yep- its 1959 time

[rockgod212]

hello all.........yep its time to start another couple 1959 LP build's. I have lots of new tools, upgraded some shop essentials, and I finally got Bartlett's replica plans and all the templates to match. im trying not to make any mistakes this time, so I will be taking my time and triple checking things.

so far I have joined the red flame maple top, the Hondo body is routed/ sanded- this one has lots of figure on the back- just stunning really, and im getting ready to take it out of the wine press I built some time ago.

the other LP has a Hondo body that I got off ebay- the guy started the body route and never finished it, so I bought it- got it cheap too, downside is the length of body is about a 1/8" shy of the fullsize length, not a big deal. it has the plain maple top that I got from menards joined and glued to the body so far. the top is a flitch match, not sure what species of maple- its hard though, looks good and the grain matches in center.

for these 2 builds I used UF glue for maple to body join- my new favorite glue.

well that's it so far, time to go finish making my hinge jig.

 

[SlingBlader]

Truly confused... you bought plans and templates; yet you used another body(ies)... a Hondo(s)?

 

[rockgod212]

Hondo..........short for Honduran mahogany..........I shouldn't have used abbreviations. lol......

 

[SlingBlader]

Hondo..........short for Honduran mahogany..........I shouldn't have used abbreviations. lol......

Whew!

 

[Nick-O]

The grain on the back looks wonderful.

 

[pshupe]

Whew!

Yeah I though he was making the body out of a Japanese automobile! Good thing. That would be really heavy! lol

Nice looking wood and great start.

Cheers Peter.

 

[rockgod212]

thanx guys, at least I didnt say bondo.......lol.......I gotta get more mineral spirits and I will take a better pic of the back.........its just stunning.....working on the other LP, doing control cavity routes, so pics of that one coming soon..........should I go ahead and do the angle in the control cavity while the top is flat or should I wait till the carve is done?

 

[nuance97]

You could probably do it now without issue, but it might be better after the top is carved.

 

[SlingBlader]

Yeah I though he was making the body out of a Japanese automobile! Good thing. That would be really heavy! lol

Nice looking wood and great start.

Cheers Peter.

Yeah, when I hear "Hondo" when we're talking about guitars, the first thing that pops into my mind was looking at those crappy guitars at the sheet music and piano store at the mall when I was a kid! (the same place that sold Crate amps when they were actually a real crate chassis)

 

[SlingBlader]

thanx guys, at least I didnt say bondo.......lol.......I gotta get more mineral spirits and I will take a better pic of the back.........its just stunning.....working on the other LP, doing control cavity routes, so pics of that one coming soon..........should I go ahead and do the angle in the control cavity while the top is flat or should I wait till the carve is done?

I agree with nuance97 on this one; It is more handy to do it while the top is still flat, but you will get a better feel for final top thickness if you wait until the top carve is complete. You're off to a good start! My apologies for hijacking your thread.

 

[rockgod212]

no problem, yeah I think I will wait on the control angle cut. gotta make a jig for it anyway. forgot there were really Hondo guitars. here's more pics.......mineral spirits added for detail. time to make the hinge jig, just gotta put it together.

 

[moreles]

Love the one-piece back -- beautiful piece; that flame top is great, too. Thanks for the thread. Eager to see how this goes.

 

[rockgod212]

here is the plain top, turned out really great. by far my best carve yet. the hinge jig I built helped lots. I know its early but im thinking this will be a dirty lemon...........

 

[rockgod212]

a few more pics after some contour sanding and with just the light from my drill press, the light really makes the top carve pop out. im no expert, but this is looking really good so far. its almost there. 4.4 degree neck plane/ 1.2 pup plane.

 

[nuance97]

Nice work so far. I would offer one piece of advice. Print a copy of the Ex-Nihilo profile templates. People print the routing templates and use them, and that’s a great start to a nice carve, but those contour profiles are SUPER helpful to keep you in the ballpark.

Now I’m not saying you’re carve is bad, but it looks kind of abrupt like the ‘recurve’ area is all scooped out extra wide as compared to the ‘59ish carve...if doing your own thing with the carve is the goal then cool, but the title of the thread would seem to imply that you’re shooting for something as faithful as possible to the real thing...

 

[emoney]

Ignore Nuance, he's like mr. perfect at these things(he knows I love him). It looks great.
Plus, some of that "scoop" will probably go away by the time you cut your binding channel
install it and then do the final sanding.
Keep up the good work!

 

[nuance97]

Absolutely feel free to ignore me! Lol...most people do.

 

[rockgod212]

no offense taken, this one is really my test subject, as im doing 2 this time and many more to come. the other has a red flame maple top which I will shoot for more detail. no worries once the binding is on and a final edge carve, this top is a hair over 1/2" at lower bout belly. yeah I tried to print the contour page it wouldn't print right, no worries though- I have a contour gage tool. the one spot I do need to work on is the switch blend, i will use a scraper, I have a violin scraper as well to refine carve. im just happy I finally got the neck/ pup planes right on the money. its strange though, the light really makes things pop out. in normal light conditions the carve is not as dramatic looking. compared to my other builds, I have learned a lot since then.

 

[pinefd]

Hey, rg, I agree with Daniel (Nuance) and his comments about the top carve...especially if you are, indeed, going for a vintage profile, as the title of your thread implies. Daniel and I seem to be the resident top carve nitpickers around here. And if it's of any help to you, check out my (and Daniel's) comments in this thread, beginning with my post, which is post #9: http://www.mylespaul.com/threads/my-first-59-les-paul-builds.422365/


Frank

 

[rockgod212]

yeah I read that thread..........I mean no disrespect or offense, but give me a break. the title of the thread is subjective in nature only. like I said this is the test LP of various build procedures that i have been trying to perfect my skills in. i would rather fuck this one up instead of the really nice mahogany back with the red flame top that is on the bench and a pic of in this thread, there will be another LP with much more detail and such. geese, I didn't mean to say or imply the plain top is complete and all, im happy with the overall way its progressing is all, besides are 2 les pauls really the same contour wise, each is different and unique in its own way, and that's what I strive for when I build a guitar. although good advise and points well taken.