(Another) LP Junior DC build (finished!)

sawyer

Looking good!

usedtobe

Loving that!

greggreg66

That's looking so good!

davros

Thanks all, can't wait to get it done now!!

PeteC

Excellent.   Great to see it with the spray job.    Nice ageing job too - I have a load of ferric , I might try that too.   

Lovely build ! 

davros

Most of the lacquer has had a few weeks to go off, and the last can has had 1 week, but I was too impatient to wait any longer - so, it's finished!! I will need to strip it down and give it a proper buff in a few weeks time once the lacquer is properly hard, but it's looking pretty good.

I flattened the finish with 400 > 800 > 1200 > 1500 wet and try lubricated with white spirit, then buffed with TCut. I didn't fully flatten the paint, so there is a hint of the grain texture - that's intentional.

sawyer

Excellent build and final result! Something to be proud of without a doubt. 

PeteC

Great job.   That’s a Really lovely junior you’ve made.   

davros

Thanks guys, been giving it a good play in. Probably a lot down to the excellent Oil City Firewatch pickups but it's so responsive to the volume knob and picking strength. High volume it's like a punchy humbucker, low volume it's like a beefy tele pickup.

Loving it so far!

...so, the next project...

Sarge

Very nice build! 

Andyjr1515

Excellent build

greggreg66

That's really stunning, looks incredible. 

davros

Thanks for the nice comments. Here's a little postmortem in terms of things that went well and not so, and the costs.

The good

This build was intended to make me translate what I'd learned on the Crimson course to my own tools and equipment. My previous (home) builds were bodies for bought necks. Building the neck was a joy and I found getting the headstock angle right a lot easier than I feared, using a little bandsaw and hand plane. Really, the woodwork was pretty straightforward.

The less good

Finishing, while it came out well, is not my strong point. I just don't have the patience and don't enjoy it like the woodworking. There are the odd bits of dust in places, and the TV yellow finish is tricky to get right. You have to sand the sides REALLY well to avoid the grain filler highlighting the rough patches. But, it's definitely passable and real nitro so I can 'age' it to cover any issues!

Next time, I'm considering getting someone else to do the finishing, although that adds to the costs significantly.

Costs

This doesn't include consumables like glue or screws as I already had those, or tools - I spent £150 on a bandsaw too.

Woods (Guitars and woods): £115

Misc parts (G&W): £32

Paint (Manchester Guitar Tech): £64

Pickup (Oil City): £75

Kluson tuners (classifieds): £30

Decal (guitardecals.co.uk): £10

Pickguard sheet (ebay): £18

Faber Bridge (Glued to Music/ebay): £96

Truss rod and nut (Northwest): £20

Ferric chloride for aging metal parts (ebay): £5

TOTAL: £465

So, ignoring the considerable man hours that went into it, but also not considering the value of the enjoyment of the build, building guitars isn't a cheap hobby. Also, the DC junior has a pretty low parts count although I did use decent quality stuff.

But, compared with the alternatives (below), I reckon I've got something that splits the difference between the gibson tribute and custom shop and most importantly plays and sounds amazing. If I was ever to sell it, I'd be hopeful I could get the material costs back. I'd probably rate it among £1.5k guitars I've played in shops, but I know that people are wary of home builds.

Of course, the sensible option, if I wasn't to build this myself would be an Ivison - cheaper than custom shop and undoubtedly better, but still more than I have in my guitar kitty.

By comparison:

Harley Benton DC Junior: £175 - awful colour, wrong shape, neck join at the wrong place, thin sounding pickup, etc. etc...

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_dc_junior_tv_yellow.htm?glp=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoezYu9756wIVhM_tCh1o6AgDEAkYAiABEgK3s_D_BwE 

Epiphone Special: £349 - well, it's a SC, not a DC, and a special not a junior.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/191216352613008--epiphone-les-paul-special-tv-yellow?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI64yE39_56wIVzuntCh3EsQgDEAkYASABEgLmH_D_BwE

Gibson DC Junior Tribute: £699 - wrong pickguard, neck join at the wrong place, etc. etc.

https://www.reidys.com/electric-guitars-c14/gibson-les-paul-junior-tribute-dc-worn-brown-p5705/s5704?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=gibson-les-paul-junior-tribute-dc-worn-brown-0000000284899&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&cid=GBP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInIX1h9_56wIVUs3tCh18sQX6EAkYASABEgIcTfD_BwE

Gibson Custom Shop DC Junior: £3299 - pretty much bang on

https://www.peachguitars.com/brands/gibson-les-paul-juniors/gibson-1958-les-paul-junior-double-cut-reissue-vos-tv-yellow.htm?opt=17213&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoezYu9756wIVhM_tCh1o6AgDEAkYCSABEgLqUPD_BwE

WezV

good break down.

On the finish, don't be too hard on yourself.   The process means you will have been closer to that finish than anyone reasonably needs to be.  You will be aware of every flaw, others won't see it.  You will find you start to notice the flaws in other finishes you considered fine before.  

Although I cant help thinking a nice tort guard would really set it off

davros

Wez, you're probably right on the finish, this is only my 4th attempt, and definitely getting better each time. I just find it dull!!

I agree about the tort guard, but so much I have seen online doesn't look right.

The best I can find is the 'incudo' tort from Rothko and Frost. Any experience with that, or any other good sources? I see Ivison sell precut guards but they're a little pricey.

WezV

I got some from here recently
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/554592754/3mm-w204-blown-and-dark-brown-marble?ref=shop_home_active_24&frs=1

looks like this



i also tried the caesin tort from Rothko and frost but it didn't suit the guitar as much - not tried their acrylic version

davros

I've been watching your hollow LP build with great interest, and thinking of something mildly similar (but chambered rather than bent woods) for the next build, although also toying with a blue sparkle topped 1954-style!

I think I'm after authentic 50s Gibson looking tort, and while the etsy examples are nice, they're a different style.

SteveRobinson

I've got some of these cut to the '59 pattern if any interest? Genuine celluloid, not acrylic. 

davros

Thanks Steve, PM'd

sawyer

I wouldn't beat yourself up over the finish. Looks excellent and I bet its at least as good as Gibson's efforts back in the day. Opaque fininish looks awesome with the grain showing through .Like the black guard, but then I'm a black guard sorta guy. Quality build! Love it!