Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to zetaboards. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Latest project: 'ebay' Les Paul; Some pics
Topic Started: August 5, 2009, 5:18 pm (4,655 Views)
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
At the ending of last year I bought a damaged but unused Les Paul body on ebay. It was new and unfinished and got damaged in transit to someone. It was offered for sale to anyone who thought could make something out of it. I got excited right away.

Now I can shoot myself for not taking any 'before pics', because the damages were quite impressive and interesting to see. So really stupid I didn't take any pics.
The damages were a completely ripped off neck with just the tenon (anchor point) remaining in the body. I had to route that out.
Also on the back the was a huge dent, through the binding and it fucked up the wood on that spot also. I also had to route that out and place a new bit of wood back in and redo the binding locally.

Here are some pics. More will come when it is closer to being finished.

Neck still in progress but it fits! I was/am so proud! It's my first time making this type of construction and it went very well.
Posted Image

Posted Image

Doing multiply binding all myself. First time ever also and it went great! The headstock veneer is Macassar Ebony. Something different than the plain Ebony you see on most Les Pauls out there.
Posted Image

The parts on my bed together with my Hetfield guitar
Posted Image

Truss rod
Posted Image

Glueing fretboard on
Posted Image

Dividing the neck into parts before carving the rounded profile
Posted Image

The tenon (part that gets glued into the body). You can see some small mistakes that are harmless and won't be visible anymore once it's in proper position.
Posted Image

Glued and clamping
Posted Image

Awesome and clean joint after cleaning up some excess glue
Posted Image


I don't have a pic of the overall look of the guitar yet, but it looks so awesome! :D Just imagine a Les Paul that is just the woodwork only, not parts on it yet, and no frets.

I will also take a pic of the repaired part on the back soon.

Thanks for looking! Any questions are always welcome. Don't feel ashamed to ask anything. :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ashley1993
Member Avatar
Poor Twisted Me
[ * ]
Wow, it looks really good so far. I like it :D

I would NEVER have the patience to do something like that. If I did just a little thing wrong, I would completely lose my temper
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Formal
Member Avatar
Frantic
[ * ]
This looks beautiful already!
The body looks lovely when it's natural, headstock is an amazing shape and the fret board inlays... :heart:
Great to see what goes into making a guitar.

Is the body made of quilted maple by any chance?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
untilitzzz
No Avatar
Some Kind Of Monster
[ * ]
Max!

WOW........It looks SO GREAT!! :D

The Macassar Ebony is beautiful! So rich and vibrant. What a nice contrast! Good choice :tu:

I know that I am old school but I truly adore the shape of the Les Paul. You are doing such a fantastic job bringing it back to life.
It is coming along brilliantly!!

I cannot wait to see more pictures.

Please keep them coming!!....but, don't rush :D

Thank you for sharing....You're the best!!

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
Thanks everyone!

Ashley: Well I know the feeling very well. The neck carving didn't go as smotthly as I expected and it really sucked all confidence out of me. Luckily my mom talked me out of that again and it's okay now.

Formal: The body and neck wood is mahogany, then the arched part is maple, WITH a thin veneer of Flamed maple on top. A real Gibson is made of flamed maple, but cheaper guitars often have a paper-thin veneer to keep the costs low.
With restoring I had to be careful not to sand through the top part, as it would most certainly make an ugly plain spot and the figuring would've been lost.

Carol: Thanks, you are too kind! :) It's funny how the Les Paul shape has grown on me. When I started guitar 6 years ago I was all about the Flying V and Explorer and nothing else. But since some years I'm a Les Paul man aswell now. I suddenly have 4 Les Pauls now. :o 2 handmade (this one and the Junior) and 2 cheap Japanese copies that I will sell over time again (because they are just not so good).
There's still many guitars out there that I have no feelings for. Mostly Fender shapes but especially the Stratocaster. I think the design looks very dated and I REALLY don't understand why EVERYONE has one. I like the more modern take on it (like Kirks guitars) a lot more!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
More pics!!

The restored part on the back. It wasn't possible to get the exact same wood simply because I don't know what kind of mahogany they used for the body. But this matched pretty close (same wood as the neck).
Posted Image

Posted Image

Where the neck meets the body. This whole surface feels like one piece. :D The neck binding is a bit more yellowish than the body binding but I don't mind. (Both are supposed to be plain white).
Posted Image

Headstock with multiply binding.
Posted Image

Back of the neck. When I build a neck, I prefer to make it with a volute (the bulb thing on the back) because it makes it stronger.
Posted Image

And finally a full view :)
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
untilitzzz
No Avatar
Some Kind Of Monster
[ * ]
Hi Max,

Yeah!....more pictures to get me through the day!

It came out really well!! The wood match is really close. When you say that it is supposed to be white...are you lacquering it to (yourself) sending it out?

I would have loved to have seen the before pictures. Was it really bad? Hard to imagine because it looks so fantastic.

