DanC

been awhile since I have updated everyone, not much new to report beings how it is a new semester and we are not in the wood shop yet. I would like to however thanks Doug from SoulMate guitars here on the board. Here has made a very generous donation of parts to the project and without people like him we would not be able to do this. I would recommend him to anyone. Thanks Doug! Hopefully over the next few weeks we will make some progress worth sharing with everyone!

Thanks, that is what I was hoping to hear...

does the angle of the peghead begin on the fretboard side of the nut or the peghead side of the nut (hope I explained that in a way that makes sense??) I am guessing it must be on the peghead side or else the nut would angle away from the fretboard??? this is for a LP junior if that makes any difference...thanks

Amazon.Com? Wouldn't that be the easiest way to do it? ← It would but I just thought I would try and save alittle money buying a used copy. My shop budget right now is $8, that is no ****, I started the year with a budget of somewhere around $80 - I am supposed to try and run a shop program with that budget, so I need to be creative with my purchases. That and the fact that if I use school money to buy the book at Amazon I would have to use a purchase order and I dont know if that would be a hassle or not, so I thought I would try and buy a used copy first to save some money.

well got a new bunch of kids in shop class at semester time and many seem pretty jazzed about working on the LP project. However, the local bookstore dropped the ball ordering our copy Melvyn Hiscocks "How to build an electric guitar" book, told to get one on my own - kinda upsets me you try to do business locally instead of going elsewhere and this happens. Oh well, anyone have a copy they would like to sell us? Thanks for the help-

trying to flesh out what parts we need for our Jr. High LP project. What is the difference between a pickup and a humbucker? On the stewmac website their wiring kit for the LP uses 500k pots. Further research said the 500 pots use humbuckers and the 250k are for single-coil pickups. So...I need to get humbuckers for the LP, is that right. I am brand new to all this so I am learning alot, thanks-

Update on Jr Hi LP, sorry no update yet ! It has been many, many degrees below zero here and our shop is away from the main school building so when it is cold we stay at the school and work on other things, that and the book store still has not recieved our book. sorry no new news but I knew some have expressesed some interest and wanted to let you know where we were at - thanks

like some have already said...use a backer board, center punch - I use one that all you do is push and it is spring loaded, dont need to smack it with a hammer, use a pilot hole is a big help...etc. Another thing you may try to prevent tearout, drill half way from one side and then flip it over and finish, obviously need to use a pilot hole for this. Drill bits are one area, in my opinion, that you shouldn't try and save money. Some tools you may be able to scimp on but a good quality drill bit is well worth the money

Update - found some measured CAD drawings, those should be a big help in finalizing some dimensions. Still waiting on the book store to get the Melvin Hyscock book in and we have yet to assemble the new neck. The guitar project is used as an extra project for those students who get their work done early or who need an insentive to get their work done. Its really fun to see the kids in the hallway when we carry it down the hall, gets lots of attention. The teachers seem to think it is pretty cool as well. We also have a go-cart and a mini-chopper motorcycle project going as "extra" work. The guitar has been a great project for my "exploring technology" curriculum. We are truly exploring many technologies. We use the computer for research, design and communication, the wood shop to manufacture a project, we will need to explore the world of electronics (on which I will be learning right along with the kids, we will both get an education there!). I am thinking that the next logical step would be to build an amp, is there amp info in the forums here I can search for (haven't even thought to look yet) or can anyone post any good links. Thanks again to all for the help, who knows - we may be producing the next generation of little rockers here! In fact, a girl in class walked in and noticed a guitar we had borrowed to do alittle research on and she proceeded to pick it up and bang out a Bush tune - that was pretty cool!

You guys are all correct about the neck. I had originally planned to use oak but after some research found out it is not suitable. So I cut it short to fit as a butt joint (it is doweled and lightly glued) We are just using it as a mock up to determine certain dimensions, then it will be knocked loose and the body cut out for the actual neck, which I am guessing should be maple (is that the wood to use for the neck???) The body is indeed cherry (I am about 99% sure, gonna have my old wood shop teacher look to confirm it for me) I am hoping cherry is okay to use for the body??? We are planning on making a flat top, if this one goes okay we are gonna try an SG for a carved top. thanks for the kind words and Doug thank you for the offer, I will be in touch. I could probably go on and on but it might work better if you guys have any specific question I could respond to, any and all criticisms gladly appreciated and needed!! Thanks again!

sorry, still struggling, will keep trying - am anxious to get some input

thanks-thought I had the pic thing sorted out but dont, will try your advise

http://fullservesite.com/members/danc/lp1.bmp http://fullservesite.com/members/danc/lp2.bmp Here are hopefully a couple of photos of our LP project that the kids in my Junior High shop class are building, it is a long ways from done but this is our progress so far. Please critique, advise, trash, compliment, whatever. We need input from those who know!! And by the way, Jeremey at LGM Guitars has made a VERY generous offer to help us complete the project. We thank him whole heartedly and recommend his business to anyone. Thanks again Jeremy!

did alittle more research on the neck angle issue, seems to be 4 degrees on a LP. On a flat top body is the area where neck joins the body sanded to 4 degrees to match the neck? If I set my neck in at 4 degrees wont a portion of it be above the body near the pickup? Wont the fret board then also be above the body more than it should? I assumed that the neck should be flush with the top of body, and that the fret should then be about 1/4" above the body??

Too bad about the oak not being suitable, I think it will look very nice, being quartersawn its gonna show alot of nice figure. I think I will continue on with the oak neck just for practice, maybe I will make it a bolt on and then when I build a neck out of the proper material I can swap it out?? I have found some conflicting info. in my research. What is the correct headstock angle for a LP? How thick is the headstock? What is the neck angle? Does the headstock have to have a laminate on it? I definately plan on using a pre-made fretboard when making the final project, seems like a pretty good deal. Thanks for all the help!

New here and am learning tons of info, lots to take in! My name is Dan and I teach Junior High shop class. We decided to try and build a guitar so we jumped in with both feet, attempting a Les Paul style. We glued up quarter sawn cherry for the body and quarter sawn oak for the neck and cut out the basic shapes. I did very little research on wood types before we started, I assumed that since it was hardwood it would work. Are these woods gonna work or are we gonna have to scrap it and start with something else?? I would hope it would work because I think it will look very nice but I also want it to sound good - any advise here?? Also, are there any sites that offer measured drawings that dont use CAD? Everything I have found so far is CAD and I dont have (or really want it), specifically we are looking for dimensions of Les Paul and Gibson SG style guitars. Thanks for the help!!