# Les Paul Guitars x2 (lots of pics)



## Slim (8 Jul 2007)

My brother in Law (Martyn) and I decided that we would both make a Les Paul. Trouble is that he lives in Glasgow, and I live in Bradford. So this will be a long long project as we can only get a weekend here and there when he can come down to my workshop.

Anyway, I thought I would begin this thread with WIP photos and just update it as and when we get any further progress made.

The first job was to bookmatch our tops. Martyn has a beautiful piece of Walnut with some quilting in it and I have a nice piece of yew.











As it turned out I didn't have enough width in my top so I decided to laminate some yew and walnut to go in between the bookmatched pieces. I then decided to carry the the walnut strips into the back. This is a picture of the lamination to go in the back.










Here is my back being glued up. The back is reclaimed mahogany with the three walnut strips.






and Martyn's is walnut.






We then routed the slot for the wiring and roughly cut the blanks to shape. The tops were then glued onto the backs. You know what they say, you can never have enough clamps!














Thats it for now. Next time: routing the chambers for the electrics and the neck tenon. We will also start the neck.


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## Philly (8 Jul 2007)

Exciting stuff - a pair of Les Pauls!!!
I'll be watching,
Philly


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## superunknown (8 Jul 2007)

Great stuff, keep it coming!


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## greggy (8 Jul 2007)

well done you two, looking great, i see you like you bessey clamps! i will be waching this thread with exitement.


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## stix (8 Jul 2007)

I'm really looking forward to seeing these being made. I've wanted to make a strat for the guitarist in my band for ages but wouldn't have a clue where to start - hopefully these will give me a bit of an insight.

Cheers
Steve


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## DomValente (8 Jul 2007)

Interesting thread.

You do know that if you sold your clamps you could buy a Les Paul  

Dom


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## ByronBlack (8 Jul 2007)

bolt on or glued neck? What pickups are you going to use?


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## Slim (8 Jul 2007)

Hey Byron,

The neck will be glued. I think, I am going for a Seymor Duncan SH-1 '59 at the neck and a SH-5 Duncan Custom at the bridge. However, that isn't set in stone.


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## ByronBlack (8 Jul 2007)

how about a nice set of bare knuckle hand-wound jobbies, these puppies sing!

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/

I made an explorer clone a few years ago with a pair of EMG actives and they were also wonderful!

Either way, with that wood, i'm sure it'll sound great! You'll have to upload a sound sample when your done! Or if your brave, a youtube video of you and your mate playing 'sweet child 'o mine' 

Fixed bridge I assume?

BTW, is that a Jet 14" bandsaw in the pics?


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## Slim (8 Jul 2007)

I did wonder about EMG pickups. However the soundbites on their website don't sound that good. Its probably not representative of the real sound.

Those bareknuckles look interesting.

The bridge is a gibson tunomatic and tailpiece.

It is the 16" Jet. Only just got it. I made light work of the bookmatching. I'm very impressed so far.


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## mrbingley (9 Jul 2007)

Simon,
What size blade do you use to cut out the guitar shape ?

I'm just starting to have a go at making a telecaster type body & was thinking maybe the 1/2" blade in my bandsaw is too big.

Cheers
Chris.


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## Slim (9 Jul 2007)

Hi Chris, I used a 1/4" blade. There is no way you could cut the tight curves with a 1/2" blade.


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## JFC (9 Jul 2007)

Looking good ! I'm thinking about doing a solid body with the rest of the wenge so will be interested to see the progress . Just started the second acoustic out of doug fir and wenge .


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## mrbingley (9 Jul 2007)

Thanks for the reply Simon.

Just ordered a 1/4" blade for the bandsaw.

Did you make your own template or did you buy one ?

I've just been having a practice & I'm not sure by making the template myself I'm going to be happy with it.

I've looked on the internet, but the only templates I can seem to find for a Telecaster are in the USA.
So by the time I've done paying the shipping & customs, it would have been cheaper just to buy another guitar.  

Cheers
Chris.


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## mr (9 Jul 2007)

mrbingley":3e7avll5 said:


> So by the time I've done paying the shipping & customs, it would have been cheaper just to buy another guitar.
> 
> Cheers
> Chris.


I don't think building your own is ever going to be cheaper (or even as cheap as) buying one. Just think of the satisfaction though  I'm dreaming about a tele but a bit frightened by the idea of making the neck at the minute. Watching these LPs with interest though 

Cheers Mike


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## mrbingley (9 Jul 2007)

Mike,

Just going to make a body first and either use the stagg neck or buy a neck from ebay.

