Chinese LPJ Kit

SlopeSoarer

I ordered a LPJ kit from China via Aliexpress (Musoo) a few months ago and it arrived today. It took so long as what they sold wasn't quite how I wanted it, so they said send pictures of what you want, pay for it (£135 delivered) and they would make it for me. 

I asked a couple of times where they were up to with it and they sent some very basic pictures. Overall I wasn't very hopeful and thought I'd get a box of firewood and end up putting it all down to experience.

Anyway so far so good and ideal for a first project before I spend more money on better quality woods and doing a bit more work myself. The body is one piece as is the neck. Body weighs 4lb 8.3oz, neck 1lb 3.6oz. 24.65mm at first fret and 26.55mm at the 12th.

For those that have done similar projects, is it worth while leaving the would to dry out/settle before starting putting it together?

Any advice on positioning the bridge?

As for finish my heart says do a Steve Robinson's TV Yellow and my head says oil.

sweepy

That actually doesn’t look too bad at all, have fun

Keefy

Look out @IvisonGuitars then?

GoldenEraGuitars

You’ll need to give it a bloody good sanding from top to bottom anyway but if you’re planning on oiling it the sanding is crucial. Just in case there is any glue residue anywhere that the oil won’t take to. 

SlopeSoarer

GoldenEraGuitars said:

You’ll need to give it a bloody good sanding from top to bottom anyway but if you’re planning on oiling it the sanding is crucial. Just in case there is any glue residue anywhere that the oil won’t take to. 

It will need a good sanding as you say and I'll make sure I do it with the grain and look at what grits I should be using. 

There are two issues which I can see so far.

1 There is a small repair in the neck pocket, suspect the router caught and took a chunk out. It has been very well repaired and is much more noticeable on the photos than in the flesh for some reason. There is a little residue of glue on the inside of the pocket. (looks like cyano to me).

2 The control holes are not in the right place (surprise, surprise) probably 25mm or so further right than they would be on an LPJ. The body shape seems very accurate otherwise.

The control hole placement is a little annoying but I will copy another scratchplate idea which should look good on it. Styled on a Gordon Smith which I think is only made for Forsyth's in Manchester. I did a rough template last night and it should work with a bit of playing around. Something like this.

I'll kit it out with decent stuff and depending on how I get on with this I will swap it out on a better guitar in the long run. This kit will be about me having a go at finishing techniques.

SteveRobinson

That looks really good, amazing for the price.

Be aware that TV Yellow is tricky to get right, but worth it I think.

SlopeSoarer

SteveRobinson said:

That looks really good, amazing for the price.

Be aware that TV Yellow is tricky to get right, but worth it I think.

I agree I think it is amazing for the price too, even with the issues.

I did pay some import tax/vat (£21.37).

The impression I get is that they would make any design you can think for not a lot of money but it won't happen overnight. I will probably give them another go with a bit more detail next time, just to make sure they got it completely right and I think they would.

I've got some scratch plate material coming so I'll work on that before I completely decide on finishing (just to make sure I'm going to be happy with the look), it probably isn't the best time of year to paint in a cold garage anyway: )

Cardboard Scratchplate Template Idea

Winny_Pooh

Truss rod?

SlopeSoarer

Winny_Pooh said:

Truss rod?

Definitely one in there you can just about see it on one of the photos, I've not tried adjusting it yet, I've had notched straight edge and fret rocker on and neck seem fine, possibly a little chunky (C shape) but I can sand down, whereas I suppose I couldn't add to it: )

Roland

SlopeSoarer said:

For those that have done similar projects, is it worth while leaving the would to dry out/settle before starting putting it together?

Any advice on positioning the bridge?

It’s always worth letting wood acclimatise to a new location. 

There are a lot of online resources which describe bridge positioning. For alignment I like to run cotton or string from nut to bridge along the lines of the top and bottom E strings, that way I can see how close they come to the edges of the neck.

Sarge

Looks decent, but what the hell is up with that truss rod access? 

SlopeSoarer

Sarge said:

Looks decent, but what the hell is up with that truss rod access? 

It came with this....

SteveRobinson

Sarge said:

Looks decent, but what the hell is up with that truss rod access? 

Looks good to me. Two way rod but you can fit a Gibson style bell truss rod cover.

Funkfingers

SlopeSoarer said:

Any advice on positioning the bridge?

Bridge stud insert positioning advice will depend on exactly which bridge type you will be using. In all instances, the nut is your datum point for scale length measurements.


Non-adjustable wraparound bridges need two offsets factoring in. One to approximate the intonation slant. The second to compensate for the path that the strings will take around the tailpiece.

Non-adjustable wraparound bridges with the so-called "lightning bolt" preset intonation ridge require their stud inserts to be equidistant from the nut.

The stud insert positioning for fully adjustable bridges will depend on the saddle travel range of the specific bridge design.

I have not even mentioned the pitch angle at which some of the drilling needs to be performed. Perhaps, Steve Robinson is the best person to consult about these crucial details? 

SlopeSoarer

I'm waiting for bits to arrive from various places, so in the mean time I thought I'd have a go at making a pickguard, I'm reasonably happy with it, probably a bit of fine tuning needed yet and I have another slightly different design to make before I make my mind up.

I'm thinking chrome domed control knobs rather than the ones in the mock up.

SteveRobinson

Here's all you need to know about bridge positioning:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gxzbb6524doqtn0/Double%20Cut%20LP%20Jr.pdf

SlopeSoarer

SteveRobinson said:

Here's all you need to know about bridge positioning:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gxzbb6524doqtn0/Double%20Cut%20LP%20Jr.pdf

Thanks Steve that's great: )

TTony

Not just bridge positioning either!

Thanks for posting that @SteveRobinson - very useful document.
  

SteveRobinson

Oh yes it's everything you need to know about making a DC (the best type) Junior!




I should add that it's not my Dropbox. I just searched for a copy of the PDF and found that link.

SlopeSoarer

Or the alternative idea. Not sure which it will be (this one or the one a couple of posts up) but I suppose I'll know better when all the other stuff is done.



Busy Googling finishing techniques. I'm also now thinking of alternative colours to TV yellow as for me it would feel wrong without the traditional pickguard.