kfowler8's Left-handed '59 Build Thread

[kfowler8]

Got a bunch of updates to make. Been working at it. Making mistakes but learning a lot. After a couple of nights in the basement, my wife, jokingly, said "Do you still like me?" Had to put down the tools for a while.

Next on the agenda was routing the neck mortise. This didn't start out so well. I was trying to hog out some of the wood and had a Forstner bit get away from me and damage part of the top. Long story short, it ended up most of it would be removed from the neck pickup cavity and the rest was sanded out or will be covered by the fretboard. Got away with one there.

I attached my template straight to the body to match the 4.4* neck angle and used a long straight bit and pattern bushing to remove most of the material. I went back with a smaller bit to clean things up. Worked well.

Next was the pickup legs. THESE THINGS SUCKED!!!! The hardest part was just getting the space to get started. Even using a Forstner bit. Add the template and angle and you need a really long 3/8" bit.

I ended up using my SM 3/8" bit, which is really short, to cut down to about the bottom of the pickup cavity. I then changed templates and routed the rest of the pickup cavity. After some suggestions from here, I just used a Forstner bit and Dremel to get the final leg depths by hand. Not as clean as I'd like but it did work.

Here's the results.







Here a little look with the pickups.



More to come.

[Barnaby]

Looking good - great with the zebras and that top. It's going to look stunning once it has some lacquer on.

I also find the pickup legs a PITA. This is why I do my cavities in the body before attaching the top...but it's probably not an approach for the faint-hearted. The risks associated with making a huge mistake are disturbingly high.

[kfowler8]

Next time I'm going to enlarge my template and use a plunge router and pattern bushing. This would make it much easier and more versatile.

[kfowler8]

I started working on the channel binding next. I had to spend a coupe of days building the floating jig. I need to take a pic since there seems to be many ways to do this. I used the channel bit from SM and started the rout. I got about 7" from finishing when the bearing fell apart and went flying across the room. Pretty pissed off since I was so close to finishing.

I called SM and they quickly mailed me a replacement. No questions asked. I thought that was pretty cool. Finished the rest with no issues.

Moving to the binding, I thought this would be fairly easy and I found it to be pretty difficult. Probably a lot of first time errors. I used CA gel glue. I ended up with a lot of gaps and I thought the horn looked really messy. After looking at it a day, I decided to take it all off and start over. I ordered some more binding and I'm going to try the Weld-on glue this time. I did use a heat gun around the horn but found there's a little technique to it. I think I was too close at first.

Other thing I learned was I don't like starting from the horn side. Next time I'm going to start from the top side of the guitar and work around. I believe this will be easier since it'll give a strong foothold by the time I reach the horn.

Side note, I tried baking a piece of binding in the oven on 170* for 5 min. It worked really well for making it more pliable. It was pretty hot but you could still handled it. May work well for around the horn.

No pics here. Just been spending time cleaning up the channels after taking the binding off. SM order should come in Thursday.

[Jan Folkson]

Looking good Kevin.

[kfowler8]

While I was waiting on the channel baring to come in, I started work on the fingerboard.

Using the SM fret calculator, I marked the lines on the board using a ruler. I think went back and used my caliper to get the exact distance. Using a square as a backstop, I continually pushed the calipers out until I got the correct measurement. Since my 6" calipers are too small to do the whole board, I used three different frets as new zero points. I then cut about 1.5mm depth.



Funny thing I found about this is there was no difference between using the ruler and calipers. It was a great way to double check but I got exactly the same line as using the ruler.

I then radiused the board. I discovered that my pressure was a little uneven to one side. To control this, I added two board on each side. So the radius block could only move along the board. Make sense?

I then drew lines to the correct taper dimensions and rough cut on the band saw. I think took a know straight edge board and taped to each line and ran it through my router table using a trim bit. Worked great. Nice and smooth.





At this point I'm waiting on some new binding and inlay bits from SM. Should be here on Thursday. I started drawing the neck profile on the neck block last night. Next steps will be finish binding, fingerboard and then start on the neck.

[kfowler8]

Wow!!! I can't believe it's been over two months sine I've updated this. I've been working on my build about every night for an hour or so. Hard to find time to update with pics.

I started on the rough carve of the neck. Got all the way to trimming the neck joint. I ended up not being totally happy with it but fortunately, I had enough extra material to make another. The second one came out better.

I did figure out a trick to cutting the truss rod channel at an angle. I basically used two sets of pennies to "prop" up the neck as it runs across the router table. It worked out really well. Here's some pics.




I mentioned this in another thread but my favorite tool for rough shaping the neck was the Microplane cheese grater I bought from Bed Bath and Beyond. I saw Freddy use this in one of his videos. Man that thing is awesome.

I actually found the shaping of the neck to be easier than I expected. I primarily used a spokeshaver, cheese grater and sand paper. I was trying to match the neck curve to that of my PRS. I discovered that the neck of the LP was a bit wider than my PRS. So even though I got the thickness the same, I still feel a difference. That's ok though. Still feels nice.