I've bought a "Stagg T490MBK" telecaster copy to use as the base for my project, was going to buy a bog standard telecaster copy, but the "Bigbsy" on it got the better of me.
Now I've got find a straight telecaster type body to copy the pickup placement & bridge settings from, or use the stagg as the layout.

I like the look of either "Paduak" or "Walnut", but for the first attempt I've got some pieces of "Meranti" floorboard to use.

Cheers
Chris.


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## Slim (9 Jul 2007)

Chris, We just bought plans of a 1959 Les Paul from Stewart Macdonald. Everything can be done from this including any templates for pickup cavities etc.

As for expense. The wood cost me nothing. The plans worked out at £15. All the electrics, tuners, truss rod etc. will cost around £200-£300. When compared to a Gibson Les Paul Standard which costs around £1100 there is no contest.


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## david simper (9 Jul 2007)

I'm thinking of making a bass for my nephew and suspect I can pick up a few tips from this thread. Just to give you an excuse to buy more clamps, have you checked out the wooden clamps from Rutlands? I'm using little else at the moment. Good stuff.

Dave


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## Slim (10 Jul 2007)

Well after 24 hrs in the clamps and a little bit of planing, we have two guitar body blanks.
















Here's testement to the strength of Titebond. The shavings taken by the plane are still stuck together.


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## Bainzy (11 Jul 2007)

Looking great, I never realised there were any others that built guitars here in West Yorkshire - I've been cracking on with my Les Paul this week if you're interested: UK Guitar Builder's Forum. Just out of curiosity, where did you find the reclaimed Mahogany for the body?



mrbingley":2ljy2nhn said:


> I've looked on the internet, but the only templates I can seem to find for a Telecaster are in the USA.
> So by the time I've done paying the shipping & customs, it would have been cheaper just to buy another guitar.
> 
> Cheers
> Chris.



I've got a set of Telecaster templates Chris, I could always make a copy of them at some point from 1/4" MDF from B&Q - whereabouts are you based? I'm a bit too busy right now but in about a month or two I should have some time to knock out a template set.


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## Slim (11 Jul 2007)

Bainzy":322uh4pg said:


> Looking great, I never realised there were any others that built guitars here in West Yorkshire



Hi Bainzy, I don't even know if I can build guitars yet. This is my first try.

I will follow your build with interest. You may receive a few questions about the neck if that is ok?

I found the mahogany when I emptied my grandfathers workshop. I have (had) two large planks about 4"x8"x70". They have a hole through them half way along as if the have been bolted to something. Luckily there is enough length to get the neck out of it before the hole.


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## Bainzy (11 Jul 2007)

Sure, more than happy to help - this is the first time I've built a Les Paul style guitar, and I can safely say already difficulty wise it's a totally different ballgame from building a Strat, but much more rewarding. 

Nice score on the Mahogany, I searched around quite a bit to find a supply for Les Pauls until I discovered genuine Mahogany is banned from import here. I think Sapele is a great sustainable substitute for the neck wood though, and Idigbo sounds very close to genuine lightweight Mahogany tonewise so is a good sustainable source for backs - I'd highly recommend them if you decide to carry on building once you've exhausted your Mahogany supply.


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## mrbingley (12 Jul 2007)

Hi Bainzy,

Doesn't my username help with my location :wink: , Or were you asking which part of town I live in ?

Thanks for the offer of the templates, I'd like to take you up on that.

Cheers
Chris.


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## Bainzy (14 Jul 2007)

Well I guessed there was either a 90% chance you lived in Bingley, or a 10% chance you were just a fan of Pride and Predjudice. :lol: 

I'll send you a PM when I get some free time for template building, I might have some other templates by then (such as some '59 Les Paul ones).


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## mrbingley (15 Jul 2007)

Cheers Bainzy,
Look forward to it.

Chris.


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## Slim (19 Aug 2007)

[geordie accent]Day 3 in the Les Paul building house[/geordie accent]

Well, we got another weekend's work on the guitars. I suspect that we did things a bit in the wrong order, but it seems to be turning out quite well so far. (touch wood)

Our first job was to put a 4.5 degree angle on the front of the guitar. This gives the 4.5 degree neck angle. It was a bit of a head scratcher as to how we would do this accurately. We ended up building a jig for the router.












