Revision of my first Les Paul build: Quilted Custom

[Delayar]

Hi!

Six years ago I built my first Les Paul (and 3rd guitar overall).
It is based upon the StewMac Plan of the Standard, with a Custom headstock and back binding:



It looks quite nice from a distance and in the sunlight.

But the color isn't quite right. it looks OK in direct sunlight, but otherwise it was too dark and dull. Also, I couldn't stand the faux abalone purfling.
Apart from that there were a few build flaws, the width of the maple binding wasn't regular, and I sanded through the finish in various places.





Apart from that, the woodworking was OK, the neck is straight and the neck tenon has a good fit. Only the fretboard was quite thin and one of the inlays had a missing corner (19th fret).

So I decided to remove the binding and go for a new finish.
The aim was to get a classic Black Beauty, but with a trans black top to show the nice quilt.

The following steps were planned:

• Remove the fretboard
• Removal of the old finish, at least on the top
• Revision of the top carve
• Revision of the headstock shape, filling of the recessed truss rod cover cavity
• Rerouting of the binding channels
• Multi-ply binding
• New fretboard with nibs (first try)
• Refinish with PU-lacquer

best regards,
Markus

[Delayar]

I started with removing the fretboard:



and the rough sanding of the top:



A new ebony fretboard came into existence:





Adn the nibs. It was the first time, but until I make an exact '59 replica, it will probably also be the last.




Regards,
Markus

[Nick-Ogden]

I'm excited to see where this is going!

[Delayar]

The next issue was the headstock.
It had a recessed truss rod cover, which I didn't want to use anymore. The wood at the nut wasn't very thick, so I decided to put in a patch of maple to provide good grip for the screw.
In this picture, the old wood and the lacquer in the trc-cavity are already removed.



Here a patch of maple is added and the cavity is filled with epoxy:



If you look at the binding, you can also see where I altered the shape.

After that, a new binding channel was routed:



And a 5-ply binding was added:



Best regards,
Markus

[Delayar]

The recarving of the top.

According to Ex Nihilo's carve template, the outer area of the top was rerouted:





And with some Sanding tools, it was brought to shape:






The white area was a try at pre-routing the recurve. It didn't turn out well, so it was filled with polyester.
It will vanish behind the blckburst anyway...

Markus

[Delayar]

the binding channel was made using my self made binding jig. The isnpiration to that is from many other build threads.





Top:



with binding:



Back:





After that, I glued on the fretboard:



Ready to finish!



Markus

[emoney]

Very nice work, Markus. I'm about to do something similar to one of my "early" builds
as I'm very disappointed in the binding work (it was my 1st attempt).

This thread has now served as motivation for me to proceed so kudos to you!

[TKOjams]

[Delayar]

emoney: It was also my first attempt at a binding. And my first attempt at wood bending with steam. I broke a few maple strips before I got reasonable results.
The channel was cut using StewMacs attachment for the Dremel. With that device, it isn't easy to get a consistent channel depth. Therefore, the bining was really messed up.

Ok, now to the new finish.
I used Stew Mac's black liquid stain, heavily thinned with water, to stain the top. I wiped the excess away immediately after application:



After the stain was dry, I shot lightly stained transparent black PU lacquer, and used black opaque PU lacquer to make a burst:



After that I lacquered the back and headstock black, scraped the binding and headstock inlays (I masked the split diamond) and shot some clear PU lacquer:





And after some more layers of lacquer, the final color shows:



Back:



Best regards,
Markus

[TheZ]

I think that's a perfect way to utilize a quilt top, with that tint and the the black burst it's absolutely stunning, congrats!

[Delayar]

After the rub-out (final sanding and polishing)






Regards,
Markus

[Kammo1]

Without being offensive and derogatory but that is a fantastic example that you can "polish a turd" nice work

[renthepen]

Originally Posted by Delayar

[TKOjams]

That looks so much better!!!!
Beautiful job!!!!

[JRo]

Wow, really nice job! I like it way better with the black quilt and white binding. Super sharp!

[Ole'Lefty]

May I ask what jig setup you used for the headstock binding/purfling?

[evolved_insanity]

Fantastic job. I loved the colour before but you are right, it was a little dull looking. It now looks great.

[Delayar]

Thank you all!

Originally Posted by Ole'Lefty

May I ask what jig setup you used for the headstock binding/purfling?

I used a binding router bit (rebate cutter) in a table router. The difficult part was to hold the neck with the body attached without tilting the headstock away from the table. Luckily, all went well. ;-)

She was finished and assembled yesterday:







I hope to take pictures in sunlight very soon. It is not easy to make good pictures of a black guitar indoors (especially without good lightning equipment)

I am really glad I did this conversion. I really like it better this way, altough I am a fan of blue guitars.
Well, I will be doing another one in blue, but this time without abalone purfling and tinted lacquer instead ofstaining the wood.

Best regards,
Markus

[babatube]

Originally Posted by Delayar

wow
i love that finish
excellent job!

[TKOjams]

You should be very proud, she looks like a different guitar. Absolutly beautiful now.

[Delayar]

I made a few pictures in the sunlight yesterday.
As I already said, I am glad I did this conversion. I do like her much better now.

















Thank you for watching.

best regards,
Markus

[djrussell]

The gold hardware really makes it pop. Well done man

BTW what would it look like with some metal top hat knobs, or even those original gold ones on there?

[makinbacon]

im naming it black water, take it or leave it, but thats what im gonna refer it as. its way cooler black and classy over blue.

[purevilpleasure]

Agua Prieta it is than.

[Delayar]

I named it "Stormcloud", but "Black Water" is also nice.

I chose Stormcloud, because the German word for quilted maple tranlsates as "cloud maple".

Regards,
Markus

[nuance97]

Stellar revision!!

[TKOjams]

Originally Posted by Delayar

I made a few pictures in the sunlight yesterday.
As I already said, I am glad I did this conversion. I do like her much better now.

















Thank you for watching.

best regards,
Markus

[Mr Teeny]

That's one hell of a transformation, I'm not surprised you like it better . I still get amazed at the skills of the luthiers on here and how easy they make it look.

Still makes me cringe when I see all these beautiful guitars lying in dirty grass or covered in leaves for the money shot though

[Delayar]

Thank you very much for all the compliments.

Originally Posted by Mr Teeny

Still makes me cringe when I see all these beautiful guitars lying in dirty grass or covered in leaves for the money shot though

It was a dry and warm day, the grass wasn't dirty at all.

Markus