gosh

I know what you are saying. The necks were bought on faith and I was assured they were genuine NOS necks. All I can say is that If i was fooled and they are not genuine, I can live with it because I don't have the tools yet to build my own just yet. However, they are stamped and they do look like an exact match for necks I've seen on the Gibson plant tour. The truss rod is definitely right and build method is also the same. Right down to the way they drill two holes to hold them in the jig. BUT, I am happy even if it simply saved me having to make a neck for my first build. It took me over 6 months of looking to get those two necks. There are a lot that don't come close to being genuine. The first neck I bought came from a guy who had it in his loft since 1980. The colour isn't as light as it looks in the pictures but they are definitely lighter than the body. I'll try to rectify this when it comes to the finishing work after it is installed to match it up. I might even lighten the neck further in the playing area. I know the neck isn't from 1959 and like i say, I'm not trying to con anybody. Just build something that plays nice and looks great. I'm not trying to fool a Gibson valuer. I haven't even ordered the paint and finish coats yet. I don't know what to get. Still looking in to it. Thanks for taking time out to look it over. If anyone has ideas about colour matching the lighter neck with the slightly darker body, I'd love to hear it. Thanks again mate

but will I finish? I finally got all the parts for my guitar build. so I started building today. I'd like to thank some of the guys already on here for the help so far and in order to encourage myself to get on with this project and not dally with it, I started a Blog to chart the progress. This is more a means of making sure I get on with it than anything else but will also keep a valuable record of it for me in the future should i make more. I worked all morning on this and then all afternoon on the blog. http://59gibsonlespaul.blogspot.com/ Remember, it's my first effort, so be gentle with me. I WILL be hurt easy. I'm certain I will make mistakes and I'm certain some will be pointed out to me before I even know I made them myself. But one thing to remember is that I'm not building this to fool anybody. This guitar will never be for sale. I don't want anyone thinking I'm trying to copy a 59 Les Paul to finite detail. I'm building a guitar "in the style of", So please, let's not have any "Ah, you haven't got the right bumblebee capacitors there matey". Other than that, I'd love to hear your thoughts, tips, advice, ideas for my project. Thank you Paul

Go to ebay now. Search listings for: Item number: 150178090329 Or seller commander_fluff I know it says Les Paul. But the guys listing also states he supplies SG too. I have a set of the LP plans of this same person and they are VERY accurate and very concise. I'm certain he can sort you out a set no problem. Hope that helps mate.

Sounds like a 'cap'. They put them on lots of guitars, including Gibsons. It's a 'fibre board' and can have all sorts of inlays or not in it. Nothing to do with where it was made or anything or being too lazy to sand any surfaces. It's just easier to inlay a fibre board and glue it on than do it straight in to the head wood. You can buy new blank fibre boards, uncut (ie: rectangular) to replace your one, or you might consider an ebony laminate sheet

How about setting yourself a real challenge? Man, that would be a real satisfying job to finish well. Good luck anyway. Sounds great!

The stew mac web site is down at the moment. Darn!!!

Couple of suggestions if you want. 1. try a rubbing compound similar to the stuff you use pre waxing on a car. Might take ages but will be a lot softer on the material than any abrasive papers 2. Why not heat the thing off and then make yourself a brand new one. Laminated plastic like that is fairly easy to find to replace it in the whole. Any help?

Having said that, there is no denying that some of them are sought after by certain people and thus, have some value. It look like the one mentioned in the original post dates from the period said to be of interest, so yes, I'd say it's worth having it valued.

This one is worth quite a few quid these days. I'd have one!

I disagree. I'm not a fan myself but there are collectors. Here's a bit from Wiki: Hondo is currently a company that produces entry-level electric guitars and basses, usually based on the designs of more expensive models such as the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. Between 1974 and 1983 Hondo produced guitars in Japan. These models are good quality and very collectible instruments, similar to contemporary Ibanez models. Good quality also are the models produced in Korea between the 1984 and the 1987, mostly Fender or Gibson copies. Hondo is currently owned by Musicorp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hondo_(guitar_company) I guess you could always write and ask them the current market value of your model: kmcmcpsales-musicorp@kaman.com

Here's a couple of links that might help you mate. Just trying to help. http://www.taylorguitars.com/see-hear/ Click the "Factory Fridays" link to the right, then the "More" button a couple of times and watch the video of them finishing guitars. Also, quite good explanation here: http://www.setchellguitars.co.uk/ant/blog/?page_id=23 Look for the Les Paul links to the right, I started you off on page 9 but it's worth looking at this all through. Hope that helps.