Then we routed the pickup cavities. For this, we bought an acrylic template from stewart macdonald.






At this point, we should have routed the mortice for the neck tenon while the top was still flat. We never thought about it though and went straight on with carving the top. Most of this was done with a spokeshave and cleaned up with a ROS. We scribed a line all the way round witha mortice gauge. This was the lowest point of the carve.
















The veritas low angle spokeshave did a very good job. Matyn's guitar has some very awkward grain and a large knot, so it took him much longer to carve his. He ended up just wasting as much wood as he could with the router and some very course sandpaper. It turned out well in the end though. It's quite difficult to see the carve in these photos.











We made some MDF templates for routing the cavities in the back for the electrics. 











Then of course, we discovered that we should have routed the neck mortise whie the top was flat. Luckily we had our 4.5 degree jig and we made a temple to sit on it.






After drilling the holes for the pots an the switch, this is what they looked like.






Then, on to the neck. We didn't get very far with the necks as time ran out. We got them roughed out on the bandsaw, routed the truss rod slot and cut the neck tenon. 
















All in all, we are very pleased with the progress. but we are amazed that nothing has gone horribly wrong yet. This is how they looked at the end of the today.











Next time, we will be finishing the neck and hopefully getting onto the binding and inlaying.

Cheers for looking.


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## JFC (19 Aug 2007)

Guitar making hurts my head ! Looking very good !


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## ByronBlack (20 Aug 2007)

Looking very nice, not jealous at all !

As for the angle, on my last guitar I routed the angle in the neck pocket thus avoiding having to angle the body, was there a specific reason why you altered the angle on the body? Is it due to the carving? (i've not done a carved body yet, so just trying to get my head around that detail).

How do you find the stewmac templates? What size bushing/cutter do you use (I have the same router as you so i'm just being nosey).

How many cans of Boddingtons did this stage of the build require? 

Finally - how did you go about determining the size of the neck pocket? Did you use an abitary size and fit the neck to that, or was there a set size that you stuck to for both pocket and neck? The reason I ask is because the last neck pocket I did was with a jig to a specific size, it didn't work to well and I had a lot of cleaning up to do with a chisel.


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## Slim (20 Aug 2007)

Hey Byron.

I'm not quite sure what you mean about the angle. On a Les Paul, the neck is angled back at 4.5 degrees. This angle has to be put on both the top of the body and the neck pocket as the fretboard sits on the body as well.

Stewmac template was fine. IIRC we used a 1/4" bit with a 3/8" bush.

The neck pocket should be 1.5" wide by 1.45" deep, which is what Martyns is. Mine ended up about 1.6" wide. If your wondering why I am using decimal inches it is because that is what the plans use. Some measurements are fractions which I can just about cope with, being of the metric generation, but I can't get my head around decimal inches. :? 

I think the decimal inches is the reason for the cans of Boddies. :wink:


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## ByronBlack (20 Aug 2007)

Cheers for the answers simon, much appreciated. Are you making your own fretboards?


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## Slim (20 Aug 2007)

No, we bought fretboards. We decided that it was such a critical part that is wasn't worth the risk of us cocking them up and ending up with out of tune guitars. We got them from stewmac. The exchange rate is so favourable at the moment that it only cost £15 for mine (ebony) and £8 for Martyn's (rosewood). We were lucky to avoid import duty on our order aswell. 

I would like to see the guitars you have made Byron, if you have any pics?


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## davy_owen_88 (20 Aug 2007)

Great work! They are really starting to take shape now. Have you thought about what finish you are going to put on them? 

I too would be interested in seeing some pics of your guitars Byron.


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## ByronBlack (20 Aug 2007)

Simon/Davy

I'll have a look see if I've still got the pics, it was a while ago - when I first joined this forum infact (I needed help with the scarf joint). I lost a fair few of the photo's when an old computer died, but I think I have some around somewhere.

The main guiter I built was a mahogany neck-thru explorer. I've got a custom shape gutar body at the moment which i'll get back to, it's english yew with a curly maple top and will be very simple (fixed bridge, single bridge humbucker, no tone knob, just volume).


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## Slim (20 Aug 2007)

davy_owen_88":1hc2yw03 said:


> Great work! They are really starting to take shape now. Have you thought about what finish you are going to put on them?



Cheers Davy. I am considering putting a burst on mine. Mybe something like this:






However, I doubt I will make up my mind until it comes to the crunch.

