Attempt to get close to a '59 burst replica

lapdawg · 2014-01-20T22:38:01+00:00

Over the past few years I have built a few amplifiers and made even more cabinets, mostly repro's of Fender & Marshall amps. I done a reasonable amount of research & reading about amps & their construction but... I've always wanted to build some guitars. The closest I've come to building in all my years of playing is making lefty nuts for my string flips. Guitar building, as I am finding out is a different in some very fundamental ways. Most importantly: The amount materials needed, The levels of accuracy needed The amount of work and detail involved The number of tools & jigs needed Impatience is my biggest weakness, so that’s my personal challenge. My fascination with Gibson, especially the 58-59-60 bursts, means that this project can't be anything else. I have done a lot of reading on the construction of the 58-59-60 bursts. This is territory for obsessives & endless debate. I initially started out with idea that I would like to build a few completely accurate ’59s. The first thing I've decided is to build a few of them. 2 reasons for this: If I mess something up, then all my eggs are not in one basket. Secondly, with the jig building, lumber sizes etc. Its just not worth the effort to make one guitar. Through all the reading I have done, I have seen a lot of DIY build threads that just die. I promise I won’t do that. If I mess up, I’ll post it. That ambition of “completely accurate” has changed with a bit of discovery, most importantly: the availability of Brazilian rosewood, Honduras mahogany (Swetenia). The price & ethics that go with this are both a problem for me. The price of repro bridges, switches, fret-board inlays etc. is extreme. I am not sure that a first build will justify that outlay. These decisions need to be made as I go. Pickup rings that are "repro" can easily cost R2 000 with shipping & duties to add. Ridiculous. I've bought plans which I think are mostly accurate. They were supposedly modelled on 3 bursts that the drafter had access to. There are one or 2 details that haven’t 100% added up for me & some info that is missing. I have worked out my adjustments to these and think I have a good idea of what to do. I've bought African mahogany & sapele for the necks. I have been unable to find any info or sources for featherweight African mahogany, but I know it exists. It won’t be playing a part in this build. I have read that some of the bursts had sapele necks. I have ordered 2 pieces of tiger maple – eastern red maple. This was mostly what was used on the bursts. I want to make as much as I can, within reason. I will definitely do all the woodwork. I’m going to make & wind my own pickups. Obviously, tuners, tailpiece, bridge etc should be bought. I think it makes economic sense to make things like hide glue, fish glue & some of the plastic fittings. I've started with making the body templates & will post those later.

lapdawg

Rikus wrote I just stumbled across this thread at TDPRI regarding binding adhesives

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/461250-binding-adhesives-staining-tinted-lacquers.html

Seems like the consensus is that acetone does work!

Thanks - I'll read this tonight.

singemonkey wrote
Gearhead wrote Methinks Lapdawg on a roll here :applause:
Oh yeah. Exciting to see these guitars taking shape so quickly.

Thanks for the support. I am not 100% happy with 2 of the necks. I might redo them. Sometimes its better to slow down, go back a bit to go forward. I'll sleep on it & maybe do the fretboards and more on the bodies. I've just received some fretting kit from StewMac. I've also just received digital protractor & digital spirit level to get the angles on the neck and pickup planes.

I've put the 4th on hold. Its going to be a lefty, and the lefties from this era were very complicated animals. They did not mirror the RH instruments. I need to decide whether to add theses quirks or simply mirror the right-handers. I have to leave that for later, or it'll be too much at once.

singemonkey

lapdawg wrote I've put the 4th on hold. Its going to be a lefty...

I wonder who that one's for? ?

lapdawg

singemonkey wrote
lapdawg wrote I've put the 4th on hold. Its going to be a lefty...
I wonder who that one's for? ?

singemonkey

lapdawg wrote
singemonkey wrote
lapdawg wrote I've put the 4th on hold. Its going to be a lefty...
I wonder who that one's for? ?

Norman86

Great great work Lapdawg! Those are going to be mighty fine specimens 8)

Chabenda

Will these also come to be known as "Lawsuit" Models?? ?

chris77

I am ejoying this thread tremendously! Thank you for sharing :applause: :applause:

lapdawg

Norman86 wrote Great great work Lapdawg! Those are going to be mighty fine specimens 8)

Thanks Norman - its got its own momentum at the moment & its pulling me along

Chabenda wrote Will these also come to be known as "Lawsuit" Models?? ?

I hope so.

Seriously, though there are 2 issues here: I will not stamp them with the Gibson name or the "Les Paul Model". I would consider using "Les Paul Replica". Secondly, I'm not sure on any of the legal issues, but there's nothing commercial going on here.

chris77 wrote I am ejoying this thread tremendously! Thank you for sharing :applause: :applause:

Thanks Chris, the tricky bits are yet to come, so hopefully I can pull them off and maintain your interest.

lapdawg

Next up - I've started work on the fingerboards.
I got a long aluminium 12" sanding block from StewMac. I'm glad I didn't try and make one. This is a nice solid piece. I've planed & thicknessed a few rosewood boards to size. Each was screwed to the table. The screwed ends will be cut off later. Here I sanded them from flat to 12" radius curve. The white crayon line indicates that the curve hasn't covered the full surface yet.

