Crusader

Had a little win, it turns out my "callipers" were reading 1mm less than actual, so what I thought was 2.5mm is actually 3.5mm. So I went over the back making it a more uniform thickness with a minimum of 3mm and max of 4mm and I'm happy with that. I think if I try to get too fussy I will stuff it up Good comments, yes my aim is to avoid wolf notes and so forth not so much for accoustic properties (although I believe what's good for the goose is good for the gander) On the first hollow guitar I made, the top and back are flat inside and I theories that it causes "standing waves" resulting in a wolf note. So that's the reason for scooping this one. And by the way I almost ditched the Mahogany back to make another out of Maple! Its been a pain in the neck working on this back but having all these dramas unfolding has brought my attention to other aspects of the construction which I might have otherwise overlooked. The top has a lip around the edge which has turned out to leave gaps, and the sides are of uneven thickness, so I did some work on this today. I also aimed at eliminating any loose ends that would cause lost vibrations. Tomorrow I will go right round the edge of the top and take out that lip and its gaps

Thanks for your comments, I think I worry too much and just need to get on with it and accept things don't always go to plan

Wouldn't be for her, she's got a replacement from insurance. I'm thinking more along the lines of selling it. However it would be good for her to have a back-up

I've been stewing over this mahogany back thinking its too thin, and shaving the dimples out would make it even thinner. So I googled it tonight and apparently some backs and tops go down less than 2mm so that makes me fell a bit better. I think I will have to bind it, just another un-planned pain in the neck Also not sure about the thick strip down the middle, wondering if it causes the tap-tone to be "confused" It doesn't ring out a definite single note. Maybe one half rings one tone and the other side another. Maybe better to stick to tradition and glue a strengthening strip down there. The laminating effect may be stronger after all Any comments or suggestions are very welcome So that's my ponderings at the moment and hopefully I will get onto it in the morning

By the way this isn't on my side of the house, if it was, the wine rack would be empty

Yeah I don't know the full details but he fell on it, and he ain't a small guy I'm not sure that I will even touch it but they think replacing the whole top is the way to go. Your suggestions are giving me ideas though. I don't know why the sound post has to be on the treble side but what if I repaired it and made it a lefty? so the sound post is on the other side

Landlord broke the daughter's cello, wants me to fix it!

Need to come up with a better idea for my "drill press", flexed more than I thought and went too deep. Some areas are 3mm and still leaves dimples leaving it on the cusp of disaster Also I added a piece of measuring tape to my callipers to help read the depth I tidied up the inside a bit and cut the Neck Block along the nodal line Body jig is out of shape, I will need to put Binding on the back of this one probably

Latest developments, converting my depth gauge into a drill press There's no 'love-heart' on this one, and the Tap-tone has gone from A2#-30 cents to G2+40 cents

Wow this guitar looks so much like my first build, middle pickup and all, and the story behind it too. Looking good!

Yes the reason I bought a router with built-in variable speed is because I thought an external one might not be good for the motor, cost quite a bit! Well I got my washing and vacuuming done today and also had time for guitars! A lot of mucking about but I got the mahogany back shaped (still have the inside to go) Tried to figure out a way of making it the same as the QLD maple and did something like this but with 1mm rises Maybe I should have taken a pic before sanding...

I don't know exactly how but its to give the router variable speed. It keeps the noise down and the router bits I use are over 2 inches wide which are scary at full speed! And by the way something I might have not mentioned is the new router has variable speed built in. I am notorious for leaving out bits of information like that! The first one I had was something a friend picked up in China, and the one I just bought was from Jaycar, made in Germany, and yes the instructions do point out their limitations just as you said

Entschuldigen? (ha ha) I just like using the word "kaputt" I had no idea I'd done a German carve until I googled just now, just a coincidence and wanna know something else? I got a new speed controller (as well as a new router) that is made in Germany (Kemo electronic) By the way the "German carve" is just the first run around the edge in the process of shaping the back. It will eventually be the same as the Qld maple

I don't know why we do this, its a bit like "hey Ma look at me" showing the whole world what we do in our back yard. Nevertheless I shall continue to give away my secret information, thoughts and brain-farts So the latest decision I've made is to ditch the Queensland Maple back for this project because it won't make contact with the new Neck Block. I don't know if that is completely necessary but I'd rather use it on a project using all Qld Maple Put aside for another project I had a piece of mahogany in the shed, I don't know why I didn't use it in the first place The second photo here shows bits of information that might not be relevant to this project but might be to a future one ie. The tap-tone is currently A2#-30 cents What I've found so far (or it seems) The Balance line becomes the nodal line once the neck is attached, and this is pretty much where the bridge is placed I had a problem with a piece of equipment, a speed controller that a friend gave me about 5 years ago, now Ich denke es ist kaputt Without it the router sounds like a small aircraft about to take off so I had to do something and it was "NRD" New Router Day! So now I am able to continue my mad search for tone without the neighbours needing to know all about it At first I routed it just on its own but then I decided it should be closer to the right size and attached the template with strategically placed screws At this point I decided its too flat and want to get more shape out of it. I went round the edge to the thickness I'm happy with, about 4.5mm ....oh sorry, 3/16th and that's the story so far

