LP/Junior flat-top build

Corvus

I've wanted to build an LP/Junior hybrid kind of a thing for ages, but with my hand/arm/work probs nothing happened for nearly a whole year. Then setup shop, revamped the place and finally got this going.
There's also an Esquire and Firebird build going on, not sure whether to do them here or separate threads. Anyway.

So it's a walnut body with maple top, mahogany neck, rosewood board. It's very slightly oversized from the bodies and templates I have to hand, and the horn slightly softened. Wish I'd gone more oversize but the blanks didn't have room.

Most likely going to use a pair of Mojo P90s.

First off, a pair of black walnut blanks getting jointed (i.e. faces planed trued flat & square) & glued up:
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/1-walnut-blanks.jpg
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/2-blanks-glued.jpg

Corvus

The top is ripple maple. I was massively lucky to be given a stack of matched plates some yrs ago.. and they need using. Jointed & glued, onto the body, then trimmed.
Then planed flat. Planing flame can be a job to fight it tearing all to hell but a jointer then a smoother with a tiny back-bevel, like a mock York pitch, got there without too much Anglo-Saxon language.
This pair were the ropiest in the stack and I was going to do a solid colour, but when planed they started to look pretty nice.
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/3-ripple.jpg
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/4-top-glued.jpg

Corvus

Neck blank is mahogany, hand-planed to square and a 12 degree scarfed head. Via bandsaw & plane so it's actually 12.1 degree but hey, close enough for rock 'n roll. Dual-action rod, so no big scoop for the rod nut. Basically this head should be strong.

I spent ages doing headstock layouts with basic aim of somewhat slimmer and shorter overall than Gibson (sometimes I find the LP head overwhelms the body). Less distance to the first tuner posts, narrow string splay angles.

After lots of effing around I had the fekken genius idea of making the top edge like a flying bird (Corvus = crow) - fairly chuffed with this for about 3 secs till realising it was basically the bloody same sort of curves as Gibson.. Ah screw it! It's staying.

Rosewood board with pearl dots. It's got quite a strong purplish cast to it, darkens nicely with oil and may get a helping hand also.
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/7-fb-inlaid.jpg

Pic looks weird because it's a phone pic and also just had a go over with panel wipe

Rabs

Nice..  Love a bit of Walnut..  It should be used more as a guitar wood 

PeteC

Man that is lovely - that maple top is superb !!   Cant wait to see the rest of your build @Corvus ;

PeteC

Ooops - meant to ask - do you prep your blanks from raw timber and joint them with a hand plane ? 

TTony

That’s a beautiful piece of maple.  And a tasty piece of walnut too!

Going to be a nice guitar ....

But how do people get hold of Mojo pickups?  Whenever I look at the website it’s “closed until next month”!

Corvus

@Rabs cheers, playing one of yours at Newmarket made me want to use some, want to do more now too..

@PeteC thanks very much : ) Yes hand planed everything here, ages ago I got shot of my little jointer and comedy table saw, so got forced to do more hand stuff and been picking up planes at boot sales and such. Also I like doing it and it's fairly quick when they're dialled in nicely.
When the main blanks were blobbed together I whizzed some off on a router-planer cos they were way thick, then hand shot the top clean.

Hi @TTony, I've had these for ages, I'd like to use them for something I'd keep but got to get selling stuff. Same here, you have to get up early to get at the site and lob in an order nowadays.

Danielsguitars

Nice work Bill, I like using hand tools too, nothing like a good sharp well set up plane, keeps you fit at the same time

PeteC

Corvus said:

@Rabs cheers, playing one of yours at Newmarket made me want to use some, want to do more now too..

@PeteC thanks very much : ) Yes hand planed everything here, ages ago I got shot of my little jointer and comedy table saw, so got forced to do more hand stuff and been picking up planes at boot sales and such. Also I like doing it and it's fairly quick when they're dialled in nicely.
When the main blanks were blobbed together I whizzed some off on a router-planer cos they were way thick, then hand shot the top clean.

Hi @TTony, I've had these for ages, I'd like to use them for something I'd keep but got to get selling stuff. Same here, you have to get up early to get at the site and lob in an order nowadays.

