Thread: following les paul blueprints?

The pickups should be routed to suite the exact ones that you are going to install, (most will be the same). If you buy your pickups then you will be able to route a hole to suit it.

Ps: keep in mind the bridge position is marked from the neck length so you'll need to know what that is before you route the bridge pickup.

most pickup company websits have a page with dimensions on them....
well i know emg does....

theres plenty of info on the net... google is your friend

ahh and yes... you cant just go in and rout it....

hell of alot of measurements to do before you get to that stage

Now u see, I thought that if I was gona build a Les Paul to it's own specs and using its own specific components as per the genuine product then all the measurements should be specific. Gee I feel sheepish, that's what I get for coming from a machanical engineering back ground. Look's like I'll need to spend shtload of time researching before I can even start on the fun bit.

lol

you probly want to get a roll of paper or tape together a few A3 or A4 sheets and draw up a full size diagram of the lp you want to build,

i started doing that recently....

so you will need to figure out what scale you want it to be... lp's are shorter scale than a strat yea?

so you will draw up a centre line...
then draw the neck...
use fretfind (i think its fretfind... i have a few programs that do it) to get the fret spacing print it out, make sure its printed out properly and not too big/too small... and plot that along the edge of the neck you had just drawn,
(you will use this later on to stick to your fretboard and cut your fret slots.. if you do it that way...)
then work out approx where the bridge will be (nut to 12th fret, 12th fret to bridge should be the same, with enough play to set intonation)..
and work the body around that.... then draw up the headstock...

then just work out the placement of the knobs/strap buttons/pups/etc...

thats how iv been doing it...
but im no pro

and thats all assuming your building the whole thing from slabs and not from parts?

im sure more experienced people will jump in here ... im sure i missed lots of stuff...

but yea.. everything is online... its just a matter of spending the time and reading and finding it all....

"Free" plans on the net very rarely include enough detail for the first time builder. These plans will though:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....m=120358626082

(My ebay listing)

check your email when you get a chance...
i sent you some goodies

Hey Andrew sorry for the delayed response, been in Ararat the last week overhauling the pub plumbing. Thanx for the goodies they'll come in handy . Just a question to ask, I see one can buy some fairly good Les Paul copy's for around $400 to 600, so roughly how much would good quality hardware cost for a home build aside from the timber.
regards
Wal

hmm...

well..
id buy from Ormsby
(and i am planing to soon... he seems to have the best range of products at fair prices)

he seems to have the little things that someone building from scratch can use.... (side dot material, radiused sanding blocks, nut blanks, fretting tools, electronic components etc... i think he sells titebond too....)

http://www.ormsbyguitars.com/parts.html

you will need to figure out your needs and your wants

so get the needs down (basic parts you will need) (tuners, bridge, fret wire, pup rings, nut, 3way switch, pots, jack, jack plate, truss rod, etc)
and decide if you will be able to make templates... (might want to get a pickgaurd blank to make your cavity covers if you decide to make your own templates)

once you have your main parts written down and have found their prices....
then you can look at the wants .. (inlays, paint/stain, binding, etc)

then you will need a few specialty tools.. for fretting... and shaping...

that should be able to keep you around the 500 mark..
well i reckon it will haha

thats how i do all my stuff....

a guitar doesnt have to be expensive to be a great looker and player

but im no pro....

Hay ll, how go's it? Ive been looking at the Les Paul cad file. Man with auto cad 9 you can measure every thing down to the last micro mm.
Having done so I noticed that the LP body isn't symmetrical, the lower outer curve at the cutout is about 3 mm shorter to the center body line than the top outer curve near the switch, there for the two halves of the body aren't mirror imaged. I have found this with all LP drawings that I've measured Sooo are all the drawing incorrect? or was the LP actually made that way, This is just a question of interest as one might ask why such an expensive instrument was built asymmetrical.
Kind regards
Wal

If you've ever spent any time with a quantity of Gibson instruments, you'll soon realise body symetry is the last thing they need to worry about. Nuts that are cut wrong, dodgy fretwork and binding, sloppy neck joints, headstock break issues, and incorrectly positioned bridges that cant be intonated are just some issues...

Plus, I dont think ANY guitar with a single cutaway is going to be symetrical on both sides.

If it's mass produced it'll eventually turn to sht and if u want it done right u gota do it your self.

thats right

cnc guitars.. yuck

make the guitar your own....
draw what looks right to your eye

Why is the les paul bridge on an angle ?

Because they didnt design the tunomatic with enough saddle movement to allow all the saddles to be correctly intonated on all strings. Of course, they havent revised this design, because then it 'wouldnt be right'.