Done:

I've made a mitre box. The fret saw runs through 2 columns of bearings. It works well.

I've made a rule of 18 scale / perspex sandwich & double side-tape the finger board to this. I've cut the first board using the template as a guide. I didn't do the full cut in the box.The fret saw has a depth stop that's used outside of the mitre box to give the perfect depth cut.

Rule of 18 spacing isn't used on modern instruments. Some still prefer it. Its supposed to be an important part of the burst sound. There are some VERY technical threads on the scale. Try this:
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/171960-24-625-scale-24-562-scale.html#post3300766
Not for everyone.

Next, I have made a rig to roll the fret wire to the curve of the board. I eventually got it right. I've curved the wire to 11" radius - pencilled onto the bench top. The cut fret board is also in the pic:

RobbieZ

I think I need to start printing this tread. Thanks, it only gets better! ?arty:

Stoffeltoo

Oih! Robbie. I can already smell sawdust and the whine of machinery in your man cave in the near future!
Lapdawg thanks for sharing and great post. I am envious not only for your skill but those nice machines, attachments, jigs etc. etc.

As a matter of interest have you calculated the cost of your machinery, extras and materials? I believe that it would come to substantial amount of Moolah which still cannot compensate for the time and love hand building any guitar

lapdawg

Stoffeltoo wrote Oih! Robbie. I can already smell sawdust and the whine of machinery in your man cave in the near future!
Lapdawg thanks for sharing and great post. I am envious not only for your skill but those nice machines, attachments, jigs etc. etc.

As a matter of interest have you calculated the cost of your machinery, extras and materials? I believe that it would come to substantial amount of Moolah which still cannot compensate for the time and love hand building any guitar

Thanks Stoffeltoo. I picked up a lot of BB ply from an imported German house that was auctioned off - apparently someone defaulted. Great bargain. I've used it for a lot of things - work bench, jigs etc. I've accumulated the tools over time. The lutherie specific stuff is all recent though. I've also saved a bit by making my own templates, glues, fret bender, mitre box etc.

lapdawg

I've just cut the neck tenons. First, I used a guide set at 94.4 deg. The neck angle to the body ranged from 4.2 to 4.4 deg. I'm using 4.4.

Next I sand down the tenon using a template and robosander

Clean up in the corners where the robosander won't fit.

All done.

singemonkey

Just a shaping away from being a guitar neck. Are you stressed about gluing the neck?

lapdawg

singemonkey wrote Just a shaping away from being a guitar neck. Are you stressed about gluing the neck?

I'm nervous about routing the body planes (pickup then neck) and the pickup and neck tenon routs. If I can get those done correctly, then I'll be ready to start worrying about the setting the necks. If I can get everything snug & lined up, then the gluing should be OK - I've never done it before so I going to find out.

I was thinking about your question on routing the pickups after fitting the neck. I think it was probably done that way because the neck has a chunk taken out of it for the neck pickup rout. You can see this was done after gluing. I do not have the kind on industrial tool to do that, so my rout will be done with a clamp before fitting fingerboard & gluing.

BTW - there's an interesting thread on an old jig found from the Kalamazoo factory:
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2092919 - It shows that the bridge was drilled & fitted only after the neck was in place. I will definitely be making one of those for this build.

That's me for today - I off to Blues meets Rock at the Hillcrest Quarry.

lapdawg

The pickup plane and neck planes have been cut. I made a hinged box to run the router on. I brace the box at the angles I want to cut each plane. The body is mounted in the box with double sided tape.

The plane that the pickups sit on is cut at 1.2 deg angle to mahogany plane surfaces. It runs to the tailpiece.

The neck plane runs up to where the fingerboard ends. It varied on the 50's bursts from 4.2 - 4.4 deg. I'm going with 4.4.

The end points of the planes are indicated by penciled lines. Next is the pickup and neck tenon cutouts.

Chocklit_Thunda

Now THAT'S attention to detail! Most guys just leave the pickup plane flat and only do the neck plane.

lapdawg

Chocklit_Thunda wrote Now THAT'S attention to detail! Most guys just leave the pickup plane flat and only do the neck plane.

The pickups are routed in at 4.4 deg. - hence the taper on the pickup rings.

The neck plane must be there - that's why the neck PU ring is thicker than the bridge PU ring.

lapdawg

The planes are cut and rough sanded on all 3 bodies.

I've started the routing for neck & pickup mountings but have stalled because I don'y have a long enough bit. It might have to wait until the weekend...

singemonkey

We can't wait that long! ?

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