If you are proficient, you should be able to sadle the neck and tap home the offending fret to seat it fully. If it doesn't go down or stay down, then either A: there is something in the fret slot preventing it from going home fully, OR B: the fret slot has widened, OR C: is not cut deep enough. A or C means you have to remove the fret and sort the problem B means you might be able to get away with gluing the fret back in place. You could use super glue with additive to make it cure instantly (10 - 20 seconds) after protecting the fingerboard area likely to be affected with a light spray coating of lacquer allowing you to wipe away any excess glue and the lacquer instantly. You still need to clean and polish afterwards. You can add the glue, then clamp down the fret, holding it in place until set. Then simply check everything is level and you are set to go.

When you say 'raised slightly', do you mean that is has come out of the fret channel a little and won't simply tap back in? Or is the channel worn, so that if you tried to tap it home it would just pop out again?

No worries mate. Happy to be here and happy to help.

Does this help? This shot is taken from the official web site and is a side on shot of a brand new McCarty. :-)

A friend of mine has one of these guitars and as far as I recall the neck runs parallel. If there is an angle, it is nothing like the 4.5 degrees of a Les Paul. Hope that helps. There are a ton of pics on the net that show the guitar with what appears to be a straight line through but for sure somebody here will have a luthier plan to confirm.

Take the time to practice on scrap wood first. Just give yourself the time you'll need to make the mistakes you need to make before you approach your guitar with that thing. There's a lot to get used to, a lot to figure out. Make sure you're wearing full protective gear---eyes, ears, respirator (those things kick up tons of dust, and there's no reason at all to breathe that in). Safety and patience are the first important things to learn. Once you get the hang of it, you'll understand about routing the cavities, it'll make a lot more sense to you once you see what this thing can do. Don't use the Stewmac bits until you're comfortable using the router, since you'll just spoil them in the meantime. Don't practice with your template, since they're easy to screw up. Careful with the cheap bits --they can break on you if you force them too hard. Even better. Thank you. I'm real nervous and also excited about this. Once I have some practice and some information, I'll get started. Another area i'm going to struggle in is the finish with paint and laquer, but that's a long way off yet and i have plenty of time to read and try things. It's my aim to try to replicate a 59 LP as close as possible and have a long time to enjoy playing it when done. I don't care if it takes me a year, I want to be proud of what I've made. Although I do expect tears along the way. I'm so glad I found this forum. you experienced guys will not even remember how lost you felt when you started out as I'm doing and all I can say, is forgive the newbies and keep on with the giving attitude. We appreciate it. Cheers, Paul

Excellent. Thank you sir.

Gotcha. Thanks mate. I already have the router binding guide and cutter coming from them amd I think I'm getting my head around the router guide thing. It is just the really shallow routes that puzzle me a but because the template would have to be 'lifted'?? high enough for the collar to reach it if you see what i mean. (or be a very thick guide) The ones they sell on stew mac seem to be just thin bits of plastic. How do you route a shallow cavity using one of those? At least one shallow enough to use for the cavity cover, which is only 2.5mm deep?? Raise it up somehow till the guide rests on the shank of the bit?? Dunno. I know it's a pain new people coming along asking a series of questions but i guess it's the only way to get some of your experience. I'm pretty handy with most things but have never used a router in my life so it's a big learning curve. I'd love to see a series of pictures of someone actually routing the chambers on a guitar but none seem to exist. Every site i visit has a blank body and in the next picture, all the routing is done. LOL Thanks again

I'm going to guess at the risk of looking silly. 1. i need either a bit that has a shank the same thickness as the cutter, or 2. i need a bit with a collar to make the same thickness as the cutter If this is right, can anyone please tell me where is best to go to purchase the bits i will need to create the cavities for the neck, pickups, tone pots etc as well as the bit for cutting the indents for the cover plates. Will one be sufficient or will i need to buy several? Thank you

