A 15 year old builds a '59 les paul

[nicudeemus1]

so basically this is going to be a 1959 standard, but with split parallelogram inlays, and push pull pot wiring.
I started this knowing little about woodworking, all ive really built is a big wooden catapult so nothing that required this level of precision or accuracy.
So I got most of my wood from tonetech (which I recommend for people in the UK if you dont want to be swamped on shipping on stewmac) and then plans, binding, frets, a nut and other odd bits from stewmac.
I found a nice site for inlays too called smallwonder music, also in the UK.
I did this by means of CNC and handraulics. I CNCd the maple top, and the neck and pickup sockets and did most of the cutting on a band saw then used a chisel, spokeshaves, planes and a few tricks I picked up on the way.
Anyway here are the pictures,they dont really explain the process but feel free to ask questions

[nicudeemus1]

some more pictures... I dont know how to put them on the writing part and the limts 5..

[nicudeemus1]

and some more

[adamajah]

Thats some cool lookin wood.

Have fun and good luck.

I'd like to see how it comes out.

[nicudeemus1]

more lol

[Chilli]

Cool, thanks for posting.

[nicudeemus1]

and the last ones

[TKOjams]

Good job, love the inlays.

[brv0625]

Great ! Im excited to see the outcome.

[SlashAppetite]

Looks very nice, very interested in this.

[Vistoluk]

Very nice. I know from personal experience that those split paralelagram inlays are difficult to put cleanly into rosewood. Nice job

[emoney]

You're doing great work!!! I wish I had started at 15!

[Guitarsquirrel7]

Dang! You beat me! I started at 16...

It looking great! And I agree, the inlays are awesome

[lespaul01]

nice work bud,, look forward to the finish

[nicudeemus1]

thanks guys... I was putting off the inlays for a while but a nice tiny router bit for my dremel so i could get the outside shape almost spot on 1st time and then finish up with a stanley knife.
If anybody else is considering these inlays you should definatley plan alot better than I did and make sure you have all of the shapes marked out before you start because if you find that some are not aligned halfway through like I did thenits quite hard to correct. luckilly i left a couple mils either side so i could change the taper either side to align them again.
I also dont know what kind of glue to use for the filler so any advice on that wuld be great!
Nick

[HOT-BRIT]

great work!!!
keep it up!!!!!!!

[Pennstate913]

CA glue and rosewood dust from the fretboard

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Pennstate913

CA glue and rosewood dust from the fretboard

+1. Either that or epoxy and dust.

Really great work. This is incredibly impressive and the fact that you are starting at such a young age augurs well for any future building you may do.

As for the pictures, upload them using tinypic or another similar utility, then insert them into the post using the 'Insert Image' tool in the text box.

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by emoney

You're doing great work!!! I wish I had started at 15!

We thought you did...and it's taken you this long just to get the neck done.

[Reverend D]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

We thought you did...and it's taken you this long just to get the neck done.

Regards,

Don

[nicudeemus1]

Thanks guys.. Im also a bit puzzled about how to get this 1 mil deep chp which goes from the edge of the toggle switch plate to the edge of the guitar. i dont think I can plane off anymore as I am allready a bit too thin

[nicudeemus1]

well heres a few pics of the inlay filling and shaping of the neck pocket

[Mr Teeny]

That's very impressive for someone who's just started, nice piece of wood , I could just about tie my own shoelaces when I was 15

[Pennstate913]

i agree that top and carve looks pretty nice!

[renthepen]

Originally Posted by Mr Teeny

That's very impressive for someone who's just started, nice piece of wood , I could just about tie my own shoelaces when I was 15

That's because you were smoking too much weed, dude.

[silverkw]

A 15 years old building a guitar that has 51 years of history?

I see what you did there.

[nicudeemus1]

OK heres some more pics of the body, and the fretting. sorry if some pictures are a bit fuzzy, they were taken on a phone. unfortunately couple of the inlays are very thin near the edges and two corners have chipped off. ive done my best to fill them with glue and mother of pearl dust.

[Barnaby]

You're doing an amazing job! The inlays look fine...and, once the strings are on and the board is oiled up, any flaws will hardly be noticeable. If, by any mischance, they are, then you can eventually put in new inlays anyway if you want.

The flame will really pop on the body, too!

[Fez Bear]

i did my first build around 15/16 and it was no where near as complex or as good as this. nice job!

[nicudeemus1]

Got some more work done this week, sorted out the headstock end of the truss rod channel. There was a bit of a problem when the holes id drilled in the maple were not lined up with the electronics route. You cant really tell from the pics but the cavity actually cuts into the walls at an angle to make space for the big push/pull pots. you can see where the wood came up to before I cut it.



And here's what Iv got so far

Thanks for all the comments!