Thread: gibson double cutaway

Originally Posted by jeffhigh

A gibson Les paul single or double cutaway is probably the worst choice for a first guitar build particularly with a restricted time frame.
-it has a carved maple top which is quite a challenge
-the edge is bound and the neck is bound which adds to the time requirements
- the set neck has to be just right in angle and this need an understanding of the geometry which you are unlikely to posess yet.

For a 12 week project you would be better off with something else, perhaps a bolt on style using a premade neck and just build the body.
Not trying to say you should never build a Les Paul, just not in this time frame for a project you have to finish for assesment.
Having seen LP builds documented it would seem quite easy to spend 48 hours just on building jigs and templates

you make a convincing argument would it be possible to make they body and buy a pre made neck?

Yea there are plenty of places to buy necks from off the net. Ebay has plenty!

Gibson style necks are harder to come by than bolt on fender necks and the les paul style body is a lot harder to make because it is a mahogany back with chanels routed in it for the electronics then a maple top is glued to the front, carved to an arch, binding channels cut , routed for pickups and neck etc, Just a much more involved.
If I were to attempt to build one in 12 weeks I would want to have all the templates and jigs made beforehand, all the timber,parts and electronics in hand and a thorough understanding of the process, and be able to work outside the 4 hours of class
Cheapest way might be to buy a kit like this
Les Paul Style Electric Guitar Kit - eBay, Guitars Electric, Instruments, Musical Instruments. (end time 21-Jun-10 21:56:02 AEST)
and then build your own body to replace the kit body.

Originally Posted by jeffhigh

Gibson style necks are harder to come by than bolt on fender necks and the les paul style body is a lot harder to make because it is a mahogany back with chanels routed in it for the electronics then a maple top is glued to the front, carved to an arch, binding channels cut , routed for pickups and neck etc, Just a much more involved.
If I were to attempt to build one in 12 weeks I would want to have all the templates and jigs made beforehand, all the timber,parts and electronics in hand and a thorough understanding of the process, and be able to work outside the 4 hours of class
Cheapest way might be to buy a kit like this
Les Paul Style Electric Guitar Kit - eBay, Guitars Electric, Instruments, Musical Instruments. (end time 21-Jun-10 21:56:02 AEST)
and then build your own body to replace the kit body.

that sounds like an idea, do you know of any sites which sell les paul necks?

also i came along this Guitar PLANS - Gibson Les Paul double cutaway fullscale - eBay, Guitar Builder Luthier Supply, Guitar, Musical Instruments. (end time 08-Jul-10 13:43:45 AEST)

would this be worth while buying?

I bought a firebird plan from that guy which was absolute rubbish and he would not refund or acknowledge that there was a problem.
I make my own necks so I am not in touch with sources for premade.

check my earlier post out brah up that way, i linked you up to some plans, free!! or you can pay me? jokes.

a mate of mine at school did a guitar for year 12 project, needless to say it did last more than a week i think...lol...but yea.

Originally Posted by Hearse

ah yea Arran,

these 2 links should help you out a bit dude

http://web.mac.com/wes.folkerth/folk...-ver10full.pdf

http://web.mac.com/wes.folkerth/folk...files/LPJR.pdf

they are in PDF so save them to your ../ then scale 'em up to 100% and print

success.

first link gives your the head stock, second link the body and angle etc.

rock on dude

thanks heaps mate must of overlooked your post.

do the lp jr's have the same body size as the double cutaways?

Hey Arran,

couple of links to LP necks on ebay (in Australia) for you mate, hope it works out well for ya! Ox

GUITAR NECK LP CUSTOM Sanded & Sealed 22 Jumbo Fret NEW - eBay Necks, Guitar Accessories, Instrument Accessories, Musical Instruments. (end time 15-Jul-10 16:18:35 AEST)

JPV LP Guitar Neck Mahogany Cherry Finish - eBay Necks, Guitar Accessories, Instrument Accessories, Musical Instruments. (end time 27-Jun-10 16:49:20 AEST)

Hi,

I recon a guitar is a great school project to do, however as the others have pointed out it will take extra time, however if you have access after school or tools at home, and you are willing to put in the extra hours, then it is achievable, however the time is in the detail, but you can cut the build time by simplifying the guitar.

