Help With '59LP build.

[yngwie308]

Great job, kudos for doing things the right way and not being afraid of changing things for the better. Exciting build and excellent work..
yngwie308

[vanhalen5150]

crafty McGiver. I never cared for the nibs either, gotta' have full fret to the edge for those special times when ya can't help fallin' off the board!

looking at a lot of old LP photo's, I've seen where the binding nibs must have been filed down and frets moved out to the edge with a refret job.

[vanhalen5150]

Great job, kudos for doing things the right way and not being afraid of changing things for the better. Exciting build and excellent work..
yngwie308

Thanks yngwie. I'm waitng on wood for another build. Stange thing is I'm not really an LP guy. I just like building cool stuff.

[somethin'else]

I'm gonna attempt a build soon, Les Paulish. And I'm stumped at the ' join the neck to the body at the correct pitch, etc'. It's got me frozen in my tracks. Could you share which thread or section of a thread that helped you do that? And you made the headstock angle, and truss rod route with those simple tools? Did you have to make special jigs (like the one for fret bending)?

[vanhalen5150]

Read these 2 threads first. The first one has everything as a pdf file without all the other comments a few pages from the end.

Tha Bartlett plans are about the best resource for exact measurements. They cost about $15.00 and he sendsthem to you in actuall size.

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthier ... build.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

.http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthier ... build.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[vanhalen5150]

I used the templates from here on that build.

http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/ ... Family.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tom Barlett has templates for his plans as well but doesnt include the neck and inlay for the neck. His body template are 1/2''(easier for the router bearing) and the ones I got are 1/4''. The Bartlett build thread also gives you insight of how to mix things just as they probably did in the 50's.

The neck angle is between 4.2 -4.4 degrees on an LP. You really have to see how everything is put together to get why.

[vanhalen5150]

Not having a table saw, I used 2 pieces of square aluminum clamped to my workspace with the neck blank underneath. The router just follows the path of guide and makes a pefect slot for the trussrod.

The truss rod brings the neck into a back bow, while the strings want to bow the neck forward. There is a plane for the neck as well as a plane for the pickups. They kinda blend together.

Still scared?

[somethin'else]

even more terrified, Thanks!

[vanhalen5150]

Ok, lets go deeper then...

Although everyone thinks early LP's where made from Honduras mahog there is some info contrary to that. Some of the few 50's LP's that still exist that have been tested and are said to be of African(body) and Sipo(neck) mahogany. This type is a bit heavier and in fact stronger tha Honduras. Did they switch for lighter wood? Trouble getting the stuff? Honduras is just down in S.America so... makes sense kinda. Honduras doesnt strictly show up until the 60's apparently. You'll read some of this in those forum links.

The good and even more stranger thing is....Stewmac has blanks of both types. They know something other don't? A single piece of African and Sipo for the body and neck is about $165.00. Thats actually cheaper than the Honduras mahog. This is also what Im using next. Its definately heavy so I may consider a chambered body. Maybe. Most LP's from that era are from 8.5lbs up to mid lower 9's. I think really dense Honduras would get you in the 8.5 range.

So looking at the Stewmac site. Your body/neck blanks, preslotted fretboard and 4A maple bookmatch is about $290.00 total for your wood costs. Thats not bad considering its milled out for you for blank specs. I've never seen how good the 4A bookmatched blanks are but they do have some bad reviews ther on those. One thing I've found about reviews however is only the bad ones ever did a review. For every bad review there are 15 happy customers.