Sorry about this. I'm new here and to building and want to have my head clear of any confusion BEFORE I start attacking the wood. I'm puzzling over this because I have just bought a nice Black and Decker Router. This one: http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProductGuide...ProductID=14874 Having never used one before, I'm obviously doing a lot of reading of the manual and intending to do a lot of practicing. But what I cannot get my head around is this: If I make a template for, let's say the tone cavity on the back of a Les Paul Style build, there is a larger, very shallow cut out in to which the cover plate fits and then a deeper, inner cavity for all the tone pots etc. If I start by routing out the shallower channel first, how do I set up a guide to make the shape EXACT? I mean, all I can imagine is the router bit eating in to the guide and making the shape go wrong. How do I keep the bit away from the guide but still cut to the limit of the guide??? I guess I am confused about how a guide works really. I HAVE looked through all the tutorials on this site and searched the web to try and find a picture of one in use, but without luck. The answer is probably staring me in the face but I really just want to know exactly what I'm doing before i start on the actual piece. I'm sure there will be lot's of other questions as work get's underway, but I don't want to get to be a pain in the ass. Any advice would be absolutely great guys. Many thanks, Paul PS: I'm really sorry If I'm being a pain.

Thanks for your reply. I figured scraping was the way to go. Where do i find this web site? Taylors. For the videos?? Thanks again Never mind. I found it. thanks anyway.

Thanks for your reply. I figured scraping was the way to go. Where do i find this web site? Taylors. For the videos?? Thanks again

3 days, a ton of views and no reply? I figure I either posted this in the wrong place, re-posted a previous question already answered or something else is wrong with my post. Anyway, I have this weekend purchased a nice Black and Decker router and as I already have a dremel, I also ordered a binding cutter and guide from Stew Mac. But i'm still a little confused about how to best apply the burst AFTER the binding is already on and how to avoid edges etc So one of my questions is no longer relevent but I'd still love to hear advice on the other part. Again, sorry if this is not posted properly. As it was a question about the finish, I guessed this was the right forum. I won't bother anyone again if not. Regards, Paul

Hello, I'm Paul and i'm new here, so I'm hoping my questions haven't been covered before and I'm about to upset the regulars with stuff covered a thousand time. If so, I'm sorry. I did look through posts first. If I missed something, perhaps just a link to a previous answer would be appreciated. I'm about to start my first project for which I have bought all the components, wood, electrics, etc. Apart from the final paint and clear coats etc. But in terms of what I need to build the thing, I have almost everything. The project will be a Les Paul style guitar and I want to get as close to perfect as possible having invested in mostly genuine parts. I have a nice bookmatched top and a great Mahogany body coming as well as a NOS Neck. I bought the neck because I don't think I have the skills to make a decent job of it yet. Maybe next time. Of all the things that will no doubt arise and drive me crazy, two things currently keep me awake worrying. 1. When applying the burst, how do you keep it off the binding without leaving a ridge? I'm assuming the top is painted first and the sides, back etc are masked, but surely you don't paint over the binding? So a ridge MUST be left??? Once I get an answer to this, I assume the same question applis for the finish to the sides/back. After that, then I imaging it's just a case of applying the laquer all over and there's no need to worry about the binding as it is all covered by the top clear coat anyway. but that first bit puzzles me. any help here? 2. Can you guys please recommend the correct tools I will need for the routing of the cavities etc and especially the binding. I need to keep the costs down if possible as the guitar parts have already proved expensive. Will I need one or two tools? Stuff like that. As I say, this is my first project. I'm normally quite good with my hands and have some skills and a lot of attention to detail. I'm patient and dedicated, so i'm excited about doing this right. But there are obviously a few specialist tools I'll need to buy and some skills I have to acquire. But I'm confident I'll make a good go of it and intend to post a blog to show progress once I have what I need to get started. Even asking questions for me is a first. LOL I usually just dive in. But this means a lot to me. Again, sorry if this is covered here already. I hope to take parrt as and when I can and look forward to hearing your advice. PS: I already have a 86 Gibson Les Paul Custom and luthier plans to refer to. Regards, Paul