My Les Paul Build

[alk-3]

It was finally time to begin installing the fret wire. I bent it to a 12" radius and used a wooden block to seat it firmly in the fret board.







I ground off the excess fret wire with a bench top grinder being careful not to overheat the wire.



Then I used a hand file to clean up the fret ends.



Next was binding. I had plenty of tape on hand and pre cut.

[alk-3]

Attaching the binding went very smoothly. I lightly clamped the edge of the fret board to get it to stand on its edge.



I used a little block to file the ends of the binding to a 45 degree angle where they meet at the end of the fretboard.

[alk-3]

Once the glue had a chance to dry I removed the tape. I also switched from a point-and-shoot digital camera to a digital SLR.





I used a single edged razor to scrape the binding down.



And a file to fine tune.

[alk-3]

I put a bevel on the edge and rolled the edges for a bit of a worn in feel. I used thin strips of 320 grit sand paper to roll the edges.







It was then time for the side dots. I used a tortoise guitar pick to punch out the circles. I use the back end of a correctly sized drill bit as a punch.

[Paul]

brilliant!!!

[stryker59]

lookin good! cant wait for the next installment!

[alligatorbling]

i am in awe, your craftsmamship really shows!!!! the binding looks amazing. this is going to be one hell of a guitar when you get done. i cant wait to see the final product. i can tell your putting a lot of love into this project.

[alk-3]

Thanks for the nice comments guys! Feel free to ask any questions if something isn’t clear in my descriptions. Also if anyone has suggestions of how I can do something differently, pipe up!

Now on with the show…


I taped a piece of sandpaper on the flat surface of the table saw to sand down the face of the headstock.





I tightened the truss rod just a touch before sanding the neck's fret board surface so that I can be sure I’ll have a neck with slight relief one the truss rod is relaxed.

[alk-3]

I heated up some hide glue on my makeshift glue pot. Works very well!



I checked one last time for a proper fit and good alignment.



Once I was satisfied with the fit I glued it up and clamped it.

[alk-3]

While the glue was drying on the neck I measured and drilled for the bridge.



Once the neck came out of the clamps I inlayed the logo. I mixed up some epoxy with black pigment and pressed the inlay into place.

[alk-3]

Once it dried I sanded the headstock down to its final thickness. You can see just how much pigment got sucked up into the wood fibres.

[Owl]

What color is this thing going to be when it's complete? Great job!

[winger]

Awesome project ! Thanks for sharing.

[bk2d80s]

What is the neck profile like? Is it a rounded 50's or a slim taper neck? This looks really great, I wish I had the talent for guitar building! Everything from the hot hide glue to the tortoise dots, awesome attention to detail for a great quality replica!

[alk-3]

Originally Posted by Owl

What color is this thing going to be when it's complete? Great job!

For the colour I'm looking for something along the lines of 'bigconig's' R0, with maybe a bit more red saturation.

[alk-3]

Originally Posted by bk2d80s

What is the neck profile like? Is it a rounded 50's or a slim taper neck? This looks really great, I wish I had the talent for guitar building! Everything from the hot hide glue to the tortoise dots, awesome attention to detail for a great quality replica!

It feels alot like my standard faded 50's neck, which is pretty slim really.

It's not hard to build really, as long as you take your time and know when to quit for the day. It's easy to get carried away and ruin the sharp edges with too much sanding or scraping.

[bk2d80s]

I noticed you mentioned you got Honduran mahogany, I was wondering about that fretboard, is it Brazilian or Honduran rosewood? How is the weight of the wood? Did you pick out some light weight pieces?

[alk-3]

Originally Posted by bk2d80s

I noticed you mentioned you got Honduran mahogany, I was wondering about that fretboard, is it Brazilian or Honduran rosewood? How is the weight of the wood? Did you pick out some light weight pieces?

The fretboard is Indian Rosewood. Brazilian Rosewood is exceptionally difficult to get in Canada, and when you can get it, it's very expensive. It’s basically a cost vs. benefit thing. The Indian Rosewood blank cost $7.00 vs about $300 for Brazilian.

I’m not sure of the weight of the guitar but once its finished I’ll weigh it and find out. I chose from about 15 other blanks so I guess we'll see how it turns out in the end.

[bk2d80s]

Cool, I just noticed I screwed that question up, I meant to say Indian Rosewood not Honduran

[alk-3]

I mixed up some lacquer with powder pigment in it, but I did not mill it to blend it, just to see what would happen because I knew I would be spraying many coats of clear and wet sanding. Once the lacquer dried I scraped the logo.



After clear coating and sanding..





I then fit the nut to the neck using the sharp edge of the bone to scrape the neck and seat it well.



Then I marked for the radius of the frets with a flattened pencil leaving a little left for when it’s time for the guitars first set up.





I then formed the radius on the belt sander down to the line.

[alk-3]

I was finally ready to start the finishing process. I masked off the binding to start.



Then started by applying the grain filler. I used this dark brown because I like the way it works when a red toner is sprayed over it.



I removed the excess once it set up for a few minutes with some burlap working across the grain.



Then scraped the binding.

[timgman]

OMG. That's perfect. your skills are excellent.

[stryker59]

thats sweet!!!

[connor]

looks good! i wish i had the tools to build my own

[connor]

any updates?

[alk-3]

Here are some updates, things have been busy in the shop, and the finishing process is well underway on the guitar.

Some of the concentrated dye I will be using for the finishing.

[alk-3]

I masked off the neck, sides and back to get ready for the top finish.

[alk-3]

I started with a couple of coats of clear to seal it.

[alk-3]

I added a drop or two of amber to the clear lacquer so give it a slightly aged look.

[alk-3]

Once the burst pattern was formed I tinted the back and neck with red and scraped the bindings one final time. At this point the remainder of the spraying will be clear only, so if anything needs work, now is the time.