Fully hollow and carved Les Paul

ICBM

I would definitely *not* bevel it, even slightly. It will detract from the 'double bound' and 'antique instrument' look.

PeteC

Looks wonderful even now before finishing.  A tiny bevel or very small rounder would create a violin-type vibe ?  

SteveRobinson

What about a bead like on a violin/cello? That would be different, then a rubbed shellac finish to complete the string section look?

Teyeplayer

SteveRobinson said:

What about a bead like on a violin/cello? That would be different, then a rubbed shellac finish to complete the string section look?

That’s a cool idea, wisdom awarded (though it did initially fat thumb a lol on the iPhone, apologies and corrected).

roberty

I bloody love this

WezV

a violin beaded edge will be too much for this.   I want to keep as much of the crispness as i can, but there is a very good reason it cannot stay as sharp it is.... those sharp edges chip far too easily.

So a slight bevel/chamfer is the practical choice. I'm not talking large visible facets here.  Bendedetto does it on his unbound La Venezia model, you can hardly see it but its enough to stop pesky chips


at the other end of the price scale I have an old unbound german style archtop that has a bevelled edge as faux binding right through the finish,  and i don't mind that either...  i took a shot at the tailpiece as the age related wear has made it more  inconsistent everywhere else

Corvus

Dead nice ...  I like the streaking in the top, seems to sit right with the overall vibe.

WezV

I have done a test fit.

It's very interesting.  Sustains like a solid body, so I'm putting that down to the neck join.

Single note runs are absolutely beautiful, but it's starts to sound like a 335  when strumming acousticly... Quite boxy.    Tbh, that's what I expect from such a small body anyway, but I might be able to do some tweaking of the carve to see if I can wake it up a bit more.

It's great though.   I'm loving it so far

ICBM

WezV said:

a violin beaded edge will be too much for this.   I want to keep as much of the crispness as i can, but there is a very good reason it cannot stay as sharp it is.... those sharp edges chip far too easily.

I would go for a simple uniform roundover with about a 3mm radius on the front and the same or very slightly larger on the back. It will keep the crispness of the double-bound look but not add anything that takes away from the simplicity of it.

My Vintage V300M has an unbound mahogany top and back like that, it looks great and doesn't seem to chip.

WezV

it will probably be even less  than 3mm... its simply a case of knocking the sharp edge off to stop it catching.   wouldn't be so bad on the quartersawn sycamore top but the flat sawn mahogany back will chip if you look at it funny

anyway, test fit




the sharp eyes amongst you will notice the f-holes did end up slightly off kilter.   The whole top ended  up slightly off after being glued to the rims so the centre join is perfectly centred at the tail block, but 4mm towards the treble side of the heel...thankfully i spotted it before i routed the neck pocket and corrected for string alignment, which is spot on.   technically, the f-holes are also slightly too far down the body too as they don't quite line up with the bridge.    A few learning points for when I do this style of build again

also, this old bridge has a couple of issues, note its slotted further towards the treble side.. the base is also 5mm longer on the base side too... which makes my slight error with the f-holes look massive..  thankfully, i will be making a bespoke bridge for this

i put a plate in place to see how it looked... think a simple torty version could really work

Sarge

Bloody handsome! 

Roland

If it’s any comfort, the floating bridge on my Hofner President was always way off centre.

roberty

All strung up! How's it sounding? Looks very very cool

WezV

roberty said:

All strung up! How's it sounding? Looks very very cool

WezV said:

I have done a test fit.

It's very interesting.  Sustains like a solid body, so I'm putting that down to the neck join.

Single note runs are absolutely beautiful, but it's starts to sound like a 335  when strumming acousticly... Quite boxy.    Tbh, that's what I expect from such a small body anyway, but I might be able to do some tweaking of the carve to see if I can wake it up a bit more.

It's great though.   I'm loving it so far

WezV

Roland said:

If it’s any comfort, the floating bridge on my Hofner President was always way off centre.

I was just a bit confused.  I knew it was gonna be a little off centre so was surprised when it looked this far out... I had not actually payed much attention to the bridge as it's not being used on this except for the test fit.

The plan is to make a one piece bridge out of African blackwood.  

ICBM

With a custom-made bridge and a pickguard over the front end of the treble f-hole, I think you'll be able to make the asymmetry disappear . Although I'm not really a fan of pickguards, even on archtops...

I still think the three-diamond tailpiece would look much better too .

PhilKing

Perhaps if you have a sunburst it would hide it a bit, though I don't think I would care about it.  I think it looks fantastic.

WezV

PhilKing said:

Perhaps if you have a sunburst it would hide it a bit, though I don't think I would care about it.  I think it looks fantastic.

It certainly will, but I'm of the same opinion.    It's a learning point, not a show stopper 

TTony

WezV said:

it will probably be even less  than 3mm... its simply a case of knocking the sharp edge off to stop it catching.   wouldn't be so bad on the quartersawn sycamore top but the flat sawn mahogany back will chip if you look at it funny

I've used an Arris trimmer on the sharp edges of (eg) furniture legs to achieve that.

You could probably achieve the same effect with a rub round with some abranet - but trying to do it in one complete movement all around the guitar with consistent pressure so that you end up removing the same amount all round?

WezV

TTony said:

WezV said:

it will probably be even less  than 3mm... its simply a case of knocking the sharp edge off to stop it catching.   wouldn't be so bad on the quartersawn sycamore top but the flat sawn mahogany back will chip if you look at it funny

I've used an Arris trimmer on the sharp edges of (eg) furniture legs to achieve that.

You could probably achieve the same effect with a rub round with some abranet - but trying to do it in one complete movement all around the guitar with consistent pressure so that you end up removing the same amount all round?

Consistent pressure doesn't do it because side grain sands easier than end grain... So I think I will cut it in with the Dremel and a mini router bit to ensure its consistent regardless of grain pattern