Do you have a picture of all your Les Paul's, together?... :D That would be fabulous to see. Especially this one next to the Junior. hint hint.

Also...what tools did you use to make the neck and refurbish the back? Just really curious.

This is so inspirational (I want to make one) and exciting. Thanks again for sharing.

(I hope everyone, in the forum, looks over here to see how talented you are!)

Carol




Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
Hey Carol,

To remove the damaged part, I used a router And have it running along a straight edge so the cut would be straight.
The guitar is gonna be natural colour and the parts (all the metal) is gonna be black. It's gonna be interesting because I never see natural Les Pauls with black hardware. I'm not sure about what kind of finish. I hope I can get it professionally laquered, but I don't wanna pay another 360 EU for it. So I'll have to see what other places there are to get it done.

I will post pics with the other Les Paul when it's finished, because it will look much darker when it's done. Of course I can hardly wait, but I still have plenty of things to do on it. I also wanna see if I can get a logo made for it. I've been working on some ideas but I'm not sure yet.

Edit: Here is one of the logo ideas:

Posted Image

I'm also trying just 'MVH' in different styles.


What tools I used for the neck? Do you mean any process during making in particular? Because for the whole process, there's quite some stuff that is needed. The neck is the hardest part to make. It looks like this innocent stick on the body, but a body is done a lot quicker (if it is a flat top).

If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. There won't be any picture updates soon.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
...so metal...
Member Avatar
Just live!
[ * ]
Impressive! :tu: :horns:

You know, never before I was interested in how do they built guitars. Watching your great pics of how you're making those guitars and how you love doing it brings me to whole another level. Might sound lame, but it's true!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
...so metal...
Aug 7 2009, 12:00 AM
Impressive! :tu: :horns:

You know, never before I was interested in how do they built guitars. Watching your great pics of how you're making those guitars and how you love doing it brings me to whole another level. Might sound lame, but it's true!

That's great to hear Anica! :D

I think you already know that there's barely any handwork on cheap mass produced guitars. They have huge machines that carve the neck in a pre calculated shape and it's done. Pretty cool maybe, but I always find it weird that cheap guitars play so stiff, while more expensive guitars (with more handwork) always play a lot nicer. I guess it's the love a builder puts into it that makes it play and sound better than machine made guitars. (may sound cheesy, but I really think it's true).
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
~Orion~
No Avatar
~EvigLiv~
[ * ]
Wow! Really really awesome!! Cant wait to see the end result... I love Les Pauls. I love all guitars really.... I love the wood that you chose for the headstock, it's absolutely beautiful. I also like the fact that youre sticking to tradition with the shape of the headstock too. I see a lot of guitars that dont. And to me, sometimes its a bit of a let down because the shape of it just doesn't "GO" with the body. I think it will look great in a natural finish. I dont see many Les Pauls around these days, that arent either black, or "cherry sunburst" lol Its great that you're being original. I BET you cant wait to plug that baby in for the first time...! :biggrin

Cant wait for an update...

EDIT: Oh, and another thing... I'm highly curious as to how you learnt these skills... I've always taken an interest in guitars and everything to do with them. Is there a cousre or something like that available? I'd definiely enrol in it!!! :biggrin
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
~Orion~
Aug 7 2009, 08:41 AM
Wow! Really really awesome!! Cant wait to see the end result... I love Les Pauls. I love all guitars really.... I love the wood that you chose for the headstock, it's absolutely beautiful. I also like the fact that youre sticking to tradition with the shape of the headstock too. I see a lot of guitars that dont. And to me, sometimes its a bit of a let down because the shape of it just doesn't "GO" with the body. I think it will look great in a natural finish. I dont see many Les Pauls around these days, that arent either black, or "cherry sunburst" lol Its great that you're being original. I BET you cant wait to plug that baby in for the first time...! :biggrin

Cant wait for an update...

EDIT: Oh, and another thing... I'm highly curious as to how you learnt these skills... I've always taken an interest in guitars and everything to do with them. Is there a cousre or something like that available? I'd definiely enrol in it!!! :biggrin

Thanks!
For 2 years I did a course at an atelier in Belgium. See here CMB Puurs
But before that I already learned some basics at a guitarshop.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
untilitzzz
No Avatar
Some Kind Of Monster
[ * ]
Hi Max,

Thanks for the link to CMB Puurs. It's a very well done and interesting website. Fascinating.



"I guess it's the love a builder puts into it that makes it play and sound better than machine made guitars. (may sound cheesy, but I really think it's true). "
I don't think that sounds cheesy, in the least. :) I agree.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
Thanks Carol, no problem! :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Metfuk
Member Avatar
Don't Tread On Me
[ * ]
Hey people..

Just to show the project is still running:

Posted Image

Working on the frets.
The guitar is close to being finished. I only need to some some small work (try to design and attach a logo), and I still need a neck pickup.
It's really the last stuff, but it needs some attention to get it right.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Enjoy forums? Start your own community for free.
Learn More · Register Now
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Musicians Forum · Next Topic »
Add Reply