Chris G

Looks great!! I had a ton of mistakes on my first build, was able to fix them. I had the same clamping problem you did with the top and body. I did not have enough clamps and had some gaps. I was able to route out the gaps for the binding and ones the body was routed there was no gaps it was only on the surface. Keep chucking along!! I cannot wait to start my next build, but my wife is not wanting me to do one for a bit since she is getting ready to start a very demanding semester for her Masters degree. I am trying to acquire some nice timbers from a guy how sells firewood. I have seen some of his cut firewood that has some awesome AAAAA type of flame Maple, black walnut, box elder and much more. If I can acquire some nice timbers from him I may start one secretly too. The current Project is a pinebox derby car for my daughter. Race day is today. Next project will my wife's approval is redoing the cabinets and kitchen counter top. I am going to do a reclaim barn wood counter top. At least it woodworking and continuing my learning in woodworking.

I just log into the site for the first time in a few weeks. I have been moving all my servers to a new system and taking a ton of my time. Give me a few and I will look through the build.

I will try again. Chris Guerin 59ish Les Paul I will throw mine in the contest. This was my first guitar build and the reason it is a 59ish is, because its a bit off spec. with a few mistakes I have made I had to reshape and the body measurements are not the full spec. Everything else is on point. The story behind the build was my wife told me no more guitars mostly, because the cost and I had 2 others. I have been playing guitar off and on for 15 years and never owned a Les Paul. I have always loved the Les Pauls and for some reason they felt at home with me. With my wife saying no more guitars, I got it in my head to build one. I started to look at the kits and I was hesitating on buying one, because I did not know the quality I was going to get. All the reviews I have read online was so so with the kits. I ended up seeing a video on a guitar build and the guy was talking about find a local wood mill for the best prices. At that point I was looking into getting wood from some luthier sites and was going to pay around 300 just for the wood. After watching that video I looked up wood mills in my area and found that one of the best in East TN was 3 miles away from my house. When I went to this wood mill the prices were really low compared to what I would pay online. They also do milling services for the prep work. Without any hesitation I got all the wood I needed for the build and milled for around $130. After I got the wood I had no tools or experience with woodworking or tools. I got the tools from my uncle and started to teach myself. I also did not know what I got myself into. I did not know Les Pauls where one of the harder guitars to build and should have picked a different style for the first build. Since I was in the process of the build I just keeping at it and it turned out better than I could ever dreamed of. During the build I was asking other builders on how to fix my mistakes and got some harsh advice to just quit with this one since it was my first build and start over. I am not the type of person to just quit and that is way it took a year to finish it. I was able to find videos that go in detail on how to fix some of the mistakes I encountered and was able to fix them. I am still not on the same level has some of the builders on this site and others, but I am on the correct path to paving that road. I built the guitar in my garage, but now in the process making part of the garage into a nice workshop. I may not have a shot with the contest with the other great builds submissions, but I figured I would try. The woods, hardware and spec: Body is African Mahogany and a Flame Maple top Neck is Honduras Mahogany Fret board is the pre slotted Rosewood from Stewmac The headstock veneer is Madagascar Ebony I had Shark Inlay make a custom headstock logo of my name in the Gibson style I made the control cavity covers out of the extra Mahogany Scale length is 24 ¾ Pickups are GFS Aged Alnico 5 Old School. Bridge is 9.2k and Neck is 8.0k I got all the used Gibson hardware from ebey to save money and wanted the age look. Here is the final product! Here is the video of the guitar! There is the build link.

Thanks guys!! The power tools I have are Craftsman 12in band saw, Jet 10in table super saw (just got it), Porter Cable router and table ( want to make a table for more surface area), I nice craftsman drill press, and a few others power tools. I have a dust collector, My house came with a central vacuum system and we do not use it, but works great for saw dust. I want to get a small trim router and build this overhead router jig. I seen it on the luthier facebook group. http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1/chefcrazzy0802/Les%20Paul%20project/FB_IMG_1455552768547_zpsu2qyqgmq.jpg[/IMG] Items I want to get not including fretting tools. I going to get a t-planer for the drill press, Robo Sander, more router bits, a small trim router and some other odds and ends. I have a WoodCraft in my area and can get a lot of stuff there around the same price as stewmac but dont have to pay shipping. I know I cannot get everything from WoodCraft and will have to get my fretting tools at stewmac, Crimson Guitars (UK), or other luthier stores. Fretting tools: Fret Press: I have a fret hammer and it worked well, but think I would get better results from a fret Press. Here is one for a good price that attaches to the drill press. http://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/luthier-tools/fret-press-caul-inserts-not-included/ I need to get some good crowning fret end files. I got some files local that were not for fretting and worked, but they are not smooth on the ends to protect the fretboard. Do you all like a fret leaving file or leaving beam? I am not sure which I want to get. I may do the fretboard slotting myself this time. On the LP build I got the preslotted fretboard from StewMac. If I deside on slotting the fretboard myself I will have to get a good saw and probable the box. I have seen builders make a jig that they can do the slots with the table saw, maybe I will look into that too. I think I am on the right track with tool purchases. I do not want to to buy a lot of tools and then not use them.