Thanks @Corvus ;
I plan to do the same thing with the Idigbo blanks I am making as I don't have a power planer or jointer. 
I'll rig up a planing jig for the router - just a bigger version of the fretboard thicknessing jig I made - and then I am hoping to be able to make a jointing set up using my router table and a long 2" Wealden 1/2" bit I have.  I reckon if I use a veneer slice on the outfeed I should be able to get a very smooth finish on the blank edges, ready to glue up. 

Looking forward to watching the rest of your build(s)  - looks great ! 

Corvus

Hi Pete,
That sounds like a plan, I have the same cutter, my mate has a Radian one similar but loads more money. Router-planers, main thing I reckon is the sled not sagging. My last one had a steel sled and was pretty good. I've done a new one using V-slot for the sled with ally angle for the router to ride on. Stiff as anything and not too pricey about a tenner a metre. The side rails could be V-slot as well but I got some cnc type rails & bearing block jobs. Putting some door brush on it to help contain the shower of chips and give extraction half a chance to work.

And cheers - likewise, yours looks great, waiting for more..

Corvus

The headstock overlay is on. I shot the nut-facing edge with a plane on the bench top with the overlay propped up at 12 degrees, so it makes a nice little channel for the nut to live in.

Think I like the ebony being slightly brownish and steaky, not feeling the need to black it.
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/9-head-overlay.jpg

Quick mockup hoping it'll tell me what colour to do. Still no clue. Will want to sell this so nothing too outlandish. I feel a burst coming on. Or maybe overall light blue. Blue burst. Or... hmm
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/10-mockup1.jpg

And now a wait while I make another jig or two.

TTony

Faded blue would go well with the cream pickup covers and the brownish board ...

BigMonka

That's looking great Bill, the top is stunning, I think a lemon burst might be nice.
Your logo looks cool on the headstock - is this the start of a new business venture?

PeteC

I would send a Lemon Burst too.   What jigs are you working on Bill ? 

Corvus

Thanks chaps.
@BigMonka cheers muchly, and yes, fairly enforced having to quit work so got going with this.
Hi Pete, the main one is a neck pocket jig, want to make repeatable stuff easier as well as handle one-off type things. Got a plan but whether it's any cop...!
Also a trap inlay template setup, I got quite close with that but not enough to use on this one, so did my usual dots instead.

sawyer

Bookmarked and watching with interest! Some exceptional builds on the Fretboard currently

Andyjr1515

Coming along nicely...

MattNovak

Corvus said:

I've wanted to build an LP/Junior hybrid kind of a thing for ages, but with my hand/arm/work probs nothing happened for nearly a whole year. Then setup shop, revamped the place and finally got this going.
There's also an Esquire and Firebird build going on, not sure whether to do them here or separate threads. Anyway.

So it's a walnut body with maple top, mahogany neck, rosewood board. It's very slightly oversized from the bodies and templates I have to hand, and the horn slightly softened. Wish I'd gone more oversize but the blanks didn't have room.

Most likely going to use a pair of Mojo P90s.

First off, a pair of black walnut blanks getting jointed (i.e. faces planed trued flat & square) & glued up:

Would love to see details of teh Esquire and FB as I have just completed / working on similar. Great looking work @Corvus , I notice Corvus Guitars are just down the road from me too! I'm in a small village in CB24.

Corvus

Cheers chaps. Hit a bit of a wall with ordered parts not right and this n' that but such is life.
Hi neighbour @MattNovak : ) I'm saving Esquire pics but it won't be near as nice as yours, it's a bit of a smoking beagle to experiment on and right now not entirely sure it'll get finished. We'll see though.

Corvus

Some progress, been making an angler fandangler for angle pockets and had a few setbacks with bad parts, but it's had it's first run out and all seems good. Should enable repeats more easily. The neck pocket is routed and fit & alignment's good. Fretboard now on. May skim a mil off the heel yet but basically its there.

I have some bits of fretwire with the tang completely removed, lay these on a board and a big straight edge for checking the angle.

Quite cheap to make. I dreamt up some clamps because off the shelf ones were like £10 upwards each... these cost peanuts.

That router there is a Katsu by the way, identical to a Makita but 1/3 the price, parts interchange but they seem to be the same anyway.

Next up is let the neck sit a day, skim the board again to make sure it's good and fretting.

http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/11-neck_jig.jpg
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/12-neck_jig.jpg
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/14-neck_jig.jpg
http://www.corvusguitarworks.com/images/lph/15-neck_jig.jpg