Electric Guitar Project - Almost Complete!

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Philly

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24 Nov 2003
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Location
Dorset, England.
HI Folks
Following the success of my recent acoustic guitar project I've been inspired to try another electric. This one will be a cross between a Les Paul and the lap steel acoustic I built.
Construction is mahogany with a curly maple top and rosewood fingerboard. It will be a square neck guitar, designed to be played flat on the lap. