Gibson Raw Power

[TelePaul]

Maple bodies and fingerboards on SGs and Les Pauls? Has the whole world gone crazy???

[notCardio]

Originally Posted by TelePaul

Maple bodies and fingerboards on SGs and Les Pauls? Has the whole world gone crazy???

Yes, it has.

But, aside from that, I think a maple-body, ebony fretboard LP would be kind of cool. Heavy, but cool. Suuuuuuusssssstaaaaaaaiiiiiiin.

[Anfontan]

A guy here in town about 20+ years had a beautiful Maple bodied Les Paul and it definitely had a biting tone and bloody heavy to boot!
Unfortunately he stepped outside for a break one night and it was stolen from the club in a heartbeat..
That sure made me wary of leaving instruments unattended--and I leave the best ones at home!!!!!!!!!

[JCH]

My maple Jr..... I'm anxious to try one of those SG's

[Zaphod B]

Screw you guys, you've gone and made me want another guitar.

That natural-finish all-maple LP Studio is gorgeous.

[muttley600]

Originally Posted by TelePaul

Maple bodies and fingerboards on SGs and Les Pauls? Has the whole world gone crazy???

Damn just when I was moving toward all maple set neck T-line tele's. Do you think I missed the boat again.

Go on get back to your roots telepaul you know you want to.

[Anfontan]

Originally Posted by JCH

My maple Jr..... I'm anxious to try one of those SG's

Originally Posted by muttley600

Damn just when I was moving toward all maple set neck T-line tele's. Do you think I missed the boat again.

Go on get back to your roots telepaul you know you want to.

Wow, those are both some masterpieces of maple-even without the Tele's hardwear!

[JCH]

Originally Posted by muttley600

Damn just when I was moving toward all maple set neck T-line tele's.

Cool tele! I dig the one piece neck. I've been wanting to do something similar.

I'm curious as to how you did the truss-rod. Is it adjustable at the heel, or head? How thick is the neck at the tenon? It seemed to me that the mortise for the rod would have to be cut very deep at the heel. That or stopped short, and drilled from the end? A one piece set neck isn't very common.

Sorry 'bout the hijack

[muttley600]

Originally Posted by JCH

Cool tele! I dig the one piece neck. I've been wanting to do something similar.

I'm curious as to how you did the truss-rod. Is it adjustable at the heel, or head? How thick is the neck at the tenon? It seemed to me that the mortise for the rod would have to be cut very deep at the heel. That or stopped short, and drilled from the end? A one piece set neck isn't very common.

Sorry 'bout the hijack

I did the truss rod on these with the adjuster at the heel. I used a 6mm wide 2 piece single action rod although the double action rods are ideal for these sorts of builds. I routed the channel to the required depth stopping at the first fret and about an inch from the end of the heel. A hole can then be drilled to take the hex nut to keep it looking tidy.

The neck mortice and heel depth are pretty standard tele dimensions. The body is 1 3/4" thick and the heel is a tad over 1". The pocket is around 5/8ths deep but you set that according to the rest of the build and the type of bridge, scratchplate, etc. I've seen tele's with pockets anywhere from 1/2" to nearly 3/4".

A few pics may give you a better idea. First one shows the jig for cutting the slot using a router, 6mm bit and top hat base. Second shows the end of the slot on the heel. The heel has yet to be trimmed to length, about an inch left after it is. The third shows the rod being test fitted in the slot. The fourth shows the end bore to accept the hex. More pics available if you need them. I don't do that many solid bodies and even fewer tele style so I work pretty much everything by hand on the bench for these. The pictures may be from different builds so don't look to closely but the principle is the same and it's a hell of a lot easier than doing a traditional fender single piece rod and anchor.

[muttley600]

Finally with the rod installed and then with the fillet added and one of the neck slotted and dotted. The last pic is of some of the same necks waiting for the customer to come round and check em out before selecting the one for him.

[JCH]

Thanks muttley for the pictures, and explanation. That helps a lot. I had been planning to do a thicker heel with a conventional rod, but I didn't like the way it laid out on paper. I've never used a two piece. I've always just made my own rods in the past. The setup would be much easier being able to use a flat cut.
Thanks for the help!