Thread: Body building

Can someone please tell me if the knob and switch holes on a LP are drilled straight or on the angle of the carved top? The plans I have don't actually specify.

Originally Posted by walcen

Can someone please tell me if the knob and switch holes on a LP are drilled straight or on the angle of the carved top? The plans I have don't actually specify.

Following the arc of the carvetop.

detail pics. .............http://www.classicvintageguitars.com/59lespaul/custom.htm

The 1959 Dan MacRostie plans show this also on the side-on view.
There's no measurement other than the plan visually showing each pot is
at 90 degrees to the top at each location.

Thanks Stu, I'll drill the holes after I've carved the top.
regards
Wal

Hi all, I just thought I'd post some more pics. progress has been slow as I've had other things to do.

I used my router jig combined with a 3 1/2 deg elevated base to rout the neck and pickup pockets and to surface the front of the body. I must have buggered the neck pocket up because it appears to be dead straight .

I made this 13 deg jig to clamp the neck into, and cut the scarf joint for the head stock. I think the next step should be to trench the curved truss rod cavity, I'm not really sure how wide, deep or long to make it, or how I'm going to achieve the curve, I'll work something out .

My local sewing machine repairer sold me this old sewing machine for $30.00, the motor and speed adjusting peddle will be ideal for winding my pickup's, when I've set it up on a bracket with the turn counter I'll post some pics.

Regards to all

Wal

Originally Posted by peterbrown

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

Hi Peter, yes I do like the look of the volute, my LP plane shows the neck and headstock to be 15 mm and my materiel is 23 mm so I should have enough wood to achieve it.
I;m not too sure where to place it, should it be under the nut? forward, or rear of the nut to achieve the best result?

Next Question
my plan indicates the truss rod size to be 4 mm, can it be 5 mm? I have heaps of 5 mm mild steel solid round,dose it need to be a snug fit into the groove? ,I only have a 6 mm trenching bit but I can get a new one if need be.

What's the favored materiel to use for truss rods, mild steel, stainless??

Do I need to replace a piece of timber over the truss with the same timber? and how tight should I make it, does the truss need to be really snug?

Sorry for all the questions, have heaps more but don't want to push my luck.

kindest regards to all

Wal

http://www.chicagofretworks.com/2008...stock-rebuild/

http://www.timeelect.com/g3-trussrod.htm


http://www.frets.com/FRETSpages/Luth...russrods1.html


sure you can use 5mm rod... lol

metal shouldnt touch wood,
should be wrapped in heatshrink or tape or something to make sure it is movable even if it gets glue on it from the filler strip...
with the tape or whatever around it, it shouldnt rattle in the slot.

dont be affraid to ask the questions you have....
better out than in....
and we are all fairly friendly here , we wont hurt you (much)

lol

Hi all you thread stalkers, I finally bit the bullet and routed out the truss groove, thanks for the advice Andrew BIG HELP, hey, it wasn't so hard, I don't even know what I was worried about. Maybe it was venturing into the unknown, or that something really bad was guna happen OR the horizontal plain was gona collide with another dimension, sh%^&*(##t I'm starting to sound like Charlie Cruse in LIFE.I think I might need a Nana nap LOL.

Anyway Here's the pic for all to peruse

regards

Wal

Hi Wal,

I generally don't place the volute under the nut (the peak that is), but usually back a bit. I personally like it so that when I place my thumb behind the nut ( for say an open F chord or something) that the curve up of the volute fits the curve of my thumb. No hard and fast rules on the exact location.

With the truss rod. i wrap mine in masking tape and then glue it in. The glue stops it buzzing and the masking tape keeps it sliding. Did you do a curved rout for the truss rod?

Cheers,

Peter

the way i did, and will keep doing my volutes from now on,
i focus the bulk of the wood right behind the end of the truss rod slot (where you stick the allen key in)
theres a big empty space there that compromises strength is there not? ....


dont you just love how that happens Wally....
you get so worried that you over think things only to realise its a piece of cake LOL
i do it daily

is that a hexagonal poker table the neck is sitting on???

Yes Peter it is a curved truss, I've added a better pic with the jig that I used.
thanks for your response Peter.

No Andrew its not a card table although I wish it was, it would mean I had time to play cards LOL, it is in fact my son's new computer desk, its framed with recycled red gum fence posts and inlay ed with vinyl. here is a better pic.

Thanks for the links on the truss rod pics Andrew.

And here's an update on the body

damn got all excited there,
havnt seen a hexagonal table for years
red gums nice!

the body is looking great man...

i guess i missed tthe part where you did the routing
lol

Hi all, here's a couple more pics.

I glued up the head stock scarf joint yesterday, man the pressure was on but I managed to get it straight. Gota get more clamps, a man can never have enough clamps.

Also marked out the frets on MDF to make sure I could do them correctly, I'm still cross eyed from locking at tiny measurements through a magnifier, I marked the lines with a razor blade to get them as accurate as possible, my plan seems to be out by 1mm between nut and 22 fret.

More questions .
Do I need to use the same materiel to fill in the truss groove?

Does it need to be curved to the truss rod?

What's the best way to anchor the truss? apparently there's more than one way to do it.

should I cut a thread on the truss or weld threaded rod on the end? Iff I weld stainless thread on the end it,ll never brake.

How do I drill the cavity for the truss adjusting nut?

Can I glue a face plate on top of the headstock and place the nut in between it and the fret board?

A penny for your thought's.

And Andrew, get some sleep or we'll have to change your name to nocturnal LOL.

regards

Wal

damn right a man can never have too many clamps

just stay away from those quick squeeze action ones you have there....
they dont give as much pressure as the screw type do
and in my experience they only last a few months at most...
the screw type clamps go forever

im not looking farward to doing scarf joints .... look like a huge pain in the ass to clamp up

you can use whatever you want as a filler strip....
no one will see it, it just needs to be a tight fit so it does what its meant to do..

i guess gibson rods and fender rods are simillar?
if so then the anchor is like a section of steel rod between 1cm and 1.5cm in diametre and about 1.5cm to 2cm long......
the end of the rod is threded and the anchor gets a hole drilled in it and its threaded,
screw it on the end of the rod and peen itso it wont come back out...

well thats my understanding of that style of truss rod
you could weld it if you want just for that extra insurance....
im waiting to get my trussrods welded just because i dont trust the thread and peen too much....


the cavity at the headstock for the truss rod adjustment can be however you want it...

you gotta remember it will be covered up and will only see the light of day a handful of times lol....

also are you putting a face plate on the headstock?
in that case you can rust rout a bit of a hole in the headstock itself and cut a fancy hole in the faceplate

http://www.chicagofretworks.com/2008...stock-rebuild/

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/anck.htm

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...adstock-LP.svg

have a read through this one
http://theaccidentalluthier.blogspot.com/

http://www.flatearthguitars.com/Flat...struction.html


have a serch through here, im sure all your questions + some would have been asked before lol
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=153772

this is a good one
http://www.bartlettwoodworking.com/guitar.html

this is a good one too
http://www.nmguitars.com/A_Handkerch...hambered3.html

Here are some pics of my home made scraper.

Thanx again for the links Andrew, you obviously have better web search skills than I do .

Oh and I managed to bugger up the neck tenon today, wont sit straight on the body, so I guess I'll need to take some more wood off it, glue up some offcuts and do it again.

That's what happens when you use a GMC miter saw that wont trench straight .