GregP

Not one person knows? Well, I went ahead and started, leaving myself about 1/2" just to be safe. I figured if someone posted that a lower value was good, I could always go a bit deeper. So far, just for the body and top (not routed, contoured, or carved yet) I'm weighing in at around 8 pounds. Gah.. that's not even including the neck. I'm hoping to take some more wood away to get that weight down. My 'walls' are about an inch thick, which I can probably safely bring down another 1/4" and still have the 'excess' amount I wanted. On the other hand, maybe I'm just going to end up with a back-breaker. Greg

Congrats! We'll be seeing you. Greg

Hi there, I have my chambering template ready now, but I'm not sure how deep to go. The wood is 1 3/4" thick limba, which will have a 5/8" carved maple cap over it. As far as I know, Korina and Limba are the same thing. Given the type of wood (porous but dense), how thin should I leave the back? Or conversely, how deep should I go with the chambering. If I decide to carve the back as well, I'll take that into account, but assuming I leave it flat, what's a good thickness? Greg

Building Electric Guitars - Martin Koch

I can see that, too; however, I prefer seeing things develop in 'real time'. There are about 5 threads like that on the go right now, and it's great to see each stage of the guitar's development "as it happens". I think it gives a more personal vibe to the whole experience. Of course, since one of those threads is mine, I'm bound to be biased. Greg

I like the look of both. On the Godin LG, the recessed bridge looks really sharp. I'm still a bit undecided atm. If you were super-meticulous, you could rout the recess to *exactly* accomodate the bridge, and it would look like it was meant to be. Greg

Ditto! I'm probably still doing bolt-on so that I can swap out the neck more easily if I 'F' it up, but that's making me reconsider. Greg

I own both the Hiscock and the Koch books; and while the Hiscock is certainly a classic, I found the Martin Kock book equally useful, and it had a more fully developed pickup section (still not FULL-fledged) for those interested in such things. There's good to be had from both, so at least check it out (free excerpts on the site, as well as e-book download available) HERE.

Warning: this advice comes from reading, not from experience. Well, the distance from your nut to your bridge is only 24.75" or so, so 30" should do you, although some blanks are a bit longer. 2" is pretty thick compared to a Strat-style blank, which is about 7/8"; however, without doing the math, it's possible that you'll still end up needing to do a scarf joint for the headstock. No problem, it's stronger that way anyhow. If you're doing a mortise and tenon, you may need to build up the heel area a bit, which means that you'll be cutting into that 30" of length a bit, which could lead you into wood shortage territory. The best thing you can do is draw up a diagram. It'll answer all those questions you have. Greg

I don't imagine (all speculation here) that the various components that make up blood and/or keep oxygenated blood a nice red colour would hold up to much sunlight, even if the suspension worked out. Not being an expert, I couldn't possibly imagine blood into a clear would be colourfast. I would say you'll have to end up mixing it with red. Although, if it was clearcoated with highly UV-resistant coat, you never know. Greg

I like the look of dings! Battle scars! Stickers have their time and place I suppose, too, but I prefer dings! Anyhow, hope you get many years of enjoyment out of your geet-box. Greg

I'd be willing to bet that they're functional, though, which is about all you should expect from an inexpensive all-inclusive kit. I agree with the above, though-- and you shouldn't expect it to sound like an American Standard. Greg

I've just started, and I went right for a build-from-scratch, which I think is a great option; however, I wish I had chosen a simpler design (and mine's not exactly uber-complicated). I have already spent about $600 CDN, and that's not including the finish or finishing supplies, which I haven't purchased yet. So far I've made do with a scroll saw and plunge router (oh, and a nice rasp), though I DID go into a wood shop at a school to use their bandsaw one day. I probably could have done the same thing (rough outline) with the scroll saw, but I might have gone through a blade or two. I don't imagine I would have had an easy time with the jigsaw, though. Greg

