Thread: My First Build - A Les Paul

Thanks for the comments, guys
Seb56, to me it plays great, but I'm just a loungeroom hack
Walcen, good luck with your build and show us some pics
Stewey, the logo is DWR, which is my initials and on my next build
(should have it finished by 2013) I plan to have a lot more detail on the logo

Excellent ax dude! Just about to start my first. Where did you get the plans from, and did they come with wiring diagrams?

When you first mentioned staining green, I thought, Uh Oh, he's gonna wreck it, but seeing the final result, I'm loving the green stain! Works well and really makes the guitar stand out as an original build.

Workmanship looks top notch and if this is your first ever guitar build, I can see a future for you in custom guitar making... Get started now!

Interested to know how it sounds. Silky oak is not traditionally a guitar making material... Some woods are MUCH better than others for sound quality... Play around with different species on future builds and you will find the species of wood can make a HUGE difference to the sound quality on the final product.

But, BLOODY AWESOME mate

I got the plans from the link below
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L3J0DHZO
Your printer needs to be able to TILE the image, if so
it will print out full size on 16 x A4 sheets of paper
There are 6 different plans on the .pdf, and some do
come with wiring plans, but I didn't use them
I got the wiring plans from the site below
http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/c...iringresources
I originally tried the wiring plans from the Seymour Duncan site,
but the guitar hummed every time I plugged it in
Having said that I could have stuffed up the grounding
Anyway this plan http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/WDUHH3T2204
works a treat
The soldering was very fiddly and is a bit untidy,
but I'm very happy with the sounds I get
Guys, thanks for the kind words
I have enough Qld Maple to build 2 guitars
I'll probably base them on Gibson SG's
One being a lefty (for my daughter)
I plan to start on these as soon as I finish building my amp
(Tube, 3.5 watts with 2 x 12 speakers)
The electronics are done, I have to finish the head and speaker cabs
I'll post some pics when I get them done

it is good you didnt listen to all those folks about the staining cos i simply adore green stained wood

nice guitar dayvo

Cheers for the link for the plans Dude. You sound like you're poised to start your own luthiery business! Man after my own heart!

Dayvo, I've just read thru your build - very nice !! That green finish is awesome.. Well done

That plan link is pretty cool too ! I'm off to the print shop now

I look forward to seeing the SG build

Could I trouble you for the precise green stain you used ? If it's in the post I am sorry for missing it. I have read the thread as carefully as I can and can't find reference to the product.

I think the finish is very attractive. The whole project seems extremely well executed, well done!

I used water based analine dyes
I made my own green by mixing the blue and yellow
It took a lot of messing around to get that green
I also bleached the Lacewood almost white with ammonia and
hydrogen peroxide, and at the time they were extremely hard to source
Without the bleaching I would not have achieved that colour
I got the dyes from Lmii, check the link
http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdpro...+Water+Soluble
I bought other stuff from them along with the dyes to save on shipping
The nitro lacquer I got from Protec
Check the link
http://www.protec.com.au/www/455/1001127/default.asp
Although I cant find any reference to nitrocellulose on their website,
they still manufacture it

How did you manage t get the 'black' strip around the edges?
Also, how did you apply the dye only the top, did you just mask the sides, etc?

Looks awesome

Hello Rhys
The binding 'black strip' was done after I had carved the top
I used the information from http://europa.spaceports.com/~fishbake/lpc/rbod/routbod.htm
(scroll down to 'Making the binding channel'), and made my own tool out of pvc pipe like John did. I took my time and it worked
Johns tool idea was inspired by http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sp...ter_Guide.html
I went to a plastics supplier here in Adelaide and bought some ABS plastic sheeting and cut it into strips
The only downside to this was that I had to sand down the inner side a little as the sheet was 2mm thick
With the dye I didn't mask at all. The binding was the barrier between the top and sides
I was very careful when applying the dye so it didn't run down the sides
To give you some idea of how I achieved that colour, I first had to bleach the Lacewood
several times until it was almost white. Again, the binding acted as a barrier
I then applied the green dye with a piece of flat sponge. (by the way, wear rubber gloves when doing this as its takes a while to get off of your skin )
I put on 2 or 3 applications, keeping the whole surface wet and more importantly trying to keep the colour even
It noticeably darkened with each application
Then I didn't touch it for about a week before starting with the finish
I will mention this with the clear coat that on my first attempt, I used a sanding sealer
under the top coat
I did not like the result and subsequently used the nitro topcoat only, putting on numerous coats to fill the grain and achieve a reasonable look
Dave

Thanks for that, looks awesome

I'd like to congratulate Dayvo on this build and also for taking out the
GOTM award.
Dayvo entered this guitar in for GOTM May 2009 (guitar of the month)

Congratulations Dayvo on a spectacular build and an outright smashing in the votes to earn yourself the title of GOTM May 2009.

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/in...howtopic=40489


Well done and may your future builds gain the same accolades.

Gorgeous

Jim