Finished My First Guitar

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Peter Collin
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:11 pm

Finished My First Guitar

Post by Peter Collin »

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
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Bryan Bear
Posts: 1375
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 1:05 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Finished My First Guitar

Post by Bryan Bear »

Nice looking axe. Hearing them for the first time is a great feeling isn't it?
PMoMC

Take care of your feet and your feet will take care of you.
Christ Kacoyannakis
Posts: 252
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:58 pm

Re: Finished My First Guitar

Post by Christ Kacoyannakis »

Looks great. Congratulations! Are you planning another? Keep up the good work.
Peter Collin
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:11 pm

Re: Finished My First Guitar

Post by Peter Collin »

When I got to first play it, it was first a great sense of relief followed by a sense of elation. Because it was a big moment of truth, discovering if it would play at all, whether I made some critical mistake along the way with laying out or levelling the frets. There are still a few tweaks to do, but from here on I can play it!
Christ Kacoyannakis
Posts: 252
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:58 pm

Re: Finished My First Guitar

Post by Christ Kacoyannakis »

I know it is very difficult to accept mistakes (and I am guilty of this myself), but really, this is how you grow and improve in anything. Seeing the mistakes, and being able to look at your own work with a critical eye will help you improve much more than if you look at your instrument and always think it is perfect.
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