Unromantic_Me

angled neck it is then....thanks for all the confirmation on the neck joint....i got worried then over the hugh gapping holes.....so nice tight fit it is then.....but as i said ill come to that when i get to it...off to pick up my handsome looking wood tomorrow, so well get going from there

So lets to say if on my les paul i made the neck a glue in, and used the top picture as my basis.....would gaps on the neck that are ringed in the picture below actually need to be there?? If so i dont understand how the neck stays in place....if not, is it meantto be a tight tight flush joint? Also is the neck meant to be angled back from the body like that on a les paul?

As with the diagram above...is there any chance someone could make a rough diagram like that but for a glued in neck so i have a full idea of what im gonna do with my les paul neck/body? I would appreciate this with a great deal

I dont doubt he was telling the truth just i have studied the other two just not glue on...so i was just asking what it involves....whats the difference, and why would you choose a neck through?

your just trying to confuse me arent you lol....explain haha

As above yeah, ignore how stupid this question is.....im just asking to confirm my thoughts.....and yes im still new to all this....so take it easy lol Les Paul.....Neck Through or Bolt on *runs and hides*

Here we have something i was roaming through on ebay Its just in here What does everyone think...is it worth investing a wholesome £3 in this? Im hoping to use it for my les paul copy.....is it of appropriate measure?

Also setch...that picture of the blue guitar under your name.....is that one of yours....if so you have any closer pictures you could send so i could have a closer look, looks very fancy

Wooooo very fancy.....looking very sweet....should look nice I would go fully custom but one i dont have a lathe....and two the thing no one seems to get is that i want the exact knobs used on a Les Paul...as im actually making a les paul copy And i just wanted the exactl knobs but on say chrome or somethign fancy to take away the plastic look...but never mind, that was just me looking to the future, ill have a closer look around when it comes to it Hopefully should have some Les Paul plans on the way within the next few days....hopefully....so then we can get a started Though the knobs look very nice

Yeah i realise chances are im gonna encounter the same problems....im just hoping if i find somewhere it will be where i have friends, or somewhere close enough to travel to pick them up....i would love to try a local electronics shop...but we dont have any, and as for music shop lol....only one very tiny lil thing that couldnt help...i was hoping for sites that i could look into or something....the sites that were recommended would be good but they arent really based in the UK plus they dont have the les paul styel knobs

I dont mean the pots....i mean the knobs...the things on the outside of the body...the things to turn the pots with

Im wanting some volume and tone knobs for the les paul im making....but what i want is them to be made of some form of metal and not the plastic they are made of....any one know if this is possible...or been done, and if so where abouts i could get some easily?

I never said taking the book from the library was illegal, in your words...taking the book from the library is taking the 'fruits of someone elses labour' As he makes no profit from your knowledge gained, as he would for his labour if the book was bought (and yes i know you bought it) Yes my two local book shops which arent that huge...cant get it in because it isnt within their company stocking list....and my library cant get it in because they will only get it in from a library from the county....and none have it....so thats that As for contacting the author...seems slightly overrated...'can you help me, i cant get a copy of your book' there isnt much he can do about it So i have considered all of these *before* i considered asking anyone

They have it online yes....i just have no method of ordering it online...or all this would have been solved

Is taking the book out from the library not taking from the fruit of someone elses labour? The information you gain will not turn into royalties for the author, so isnt that exactly the same, as i would be 'borrowing' too Secondly, copywrite laws would only be violated if anybody that scans them, sold them to me...or if i sold them on...or if they were used for anything other than personal use! Third, my library has no such thing, believe me ive tried....and although you got the book in London....London is over 200 miles from me...would you travel over 200 miles for a book? So for some being in the uk is a barrier, me being one of them....so im also all for saving money, and cutting corners where possible...but im also for rewarding any artist for their hard work....but when there is no other option...i take the library 'borrowing' routine like many others

In this lovely place we call England.....makes things even worse

As i have no way of ordering this damn book from the net Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock, but have been told how handy it would come, and im sure it would....anyone have it that fancies scanning all those lil pages and sending me them lolol Pwetty pwetty please

Im not actually making a step to making the body as of such....im gaining the materials i need as i go along therefore can ask questions as i go along, and not bug everyone withthe 1001 questions i could ask....So as for the neck ill be approaching it however is recommended to me when i come round to collect the materials for that....which actually could be at the same time....well have to see...i could start a whole new topic hehe Thanks for the help on those damn sizes for the maple and mahogany, that could have bugged me for a long time lol......also as for the book, i would love to be able to have the means to purchase off the net at the moment but i dont unfortuantly....so i cant otherwise i would, thats why im doing things the hard complicated long tough way round See you in the 'neck' topic lol

Im so glad i can disregard that glue up...cause to be honest i think its way ahead of me, so rthis method seems easier to me, although to be honest i dont know what i titebind join is but ill ask those questions when i get to that part....its the same with the neck, im leaving that for a lil while until im ready, im just making sure im getting the buying of the wood for the body right at the moment, but thanks for all the lil things as i go along Just one last thing Setch...sorry if im repeating things......if i go and buy the mahogany at 1 3/4" and then the maple at 5/8" and then glue them together.....without carving....will that be the exact height on a les paul from the bottom of the mahogany being the very back of the guitar....and then the top of the maple being the very top point as which the dome carving will be? If thats right then all my questions will end for now lol? So if that is right....it is right to assume then that the top of the maple is the very top of the dome carving...so then any carving done will come away from the sides of the maple downwards yeah? I hope so....sorry about all the repeated questions and stuff....just this is my frist time...and im the type of person that has to ask everything 3 times to make sure i have it all completely right....so thats it after that until i go buy the word

Oh My Just as i think everything i sorted....i get a reply like that lol! Not that i dont appreciate at...i just dont understand what a glue up...or lay up is, and as great as your excellent explanation is...it confused the living hell outta me lol....is this somethign that has to be done....or could it be pulled off with one sheet of 1 3/4" Mahogany, so therefore it would just be one mahogany base...with a maple cap on top? Also someone mentioned the maple cap was about 12mm in the middle....do you mean the height from the top edge of the maple...to the highest point of the done of what? Because im still unsure on what depth maple to buy.....before carving....forgot about carving the dome...if i was glueing the maple cap on....before it was carved....what depth would it need to be?