For example make it from a 1 piece body blank without a separate top. Cutting and routing would be about 1 hour. You eliminate bookmatching and glueing a top (1h), binding (2+ hours).
Have a flat top rather than a carved top. You save 2+ hours of carving.
Keep the neck simple. have the fretboard unbound (save 1.5hours). Skip the block inlays and use dots (2 hours+)
Use an oil finish. Requires extra sanding, however you can get away with <5 coats and can be appplied 1 day apart, and only requires 2 weeks to cure.
If possible, choose a bridge that does not require a neck angle. Having no neck angle will save you alot of time.

If you keep it simple then I recon the prokject is achievable, however as the others have mentioned if you want to replicate the Gibson DC, then you will have a huge project on your hands.

Make sure you buy ALL hardware and have it in your hot little hands before you start building. Make sure you build the guitar to fit the parts and not just straight off the plans. Have every step of the build set out in your mind before commencing as it requires though and each step to be done in a specific order

Cheers,

Peter

Originally Posted by peterbrown

Hi,

I recon a guitar is a great school project to do, however as the others have pointed out it will take extra time, however if you have access after school or tools at home, and you are willing to put in the extra hours, then it is achievable, however the time is in the detail, but you can cut the build time by simplifying the guitar.

For example make it from a 1 piece body blank without a separate top. Cutting and routing would be about 1 hour. You eliminate bookmatching and glueing a top (1h), binding (2+ hours).
Have a flat top rather than a carved top. You save 2+ hours of carving.
Keep the neck simple. have the fretboard unbound (save 1.5hours). Skip the block inlays and use dots (2 hours+)
Use an oil finish. Requires extra sanding, however you can get away with <5 coats and can be appplied 1 day apart, and only requires 2 weeks to cure.
If possible, choose a bridge that does not require a neck angle. Having no neck angle will save you alot of time.

If you keep it simple then I recon the prokject is achievable, however as the others have mentioned if you want to replicate the Gibson DC, then you will have a huge project on your hands.

Make sure you buy ALL hardware and have it in your hot little hands before you start building. Make sure you build the guitar to fit the parts and not just straight off the plans. Have every step of the build set out in your mind before commencing as it requires though and each step to be done in a specific order

Cheers,

Peter

this is sounding harder and harder, would i be better doing a tele or something? 1 because i can buy a ready made bolt on neck and 2 because this forum seems to hate double cutaways haha

Originally Posted by arran101

this is sounding harder and harder, would i be better doing a tele or something? 1 because i can buy a ready made bolt on neck and 2 because this forum seems to hate double cutaways haha

If you can live with one that`s not an exact replica, here`s a couple things you can do to save a lot of time. Use 2 volume controls and 1 tone and eliminating the 2nd tone and putting the 3 way switch in it`s place. This way you can use a 1 piece body. place the jack so it enters the control cavity, make the cavity to suit your controls. Move the neck pickup toward the bridge, I don`t know how to convert this dimension but I`m placing my neck pickup at 19 5/8 inch from the face of the nut to the center of the humbucker, and I`m using a 24 3/4 fret scale. This will give you more area to utilize a bolt on neck, if need be add an extention to the body so there`s at least 3 inches of length for the neck to bolt up. Moving the neck pickup makes a huge difference in the sound. This is the way I build my guitars except I build my necks, but I could just as easily buy them already made up. Are you allowed to take it home and work on it or does it all have to be done in class? Good Luck, Mike

Originally Posted by arran101

this is sounding harder and harder, would i be better doing a tele or something? 1 because i can buy a ready made bolt on neck and 2 because this forum seems to hate double cutaways haha

You're discovering the importance of planning when undertaking a project such as building a guitar. Planning minimises wasting of both time and materials....and generally makes things go smoother thus maximising enjoyment.

When you progress to the dark side and attempt more complex projects such as a lute you'll soon discover that building without a plan inevitably leads to failure and frustration and in some cases a complete loss of interest in building guitars.

I'll no doubt get flamed for saying this but there are some in this forum who don't seem to have any sort of plan in place and inevitably end up making some very avoidable mistakes. I always work to a plan but at times I deviate from same and usually end up doing very dumb things...never too old to learn from my mistakes.

Cheers Martin

Hey guys,
Maybe buying the templates to begin with might help cut down the time somewhat? Here is a link I stumbled upon yesterday.

By the way COG are an awesome band! Definitely one of my top 10. I actually hung out with them 2 years ago at the big day out while I was doing set-ups back stage.

Gibson Les Paul Set Neck Template

Good luck mate!

i think i will purchase some american rock maple American Rock Maple- Carba-tec (W.A.) for the guitar unless anyone knows of anything better?