Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Bainzy on July 26, 2007, 03:10:45 PM
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Here's what's been keeping me busy the past few months, building the '59 LP replicas for me and two friends. I'm using Korina for the back, so they should sound a little bit original as well as having everything else vintage spec.
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0627.jpg)
The template for the LP neck is 1/4" MDF from B&Q cut out with a bandsaw, edged with straight MDF and a router follower bit, and finally the curves were done on my tabletop drill press with a small drum sander bit I nicked from the dremel which was just the ticket.
A pair of one piece Mahogany neck blanks rough-cut out on the bandsaw:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0642.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0643.jpg)
Here's the Maple and Korina as they arrived. The Korina is light and resonant, thanks Jonathan (Feline) for the tip. I think I've found the perfect timber - it cuts like butter, planes incredibly fast and easily (it took under a minute to go from rough to properly surfaced as seen in the pic), sounds great, weighs less than Alder and looks great too. The maple was surfaced before I bought it, which should save a lot of time.
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0644.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0646.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0650.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0651.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0652.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0653.jpg)
3 Les Paul body/top's worth of timber there, which amounted to exactly £100 inc. delivery.
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Clamping up and gluing the two pieces of Korina for the back:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0683.jpg)
Perfect joint with invisible seam - hard as hell to do with a hand plane if you've never tried it before, but it looks the business and is necessary when using hide glue:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0698.jpg)
Marking out where im going to route the cavities, there's still a bit of drum sanding necessary:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0690.jpg)
I made this curved rail jig out of MDF for routing the truss rod channel, here's it attached to the neck with double sided tape, I also fixed it with screws to parts of the neck that would be cut off later:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0712.jpg)
Routing out the curved 3/16" wide channel:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0714.jpg)
Cutting out the anchor slot with a sharp chisel:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0715.jpg)
Allparts vintage style truss rod with sheath removed, with brass adjusting nut, on top of some flamey hard rock maple I'm using for the top:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0717.jpg)
Installing the maple fillet for the truss rod, with hide glue:
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0734.jpg)
Today I built a jig for the Safe-T-Planer drill press attachment to thickness fretboards with and also to make those truss rod fillets exactly 3/16" thick - works a treat!
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0731.jpg)
(http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0732.jpg)
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Bandsawing out the fretboard blank from a block of old growth Brazilian Rosewood:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0739.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0741.jpg)
Sawing the fretboard to width. The offcut will be used for making the soles of some carving planes:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0747.jpg)
Brazilian Rosewood fretboard blank, ready to be thicknessed:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0753.jpg)
Removing most of the control cavity wood with a 1" forster bit:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0766.jpg)
Rear view of the (almost) finished back section:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0770.jpg)
Did some work joining the maple top for guitar #2, the friend I'm building it for didn't want hide glue so this one is with the more forgiving titebond. I still work to the tolerances I use for perfect invisible hide glue joints though, as it's good form and also good practice for hide glue joints.
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0798.jpg)
Two of the faces were flattened, and clamped together so I could plane the join.
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0799.jpg)
The shavings from this maple are whiter than white!
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0800.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0801.jpg)
Before putting the pieces together and up to the light, I checked them with a straightedge too lengthways and widthways. If these show no light, then putting the pieces together shouldn't either.
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0802.jpg)
The WD40 was for the clamps before I started gluing, just to get them working smoothly again after sitting in the garage.
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looking good bainzy!!!
I have just finished my first guitar with the Idigbo/korina/limba and it really is identical to the other type of korina/limba
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Thanks, yeah I can't wait to get these strung up. I'm gonna put an order in for an unpotted AIV Mule set for mine today with Nickel covers, as I know having the pickups here will spur me on to work even harder!
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I've been watching these on the Les Paul Forum - they look awesome Bainzy :D
Can't wait to see the finished article.
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Great pictures!
Beautiful wood - I can't wait to see the rest of the build in the same detail as shown here!
I wish Wez would do the same!
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I wish Wez would do the same!
what do you mean!! You fancy having one!!
my problem is that i tend to want to reinvent everything i do - even when doing a straight copy of something i want to improve the features i dont like.
i couldnt do a LP without at least having major changes to the neck join and a neck that wasnt made from one peice of wood!!!!
