Thread: Body building

nice stuff walcen

tht routing jig looks like it can work as a planer! ...you use it tht way i presume?

the brass plates are beautiful ...nicely fitted

Tanx R3R, yes I do use the jig as a plainer and the tolerance is around 1- 1and 1/2 mm, not bad considering I knocked it up in around 20 minuets .

Now I just need some advise on weather or not I can go ahead and glue the top on or not.

hmn...think i will have to construct a jig just like yours cos i got a few pieces requiring cleaning up

and as for glueing the top ...this is first time i seen a LP type guitar tht is not hollowed out built this way! (i cant see any reason why you cant go ahead and glue it but will defer to those who have built LP's this way)

last time i built an LP i made the body blank to full thickness before doing anything so i am most interested in seeing how this build unfold

I figured I'd rout some weight relief cavity's to allow for the red gum veneer, I also made a plastic tube to fit into the wiring channel so that when I glue the top on, the glue wont ooze into the channel.

Hi all avid thread folk, I have another thousand and one questions but I'll only ask a couple I promise . I can't decide if I should leave the tasy oak on the body, natural or stain it Hmmmm I might need to play around with some scraps and lacquer when I get it, and can anyone give me a recommendation on the best way to create a head stem on the neck, I can think of a couple of ways but wouldn't mind some input.
regards to all
Wal

Has anyone seen this site? I found the results quite disturbing.

And can some one tell me what a volute is please?

http://www.edroman.com/rants/les_paul_necks.htm

regards

Wal

The finger rest shape behind the nut, if that makes sense. See http://www.monaro.com.au/guitar/1.htm the section starting Page 3, i know you have a new page Perry, its just where I was led by google...

When I was 16 (>35yrs ago....) a mate got himself a Les Paul, of course we all had a go and I have to say that I agree with Ed, to heavy and poor design. Interestingly he reckons the best Les Paul is Rick Turners. We do well to read Ricks posts very carefully!

Thanks Sebastiaan 56, I appreciate the input and I'll have a look at Rick Turners posts
regards
Wal

a volute not only looks good,
but if you read up on it, gibson necks are the ones that break behind he nut....
because of the angled headstock.. and the truss rod access leaves a mm or 5 of wood there in the centre... weak weak weak (thats why people have started doing volutes and spoke wheel truss rods at the end of the neck....)

im yet to see a fender neck snap....
even fenders that iv seen smashed onstage...
the body's ussually break in two or three and the neck stays in the blokes hands lol....
but fenders have a straight headstock....

Hey hey Andrew's back, thanx mate, volute it is then.

if yyou google it volutes,
you should be able to find a jig for rough carving one with a router
(you seem to like router jigs)

have a look around,
theres a few great volute designs around

Originally Posted by Andrew_B

a volute not only looks good,
but if you read up on it, gibson necks are the ones that break behind he nut....
because of the angled headstock.. and the truss rod access leaves a mm or 5 of wood there in the centre... weak weak weak (thats why people have started doing volutes and spoke wheel truss rods at the end of the neck....)
....

The real cause of this problem of broken necks is grain runout.

Grain runout means depleted strength, right where the neck to headstock transition is.
Caused by the high h/stock angle and the fact the necks are made from one solid billet with the grain parrallel with the neck, but not with the headstock. Bad design.
That's why high angle necks should be scarf jointed or laminated to create strength where it's needed most.

Should I consider laminating the whole neck?

Laminating the neck wont strengthen the headstock alot, however it will provide some increased strength. The best things that will strengthen the headstock at the transition is to use a volute as previously mentioned or the run the grain parallel to the headstock angle with a scarf joint, or alternatively using a headstock faceplate, which provides some additional strength along the headstock. If I understand your pictures correctly then you have done a scarf joint for the headstock? If so, then you shouldn't require a volute when you have a scarf joint unless you like the look of it. An example of a volute :



Cheers,

Peter