Building a 59 Les Paul replica

[ElMano]

This time i gonna build a kind of replica of the Les Paul named "The Paul"No paint but Oil. Only this type has no bindings. But i love a guitar with bindings on top back and fretboard so i will do that on this guitar. I got a set of authentic '59 Gibson Pup's i posted here a time ago. I have a 40 year old table of 25mm thick Swedish pine (bone dry) and a lot of tropical wood from a floor that was removed after a water damage ( the insurance company replaced the floor and i picked out the best parts and let them dry this winter and summer.

I start wilt the neck and the middle part of the 3 layer body I gonna router tone chambers in it and the cavity's and pup holes. The top and Back are from 15 mm Cocobolo just like the neck. Top and back get carved and a belly cut. A '59 shaped chunky neck jumbofrets, and an oak fretboard.

[tytlblues]

oh, I bet that is going to look sweet!

[VikingBlues]

Craftsman at work folks!

Looking forward to seeing this one develop.

[MichaelRobinson]

You realy have courage. I would never dare to try what you do. Craftmanship on high level............................

[ElMano]

I do some routing and use the drum sander to shape the middle part sides. works perfect Glue the top and back together and cut the back while top is drying.
I found a lovely piece of yellow oak whit bird-yes in it for the fretboard.

Thursday i gonna build the truss rod. A single action this time, pushed down by a skunk stripe, radius the fingerboard, and cut a bundle of binding strips.

[HalfBlindLefty]

You move quick ElMano. I hope you can wait for the endresult, I can't :)
btw: Are you going for a flat top or a carved top ?

[ElMano]

I will made the top and the back carved both sides a belly cut and bindings on the top and backside and neck and headstock.
Still thinking if i mount a stop bar ore made it string trough. In that case the strings will be leaded over a steel rod in the top where they came out of the wood.

[HalfBlindLefty]

Mhh I'd like a wrap around stopbar.
I better not use a bellycut for my guitars... would put a giant hole where the body is.....

[ElMano]

I had not to much time today, but i was able to build, and install the trussrod. I design the rod myself and do some own inventions that i know that will give the rod more strength. The first thing that get damaged is the nut. So i use a extension nut that is able to get a whole lot of tension. I weld a Hex bolt in it to twist the Nut!
As you can see is the chest in a T shape to made the position of the nut height exact.
At the end of the rod i welded a steel plate with tooths to get maximum grip. To protect the parts against rust i will dripped some candle wax over it.
The maximum down force point of 10mm is on the 7e fret and go both way's up till 4 mm.

I router the tone chambers on middle body, and the cable slot ( @ HBL this time there is plenty of room ) I have the back flattened and glued on the middle part.
Then it was time to get me a good glass of Merlot wine (ore 2 )

Some pic's ( ore it didn't happens )

[ElMano]

A lot of work done this afternoon, Shaping routing sanding and so on...
Monday when the body is dried i will finish the tenon, and shape the contour of the top. The back is all ready done just as the routing to get the binding in.

I have shaped the fingerbord whit a radius of 12 Inch so i can saw the fretslots.

[ElMano]

I did a lot of sanding to shape the body contour. Routing the space fore the bindings, and shape the neck, and headstock, pot cavity and toggle cavity.
Then i cut the tenon to get the neck in.
The neck fits like a glove but is 5 mm to high yet. Control learns that it is correct because the string height at the point of the bridge is 20 mm instead of the correct 15mm.

Tomorrow i do the fretboard (slots, shape, frets and binding) Gonna saw the binding strips out of plastic rail. (They sell it for hiding electric cable)
As soon as the bindings are on the body i carved the top and the back.

[VikingBlues]

Fascinating set of pictures.

Wow, you certainly get on at speed with these building projetcs!

[ElMano]

Today i build a jig to saw the fretslots. The saw i made a couple of days ago. I lower the Neck till the right position and check the distance on the bridge.
The next job was made a drill template for drilling the ferules (i choose to make a string trough construction is stead of a stop bar) and do the raw shape of the ( steel)top nut.

It took me 2 hours to build the saw jig but the work on the fretboard was don in 15 minutes and better than all the boards i did before. So i am very glad that i took the time to made a good working jig.

And at leas i saw a couple of meters binding strip ( the circle saw was build by me two years ago out of an old drill and very old circlesaw accessory)

[HalfBlindLefty]

Looks to me like a set of handy tools to use.
Awesome job

[ElMano]

Did you notice the huge channel between the cavity's HBL?

[ElMano]

Do some sawing for the binding strips. Using the band saw it was done in a few minutes. I bought a lot of super glue and decided to go for it. Because the super glue dry very quick that was all so done in about a 30 minutes and dry at the same time. ( Only problem was the burning eyes )

Put on a dust mask and shape both sides of the body from the binding to the middle. To morrow i will do the work on the fretboard and the neck shape.
In the mean time i need to made a choose what kind of markers i will use. The pickup rings, the cavity covers, bridge, and ferules are gonna made of polished steel and aluminum, So if have thought about stainless steel rings whit a black dot in the hole.

It is time to order some parts like 2X 500 pots log, 2X 250 pots lin, a 3 way switch, and 2 X 3 Machineheads. The only stuff i have to buy. I have a good bridge, and studs i made myself, just like the ferules and the top nut (steel), stringbar( steel) and a set of Gibson Pickup's etc.



Some pictures:

[ElMano]

I have been solved a few serious PC problems, and the only way to get it right was start from scratch But it is all most fixed now. So eysterday i find some time to do something else than put data into the PC. ( like a spellingcontrole in English and Dutch. login info url.s passwords ... )

I saw the frteslots, shape the fingerboard, saw some maple neck bindings because i love the feel instead of the plastic, It take a lot of time to keep the slots cleen and free of glue but its paying off when you play. The pickup rings are made of Aluminium. Out one of the square plates from of the middle i do some expirements to made a logo. I am not shure of the scratchplate? ( any of you have an advice?)

Thursday i will shape the connection between the neck and body. I order machine heads, pots, toggle, screws,bridge studs and bolts, etc.
some pic's till so far.

[HalfBlindLefty]

Starts to look awesome ElMano.
Mhh I wouldn't use a scratchplate at all. Show the wood !

[ElMano]

It looks like i did not so much but it take a lot of time to get the dots in the fretboard, shape the neck into a perfect "D Shape" wrap around the headstock binding, and made the neck/body connection. Specialy the place where the fretbord rest on the body has to be perfect flat, because the carved top.

Tomorrow i hope to find the time to put the frets in, drill the holes for the tuners, fix the top nut on the top of the neck. Cut of the fretboard at size on the pick up side.

Than drill the holes for the pot's and toggle. For now just wait for delivery of the parts i order (wwwguitarupplies.nl) But thers is still some serius sanding work to do I am surging for a good solution for the laque. I think i go for polished high gloss, but i will allso doe some samples whit oil to before i finally made a choise.

[ElMano]

This is the 5e time i do a fretjob and i must say that its big fun to do this time. The saw i made and the sharpend plier i prepaire made it so much easyer tha the times before. To keep the board clean i do the oil direct after beveling the frets. Allso fixe the lenght of the board made a raw version of the topnut, and color the pine part of the body.
Before i can drilled the holes for the tuners, pots and toggle i have to wait till the postman delivered the parts.
In the meantime i can level the frets but they are allready perfect so i wont expect to much work.