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I mean a picture walkthrough of your builds - I find this sort of thing really interesting!
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Stellar job!!!!
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i do tend to keep lots of in progress shots and post them on guitar building forums but i didnt really think this was the place for it!!
you can always dig through my photobucket account to see whats currently on the go!!
http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/
If you want i will document one of the next build a bit better for you guys!!
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I agree, I think you should document stuff here Wez - one of the things that inspired me to start doing this was seeing someone's build progress in a thread on a guitar forum. 8)
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If you want i will document one of the next build a bit better for you guys!!
Yay =D
I can't imagine the team being upset by it - Since you're clearly an adamant fan of BKPs - And a longstanding member of the forum.
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OK i will do that with whatever i happen to build next - it might be a korina and flamed maple LP/tele hybrid or a korina single pickup V, still trying to decide.
either way it will be started next week
Like Bainzy, i have recently been stocking up on the korina - love the stuff!!
I try to get BKP's in all my guitars but some of my players are too bloody tight!! Thats why the tele i just finished has 2nd hand Seymour Duncans. the jazz in the neck aint to bad but the hot rails is bloody awfull, well compared to how it could sound with a nice BKP tele pickup anyway!! - never have liked rail pickups
i will stop de-railing bainzy's thread and start my own soon!!!
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Looking good dude. You obviously know what you're doing.
One bit of advice though, when you are joining the two halfs of wood for the body (and for the top) with your sash clamps, it may be worth wrapping a bit of cling film around the body of the clamp, over the joint........ not that I'd have been stupid enough to glue a clamp to a joint in the past........... it was actualy a clamping cowl I was using :oops:
And don't get me started on hollowing out a control cavity with a spade bit by accident. By the time I remembered it had a big point on the end, it had already gone through a piece of 4A quilted maple :oops: :oops:
Or the time I nearly routed off "Little Tonemonkey" :? :lol:
Keep up the good work dude, looking forward to seeing the results.
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Looks great!!!
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awesome work, and nice pics too. I'm in awe of anyone who can do DIY, i can just about change strings without setting myself on fire.
:evil:
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Great post and pics.
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Excellent!!
I would love to have a go at building guitars from scratch, but I don't have the time or access to the tools (and I'm too stingy to buy them).
Maybe when I retire... but although I'm pretty good at DIY, I'm incredibly s-l-o-w - so I'd probably be dead before I finished guitar number one. :roll:
Until then it's great to see what other people have achieved. Keep the pics coming!
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ffs i want a new LP now, i really should stop reading topics on here, my bank account can't handle much more
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Great work there. Nice to see it evolve in the pics. You could make a book about this build.
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I finally got the profile guages, so I can get you the original neck shapes. I was going to do the following:
57 V-Neck (Strat)
60 C-Neck (Strat)
62 C-Neck (Tele)
60 Les Paul neck (Wide-Flat)
Are there any others you want?
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Phil,
Did you take those off of your guitars or can you get hold of them from another source.
If you can, could you get hold of a profile of an asymetrical neck, like the SRV one at Warmoth. I'll definately owe you a pint.
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Just those would be awesome Phil, thanks again for this. I should be able to use them this winter when I start work on my Strat replicas, although I really should concentrate on finishing one build at a time!
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Phil,
Did you take those off of your guitars or can you get hold of them from another source.
If you can, could you get hold of a profile of an asymetrical neck, like the SRV one at Warmoth. I'll definately owe you a pint.
I am taking them from my guitars. As far as Warmoth asymetrical profiles go, I have 2 SRV's and 1 Wolfgang, I also have the Clapton, as well as the standards. The 2 SRV's feel different, so it will be interesting to check to see.
I was going to take the profile and measurement at the nut, 5th fret, 12th fret and 17th fret. If needed I can add a couple more points.
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i generally go for 1st, 8th and 12th if i am copying a neck shape. 15th sometimes helps but after that its usually a continuation of what is already happening
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Very nice looking work there mate!
I'm building a guitar from Idigbo at the moment, it's so nice to work with :) I wish that i had a bandsaw as good/accurate as yours- mine is so old it can't cut straight, nor is the cut 'flat'... the edge isn't straight like this
|
but more like this:
/
:(
Can't wait to see the finished product :)
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Requesting more info on your Strat Replicas please!!!!!!!!! 8)
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:D Great job there matey looking forward to seeing the finished product. What P/U`s you thinking of putting in it ?
