Muttley's Custom LP Guitar Build

muttley600

muttley600

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OK, normally I shut the workshop down a week either side of the holiday as traditionally repair work is slow and I'm busy sorting out Christmas pezzies for the kids. Now that they are bit older there is less running about to do and things are a little less frantic so I decided to use the time to build a guitar just for me. Haven't had time to do that for quite a while....

I've always liked Les Pauls but hated some of the features so I want to build one with the stuff I like but with all the stuff I don't modded out. Hopefully all we be evident as it goes along. Also currently I don't have a Les Paul style in my stable. Also those here that have followed recent exchanges between JCH and myself will know that we have a p90 thing going on and I need a p90 guitar...

I've had pretty much all week so far and have tomorrow free with a maybe a little time over the weekend. This is how far I've got so far.. Thought I'd share....

The timber and the jigs

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Shooting the cap...

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Ready for jointing

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Jointed

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Having shaped the mahogany, time to cut the control cavity and the channels and switch recess. Easy with my old LP jigs..

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Just about ready to glue up the body...

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..and then rough out the neck...

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Cut the mortice and the tenon on the neck pocket. Thiss is cut horizontal and shallow for now as the neck pitch and final fitting will be done later. For now it's cut off a jig just to set it to shape..

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The next job is to start carving the top to establish the arch and the carved shape. Before that can be done I need to establish the neck angle and the pickup plane. These are two fixed flat areas on the body that dictate the geometry and also where the carving will go. I do this with router sled and some angled rails...

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The neck angle plain is 4.4 degrees...

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Once that is cut I cut the bottom of the neck pocket to the same angle. The neck will now ptch at that angle when finally fitted..


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The pickup plain is at 1.3 degrees and runs from the end of the neck to the bridge line. Not a very steep angle but important to get the pickups at the optimum position under the strings...

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Next job is to rough carve the top now that I have the fixed reference points established around the neck, bridge and pickups...

Typically a Les Paul has a binding edge of 6mm and a flat recurve area of between one and one half inches in from the edge. So the hight of the arch at that point is the same as the edge. I set the drill press depth to that hight from the back and drill a set of holes to that depth at those points to give a guide as to where to carve to.

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The pencil lines give me an idea of where the pickup and neck planes are so I don't touch them. Carve away with gouges and thumb planes til the shape arch starts to look right. I have done loads of carved tops in my time so this goes pretty quick for me these days without any need for other jigs or templates, I work to feel as no two carved tops on vintage archtop instruments was ever the same. I hate the uniformity that todays cncinstruments have....

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Rough arch achieved and finished with scrapers. Final finishing of the arch will come later and take just as long as getting this far..

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Thickness to 7mm and slot to your required scale length, I've gone with 24 3/4" traditional. I forgot to take pictures of the slotting and radiusing...:o

I can go back and do it again if anyone is interested. You get the idea though..

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I also forgot to take pictures of the fingerboard binding and glueing it down to the neck...:spank:

Again I can elaborate and post some alternative picks if any one is interested...

One the fingerboard is bound and glued to the neck with th truss rod installed I can start roughing out the neck profile...

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When the rough profile is done I move on to fretting the board... I hate fat frets so I'm putting a standard hight 2mm wire on this. I also hate binding nibs which is why I bind and then cut the fret tang over the binding. I always fret these by hand as each fret needs to be cut precisely to get them seated right and I bang them home with a plastic tipped hammer with tape on to stop chattering and bouncing.

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Things are looking OK so far. Almost looks like a guitar now. You will notice the pickup routes are done. I've gone with two p90's.. Again I can post pics of the jigs but got to absorbed in the work to remember to snap pictures...

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This is as far as I've got so far... Tomorrow I hope to get the binding on the body and then there is a lot of final clean up and shaping to do before I start on the sunburst....

So far four days work and probably another week on it spread over a bit of time to allow for finishing... Hopefully I'll get back on it before the work flow starts to dictate my time again...

He she is for now...

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You make it look so easy. :mad:

"Oh yeah, I just pull some scrap wood out of the pile and hit with some sandpaper and stain then break for tea and pretty much it's done."

:D

Meanwhile, I'm saying, "dammit, the lacquer bubbled again".
 
Chili said:
You make it look so easy. :mad:

"Oh yeah, I just pull some scrap wood out of the pile and hit with some sandpaper and stain then break for tea and pretty much it's done."

:D

Meanwhile, I'm saying, "dammit, the lacquer bubbled again".
Click to expand...

Hey it may look easy but I have 30+ years of guitar building mistakes behind me to call on..:thumbs up:

Seriously anyone can do it. I can do it quick because I've done it a lot and I have a lot of tools and experience. I'm no better than any one else other than that...
 
Great thread,really enjoyed it thanks :)


I've always wanted a hand crafted instrument,maybe one day ...



"Whats "boss" to us old illiterate English dudes???........:confused:" <- a great compliment in a short line ;)
 
Mutt, you are fucking awesome. That is so bad ass. I admire your skill and I'm jealous. I can barely glue two Popsicle sticks together.
 
Wow, that's real nice. Sooner or later my guitar building adventures will progress to where I'm doing some complex carvings. I've done them in my head analyzing how I might go about it, but looking at your methods might put me on a faster track. I've been doing this for a while, but most of the time I feel like such a novice. Thanks for posting the thread.

Coincidentally my newest project is a soapbar guitar also. :thumbs up:

muttley600 said:
Whats "boss" to us old illiterate English dudes???........:confused:
Click to expand...
Online Etymology Dictionary
 
JCH said:
Wow, that's real nice. Sooner or later my guitar building adventures will progress to where I'm doing some complex carvings. I've done them in my head analyzing how I might go about it, but looking at your methods might put me on a faster track. I've been doing this for a while, but most of the time I feel like such a novice. Thanks for posting the thread.

Coincidentally my newest project is a soapbar guitar also. :thumbs up:


Online Etymology Dictionary
Click to expand...

Carving a top really isn't hard and I can walk you through it. With your setup and patience you do it easy. Go for it, it'#s the next logical step and in my humble opinio0n what separates the hobby builders from craftsman..
 
Just spent an hour cutting the binding channel. Binding an archtop requires an bit more care as you cant just run a router round it as the top surface is arched. The binding jig has a curved base on the router and keeps the router level in all directions while;e it runs round the body using the very edge of the top as a point of contact.

Set up my archtop binding jig to cut a 6mm x 1.5mm rebate and ran it round the guitar.

Binding fits perfectly

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Hope to glue the binding in tonight and maybe get some time to clean up over the weekend. Need to get some more acetone from the chemist first...
 
Just...wow. Nice looking instrument already. I can't even imagine having the skill set to just have a Les Paul fall out of my garage one day!

*poof* oh, look! a fine, hand-crafted instrument!
 
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