I don't know what Martyn is thinking for his, but black walnut is such a beautiful wood I think I wood just finish it with clear laquer.


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## mrbingley (21 Aug 2007)

Looking good & enjoying reading the methods of work as you progress.

Chris.


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## Slim (25 Nov 2007)

Got another weekend working on the guitars. Well one and a half days, because the Harrogate show was on.

I completely forgot to take WIP photos for the rest on the neck, sorry , so I will describe the process.

We had only got as far as roughing out the shape of the neck the last time, so we cracked on with shaping them. We began by making two cross sectional templates, one at the first fret and one at the eleventh. Using these templates we cut the cut the curve on the back of the neck at these fret positions with a rasp. Then using a drawknife and a spoke shave we joined the two cuts together creating a smooth continuous curve.

This is how they looked after shaping the neck, heel and headstock. (Martyn's on the right, mine on the left)














Rather than copy the Gibson headstock shape, we are creating our own.
(Mine on the right)






After finishing the necks, we moved onto the fretboards. We had bought pre-radiused and pre-slotted fretboards from Stewart Macdonald as we needed these to be completely spot on. The fretboards are being inlayed with the Les Paul Standard's trapezoid mother of pearl. Unfortunatly we ran out of time and only got a couple of inlays done. The process basically involved scribing round the pearl with a marking knife and then chiseling about 3mm deep.










This is how the guitars looked at the end of today.










We are still amazed that nothing has gone wrong yet (touch wood). They seem to be taking ages, but we have really only had five and a half days in total, so I am pretty pleased with the progress.

Thanks for looking.


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## ByronBlack (25 Nov 2007)

Lovely progress. I'll also be using a pre-slotted stew-mac fretboard for my project when I get round to it. Did you purchase their fretting press, or are you going to do it by hand?


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## Philly (26 Nov 2007)

Looking good!!
I can feel another guitar coming on.....
Philly


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## mr (26 Nov 2007)

Philly":30panxyf said:


> Looking good!!
> I can feel another guitar coming on.....
> Philly



You haven't got time! Get back to those planes. 

Cheers Mike


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## Slim (26 Nov 2007)

BB - The stewmac fret press' are ridiculously overpriced, even for America and with the exchange rate. Such as this one, which is basically locking pliers for £100. Or this F clamp at £60. Its definitely a case of a specialist tool, a specialist price. I think we are just going to use a fretting hammer.

Phil, You can make another guitar as long as you don't finish before we do. :wink:


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## Philly (26 Nov 2007)

Aww...you guys :lol: 
Simon - good chance I won't beat you :wink: 
Philly


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## Slim (7 Feb 2008)

We had another weekend working on the guitars. We spent most of Saturday morning hunting down a large bearing for a rebate cutter, which would enable us to cut a shallow channel for the binding.

First job was to make sure the profile of the guitars was absolutely smooth and flowing, as the bearing would ride along it.

I don't have a spindle sander, so I turned a cylinder on the lathe and glued some 100g paper to it.







This enable us to sand right into the cut away.






Then came about 2 hours of head scratching. We had route a channel all the way around the body for the binding to sit in. The problem was that with a carved top, the router would be sitting at an angle. So after several failed ideas, we came up with an overhead router jig.






I did have a few worries about the safety of this jig. However, we were taking such a small cut and the guitar was big enough to keep fingers well away, so we went for it. It worked perfectly.  






So, on to the binding. After a trip to Morrisons for masking tape, I began. It is simply a case of running some superglue in the channel and taping the binding in place. Or it would be if we didn't have the crappest masking tape ever made! I resorted to gluing the channel and spraying activator on the binding. The instant curing meant no masking tape was needed.






We had to heat the binding in order to get it to bend around the horn.











After a bit of scraping and sanding, this is what they looked like.














After rounding over the backs, that is the bodies complete (apart from the holes for the bridge and tailpiece)














We have finished the inlaying of the fretboard. Next time, we will be working on binding the fretboard and glueing it in place. Then there is not much left to do before the finishing process. 

Thanks for looking.


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## ByronBlack (7 Feb 2008)

sw-eeet!! That binding really brings the whole look up a notch! Good going. What did you use to heat the binding? I have the very same stuff that I intend to use for my next project. I think i'll be copying your over-head router idea, that is a very good way around the carve body issue.

