Muttley's Custom LP Guitar Build

cakewalkKaKed said:
want one !!! .. no,want 2,we need a few hi res pics when she`s done .. and some clips ;)


seriously i would love to play her :D
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I am just waiting for some magnets for the pickups to arrive then I will be able to put this one together. I've done all the mounting hole etc and as soon as I get the bits I need I'll spend a few hours doing final buffing and setting up. I'll post some higher definition pics when she's finished but I don't like taking my slr into the workshop if I can avoid it. I'll try and do some sound clips but my setup is largely broken down at present as we are moving stuff around at home to cope with shortly to be teenage boys in the house...

Here she is getting the post holes cut. So close to finished... has about 50 hours work on her so far...;)

posthole1.webp

posthole2.webp
 
Mutt, do you usually drill into a finished body like that? Most guitar builds I see from people have all the cutting and drilling finished before they apply paint or stain. Color is the very last step before final assembly. I'm not questioning your luthierness, I'm just wondering.

When I was building hot rods and restoring classics, we tried like hell to always do paint last. The last thing you wanna do is drop a wrench onto a $25,000 paint job.
 
Greg_L said:
Mutt, do you usually drill into a finished body like that? Most guitar builds I see from people have all the cutting and drilling finished before they apply paint or stain. Color is the very last step before final assembly. I'm not questioning your luthierness, I'm just wondering.

When I was building hot rods and restoring classics, we tried like hell to always do paint last. The last thing you wanna do is drop a wrench onto a $25,000 paint job.
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I was wondering the same thing. I would be afraid the finish would chip. However I have mostly delt with laquer which is very brittle when completely dried.
 
I have done both ways. As far as chipping the finish, not a problem if you ahve a sharp tool, the right speed on the chuck and I use a masking tape backer which hold everything in place. You can just about make it out on the pic. I also use a brad point which centers the bit and cuts from out to in rather than in to out with a standard bit.

Things I like about doing it this way...

The finish is completed the cut results in a really clean edge. If you finish around a hole you always get some "dubbing" or rounding of the edge.

The neck when it goes on will have a really clean join at the side of the fingerboard. Finish tends to puddle in there if you do it post joining.

Things I don't like about doing it this way....

Like you said I have to be extra careful about not damaging a nearly completed finish ( I still ahve to give the final buff).

I am now committed to the bridge position. I have no wiggle room when fitting the neck but I'm comfortable with that.

In this case I finished first primarily because the sunburst is done without the neck on for obvious reasons and it needs something on it to protect it as raw stain will rub out and dirty up with handling..

I'm happy doing it either way though after years and years I have still to seriously "ding" a finish on the bench. Touch wood...:D
 
Just snapped a pic of the post hole after drilling. As you can see, a nice clean edge.

posthole3.webp

The paper you can see round the post on the upper hole is there as a snug fit and also stops the post from biting into the wood until I send it home. It also stop the wood breaking out if I want to remove the post before setting it home permanently. Just little tips you learn over the years.
 
Yup, that's clean. Your reasoning seems valid to me. I'm just a klutz and things like that give me the heebie-jeebies. :D

I really like how tight and clean that P-90 sits in there.
 
Greg_L said:
Yup, that's clean. Your reasoning seems valid to me. I'm just a klutz and things like that give me the heebie-jeebies. :D

I really like how tight and clean that P-90 sits in there.
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God is in the detail as they say..;)

Thats largely what separates the likes of us custom builders from the stock stuff. When I look at a top end factory guitar there is so much I can see that a few minutes of care would have sorted. I'm sure it's the same in the custom hot rod world. I have a sign on my exit door that reads. "Good enough aint good enough..."
 
Haha, not really. Custom show cars are indeed very detail oriented and everything has to look perfect. But street rods and race cars are usually a big mess of rig jobs and just making things work. The engines have to be machined and built to very precise tolerances. Getting them into the car and running is usually a comical exercise in redneck ingenuity.
 