Somewhere along the way, I read that Gibson does not use top quality flame. Perhaps the information only referred to the original Les Pauls, which weren't even bookmatched. I think I saw that here somewhere.... Anyhow, use whatever you're comfortable with! I got "unfigured" maple for my project that has enough figure for my tastes <grin>. I haven't priced a flamed maple top, so I don't know if the law of diminishing returns is in effect or not (ie. is 5A way more expensive for only somewhat better figure than 4A, or is it only a little more expensive?). From what I've heard, Ebony is left 'natural' except perhaps for a bit of fretboard conditioner, which is a light oil-based product. I'm planning to figure out exactly what I need for my own ebony fingerboard, so I'd be curious to know the answer to this one for sure myself. What I DO know is that I've not heard of anybody applying a true "finish" (laquer, oil, or otherwise) to an ebony fretboard. Greg

I'm pretty sure those CAD files didn't show profiles that indicate the thickness of the top and body woods, though I haven't double checked recently. My research showed 5/8" being the 'standard' thickness for a Les Paul cap, though I'm confident that in different years and for different models, that number isn't set in stone. I didn't find anything about the body thickness, but they seem pretty thick, so 1 3/4" would be getting close to the mark. If you can find a document that tells the thickness of a Les Paul, then subtract 5/8" and you'll have your body thickness. Greg

I haven't done one personally, but in many recent threads, people have discussed veneering 'compound curves', which is what a carve would be. The consensus is that it can't be done, though the discussion indicated that there may be ways to do it... involving really thin veneer and soaking the wood in rice vinegar (and possibly also using vacuum clamp). In other words, it might be possible, but it'll likely be less expensive to get the cap, if you don't already have all that other stuff. If you want to do a good job and save yourself a headache, I think most people would agree that for a carved top DC LP, you should get a maple cap, at least 5/8" thick, and thicker if you can. Greg

I went with Vivaldi... But without enough of a background to make an educated decision. Of course I've heard enough of the other popular composers (Beethoven, Mozart), but I hadn't heard of a few of the others. So why Vivaldi? Because The Four Seasons is the only composition of its genre that I can go back to time and time again and in almost any mood I'll get something out of it. Sometimes I put on Beethoven and shut it off mere moments later. I haven't listened to that CD all the way through yet. I'm not particularly inclined to listen to classical/orchestral/symphonic music to begin with (I wish I were, but I'm simply not), so if a composer can bring me back to his music despite my predisposition, that's gotta be a sign of some sort of genius. Greg.

Nicely done! I'm looking forward to seeing this one develop! As for the 'hack' thing... I can certainly relate to that, but that's part of why I'm documenting stuff so thoroughly (er... excessively) in my thread; so that complete newbies (meaning, someone who hasn't taken the plunge and made a cut yet... I'm obviously new, too) can share in my triumphs and failures and not feel intimidated by the process. I've already learned from this thread, and I will do something to keep my top and body from shifting around when I glue. You can't get better than that. Nice choice with the hipshot bridge, by the way. It's a nice piece. Greg PS, I am neither chubby nor purple, nor goofy... though that IS one of my 2 electric guitars he's holding in the avatar picture-- a tele-style Pacifica

It's funny 'cause it's true. Since we're on the subject of cables, are shielded cables a good 'investment' (dunno the price, though I don't imagine they'll break the bank! )? Alternatively, is there an effective way to shield regular cable? Is it a non issue? Should I not even be worrying about it? Greg

Dude, you can do it with any number of tools. Got to projectguitar.com, check out the Tutorials section, and go from there. Greg

No way, dude. Stay in the 80s. Shred is king! Greg

GOTM stands for "Guitar of the Month". If you go to the main index, you find links to the threads, with 2 divisions-- amateur and pro-- in which you can enter your guitar. That kritz.com site was interesting as all hell. A lot of it smacked of jiggery-pokery and voodoo to me, along with a bit of an excessive emphasis on brand recognition... but it made for interesting reading and contained lots of inspiring ideas, too. Cheers! Greg

I know nothing about how blood would act as a pigment in a binder; however I suspect that it will discolour, as the bright redness of blood is pretty much a temporary illusion at best. There's one way to find out... use your own as an experiment! Greg

You got it, exactly, hyunsu! "break even" means that you are not losing money, even if you are not making money. Looks like a great project! Greg

I had a similar question that I had forgotten about-- Is it even necessary to have any threads sticking out? I would have thought the optimal position was sort of 1/2 the way through the... er... rectangular doohickey. That way there's room for movement in either direction, depending on which way you need the rod to 'bend'. Can someone confirm this? Greg