LMAO - that's exactly what happened Bizman! So continuing with the build I finally got the Neck Block in. When I unclamped it I realised I should have used 3 of them. I spent a lot of time to get it to fit nicely only to end up with a slight gap along the cutaway edge. Oh well the only thing I'm concerned about is if it causes any rattles Photos show some other interesting things

Yes it certainly looks like its meant to be there! So I have got some progress in past couple of days and decided what to do about a Centre-Block. I thought about one that stops just after the tail-piece but in the end decided to just replace the Neck Block which I never liked anyway. The first NEW one I made was too sloppy so I flattened the tenon. I'm going to be very patient with the second one, I ran out of time this afternoon but its looking good. Let the pictures tell the story!

Got the battery box in recently and I'm quite happy with it. Some accoustic guitars have controls in this position so its nothing weird and the back remains intact With this and the dual output jacks I will have good access to all the controls

What kind of gun are you using there? LPHV or LPLV......? Great to see and thanks for sharing!

I like the one with the black binding! Is that actually ebony?

Ha! I managed to find the right terminology to Google and found this "...blends when a mono cable is plugged in..." https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/piezo-for-strat-–-recommendations.101838/

.....it won't be like a Les Paul Well putting that dilemma aside for the moment, I've got the pickups all wired up with two jacks, one is stereo for Piezo-and-magnetic and the other is magnetic-only. Now problem here is I don't have a stereo lead. The piezo is connected to the "ring" of the stereo output.....but it still works! How on earth can this be? Without a stereo input jack, the Hot and Ground of the piezo are both going to ground. This is the sort of thing ya Google the crap out of but get no answers. Anyone got ideas how it is working?

Yes finding the right balance between accoustic and electric is driving me crazy. I'm constantly deciding one way then flipping to the opposite The most recent decision is where to have the battery. Tonight I almost decided to have control covers and disregard what I said in previous comments, it is thick enough to cope with them. But then I picked it up and did a tap-tone and it sounded so nice I thought no way! One thing for sure is I don't want to have to take pickups out to change the battery. On the previous build (My ES) I put the battery box near the outputs, and one time I put it on the stand it clicked the tab and the battery fell out. So on this one I think I will put the box on the top edge same as my Songwriter But.....

Not sure what you're suggesting exactly, the Centre-block doesn't make contact with the back at all but in any case I've decided not to go with the centre-block Yes I've been thinking I would probably like to have two outputs and a battery compartment. So with those and the pickup wells there would be plenty of access to the inside. Since my last comments I've gone against the usual LP control covers because the back is too thin I'm still not sure how I'm going to wire up the Piezo but one thing's for sure I would like to have the option of separating the mags in case of a flat battery Much appreciating the ideas, cheers!

Not at all because of the rule that it should look like a Les Paul. Its just that as I've gone along I decided it will be more accoustic Ah,,,,I think thats in the too-hard basket! Its occurred to me that even accoustic guitars have a preamp and a battery So, my latest thoughts on the Centre-block is to leave it out because it needs to be built-in from the start to get best benefit from. Glued end to end and neck morticed into it etc. And Scott you've got me thinking.....I might just go ahead and put control covers in the back, it would make it so much easier!

This Big Les Paul project has become a comedy of contradictions. In the beginning I had a set of rules, it had to look like an LP (ie. no f-holes) have 24 3/4" scale length....and a bunch of things like that But as I progressed through the build I found I couldn't stick to the rules, for example the 24 3/4" scale would mean the bridge wouldn't be where it's supposed to be, unless I joined at the 14th fret. I decided in the end to have 666mm scale because of a comment my Landlord's daughter made. So it joins at the 15th fret, which is the 14th fret from the first fret ie. 14th fret of the 24 3/4 scale. So with the 666 scale the idea is to tune to D but as it turns out its too boomy. Tuning to Eb is good but the fret markers do my head in. Tuned to E is great for playing Accoustic, its loud and punchy, really brightens things up and markers are all in the right place Now I'm contemplating the Centre-block which seems to sparkle things up in both electric and accoustic mode. But it makes it impossible to work on the electrics. So I could put in some f-holes... .....Nnnnoooooo I don't want f-holes!!! dammit!!!!!