Are you using the same plastic binding for the fingerboard? Also, I assume your fingerboard is the pre-slotted and pre-radiused one from stew-macs? How will you cut the taper and size it to accommodate the binding, are you making a template first? (sorry for the questions, I just intend to do this myself at some point and interested in hearing your method).

Looking great! I best order the finishing materials for my maple as I've been a bit lazy with it recently.


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## Slim (7 Feb 2008)

Hey BB,

Thanks for the compliments. We used a lighter to heat the binding. Just keep it about an inch above the flame.

Yes we are using the same binding for the fretboards and they are pre fretted and radiused. I have been thinking about the process for a while now. As we have full size plans, we can take accurate measuments for the width of the fretboard. If we subtract two widths of binding from the measurements, we can make an template. If we then taper the fretboard and glue it on using a centre line, we will in effect have a channel for the binding. If you see what I mean :? Otherwise, we might bind the fretboard before we glue it on. I haven't really decided.

It really hurts my head all this thinking! :-k :-s ](*,)


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## Philly (8 Feb 2008)

Great stuff, Simon! They look awesome - can't believe you guys haven't splashed some finish on them yet to see the figure pop :lol: 
Looking forward to the finished guitars,
Philly


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## Slim (8 Feb 2008)

Philly":2rx8q9pn said:


> Great stuff, Simon! They look awesome - can't believe you guys haven't splashed some finish on them yet to see the figure pop :lol:



Cheers Phil, good things come to those who wait. I hope! 8-[


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## woodchip (3 Mar 2008)

mrbingley":1tntemhb said:


> Hi Bainzy,
> 
> Doesn't my username help with my location :wink: , Or were you asking which part of town I live in ?
> 
> ...



Hey three of us (at least!) on the forum from Bingley, small world!


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## Ironballs (9 Mar 2008)

Hello, just happened upon this forum and thread whilst idly trawling google for Les Paul/guitar making info. Wouldn't be the first time idle curiousity has got me into trouble...

Cannot play the guitar other than a bit of AC/DC rhythm section chord strumming, though always dreamt of being Jimmy Page et al and always loved the Les Paul.

Combine this with having to think about what to do for my 3rd year project at cabinet making night school and you can see where this is going - serious hot water with my girlfriend for not making something practical for the house probably.

Any road, if I was to think about making a guitar, is it something that is sensible for a night school student who had never heard of a planer/thicknesser 18 months ago?


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## Slim (9 Mar 2008)

Hi Ironballs, welcome to the forum.

The Les Paul is definately not the easiest guitar to build yourself, but it is the prettiest :wink: .

If you are a 3rd year student, then I am sure making a guitar like this would be well within your reach. I had never tried anything like this before, and I seem to be doing quite well (touch wood, quick!) This thread has been running for a long time now, but in reality, we have only had 8 days workshop time. 

You need to think about the cost as well. Although, it will be significantly cheaper than buying a Gibson, my build will probably cost in the region of £300. The satisfaction of building your own, though, will be priceless.

Get the plans from StewMac and see what you think.

Best of luck


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## Ironballs (11 Mar 2008)

Thanks for the re-assurance, had a chat with the tutor last night and he seemed to think it would be fun. They haven't had anyone do a guitar yet but would be happy for me to do it if I got my hands on some plans.

Ordered a set from StewMac and will have a look at what's involved. Two big questions for me, is building my own neck a step too far and is it still possible to get mahogany in this country for the body?

Cheers

Damian


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## Slim (11 Mar 2008)

Hi Damien,

This is the first time I have carved a neck, and I didn't find it too difficult.

I note you are in Huddersfield. John Boddy timber isn't too far away, and the last time I was there they had some honduras mahogony. Although, you don't have to use mahogony. There are plenty other tone woods you could use. Each will give its own unique tone.


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## Ironballs (12 Mar 2008)

Okay ta, might have a wander over to Boddy's at some point. Saw there was a luthier supplier over in Manchester as well that could be worth a look.

General question, do you know what Dragon Timber in Stanningley are like? ie do they stock decent quality hardwoods and do they let you have a rummage through their stock


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## woodchip (12 Mar 2008)

Ironballs":2g0ifyd5 said:


> Okay ta, might have a wander over to Boddy's at some point. Saw there was a luthier supplier over in Manchester as well that could be worth a look.
> 
> General question, do you know what Dragon Timber in Stanningley are like? ie do they stock decent quality hardwoods and do they let you have a rummage through their stock



When I went to dragon they didn't have any hardwood at all, just sheet material.


