Thread: 59 les paul

Umm, ive not made a solid top electric, But when ive carved mandolin tops, ive had a off the shelf model to copy and aim for while i carve, which i found to be a great help. Perhaps you could do the same with a les paul, copy, epiphone, gibson etc, tho i think youll have a bit of trouble finding a 59, unless youve a few hundred thousand to spend

they are pretty much all the same so if you even got a reasonable LP copy or a Epihone you will be very close. Don't get too hung up on trying to duplicate it to the last detal because it will never be 59 leas paul.

However having said that i would say that a great way to learn building is to copy a well proven design. Success is assured and as long as you dont try and pass it off as a LP its fine. Thousands have copied the stradivari and guaneri fiddles and many have ended up great instruments and very valuable..

you could have a look at the way bob benedetto carves his tops in his book.....

or borrow a les paul you like and make some templates out of cardboard ?

you can get a contour gauge at most auto body shops. Or check for a carving radius on the plan and make a template from that.

Best thing I can think of is to get strips of firm cardboard, get a loan of an LP, and gradually cut the shape into the cardboard. Just keep gradually cutting out the curve in the cardboard until you've got it right. Do that say across the body, tail to neck, diagonals etc to build up a few different reference curves. Also, take heaps of photos.

I'm copying an ESP Alexi (Randy Rhoads shaped V guitar) at the moment, and I found a collection of really good close ups that allowed me to get the idea of how smaller parts are built/shaped. They'll be invaluable when you're running your hands across the curve and trying to figure out where to go next.