I glued the board to the neck and the neck to the body using hide glue. I've gotten much more comfortable using the hide glue.

I drilled the hole for the tail piece and bridge. I did these with a hand drill since the throat on my drill press is not deep enough. Turned out fine. Drill press would have definitely been easier. I drilled the ground wire cavity with no issue.

This brings me to a point I want to make to new builders. After installing the ground wire, I tapped in the tail piece bushings. All was fine until my ground wire broke off. I started to panic at first thinking how in the world am I going to remove that bushing without destroying the guitar. So I did a little research on the forum and found this.

Removing Bushings

Removing Bushings

This was so stinking easy and worked so well. So the point is, when you make a mistake, don't freak out. Most things can be fixed.

I started finish sanding the other day. I'm using the process mentioned here on PVX Guitars.

PVX Guitars

Basically it's 120, 220, 320, 400 grit and then Scotch Brite. I finished that this weekend but found some touch up spots I need to address. Basically where the glue is acting like a filler.

So here we are. Pics with dry fit and then naked.

[kfowler8]

I've started some test pieces for staining. I'm using Stewmacs water dyes for a hand rub. I'm working on the double stains at the moment.

[Frails]

Looking good fellow Lefty!

[Barker]

Originally Posted by Frails

Looking good fellow Lefty!

I'll second that.... !

[kfowler8]

Well the last piece, I think, for my build came in today. My wife called and said my custom logo from Tulsah had arrived. Here's a pic. Really like what he did with connecting the "F" to the "o". Essentially the connection will be covered so it looks like the "F" stands alone.





I started staining last night. I'll post some pics tonight hopefully.

[emoney]

I don't think I'd stain those logos, Kevin. They're meant to be already finished.




(buwahahaha....just kiddin'. That's very cool and Tulsah is 'da bomb)

[kfowler8]

Here's some pics of the staining.

I'm using the SM water solable stains. I used tobaco brown as the flame enhancement. I let it sit over night and then sanded it back. The pic here is much lighter than it looks as this is before I sanded it back.



Next I did the vintage amber. I actually sanded this back off after this pic and re-did it. There were some brown spots left over from the brown stain I didn't like. I originally sanded back by hand but this time I used my orbital sander and 320 grit. Worked much better.

This pic probably looks a tad more orange than reality but it's a pretty good amber color.




I'll start doing the transition color and orange tonight.

Meanwhile I also routed the inlay and installed.

[kfowler8]

Getting ready for the final stages. I filled and sealer the guitar but didn't like the results. So I stripped it again and tried a tinted filler. Much better results. I'll seal tomorrow and start finish coat by the weekend. I'll post some pics soon.

[kfowler8]

One attribute that's really helped me in life is not being afraid to fail or in a lesser sense, make mistakes. That's part of learning. As I reach the final stages of this build I've been reflecting on what went wrong and what I'll do differently next time.

What I think has turned out well:

• Neck shape
• Top stain, really, really happy with this
• Neck mortise

What I need to improve on next time (the short list):

• Binding; My bodytearouts are all from this
• Fret installation; I've got one I still need to level on this one
• Pore filler: I'll use a better color. Ends up "natural" is white as chalk
• Headstock painting

So back to the build. After stripping the sealer and using a dyed darker pore filler, I resealed the guitar. I added the "Les Paul" water decal from Croxguitars. Really nice product and came out well. I highly recommend.

I put my first 3 coats of clear lacquer on tonight. Using Gator's spray can finish schedule, I'll add more coats the next 10 days. Then it's waiting another 20.

Here's some pics after today. The color is close to the second one. I wish the flame looked like the first all the time but it's a little more subtle than this. Still really nice. The color is a vintage amber fading to orange.





Here's the headstock

[155]

that top looks perfect..

[kfowler8]

Originally Posted by 155

that top looks perfect..

Thanks, it's really growing on me. I lost some of the flame when I carved it. It's not as nice as some others I've seen but actually resembles many of the '59s. I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Looking forward to seeing the final buffed look.

[kfowler8]

Put my final clear coats on last night. Took these pics today. It'll hang for 30 days. I get back from England on the 25th so as soon as I get home, it'll be off to the final stages. Pretty pleased.

Note: The pic of the headstock came out really grainy. It's smoother than this pic.

[kfowler8]

Approximately 7 months later, she's complete!!!

This has been such a great experience. Frustrating at times but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. There's definitely some rookie mistakes in it. Fortunately the mistakes give it a real vintage vibe.

I took it into Guitar Center today to test some cases. The guy behind the counter said "Wow, that's a really cool old Gibson." I had a pretty big grin. Also got a crack out of the girl checking it in at the door. She wrote down what type of guitar it was as "Fowler". She then asked my name. I said "Kevin". "And your last?" "Fowler". "Oh, that's pretty cool." HA!