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## Ironballs (16 Mar 2008)

Went to my regular timber yard yesterday to get a bit of oak and asked him what else he had in. Well in addition to the stacks of ash and beech, he had a ton of cherry, a few select pieces of yew and elm and some big slabs of mahogany. I think I know where I'm going to get the timber for the body


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## Slim (16 Mar 2008)

Which supplier is that?


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## Ironballs (17 Mar 2008)

Yorkshire Oak Supplies in Cleckheaton, does a lot of trade on ebay but also sells from his yard. Every time I've been he's spent an age with me looking for the right timber and talking rubbish about life/wood etc.

Had a big pile of 4/5" mahogany boards on Sat


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## stef (2 Apr 2008)

Slim":1962w27e said:


> You need to think about the cost as well. Although, it will be significantly cheaper than buying a Gibson, my build will probably cost in the region of £300. The satisfaction of building your own, though, will be priceless.



I was also thinking about building my own axe, i had the SG or the les paul in mind.
However,i disagree with you on the cost issue.
if you want Gibson standard, you will need over £200 worth of pickups, another 50 in potentiometers, switches, plugs, another 150 in bridge + tuning keys... that 400 already and you havent even touched wood yet !
i'd estimate the costs to be very near a decent second hand buy... without the knowledge that the guitar will be spot on.
Having just bought a 2nd hand epiphone SG, i know too well how tricky it is to get a neck/fret board/body right.
(my SG was slightly bowed, which required me to 1-raise the action 2- redress the frets above the 12th. it is still bowed and the action is still high. it would need a replacement neck. i forget to mention that the action is measured at 2 to 8 64th of an inch. that is a very, very very tight spec for any wood worker, let alone average joe like me in his workshop !
factor in wood movements under the stress of the strings, and you really appreciate the experience required to become a guitar maker !
i dont question your abilities, but i think you will accomplish a miracle if you manage to get something comparable to a original gibson.)

that was just talking on the cost effectiveness of the approach though... not questionish the pleasure you do get out of it ! that goes without arguements !

They look beautifull though... so keep up the good work !


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## bob_c (2 Apr 2008)

stef":1xeg8fsh said:


> Slim":1xeg8fsh said:
> 
> 
> > You need to think about the cost as well. Although, it will be significantly cheaper than buying a Gibson, my build will probably cost in the region of £300. The satisfaction of building your own, though, will be priceless.
> ...


Did you not try adjusting the truss rod?


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## Slim (2 Apr 2008)

Stef,

As I said earlier in the thread, the wood cost me nothing. The pickups will cost £140 from Ebay. I might go over £300, but not by much. 

The purpose of this build is not to clone a Gibson. If I was going to do that, I would have made the top from maple. Besides, I already have a Les Paul. The purpose is to create something totally customed to my tastes, and of course have a lot of fun along the way.


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## stef (3 Apr 2008)

bob_c":2ju8vsiw said:


> Did you not try adjusting the truss rod?



yes i did, but i am nearly at the breaking point, without much improvements.
(it's symptomatic of "cheaper" gibsons, where the neck/body contact area is very small, like on SGs) 
A few years back, i broke the truss rod inside my uncle's acoustic gibson :shock: , by overtightening it.. i wasnt going to do the same mistake again, i can assure you ;-)

i am still at about 2.5times the specified action on an SG..and still, the neck was made by epiphone in mahogany. a half decent built, you would have thought ! it is still very useable, but maybe not as good as the real deal..

I definitely see the attraction in building your own, slim.. something i would still concider, and might do if i found a decent slab of mahogany.
I am just doubting the economical aspect of it. i am sure i could pick up a far better guitar for the price it would cost me to actually make one from scratch.
Since i am a keen guitar player, it would depress me big time to spend big amount of cash, time et effort, and end up with something that plays as well (bad) as an "encore", regardless of how pretty it looked! but that's just me, with my 2 left hands !
you let us know how yours plays, i just wish you'd work faster ! i am hooked to this thread !


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## Ironballs (3 Apr 2008)

Some of those Epiphones realy are not up too much, but then what do you expect for a licenced product that retails for a few hundred quid. Even the cheaper Gibsons aren't too special, you have to lay out top cash to get a really good one.

