GUITARmole

If you're going to keep the 6 inline tuner configuration it would be easiest to cut the rounded part of the headstock (under the logo) straight and laminate a piece of maple to the existing headstoock...then cut a new shape. Since you're retaining most of the original headstock it'll be structurally sound and you can even keep the existing tuner holes.

Thanks for the input and the link! I was thinking of a hard ash neckthrough with swamp ash 'wings' for my project.

If this has already been covered I apologize (I did a search and couldn't find anything) but can Ash be a suitable neck wood? Is there some reason I don't know of as to why I've NEVER seen it used in a neck (unstable, etc)?

I mean, I know it's used for baseball bats and being as my neck profiles seem to be similar it doesn't seem like it would be too much of a problem

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

About the supreme neck, I realize that would be incredibly difficult, I've started to think about making a neck, and buying a pre-fretted fingerboard, cause I'm still not comfortable with fretting a fingerboard.

There's no better way to get comfortable at fretting than to just do it

Hey eveybody,

Just a qucik question for all. How long do you wait to start spraying sealer coats after useing grain filler?

I read in the Stewmac finishing book that you should wait 1 week or you could get a whiteish haze. I'm using all Belhen products and the filler says you can topcoat after 24 hours. So just wondering what the avg. wait time is.

Thanks to everyone

If the Behlen says you can wait 24hrs then I'd wait 24hrs and then topcoat. I've been using the grainfiller I got from Reranch (oil based I think) and I topcoat in 24 hours with no issues. YMMV.

That's one beautiful looking LP...I especially like the fretboard work!! Hopefully after some practice I'll be able to start building necks that look as flawless as yours. I can't wait to see more pics!

Very Very Cool!

I love V's, I think that that pickguard/ tailpiece suits them best, I like the pickup combo and red's my favourite colour... so I like your guitar a lot.

Only thing I dislike (and its only minor) is that big heel

Hey, I totally understand you NOT liking the heel! FWIW, you probably might not like the mega-fat neck profile (almost like an old acoustic or archtop) either. One of the reasons I got into building my own guitars was my "unique" taste in fat necks and strange pickup configurations.

What I was going for (aside from the pickup configuration) was to make something similar to the earliest prototype V on the Gibson advertisement which was darker in color, had the big heel, had a leg cutout, and had a relocated jack; all of which didn't make it to the final production model:

Here are a few more pics:

I used Reranch for the clear coats (one coat was Reranch amber tint clear). The Reranch paints are fantastic but for a cherry finish I'd highly recommend NOT going with Reranch until Bill gets the bugs worked out of his formula. I guess the supplier changed the dye and when he sent me the Heritage Cherry my V turned out orange and I had to strip it and start over.

The finish is grain filler followed by a coat of Deft sanding sealer then a few drops of Bright Red TransTint dye (bought at local Woodcrafters store) mixed with lacquer thinner sprayed with an airbrush for the color coat. I clearcoated with Reranch clear, a light coat of tinted amber Reranch, then more Reranch and Deft clear. (the Deft sucks compared to the Reranch lacquer but was cheap and available locally after I wasted a bunch of Reranch spraying the "orange").

Excuse the crooked string ferrule and 12th fret MOP inlay dots...I'm still learning to drill straight...REALLY there's no need to worry folks, it's not to be confused with a factory made Gibson

That looks great! I also don't think you can go wrong with the Vintage Vibe P90's. I have them in 2 different guitars and really like them for their fat but not overly muddy (like fullsized HBs) tone. I'm sure I'm in the minority here too...but I don't think it's THAT evil to put the "G" logo on your headstock as it kind of detracts from a vintage replica's looks to have some other strange name or logo there IMO. I'm just curious as to why you went with pearloid instead of a gold silkscreen (decal) since that's what an 'original' would have had? I'm looking forward to seeing more pics of the progress!

OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!! That looks fantastic. I think I'd be scared of the potential weight of building a V out of purpleheart though. How does purpleheart sound? I don't think I've ever heard/played a guitar built from it.

Looks really good, i like the pickup choice although it might have looked a little better if you had either two P-90's or two CC's. How is the CC pickup, i have been thinking of trying them out. We need more pics please!!

Oh yeah, WHY does it say GIBSON onthe headstock???????

Be proud of what YOU have made.

I really like the CC...it sounds like a cross between a Strat neck pickup and a P90 to my ears but with even more ooooomph! It also combines with the P90 for a really nice mid position sound. I really like it in this particular guitar as I was going for a non-traditional V with a bluesy funky tone. I agree that it might have looked better with two CCs or 2 P90s (and in some way I almost wish I went with another CC pickup in the bridge after hearing the neck pickup sound so good) but I'm happy with the way it turned out and the P90 lends itself more to my playing style since I use the edge of the pickup as a resting point for my pinky when picking and it's more comfortable than the sharp edge of the CC would be.

I'll try and post some better (more) pics in the next couple of days.

I knew someone would have to comment on the "Gibson" FWIW, I AM proud of what I've made (my signature is in large silver paint on the back of the headstock w/ the #0003 serial number) but I like making "replicas" and to my eyes the headstock of a 50's V just looks wrong without the raised chrome Gibson logo to fill up the visual space...the fact it says Gibson is really a non-issue to me; I had thought of putting some raised letter cursive car logo if I could have found a suitable one (cadillac, thunderbird, etc) that fit. The Gibson logo was available though and looked "right" so I went with it.

Thanks for the welcome Maurits!

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and thought that I'd post a pic of my new (3rd) build from scratch. It's a Black Korina 50's V with an Ebony fretboard, MOP dot inlays, Vintage Vibe P90/CC pickups, bone nut, ABR-1 bridge, Electrosocket jack, jumbo frets, and nitrocellulouse finish.

This seems like a great forum and I hope I can contribute as much help as I'm sure I'll get from the participants!

Just in case someone does a search for this later on:

It is possible to do it another way. I came up with this after calling myself an idiot about one hundred times after I discovered that I forgot to drill the hole to the post and insert the ground cable. You can drill a hole all the way to the post and screw a loooong screw like a drywall screw or something similar into the hole so that it makes contact with the post. If you have the right length you will now have only the head of the screw sticking out in the control cavity and you can call it a ground tab and pretend that you are really professional… or just admit to your mistake and share the solution.

FWIW, I have a Gibson LP Deluxe in which they used a nail instead of the screw method you describe!