The guitar itself plays well so far. It's a big difference from my PRS which I've played for the last 10 years. Especially with the neck. The LP has a bit wider fret board and you can really feel the difference. It's a bit on the heavy side as well at 9.9 lbs. I just ordered a 3" strap to help with that. I haven't had a chance to really try it out yet as it was late when I finished it last night. I had to use my Line 6 amp for a short run.

I've got a couple more items to clean up on it but overall it works!!! The intonation on the G string needs some fine tuning.

Here's some things I'll need to improve on next time.

• Frustratingly, I sanded through a couple parts of the finish on the top. I taped off the sections and sprayed more lacquer over the top. This solved the sanded problem but no I have to wait another 30 days before I can sand and blend it in to the rest of the finish. It's not noticable in the pictures.
• I'm not happy with the way the nut gap turned out.
• I had some tear outs from the binding channel and the binding could look more uniform.
• I definitely want to use a arbor press next time for the frets.
• I like the top but I'm a little disappointed with how the flame turned out. Especially around the carve areas. It's got a great 3D look but you have to look at it closely. In the end the top to me resembles what I've seen on many of 59s. I would also like to have darkened the orange a little more. The guitar looks too much like a lemon burst.

This board has been an invaluable resource and pretty bad enabler. I'd like to thank some specific people who really help me along the way: my wife who let me disappear for hours into the basement, emoney, Barnaby, Gator Payne, TKOjams, ExNihilo, alk-3, bruce bennett, H.E.L. Shane, ltdave32, szslash280z, Freddy G, evolved_insanity, dougk, dickjonesify, D Rhinehart, greenhorn and Time-Bandit. I'm sure there's others I've forgotten but thanks for all the help.

Special thanks to RICH/CANADA who we lost last month. Rich and I started our builds at roughly the same time. He posted a lot of the same questions I was struggling with so his posts became a valuable resource. He seemed to have a great attitude even up to the end. The picture of him sanding a guitar with his 3 year old was priceless.

So here it is:

[Dino Velvet]

Should you decide to build a few more let us know.

[kfowler8]

Originally Posted by Dino Velvet

Should you decide to build a few more let us know.

I've got two in the works.

First is a righty PRS CU 24 style for a friend. I was pretty hesitant at agreeing to it but he talked me into it. He's buying all the wood and parts and I'm not charging him anything to build it. Seems a good way to learn.

Second will be another lefty LP build. Spanish cedar body with chambers, Indian Rosewood neck and board, quilted maple top, string-through, and blue top. So far I have the neck wood and that's it.

[Knarbens]

Nice job and really cool guitar center story!
The long journey of experience has to start somewhere
and only who is doing nothing can't make mistakes!

[JimmyPage968]

Great to see another lefty!

[Larsen]

She's looking great, Kevin. When seeing it there's the feeling that I'd like to play it, unfortunately too many miles between us :-)
For your upcoming projects: I have build a guitar out of spanish cedar, it was that lightweight that it wouldn't make sense to chamber it but perhaps it just was the piece of wood I got. But more important was the smell, again Isay I just can Talk about the piece I had but this one was a pain in the .... I didn't get the smell and the taste Out of my nose and mouth. My wife was shocked about how my clothes smelled ( because of the Wood xD )
I will never use this again, check the piece before buying it.
Regards
Lars

[kfowler8]

Originally Posted by Larsen

She's looking great, Kevin. When seeing it there's the feeling that I'd like to play it, unfortunately too many miles between us :-)
For your upcoming projects: I have build a guitar out of spanish cedar, it was that lightweight that it wouldn't make sense to chamber it but perhaps it just was the piece of wood I got. But more important was the smell, again Isay I just can Talk about the piece I had but this one was a pain in the .... I didn't get the smell and the taste Out of my nose and mouth. My wife was shocked about how my clothes smelled ( because of the Wood xD )
I will never use this again, check the piece before buying it.
Regards
Lars

I've actually heard that issue before with Spanish Cedar. I'm having some trouble locating a blank so I may go the Sapele rout instead.

[Dino Velvet]

Nice to see another lefty building lefties. I would be interested in an LP. I think you may really be onto something here. Especially putting your own name on the headstock. That's the way I would want mine. I have enough Gibsons from Gibson. Never really got why people put Gibson logos on hand made guitars.

[kfowler8]

Originally Posted by Dino Velvet

Nice to see another lefty building lefties. I would be interested in an LP. I think you may really be onto something here. Especially putting your own name on the headstock. That's the way I would want mine. I have enough Gibsons from Gibson. Never really got why people put Gibson logos on hand made guitars.

On that note, when I first was considering this I thought about going for the original Gibson logo. After reading many of the threads on hear I kept reading "Why are you going to put someone else's name on your hard work." That really started to sink in, that and the legal aspect. Now it's what I'm most proud of. Definitely happy with that decision.

[tex_lt]

That is one fine lookin' guitar brother,congrats on the build!

[TKOjams]

That came out beautiful, Man.

[Ryan]

Looks ace, and bonus points for being a lefty