Hey everyone!! Now that I am done with my first build and have some ideas brewing in my head for my second build, I need to get some new tools. My last build I tried to use basic tools that were not designed for guitar building. With using those type of tools I ran into challenges that you would not run into with luthier tools. My idea was not to spend a few hundred on tools for my first build, because I did not want to buy those tools and not use them again if I desisted to not build another one. Now that I have the fever I am going to buy some good tools. I have a few ideas for some tool purchases, but need some help with fretting tools. What tools can you not live without and what fretting tools do you suggest?

Awesome Job and sounds great too!!

Yes it was!! I am so happy about that purchased. I was a bit queasy when I paid for it. since I could not find one like it in the area to try out. It was not too bad on the price for and its in great used condition. Thanks Prostheta!! And I got a new toy last week. This should help me complete my next build a tad faster. A friend gave it to me who made boats in the past. He is not into woodworking anymore and just moved and no place to store it. I told him it will have a good home and get lots of use! Working on my new workshop and mass cleaning of the garage to make room for this beast.

Here is a demo of the Guitar!

Chris Guerin 59ish Les Paul I will throw mine in the contest. This was my first guitar build and the reason it is a 59ish is, because its a bit off spec. with a few mistakes I have made I had to reshape and the body measurements are not the full spec. Everything else is on point. The story behind the build was my wife told me no more guitars mostly, because the cost and I had 2 others. I have been playing guitar off and on for 15 years and never owned a Les Paul. I have always loved the Les Pauls and for some reason they felt at home with me. With my wife saying no more guitars, I got it in my head to build one. I started to look at the kits and I was hesitating on buying one, because I did not know the quality I was going to get. All the reviews I have read online was so so with the kits. I ended up seeing a video on a guitar build and the guy was talking about find a local wood mill for the best prices. At that point I was looking into getting wood from some luthier sites and was going to pay around 300 just for the wood. After watching that video I looked up wood mills in my area and found that one of the best in East TN was 3 miles away from my house. When I went to this wood mill the prices were really low compared to what I would pay online. They also do milling services for the prep work. Without any hesitation I got all the wood I needed for the build and milled for around $130. After I got the wood I had no tools or experience with woodworking or tools. I got the tools from my uncle and started to teach myself. I also did not know what I got myself into. I did not know Les Pauls where one of the harder guitars to build and should have picked a different style for the first build. Since I was in the process of the build I just keeping at it and it turned out better than I could ever dreamed of. During the build I was asking other builders on how to fix my mistakes and got some harsh advice to just quit with this one since it was my first build and start over. I am not the type of person to just quit and that is way it took a year to finish it. I was able to find videos that go in detail on how to fix some of the mistakes I encountered and was able to fix them. I am still not on the same level has some of the builders on this site and others, but I am on the correct path to paving that road. I built the guitar in my garage, but now in the process making part of the garage into a nice workshop. I may not have a shot with the contest with the other great builds submissions, but I figured I would try. The woods, hardware and spec: Body is African Mahogany and a Flame Maple top Neck is Honduras Mahogany Fret board is the pre slotted Rosewood from Stewmac The headstock veneer is Madagascar Ebony I had Shark Inlay make a custom headstock logo of my name in the Gibson style I made the control cavity covers out of the extra Mahogany Scale length is 24 ¾ Pickups are GFS Aged Alnico 5 Old School. Bridge is 9.2k and Neck is 8.0k I got all the used Gibson hardware from ebey to save money and wanted the age look. Here is the final product! Here is the video of the guitar! There is the build link. Thanks Guys!!

Thank you Thanks Muzz! I was trying to go for a vintage age look. All the parts are used Gibson for a worn look and to save money. The pickups are the aged GFS old school.. I was looking on getting some of that. Maybe next build using true oil I will polish it.

Thank you Prostheta!! I think I did a good job too! I cant wait to start my 2nd build with all the new info and experience I have now. Once I start I should be able to get it finished in 4-6 months. I got the Blackstart HT-5r Limited Edition Anniversary combo. This go does a great review on it.

