Finished My First Guitar
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:29 pm
Hello All,
I am very excited because last weekend, after a friend helped me do the wiring, I was able to plug in my Les Paul copy! I have been a woodworker for years, but decided to jump in with a bucket list project. My only goal was to see it through to the end and that it be playable. I had some trouble with the nitro finish, so instead of a sunburst I I went with natural wood. Can always apply a sunburst later if I ever meet somebody who can show me what I was doing wrong. This is a part of the country where fine hardwood trees grow, so the body is cherry and the cap is native hard maple. The fretboard is wenge because I wanted the dark wood and walnut, our only dark wood, isn't hard enough to hold frets. The hard maple turned out to be full of bug holes that didn't clean up after carving the top, so I had to glue slivers into the holes the way that Brian May did with his guitar. The bug holes demanded a lot of attention, and would rather not have had to deal with them, but some might see them as adding character. I did not skimp on the pickups, getting Seymour Duncan pearly gates. After hearing it, I am glad I didn't skimp on that part of the build. Here is a link if you would like to see it and get a quick little demonstration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7co0EEE2vA
I am very excited because last weekend, after a friend helped me do the wiring, I was able to plug in my Les Paul copy! I have been a woodworker for years, but decided to jump in with a bucket list project. My only goal was to see it through to the end and that it be playable. I had some trouble with the nitro finish, so instead of a sunburst I I went with natural wood. Can always apply a sunburst later if I ever meet somebody who can show me what I was doing wrong. This is a part of the country where fine hardwood trees grow, so the body is cherry and the cap is native hard maple. The fretboard is wenge because I wanted the dark wood and walnut, our only dark wood, isn't hard enough to hold frets. The hard maple turned out to be full of bug holes that didn't clean up after carving the top, so I had to glue slivers into the holes the way that Brian May did with his guitar. The bug holes demanded a lot of attention, and would rather not have had to deal with them, but some might see them as adding character. I did not skimp on the pickups, getting Seymour Duncan pearly gates. After hearing it, I am glad I didn't skimp on that part of the build. Here is a link if you would like to see it and get a quick little demonstration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7co0EEE2vA