1Way

Very interesting. I've never heard of such a thing...

Balsa wood/Chromite, filler/no filler An internet source I read somewhere said it's what Gibson did, only the specific term was Chromite if I remember correctly. And then the guy said that it's just a different kind or a different name for balsa wood. Maybe he was joking, I thought he was being serious. If another wood or filler, is better, then great. Balsa filler, not so much In my last description, I did "not" mention filling in with any lighter wood, I left that idea out as I suggested removing way less wood. In fact, if the thickness of the guitar needs to remain about the same, I might be totally happy simply removing weight by drilling/routing out chambers, what ever works is what I am after, but thinner is good. RGGR, thanks for the pics, much appreciated. That largely confirms what I want to do. I've seen the middle graphic somewhere before. Do you have website references? I (honestly) prefer a through neck, not a bolt on neck. I'm not sure there is a lot of difference, but the general consensus seems to be that the bolt on neck is an inferior attachment meathod. I understand about the problem that the neck joint may contribute, I was the first to mention it, but thanks for all the reminders about that. I still think that jig making and using, scoring, sawing, drilling/routing, sanding, gluing, evacuating the rest of the finish to the score then finishing the gap is relatively easy to accomplish, I have all the tools necessary or available, and for the most part, I can explain how to accomplish each step although some contingency and improvements may apply. And each step all by itself is not that difficult to do, granted you are careful and plan well. What parts seems like it's too hard to do and why? I'm here to learn and grow, I've been wrong once or twice in my life. Thanks everyone for caring enough to try to help, much appreciated. Building a practice guitar I just met with an interesting person who has customized several guitars in somewhat extreme ways, in some ways similar to what I want to do. And he told me about a Carvin neck, which has really got my attention. They have a neck that extends all the way to the bottom of the guitar! I think that would make a great neck for building a practice guitar. I was recently looking into buying a Hohner copy of a Steinberger guitar (the squared off boat paddle looking guitar) because it's headless, light weight, yet full size in scale. I think that neck would make a great basis for creating a travel guitar. Here's a link. http://www.carvin.com/products/part.php?ItemNumber=NT6 Then click on the headstock for more.

I don't have the money to buy a chambered LP, not even a used one. So that eliminates that option. As to making my own, that would be great "if" I had access to a wood shop and tools, but I don't, so that rules that out. Or I could pay to have someone build my own guitar (think custom shopwork expenses), which sounds expensive from the get go. I checked out Warmouth and their guitars have bolt on necks, I want a through neck. I can get into a really good quality (but heavy) Les Paul through Epiphone for reasonable money. I talked to a guitar type person today and he said that the stop piece has sleeves that fit down into the guitar roughly 1 3/4" or so (I need to verify this), but I believe that would start from nearly the top of the LP on top of the raised maple top which should add another 1/4" or so to the thickness of the guitar from the extremities. So if the guitar is 2.25 thick at the extremities, plus another 1/4" taller where the stop post sleeves are located, that's 2.5 minus 1.75 which equals 3/4". I wonder if it would be best to leave some wood under those posts, I'm not sure I'd need to. 1 Like I said, I found a band mill! It's a saw that can slice off the entire back of the guitar in one single straight cut. First I would score the finish down to the wood on both sides of the saw blade path so that the chipping of the finish and paint would be controlled. 2 Then I would take off the back 1/4" or so and save it to be glued back on after I'm done narrowing and chambering. 3 After taking off the back panel, then I would remove about another 1/4" to 3/8" and throw that away. 4 Then I would chamber the body like perhellion suggested. 5 Then just glue the back panel back on. The main problem I see is how to repair the finish and paint job that would be chipped away from sawing process.

Everyone who knows about Les Pauls knows that they are about the heaviest guitar in the universe. I have back problems, and I am a diehard Les Paul person. So I "need" an enlightened LP. General overview I want to take a nice medium priced Epiphone Les Paul, like a classic plus or a standard plus, maybe a used elitist, and then cut out about 1 inch or so out of the middle of the guitar's thickness. Then if necessary, replace some of that thickness with some sort of balsa. Gibson uses something called chromite, which one internet source claimed it's some sort of Balsa wood. That way I can glue it back together and it will look pretty much like the original guitar, except for the sides. I'm not sure what to do about the sides yet. Request This is a somewhat radical project , helpful suggestions and tips would be much appreciated. I can't make the cuts till I know how deep the bridge and stop piece go. I would be thrilled to hear of about prior attempts. The tool search So far I've found the machine that should be able to do this wild modification. It's called a "band mill" (or "bandmill" ?). I talked to the owner of one and he said that you can cut something that is over 2 foot wide with it. Specifics So far I'm thinking of cutting off the entire back of the guitar, about 3/8" to 1/2" thick. That way the binding is left well alone, and you have a rather substantial back cap for both protection and sound transmission. It seems to me that many hollow bodies are about a 1/4" thick or so. Then next would be the weight reduction portion. So far I have two main options. Cut out about 5/8" to 7/8". The idea is to eliminate as much as possible while still leaving enough room to refit the hardware in the tighter space. Cut out about 1" to 1 1/4", then replace some of that thickness with some balsa wood so as to allow sufficient room for the electronics and hardware. Some details Prior to doing this massive cut job, I would double score the guitar from the finish to the wood with about a 5/16" gap which would be centered on the saw blade path. That way when the paint job chips when sawing, it will stop cleanly at the two score lines on either side of the saw blade. I have a simple and reliable way to jig up a scribe that will run evenly across the entire guitar, so that should be no problem as long as I can find the right scribing tools and technique so as to not mess up the finish that will remain on the guitar. Before cutting out the back sections, I would carefully sandwich the guitar between two pieces of wood, including finish sensitive rubber, like that gluey stuff that they use to fasten CD's to magazines, but it comes off with a little effort. Also some padding is required for the curved top. That way the guitar could be held secure and would be protected as it passes through the saw. Of course I would take out all electronics and hardware before cutting into the body. Questions How deep does the bridge and stop piece go? What scoring/scribing tools and technique would you suggest? Does anyone know the distance between the back of the guitar and the closest portion of the neck (the neck area just prior to the body)? Precautions I don't want to overly weaken the neck body joint, so that is another issue I need to work out. Thanks, 1Way PS Neat forum, this is my first post.