I've now agreed with the tutor at my night class, I'm doing a Les Paul copy for my final year project. Have got the plans, am reading and re-reading Melvyn Hiscock's book, scouring the net for threads like these and will probably go and acquire the mahogany this weekend. The difficult bit will be trying to stop myself from starting it before October. Might have a few dry runs on scrap wood to hone techniques. Really looking forward to it


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## stef (4 Apr 2008)

Ironballs":2e7hlxhn said:


> Some of those Epiphones realy are not up too much, but then what do you expect for a licenced product that retails for a few hundred quid. Even the cheaper Gibsons aren't too special, you have to lay out top cash to get a really good one.



that may be so. mine is the 400, supposed to be the top one.
they still use the same wood, the same machine, and the same cuts...
(epiphone has been making guitars for over 80 years)
it just goes to show that there is that little extra Mojo that Gibson put in theirs.. that's the Mojo i dont think i could replicate cheaper than gibson's !

i used to have a epiphone Elitist series.. that was better than a (cheap) Gibson !


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## Steve Blackdog (14 Apr 2008)

Those looking for advice on Les Paul projects should check out the Luthier Than Thou blog.

http://www.setchellguitars.co.uk/ant/blog/?page_id=4

The main message for me is try not to drop it when it's finished!

Also Stef, check out "How to make your guitar play great" by Dan Erlewine. He takes you through everything you need on setting up your guitar. If your neck is bowed towards you rather than away from you, then that's curable. The only real issue is if the neck is twisted or bows away from you. I got my copy of the book on ebay - worth every penny.

One day I may build my own guitar - it's a long way off though. I did think of going on a course at Bailey guitars in Scotland. You go on a two week course and come away with a guitar you have built - check out their site. Costs a fair bit though.

Good luck, you skilled people   

Steve


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## srs (15 Apr 2008)

Ironballs, I would guess that you have have already found the MIMF website but if not it would be worth a look esp. the libray section.

http://www.mimf.com/


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## stef (15 Apr 2008)

Steve with the Black Dog":3bf4wkn4 said:


> Also Stef, check out "How to make your guitar play great" by Dan Erlewine. He takes you through everything you need on setting up your guitar. If your neck is bowed towards you rather than away from you, then that's curable. The only real issue is if the neck is twisted or bows away from you. I got my copy of the book on ebay - worth every penny.
> 
> 
> Steve



yep, i found loads of tip to rectify the neck.
it basically involve getting the frets off and replanning the neck.
unfortunately, this means byebye pearl inlays.
other techniques involve changing the gauge of the frets to thicker ones, or unglueing the fretboard, straightening the neck, and reglueing....
all of this pretty hairy to get right, if you ask me !
but still.. who doesnt like a challenge ?


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## Ironballs (15 Apr 2008)

srs I hadn't come across that site so glad you posted it. Have you seen the site for Tonetech? They've just set up an instrument builders forum on their retail website, has lots of potential and it's nice to have a UK resource dedicated to the topic.

They're on www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk

Now on my second read through of Melvyn Hiscock's book


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## Ironballs (13 Aug 2008)

Any progress to report on these guitars? Interested to see how they come out and I'll be starting my build in September


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## Slim (14 Aug 2008)

Ironballs":1600rbbn said:


> Any progress to report on these guitars? Interested to see how they come out and I'll be starting my build in September



No more progress I'm affraid. I have a new job and have moved to Bournemouth, so I no longer have a workshop. It will be at least a year before I can do any more.

Good luck with your build. We want a WIP thread  .


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## Lark (14 Aug 2008)

would love to make something like this  sometime... but still need to get a bit better first


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## projekct (14 Aug 2008)

My mate runs Crimson Guitars and produces the best bespoke guitars I have every played. I own a couple fo his Robert Fripp type Guitars and he is makeing me another as we speak, compared to my Parker Fly Deluxe, they are stunning.. great to play hold and sound fantastic. Fixes my Guitar craft intruments too.

Best bit is he runs a series of diaries and has several how I build these and its honestly amazing, maybe he will help inspire you all some. Has a tone woods section too.

www.crimsonguitars.com

http://www.crimsonguitars.com/diary.html

http://www.crimsonguitars.com/instrument_gallery.html

I love the Elm top Robert Fripp Slimline


Have a look, its worth it.


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## Ironballs (15 Aug 2008)

Nice guitars there Projekct.

Slim, sorry to hear that your build is on long term hold, hope you manage to get your workshop back and finish them off.

Lack of experience is not putting me off, never done anything like this before but I'm going to give it a go. It may take a while but I'll document it and post up the progress.

Look out Slash, here I come 8)


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