Fully hollow and carved Les Paul

WezV

ended  yesterday  with a full set of rims. Needs some levelling off and tidying up but mostly there.

Neck is  also further along, will be ready for frets once i have polished that board up.   I went for harvite dot inlays, made from old  poker chips for that Fender clay look.... why, i don't know. I found the old poker chips when going through my inlay stash and i like the way they age. 


you can also see my truss rod access is ever so slightly too far over to the bass side and a little wobbly, but the actual truss rod itself is nicely centred or i would scrap the neck...   It is the first neck i have built in well over a year so I'm not going to beat myself up to much about it.  I could even it out, but i would rather have it slightly wrong than remove more wood

Teyeplayer

I have a feeling this may turn out to be your finest build so far, it just has a certain something. Loving each and every update.

WezV

I hope so.   It's my first build after a year off, so more a statement of intent on where I want to go.

The last few years before then where difficult to get a lot of building time.   Lots of success with LP builds and restorations, but not so much with trying new things.  I was doing an hour or so here and there and never quite reaching my stride long enough for the more challenging builds

Now I get to have the occasional full day building, sometimes a few a week at the moment.  The extra headspace helps.

johnl

Is the plan ultimately to put this up for sale?

WezV

johnl said:

Is the plan ultimately to put this up for sale?

It's too early to say.  Gotta build it without screwing up, and make sure I am happy with it first. 

The inside carves are the big area where I could still screw up as I haven't done them before.

I will also need to give it a decent amount of settling in time once it's done since I haven't built this way before. I will need to be sure it's totally stable before I consider letting it leave the nest.

Teyeplayer

Just make sure you give us all plenty of notice so we can offload a few guitars in preparation.

WezV

Gotta make sure it doesn't sound like a banjo first

Teyeplayer

WezV said:

Gotta make sure it doesn't sound like a banjo first

Don’t knock country music until... nah let’s not go there!

PhilKing

Does the neck block have lapped joints with the sides?  It's an interesting way of doing what's probably a really tough piece of the build (the cutaway curve joint).  I'm guessing with a semi acoustic it won't mess with the sound too much?

WezV

PhilKing said:

Does the neck block have lapped joints with the sides?  It's an interesting way of doing what's probably a really tough piece of the build (the cutaway curve joint).  I'm guessing with a semi acoustic it won't mess with the sound too much?

Yeah, and I'm glad I didn't try bending that horn.  That would have been a struggle

I was initially going to do a small block for the tip of the horn,with a seperate section of bent wood for the cutaway... But once I had decided I was going for a substantial neck/pickup block it made sense to extend it either side for cutaway and strap button.

PhilKing

Yes, it probably gives a lot of strength in a pretty vulnerable spot too.  I like the idea, especially as you've got the pickup mount in there too, and it probably adds a bit more stability to the neck joint.

WezV

Yeah, it should be a lot stronger than the typical acoustic archtop join.... Although whether that's a good thing is up for debate as it may allow the neck to colour the acoustic tone more than would be desirable on a purely acoustic instrument.

I think having a solid mount for the pickup will be interesting too.... Still expect some feedback, but it might be enough to control it

Sarge

Fascinating stuff, love watching your builds develop.
Is that 19th fret dot out of line or is the grain twisting my eyes? 

WezV

I'm not sure but I have been thinking the same looking at the pic.

I measured 3 different ways before drilling, then checked with a straight edge as they were glued up.. so I don't think it will be far out at all but something is definitely going on.

WezV

Nice that someone lolled that. Wonder if it was someone who has actually built a guitar by hand before.

Yes, the dot is a little off. Unfortunately I can't always trust my eyes.

I actually found some gold pearl dots yesterday so I might change them all anyway. Either way, I will drill that one out, plug with matching rosewood from an offcut and redrill.... Hopefully in the right place this time

Jalapeno

Loving it so far ..... !

Sarge

Wasn't me doing the phantom lolling.
Sorry to point out the small error on a fine looking build, must be frustrating. 

Teyeplayer

Just checked and wasn’t my fat thumbs either (though wouldn’t have been the first time). I think anyone that can build something like this is virtually a genius -I’d make a right bodge of it. 

WezV

Nah it's fine, perfection is always the goal, but not always achieved. 

My threads are always warts and all and if anyone wants to discuss things they see issues with, I'm happy to do that... No need for a cowardly lol

My guitars are individually hand made, and that sometimes means the hand of the maker is visible in some areas.  I'm totally comfortable with that.  

I could focus on doing the same design over and over again.  It would certainly improve consistency, but i would be bored quickly.  It's not why I do this.

merlin

This guitar with a smooth, rounded heel and two pickups would be dream guitar for me.... depending on finish of course.