Greg_L said:
Haha, not really. Custom show cars are indeed very detail oriented and everything has to look perfect. But street rods and race cars are usually a big mess of rig jobs and just making things work. The engines have to be machined and built to very precise tolerances. Getting them into the car and running is usually a comical exercise in redneck ingenuity.
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That reminds of my younger days as a beach bum building beach buggies with my Uncles. Bolting a V6 onto a VW beetle chasis, raise up the suspension and wack some truck tires on there. There wasn't a dune we couldn't conquer..
 
muttley600 said:
That reminds of my younger days as a beach bum building beach buggies with my Uncles. Bolting a V6 onto a VW beetle chasis, raise up the suspension and wack some truck tires on there. There wasn't a dune we couldn't conquer..
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Yup exactly. You just make shit work. Most often you need a part or fix that doesn't exist, so you make something. Some of the things we did to drag cars was ridiculous, but it worked and the cars were fast as hell.
 
muttley600 said:
I have a sign on my exit door that reads. "Good enough aint good enough..."
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I need a sign like that because I absolutely accept "Good Enough" as mantra. It's my admitted laziness. After your last comment about confidence in that other thread, I decided to put together one more guitar. Half build, half kit. For me, finishing is the hardest part and I want to get it right.

Thanks for posting all this inspiration!!! :)
 
Chili said:
I need a sign like that because I absolutely accept "Good Enough" as mantra. It's my admitted laziness. After your last comment about confidence in that other thread, I decided to put together one more guitar. Half build, half kit. For me, finishing is the hardest part and I want to get it right.

Thanks for posting all this inspiration!!! :)
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I'm thinking I need to post a feasibility thread for this build along. My plan is that we should be able to get whoever wants to build one, to build a basic guitar from scratch with basic tools and minimal expenditure on luthiery specific stuff. A lot of those tools you can fabricate yourself in any case. At least to start with until you are ready to invest in them.
 
image.webpGee Muttley,

I too truly enjoyed reading and seeing your guitar. I had taken a few years off in my acoustic guitar building in hopes of re-routing a retirement plan coming up a few years from now. While I believe that will never happen any more economically, I still need to try. Your explanations and views were so inspirational, I will be going through my pile and getting started again...thanks for the kick in the ass.
 
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Thanks for posting that pic, Knuckle. Now I don't feel so bad. :D

Welcome to the site (belated)
 
Actually, thanks both. This load was being moved to my new shelving system and had to stack it somewhere. My next build was going to be a Benedetto styled archtop. The billets are there. So many guitars to build and I have never done a solid body electric! Most of this stuff has been in my shop for 8-9 years just sitting.

Again, thanks for the new excitement. !!!
 
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Knuckle47 said:
Actually, thanks both. This load was being moved to my new shelving system and had to stack it somewhere. My next build was going to be a Benedetto styled archtop. The billets are there. So many guitars to build and I have never done a solid body electric!

Again, thanks for the new excitement
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Do you have any pictures of your work? I'd be interested to see them. Archtops are pretty much my mainstay building wise. It would be great to have another builder on board sharing their work methods and process.
 
I will try of scan a few pictures I have somewhere. I am now 60 and cleaning up around the house and the garage. We live out on a small farm but really don't farm it. I just moved about 25 plus photo albums of photos and 6 boxes of negatives just a few days ago . Lived in the same house for 34 years and just seems to have accumulated tons of crap.

Never had a digital camera until my first iPhone a few yrs back but my building stopped around 2006 or 2007. In fact, just got an email from Bob Benedetto. I'd asked about his class series that stems from his VHS and DVD building series. Unfortunately he told me he is winding down and playing more than building and teaching. A big disappointment for me. I fully respect and understand his position, he's earned it well. Built many acoustic guitars and 7 arch tops. Plans are still laid out in the shop, after 6 years for a harp guitar which I had fantasized about for years. I have the back and sides but never bought the top.

I'll dig out a few and post them. Could be a few days. Again, I truly enjoyed your post and photos. It is why I am re-vitalized and going to start building again.
 
Knuckle47 said:
I will try of scan a few pictures I have somewhere. I am now 60 and cleaning up around the house and the garage. We live out on a small farm but really don't farm it. I just moved about 25 plus photo albums of photos and 6 boxes of negatives just a few days ago . Lived in the same house for 34 years and just seems to have accumulated tons of crap.

Never had a digital camera until my first iPhone a few yrs back but my building stopped around 2006 or 2007. In fact, just got an email from Bob Benedetto. I'd asked about his class series that stems from his VHS and DVD building series. Unfortunately he told me he is winding down and playing more than building and teaching. A big disappointment for me. I fully respect and understand his position, he's earned it well. Built many acoustic guitars and 7 arch tops. Plans are still laid out in the shop, after 6 years for a harp guitar which I had fantasized about for years. I have the back and sides but never bought the top.

I'll dig out a few and post them. Could be a few days. Again, I truly enjoyed your post and photos. It is why I am re-vitalized and going to start building again.
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Glad to have provided a little inspiration if it gets you back onto building..;)
 
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