:D 8)
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Requesting more info on your Strat Replicas please!!!!!!!!! 8)
I'm going to be doing a '59-62 slab Brazilian Rosewood fretboard replica in one of the custom colours, and after that a '57 sunburst replica with the one piece maple neck. One piece body construction, using hot hide glue for the truss rod and separate fretboard, Callaham parts and Bareknuckle Pickups are gonna be the best things about these two builds. I'm pretty much geared up completely for building Strats now, the only problem is I can't build any because a) I don't have the wood and b) haven't bought the wood because I'm pushed for time enough as it is with these Les Pauls (I need them all done before summer ends as I don't have the space or time for building guitars while at Uni).
:D Great job there matey looking forward to seeing the finished product. What P/U`s you thinking of putting in it ?
:D 8)
Alnico IV unpotted Mules, already put my order in :mrgreen:
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Now that I've thicknessed the fretboard blank on that drill press jig, I did some work cutting the fret slots today for my guitar, and routing the truss rod channel in another of the neck blanks:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0806.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0811.jpg)
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/bainzy007/Timber/DSCF0819.jpg)
I love how black this Brazilian Rosewood is - looks just like the fretboards on vintage Les Pauls. Good luck finding this on a Gibson Historic! All being well tommorrow I'll route out the cavities for the inlays.
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looking good but being the eco-warrior i am striving to be its worth pointing out that you could have saved wood on th neck blank that could have gone towards a laminated neck!!
the fretboard does look nice though - but darker than i would expect from BRW - looks more like a nice chunk of ebony!
i love the stew-mac fret slotting jig - mainly because i got one last year after hand meausring and slotting boards for all the guitars before that - a 3 hour job now takes 15 minutes at the most!!!!!
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that is some nice fretboard wood. :twisted:
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looking good but being the eco-warrior i am striving to be its worth pointing out that you could have saved wood on th neck blank that could have gone towards a laminated neck!!
the fretboard does look nice though - but darker than i would expect from BRW - looks more like a nice chunk of ebony!
i love the stew-mac fret slotting jig - mainly because i got one last year after hand meausring and slotting boards for all the guitars before that - a 3 hour job now takes 15 minutes at the most!!!!!
Yeah it's a fantastic piece of kit, and it's worth the price just for the piece of mind it brings.
I don't really feel guilty about only getting 6 out of a possible 12 neck blanks from the wood I got for these necks, as if I'm building a Gibson replica there's not much point using completely different construction techniques - although on my own design guitars, I certainly wouldn't go for the one piece design just from a structural standpoint. Bear in mind that the wood is FSC certified after all, so even if I simply burnt the wood it wouldn't harm the rainforest in any way as it's all being logged sustainably.
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its a good point but i would still consider cutting either side off that neck blank so you have two laminates ready for a future neck that isnt a gibson replica. If you did 3 one piece necks you could get an extra 6 laminates for 2 more 3-piece necks for your own designs
it would mean glueing ears onto your gibson headstocks - but thats generally what gibson do anyway!!
5 necks instead of 3 (or ten instead of 6!!!) - either way its got to be good!!
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Any progress dude?
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Most of the parts for the guitar I'm building for myself have arrived, the exceptions being pickups, pickup rings, bridge - which I've all ordered, and then electronics and screws which I haven't ordered yet. I've installed the truss rod in another neck blank and glued up another body blank, so I'll take some pics of all that shortly. When I get some free time this weekend I should be routing out and installing the inlays, then radiusing and tapering the fretboard. The project has just stopped for a bit the past few days as I've been too tired when I've had spare time from either emptying my grandad's house or from thai boxing - hopefully it shouldn't take much longer though.
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Hey Bainzy - any update on your Les Paul builds? You've not posted for ages, hope you're OK?
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Going awesome!
Would like to see the finished babies!
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Looks great so far well done ... great project
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Oh man, no LP Custom replicas!? I would love to see some Block Inlay Action.
I would definitely pop in some Unpotted Mules into those babies.