Fully hollow and carved Les Paul

ADP

Are you going to carve the top and add the braces or carve the top in a way that leaves the braces in the original wood?

WezV

Braces will be carved separately

ADP

The reason I asked is that recently I’ve seen some builders carve the top and leave the braces in the wood. I always wondered if that was possible or if there was some advantage to the extra step of removing wood and then effectively replacing it. I’m looking forward to seeing the build progress.

TTony

The thing about semis ...  I really don't like the tradition f-hole design!

Always feel that there should be something more modern, and something that is a better fit with the other design aspects of the particular instrument (body shape, etc).

Sesh

TTony said:

The thing about semis ...  I really don't like the tradition f-hole design!

Always feel that there should be something more modern, and something that is a better fit with the other design aspects of the particular instrument (body shape, etc).

Agreed on the F-hole. I've always liked the simplicity of the rickenbacker style hole.

This is the worst I've seen:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingdom-Defender-Electric-Chambered-Wilkinson/dp/B00IJZPFPS/ref=sr_1_28?dchild=1&m=A39247DTAXDFJC&marketplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&qid=1587572245&s=merchant-items&sr=1-28

johnl

Think traditional F holes look great on a Les Paul, it's pretty much a violin in guitar form anyway. Agree that they look a bit weird on super shredder types. 

WezV

I'm going for traditional archtop construction for the majority of the body, so that's seperate braces.   I'm not really sure of the benefits of carved out braces, I see a few pitfalls though, and I'm not sure it's an easy solution to implement on a hand carved top 


F-holes will suit the traditional Gibson archtop vibe, although these are actually fender style so a bit more slimline.  Not decided on the final design yet

WezV

Neither of my existing f-hole guitars have traditional f-holes.

https://i.imgur.com/41PR79k.jpg

SteveF

Interested to see this one.

WezV

dug out a long mahogany plank which has given me 2 quartersawn long tenon neck blanks, the wood to make  the neck and tail block for this guitar, and a load of strips to make kerfed lining... and a few door stops for the new house not pictured)



this is the wood for the neck block, now in clamps being glued together.    I have left the middle bit longer for now so i can attach a normal LP template.   


i also made a mold and workboard.   Used some scrap for this as didnt want to go out and buy more wood, so making do with what i have here.   Sides are also trimmed, gong for 2" deep for these, whole thing will be between 3.5-4"



I also started carving the outside of the sycamore top.    I started by routing steps in the top, then, routed the neck place and finally started to sand to shape.   mineral streaks at the neck end are a lot more prominent, but the ones down teh sides have gone, was planning a dark burst anyway and that is still on the cards

PeteC

Fantastic - this looks like its going to be a superb build thread - watching with extreme interest and as a newbie I hope to learn a few things ( to say the least ) !  
 

WezV

finished the outer carve on the top and got the back done too.



I also thicknessed and cut the neck and tail blocks to shape



all fits together nicely


From here i can either bend the sides to get the rims completed, or i can mark out the locations of those blocks on the inside of the top and back plates and carry on carving.   I will likely give it a few days  now before proceeding

TTony

As always Wez  - great to see the detail of one of your builds coming together.

Thanks for sharing.

downbytheriver

I have a mate who built a completely hollow Les Paul! It looks indistinguishable from the solid object until you pick it up. Bloody brilliant guitar, goes by the name of Doris! 

PeteC

@WezV     I think its really great that people like you are prepared to make time to share the details of how you go about builds like this  - its not only inspiring to a novice like me but I think its very generous to pass on these methods to others who are less experienced and keep these skills propagating - especially in a generation when most of the population never ever fashion a single thing themselves.

Manual fabrication seems to be becoming a lost art in the younger generation. My own 20-odd year olds don't even know one end of a screwdriver from the other, let alone how to use a drill or a saw! 

Guitar builds are one of those special things where a huge range of manual and mental skills comes together and its fascinating to see how different people approach these challenges in different ways and produce their art. 

looking forward to seeing the next stage of this build. 

WezV

One thing I like about trying styles of builds that are new to me is it gives me other ideas.

At the moment these 4 parts hold themselves together quite nicely.  I almost feel I could glue it up as is and have a structure that would hold string tension, with the addition of one or two structural braces it definitely would.

So now I want to make a minimalist open frame design.  Less traditional than this I expect.   I have seen some builders do similar, so it's not an original concept.  Obviously it would be done my own way though.

I will out that on the list

WezV

PeteC said:

@WezV     I think its really great that people like you are prepared to make time to share the details of how you go about builds like this  - its not only inspiring to a novice like me but I think its very generous to pass on these methods to others who are less experienced and keep these skills propagating - especially in a generation when most of the population never ever fashion a single thing themselves.

Manual fabrication seems to be becoming a lost art in the younger generation. My own 20-odd year olds don't even know one end of a screwdriver from the other, let alone how to use a drill or a saw! 

Guitar builds are one of those special things where a huge range of manual and mental skills comes together and its fascinating to see how different people approach these challenges in different ways and produce their art. 

looking forward to seeing the next stage of this build. 

Thanks.


I am only 39 myself, and have been building about 17 years after a few years of bad modding.  So I was a young builder once

I had failed woodwork at school, but was actually interested in guitars so it made it easier to be focused.  I also started quite early to tweak the way things where supposed to be done to work with a minimal budget and tools. 

The main thing for me was to learn as many approaches as I could.   I might not do the same thing twice, but I do make sure I have multiple ways I could approach the same  situation. It allows creativity in the process.  That sometimes leads me down a dead end, but it's all for fun so I don't mind if some don't work as well as I want.


My advice is to build as many styles as possible, and then make them your own.

PhilKing

WezV said:

My advice is to build as many styles as possible, and then make them your own.

It also helps that you build great guitars and are open to requests (no matter how bizarre - 9 String fanned fret acoustics and 12 string mando guitars come to mind).

Andyjr1515

Looking really good @WezV ;  Nice to see a relatively unusual design too

WezV

trying to show the carve a bit, so need some more dramatic lighting.   at this point its a lot of going back and forth making sure the carve is even, which it isn't quite there yet.    

top


back - a bit more subtle


i have also been doing some drawing on the top to make sure everything will work out okay


neck pickup is from Mojo, and likely will be used.   Tailpiece is from china and  likely wont, although it is the right style for an old Bibson.    I was mainly trying to work out f-hole positioning.    the middles  sit on the scale length lines, but i needed to work out how to angle them, how far in they sit etc...   I noticed the centre line on the old Gibson Es140 seems to point to the spot where the neck joins the body, so that's what i copied and angled them till the seemed right