to ask the dreaded two questions: How much did it cost and what do I plan to do with it. Thanks Rich. Very nice.

It was a difficult contest for me. All three are original - very nice to see - and each was very well done. Originality means design choices and congratulations to you all for taking the risk to be original. The Leviathan's wood, fit and finish are beautiful and flawless. To me, the body shape, which I like, is too aggressive for the choice of wood and finish - doesn't seem to fit somehow. I just can't see Mrs Butterworth slinging that axe. Beautiful nonetheless. I just can't stop looking at the body finish. The hollow body is different and interesting to me. Some neat elements there. It looks comfortable and playable and inviting. Its the one that attracted me to pick up and play. The Tele style control set up doesn't quite work for me but the knobs are great. The bass is also original and well done. Lots of work, and good work, there. I'd personally prefer the treble scroll to curl inwards, but I know from the thread that that was considered and decided otherwise. After reviewing and exiting three times, I voted for the bass.

Rich, PM sent - hopefully you have one left. I saw them right after you posted but resisted until today. I'm in a weakened state from breathing in all that smoke yesterday when I slow smoked a 15 pound turkey for dinner today. Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking good. I want your clamps. I don't have any two that look the same.

All of my pattern cutting bits, and many others, come from here I've had good results thus far.

I have a Sears Craftsman 5" 8 hole hook & loop random orbital sander. Can't recall exactly, but paid $60-80 for it 2-3 years ago. Been flogging it every since.

Cool idea. I like the mock-up. I know what you mean about pickguards on black guitars. I recently finished a custom pickguard for mine using Stewmac material. What I used was lamintated W/B/W and was 0.90" thick. Don't know what you plan to use, but after dealing with this, I can't imagine cutting it with scissors or a knife. It's pretty tough material and it would be difficult to get a clean job that way IMHO. I cut out the rough shape of mine using a jig saw leaving about 1/4" excess around my pattern. Then I taped it (double stick) to a MDF template I made and then routed to the template using a straight pattern cutting bit including the pickup holes. Then I beveled the outside using a 45 degree bevel bit (pattern cutting). It came out good. Well, the second one came out good. If you go this way, watch out for the pointy bits on your design. They will be easy to snap off if you don't run your router in the right direction. Here is a pic of the pickguard taped to my template with the tools I used to route and drill it out. Hope this helps.

Perry, this is very, very cool. It's obvious these boys are loving it - something they will always be proud of. So, who's gonna shout for the beers when they are done?

I'm liking this bass very much. With the wood selection and precise work, it comes across as clean, clean, clean. Beautiful. What is your plan for finish? Just clear? Do you have to fill the grain of the ash? I assume you will you apply clear to the maple fretboard?

Likewise. At this particular market, there were lots of moulding planes but unfortunately nothing with the profile to assist carving an LP style body.

I was walking through an outdoor "antique" market last weekend and found an old Record A64 spokeshave. The blade iron is also stamped Record - Made in England. The iron is nicked a bit but should sharpen up nicely with a little elbow grease. The body appears to be cast iron. Its a little smaller but heavier than my other spokeshaves. Don't know much about this particular tool, but it will be fun to get it tuned up and ready to take on some maple or mahogany necks. It'll be interesting to see how it feels comparied to my more modern spokeshaves. Paid 10 Euros - about $13US.

David, that is another seriously beautiful guitar. I really like the headstock laminates. I recently laminated ebony on either side of a mahogany headstock including extending the ebony on the back of the headstock down the neck as you did on this guitar. Trouble is that I went too deep and cut into my truss rod slot. Oh well, another learning.

StewMac's guitar finishing book has 5 recipes for SG Cherry Red including both nitro and water based lacquer recipes. You might try one of those.