Thanks ScottR!! I will really make it sing tomorrow. My new amp will be delivered tomorrow.

It is not perfect and it has a few issues, but it does play well and looks Awesome! Thanks for all the support guys!!!

Thank you everyone of tips and advice!! Here is the final progress post. So I thought doing a true oil finish would be faster then using Nitro, but I was wrong. I was not looking for a full gloss, but just enough shine to make the color and grain pop. I ended up with 12 coats of true oil and 1-2 weeks of cure. Here are some pictures. Hardware getting installed. After I got everything installed I weighed it and it was what I expected. Here it is all done. I have been done for a few weeks now, but the weather has been bad the past few weeks and I wanted to get some shots outside.

Great Job on your build so far looks great!! Its amazing how you can over come mistakes. I had to many to count, but it really gets you to think outside the box on how to fix them. I think that the mistakes you make, makes you a stronger builder.

Great looking Guitar you have there Scott. I have been slacking on keeping up with other builds, but going to do better. I cant wait to have mine fully finished.

Looking Good and Welcome!! Everyone here will give a ton of great advice!

Hey Guys!! I have a couple quick questions about true oil and the finished product. I have done 12 coats (possibly more but I lost count) of the oil finish here is a picture. I think that should be enough. You can see the depth of the clear and it shines really nice. I have been putting a coat a day for the past 2 weeks, since the only time I have to work on it is in the mornings. How long should it set and cure for once the final coat has been applied? Should I buff or polish it once it has cured and what do I need to use?

Thank you Aaron!! The way I looked at it at the start of the build and posting in this forum was if I messed up on something I would have the masters of the craft to help me through it. If I never showed most of my mistakes and had advice on how to fix it or what to do on the next build, it would probably happen again. Same here with all the other forums i have read especially with the les pual. They were all had experience and did a good job detailing the process so I could follow, but they did not make much mistakes, so when it came to mine it was hard to get answers. That is why from the start I joined this site and started the forum. I started a want to be luthier and now after this build I look at myself as an apprentice. These guys are masters and we are the apprentices that is why I show most of my work. There was things I did not post like the 3rd fret job and others. I dont know what the next project will be, but been thinking about making a wall case for this build. If I build a case I will post my progress. Now back to the build!!! Here is the body and neck before last stain. After Cleaning Binding Rounding over the binding. Cleaned the top. You can see the grain before the True Oil After the first coat of True Oil. The grain is starting to POP!! Cleaned the back before the Oil coat After the first Oil coat Here is another closer shot 1 coat down about 12 more. Cheers Guys!!

Yes I am going to really study and look at joints on the next build. It was an over site on my part doing that process. I will make sure on the next one there will be no gaps.

Back to the build. Like I said I was not finished yet. I wanted to get it all setup so I could adjust and do the finished stage. Here is everything off. Excuse the mess I am working on fixing that bad habit. Getting ready to stamp the serial number Done. The 15 is for the year and 001 for the first build. Here I am trying to fill some of the gaps where the next meets the body. I hope I do not make that mistake on the next build. After able to play it for a bit, I found the neck is a bit thicker then I like. I decided to sand down the neck a bit more. I am not quite done with the neck yet, but almost.

Thank you Prostheta!! I new I was going to finish the build when I started, but never thought I would be where I am at now. I have learned more in a year then I would dream of. I look at guitars differently now then before. I dont have any desire to buy any new guitars now (maybe a vintage here and there) I will just build it. Yes it will take longer, but I build it with my two hands and put my blood, sweat and tears in.

Thank you cooltouch for the kind words. After reading your post I was just floored! I did make a lot of mistakes and I would not have any way. I have also had people tell me to give up and turn it to firewood. The mistakes that I have made made me stronger and more knowledge builder. Yes if I did not make those mistakes, taken my time, studied more I would have been done 6 months ago. I think I spent more time on fixing and adjusting then on the build itself. On my next build I will find new difficulty's and hope I over come others I have faced with this build, but every ding, miss cut or miss measurement adds to my skill leave and character of the build. I would like to say on my next builds they will be perfect, but dont want them to be. I am not perfect.

Thanks!! The Color really turned out great. Once the clear goes on you should see all the colors and it will pop. Thank you ScottR!! Yes it was a very special moment once I plugged her in. I am going to take a little time off from building, I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I will start planning out another one in spring. I am thinking another Les Paul for the next one maybe a tele. I am going to go to the saw mill were I got all the wood from and start getting ideas. They have pretty much everything you could want for guitar making. My thought for another Les Paul is since I have already got one under my belt I can really make it perfect. Thank you sir!!

Sorry Guys I now realize there are some duplicate pictures.