Woden

Wow, Scott, had missed this thread until now. Very refined. Love them curves and the stunning maple top. Ash back looks so similar to one I started a couple of years ago I still haven't finished due to messing up the headstock!

One of the things I never liked about the Les style was the lack of back contours but you have done a lovely job. You can just tell it would feel amazing to pick up and play.

Hey, bud! I've had three tops now and they always show up well packaged. No issues at all as they always live up to the pictures. Am definitely going back for more as I try and build a portfolio of work. Can't afford premium prices yet.

Jim, I'm also from the SS forums (Walshy) and it's nice to see you posting here as well. The guys are extremely knowledgeable and helpful - Pros is like 24/7 luthier support!

Did you get that bookmatched top from a certain seller in China, by the way? I thought I recognised the picture as I love me a bargain off eBay!

Great to see you back building again. Your attention to detail is remarkable. Your designs and wood combos really remind me of Carillion Guitars in the UK.

And being a sucker for a purple-stained top, I was blown away by the two you recently did!

I use the same shielding paint. It stretches really far for such a small bottle.

Seafoam with off white sounds awesome. Looking forward to this coming together, Rob.

Just wanted to say I'm loving your work, Mr Kemp, and thanks for the pointers on multiscales/neutral fret positions etc. I'm doing my first one at the moment and to realise I don't need a slanted bridge or pups is a lot less hassle and money spent!

No worries! I should have figured you made them, but now I know to look for L aluminium profiles to help me on my way.

Loving what you did with the Hannes too - great solution to make it multiscale.

Can you show me where? The VS100, when I google it, has a one-piece base but yours are individual bases for each saddle.

Lovely work, well done.

Please tell me where you found those individual Wilkinson saddle bases - they are exactly what I'm looking for to finish a prototype fanned fret model I'm halfway through.

These look phenomenal. You could hang them as wall art, they look that interesting.

Glad to know the californiawoods people aren't ripping us off as it sounds very intensive.

I was going to say, yeah, don't wait for the sun to return and just make a DIY UV oven for winter curing! Great idea. Let me know how you get on because I think this is one of the best options around. I know all the big factories use UV curing and it sounds like the time saved would be a  big bonus for the one man shops like many of us have.

Thanks for posting your experiments on here. So many articles I read about finishing with lacquers are US-based where the humidity/UV levels are totally different to Blighty, so I look forward to seeing what your conclusions are once you've spray tested.

It sounds excellent in that video you posted. What pickups did you use, Massimo?

The talent on here blows my mind sometimes.

Obviously your inlay work is incredible, but the overall package is extremely classy in every regard. As you said, the only improvement you might have made is using the EVO gold fretwire, but you can always upgrade them one day if you wanted to.

I'm definitely not entering GOTM this month now, haha!

Honestly, this may be the nicest Les Paul I've ever seen. Would hate to try and value it but surely we're talking many thousands.

Thanks, Seb. Classy logo you did there.

I've just got some decal paper to try out but I'm also experimenting with a laser cut rubber stamp for my signature logo. I figured the stamp gives me as many colour options as I want and it's just a case of finding the right ink/paint to use with it.

What a stunning build. Like everyone else, I'm really into how methods and clean design. The pickguard really finishes this off nicely, but it's the contours that make this stand out for me.
 

I was wondering about the headstock logo. Is that a waterslide decal buried under 2K or did you do something else?

Please don't give up. Good job or not, this is your talent!

I forgot about that photo. I assume it's not too heavy enough to stress those two areas when laid like that.

Sounds like a great coalescence between Mick's vision and your ability to realise his concept. This is so striking that I imagine you will get further orders for one once people ask Mick about his new prized bass.

I also forgot to praise you for the hand-drawn plans, too. As a 33-year-old learning his trade, I sometimes feel like a pariah for not using CAD but I much prefer to draw by hand and work that way. I'm not overlooking the efficiency of CAD, by any means, and I'm sure I'll get it into it when it's necessary, but while I'm still on my first few builds, I want to do it old school.

You're probably bored of all the praise now, Andy, but this is a real looker. It reminds me of something Rick Toone would build. I love everything about it from the unstained finish, the strings, the hidden electronics and the body shape.

The ONLY thing that I questioned was the protruding bridge on the backside but that's more because I want to be able to lay a guitar flat. I imagine it doesn't get in the way of a seated playing position.

Bravo. I can't wait to see what you do next, even if you do go back to something more traditional .

Whoa, snakewood is so gorgeous. I've been hovering over 'buy it now' on some stock I found on eBay recently.

Just logged in to say glad you're all right, Scott. In the UK we've seen a lot about the Houston flooding this past week.

Another cracking guitar, by the way. The combo of your unique volute, that top and the colour does it for me.

All the best

Lovely work as usual. Thanks for sharing.

I'm just hoping you can sand through that blot on the back of the neck. I actually scrapped a neck recently because I found a massive blot (are they called mineral streaks?) hiding under the first couple of mils of maple. It got bigger and bigger as I sanded to the final profile so, heartbreaking though it was, I had to saw off a neck on a neck thru and make it into a set net.

And I just wanted to say thanks for inspiring me as I carbon copied your melamine router sled design and it's one of the most useful additions to my small workshop.

Gorgeous work. And I'm really envious of your Quick-Grip collection! I only have four but they are my go-to clamp for most jobs.

Thanks for sharing your story. It's always good to be reminded about safety by seasoned builders. It's always tricky to maintain maximum concentration when you are working under stressful deadlines.

I've only just got a table saw and made my first ever rip cuts with it the other day. I will always approach that tool with extra caution, knowing how dangerous they can be. Thankfully, I took on a lot of info before firing it up and make sure I use all the essential safety stuff like push sticks and keeping out of the kickback line of fire (though my saw does have a good riving knife which gives me peace of mind).

Being a newbie round here, I look forward to doing a couple of build threads next year now I've got some nice wood for them. I'm sure I'll need a lot of help from you guys on here!

This is looking great and isn't a million miles from the neck through build I'll be taking on in a few weeks' time once I've finished the other two I'm doing. I'll be following this thread with keen interest.

A lovely piece of limba you found there.