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Thread: Les Paul Kit Build
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30th July 2010, 11:31 AM #1Member
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Les Paul Kit Build
Hi Guys,
After lurking for a long while I decided to sign up and have a go. I have been building a Storer PDRacer (sailboat) but wanted a more indoors winter based project and decided to have a go at Luthery.
For my first attempt I thought I would go with a kit build and after a bit of negotiation direct with a Chinese supplier I got my hands on a 'sample' Les Paul kit.
The kit itself seems ok. Its a bolt on neck rather than a set neck, and the body seems to be basswood with a tiger maple laminate top. I am planning to stain the top either blue or green using water based dyes and then seal with spray estapol (search on this forum works a treat).
I have tried to fit the neck into its socket but it seems a little bit too big (the neck that is). Is sanding the best way to get the neck down to size and ensure a tight fit? Or should I route the pocket out a little?
Also if I have a really tight fit with the neck joint, is it possible to just glue the neck on with epoxy + high strength filler/glue (boatcote) and not worry about putting the screws and base plates through the body to secure the neck?
Also how does the neck angle required for the tunomatic bridge work with a bolt on rather than set neck?
I'll post some pics after I pull them off my camera.
Tim
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30th July 2010 11:31 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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30th July 2010, 12:05 PM #2Member
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Hey Tim,
I'd bolt the neck on unless you are really sure about making it a set neck and know a sure fire way of doing it. Set necks are popular with some people as they believe you get better sustain from the guitar overall as it acts as one piece of wood rather than two. It maybe true but I've yet to hear a difference as it is very subtle, to the point where it really doesn't matter. Plus, if you decide to do some work on the guitar later on, it's just easier to do if you can take the neck off.
If you are going to make it a set neck, you better get the angle right and make sure while it sets, it doesn't move....a few millimetres up or down could present a huge problem.
Kits are ok, but they are hit and miss, trust me I know, I've seen good ones and bad, but if you want to develope an interest in building they are a good place to start. You'll learn a lot from building a kit, they almost always require extra work or a repair or two, as in your case, the neck. They usually are a tight fit, try slotting it in on different angles, you may have to fit it half way up the neck pockets and then push it the rest of the way. I had one I was sure was not sized correctly by looking at it, but after a few attempts i did get it to fit. But if yours is just obviously not right by a country mile, you've got neck pocket work to do. I've never resized a neck pocket so I won't try and offer advice on that subject, but someone here will help you out with info.
Good luck with,
GG
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1st August 2010, 09:09 PM #3Member
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Hi GG,
I'm not fussed about making it a set neck or not. The set neck usually just looks neater. I have never taken the neck off a guitar in the past and have never had a need to either.
I managed to get the neck into the neck pocket. Its a really tight fit, but with a bit of banging with the palm of my hand it went in. It appears that the neck angle has already been allowed for in the routing of the pocket so there is no dramas there.
As I know very little about making guitars the kit is an easy entry for me. I'm not worried about reproducing the perfect les paul or whatever, just as long as I have something that plays with some form of sensibility is all I'm after. Anyway, as promised here is a pic of how it arrived in the box.
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1st August 2010, 09:11 PM #4Member
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Opps that pic is a little small. This one may be better;
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1st August 2010, 10:28 PM #5Member
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Great, you got it to fit....excellent, and it a tight fit which is good. Post pics of your progress if you can, will be good to see how it comes along.
Cheers,
GG
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1st August 2010, 10:32 PM #6
Hi Tim,
When I'm fitting up the dovetail M and T neck joint on my acoustics I always adjust the fit by trimming the tenon never the mortise. When you test fit the join rub some chalk on the inside of the mortise and the chalk will remain on the high spots on the tenon. I use sanding sticks for fine tuning my tenons.
A kit is a good way to get into luthiery without going to the expense of a full tool up but eventually you'll get adventurous and come to the dark side that is acoustic building
Cheers MartinWhatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)
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2nd August 2010, 02:33 PM #7Member
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Thanks guys. I will try the chalk trick, although its an extremely tight fit so it may be hard to see where the high spots are due to smudging.
I am going to order my dyes from u-beaut now, fingers crossed I can start staining on the weekend.
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9th August 2010, 09:00 PM #8Member
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Just a quick update. The weather was good on Sat so I spent some time working on my boat and not the guitar but I did manage to get the first stain on.
The pic below is of the body wiped over with some water to raise the grain.
I then waited for it to dry before applying u-beaut green-black water dye. I made up a pretty dilute mix and added a number of coats allowing to dry between each one till it built up to this level of colour.
It has dried out completely now so I'll sand it back tomorrow night and then stain over it with a strong blue to hopefully get the look I am going for. I plan to rub it back with 320 grit paper and hopefully I won't go through the veneer!
I plan to stain the back and neck a red/brown colour. I might get that done tom night as well. Fingers crossed.
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2nd October 2012, 09:22 PM #9Member
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Long awaited update
Hi All,
I just wanted to update the forum now that over 2 years later I have finally finished this 'short' project! In the intervening period I bought a house and had a baby etc so I had legitimate reasons for taking my time lol.
Anyhow to the short of it I had a professional automotive clear coat put on the guitar which is ok but not the best. The guitar looks ok, but up close the finish is not great but then I also learnt a lot.
The neck angle ended up being a problem as it set a ridiculously high action, but I shimmed it a bit and now have a very nice action. I ended up bolting the neck on.
The wiring that was supplied was a bit of a mess so I pulled most of it apart and started from scratch using schematics found via google. I was pretty proud when it all worked straight away. Suprisingly the guitar is very nice to play and sounds reasonable as well. Who would have known. Anyway a picture is worth a thouand word - sorry for the crappy camera phone, but its better than nothing.
Tim
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3rd October 2012, 08:50 AM #10Intermediate Member
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That is SWEET!
Nice work
Rob
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3rd October 2012, 08:56 AM #11
I've got the SG kits that I have not started on yet.
Prefer the Les Paul but I "have already got one you see" so went with SG.
Don't think mine has as nice a top as yours so not sure if it will be dyed or painted.
I should make a start on it...
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