Well the way ive decided to do it for now, is to go with the maple cap...i understand its obviously much harder to carve.....My dad likes to tell people he is an experienced carpenter....lets put that to the test!! Im gonna head to the local wood stockist come the middle of this week sometime, and see what he can do for me....ive read somewhere that the length of the les paul is 17 1/4".....so im gonna go for some mahogany at about: Length: 20" Width: 16" Depth: 2" Ive gone for the two inches of depth so basically i can cut it down to the required depth, rather than find i have a piece that isnt deep enough! Sound Good? Just one thing with the mahogany...ive now heard Brazilian, and Honduras Mahogany.....so lets have a show of hands....which one should i go for? If anyone knows exactly which one is used on the les paul would be a bonus....but if no one is sure well go with the majority!!! Whilst there ill also collect a a piece of maple for the cap with the same dimensions...excpet a depth of 1/2" for the same reason i can cut it down! Two things with this maple cap....when you say the cap is 1/4" thick to make the whole body 2" thick.....is the 1/4" from the very base of the maple cap to the bottom line of where the 'bowl' type of carving starts......or does the 1/4" measure from the bottom of the maple cap, to the very top of the 'bowl' dome carving? And finally what type of maple shall i go for....again if we have a show of hands ill go with the majority, unless anyone knows the exact maple that would be used on the studio version les paul? I apologise if im repeating everything again...and sorry for all the questions, i really do appreciate you all taking the time to help answer and make this whole first time thing for me much much easier....so to you all a big thank you Oooo one final thing....im still not sure on whether im gonna go for the plans or not yet...i might go for the improvisation technique and blow a picture up and so forth....but that could prove problems with the neck...as ill be making that from scratch...but thats a whole different topic in a whole...lets concentrate on the body first...so yeah thanks for the les paul plans link...could prove vital Thanks again

Wow guys thanks for all that....well it looks like the way ill be going is this....brazilian mahogany for the body.....and ill add a maple cap, as it was pointed out, it does make life easier...plus everywhere i have read this maple cap does add something to the tone which is recognised as a les paul 'tone'. As was also mentioned which this effect over the top...ill be able to go for any sort of maple....is there any specific maple which would give me that les paul tone...or is it all much of a muchness? Also as i have no plans at the hand at the moment....if i was going to go out and buy me some brazilian mohogany, and some maple....could someone give me the rough dimensions i would need to order the two pieces without worrying they will be too small when i get the plans through, or i will have spent more money than needed on a huge piece? Just length, width and depth would be absolutly perfect for both And finally to Zandro...thanks for the offers of the studio pictures....when you have the time, would it be possible to get a few side profiles of the les paul sent....i mean looking directly from the side so i can kind of see the carved maple top and see just how raised and cut away the whole top is, cause at the moment i have no idea....just so i can see what im going for type of thing....that would be excellent...... im at: unromantic_me@hotmail.com Thanks for all the help yet again Jay

Well here goes... Through lots of consideration, and toying with the idea it is now time to build my first guitar! Over the past month or so i must have looked at every single site available, and i have also read through most of this forum, so now i am here on my knees asking for help! This is my first time....so anything will be appreciated, youll probably see me here asking for help for almost every stage that i go, and you might have to bear with me as i doubt ill be able to be very technical! Ive decided to take each part step by step, and buy what i need for each step as i come to it! Most of the tools it looks like ill need i have available...except specalist tools which i will aquire when i need them: So i know this topic will have come up probably about a 1000 times....but this is how i intent to start....Im going to build 'almost' a copy of a Les Paul studio, which ive seen in a gorgeous platinum finish which i will probably steal, but will make my own adjustments as i go! Im playing on starting with the body first of all, then on to the neck as step one! so here are a few questions to start with 1. Firstly does anyone to hand any plans of Les Pauls...i know its been asked before, but i cant easily order them from the net....so if anybody has any to hand they could email, or send for a price that would be amazing 2. Ive been studying the Gibson site for a while now getting some specs and stuff, but they seem very basic on what they tell you about the woods....now does anyone know what exact wood Gibson use for the body and neck....im not bothered about the fingerboard yet.....On the Gibson site, it says there are a front species which is carved maple....and a back species which is mahogany! Now im not an expert on wood at all....is there any specific type of mahogany and maple used.....or if i went into any shop and said i wanted mahogany, would i get the same thing everywhere? 3. From what i have seen on most sites...there is normally a piece of wood used for the body of the guitar, which im guessing is the mahogany....then a top piece, kinda used for the effects, which is glued ontop.....but for the kind of model im making..... It doesnt look like there are two pieces of wood in the body...and just one....the effect im going for is the same as that, so i dont need fancy maple do i? Or do i......All im asking is that one piece of wood for the body...or is it two as on normal guitars 4. Is there anyone out there with any type of Les Paul and a camera who could possible take a lot of close up pictures of certain areas of the guitar that they could send me....just so i suppose as i go along i have something to refer too as i dotn have a les paul to hand? I think that is it for today, any help is muchly welcomed, and any advice to as i start Thanks