Thread: Les Paul Junior Style Guitar Build

Good looking build so far mate! Nice and clean work..

Klusons should do the job.
20mm thick at the first fret is including the fingerboard mate. No one would enjoy playing a 25mm thick neck lol..
I aim for 18-19mm at the first fret like on my ibanez wizard necks.

Look forward to seeing ur progress!

Regular genuine Klusons can be a bit sloppy, I used them on my junior build . I much prefer the Tonepros Klusons which are a bit pricier but work MUCH better.
My neck is very chunky, thin it to what you like.
You will need to think about how you do your neck joint to fit in a neck P90 and avoid cutting away all the tenon.
Gibson used an elevated neck rather than flush on the double pickup "special"
Though I see now you are going singlecut.
Draw up your neck/ body/ bridge geometry from a side view and make sure pickup heights work.
Neck angle is very important.
Cheers Buddy

Thanks Floody and Jeffhigh for your comments and advice.

On further research the Junior is very similar to the Les Paul Standard so I have gone with those specs. As was pointed out 20mm at the first fret including the fingerboard.

So this morning out with the rasp and we now have a much more comfortable neck profile. I have left it a little thicker so I can take a litlle more off later if I feel the need.

Here are a few pics of the neck.


Cheers
Alan

Nice work! Looks like a very clean carve on that neck!!

+1 for the side profile idea floated above.
can't say I've ever had anything other than klusons on my gibsons and they've always worked fine.
I'd go a tuneomatic bridge & stop tailpiece over the wraparound bridge but that's just me.

Hey Ozzie,

It is not just the neck depth that is critical, it is the profile of the neck in section as well. 25mm at the nut is thick, however I have done 23mm at the 1st fret on a V-profile, so you are not comparing apples with apples if the profile varies. Think of it like choosing tyres for your car. It is not just the width, but also the profile...

The build is looking good. I will enjoy watching this one.

Cheers,

Peter

G'day Peter,

Damn good point there mate! I have been a strat player for many years and do not own a les paul style guitar. Blues and rock are my favourite music style so maybe I have been missing something all these years by not owning a short scale electric with some p 90s. I remember many moons ago trying out a sg with soapbars in a music shop and it howled.

Thanks for your comments

Cheers

Alan

Looking good Alan, you sure like to try different builds.
Cheers, Bob

nice work bluesman, I'll watch this with interest as Im about to start on an archtop acoustic and havent done anything like it before.
Did you rasp the neck profile? or use a machine?
cheers, billy

G'day Billy,

I made some small templates out of 5mm thick perspex of the neck profile at the 1st, 5th, 9th and 12th fret. With the rasp I cut a channel 20mm wide down to the respective neck thicknesses. I then used my belt sander to take the bulk off and finished off with the rasp. I kept checking thickness making sure I didn't take too much off. Worked a treat!
This is my first electric but I have built two weissenborn copies, two parlour size acoustic guitars and five ukuleles over the past few years. Presenly I have two parlour guitars on the bench on is about the half way mark.

Thanks for your kind comments.

Cheers

Alan

Well, finally received some Queensland Maple for a body blank so it's all systems go again. The blank is nicely quarter sawn and I have a blackwood drop top that will give me the 45mm thickness required. The past two weekends I have made a template, joined the top and body blank. Today the shape was cut out on the bandsaw. Nice and steady as it is a $85 second hand GMC small bandsaw. I have it tuned good and it works well as long as your not in a hurry!

Here are a few progress pictures for you:






Just a couple of questions for the forum.

How heavy should the body be? The blackwood cap is pretty weighty.

Also what size router bit should be used to apply the edge?

As this is not a LP Junior replica I was thinking of a cutout on the waiste any thoughts?

Finally if you were going to weight relief where on the body would you take some out?

Thanks for looking

Cheers

Alan

Lookin good Alan, did you get that decal ok?

Thanks Jeff. Yep, received the decal thanks. I did send you an yahoo email but looks like it didn't find it's mark!

Cheers

Alan

Hey lookin good alan.
As far as weight relief goes, its prob best to chamber the body before you stick the top on. But by the looks of it you already stuck it on...Guess you'll just have to hit the weights lol. Im sure itll turn out great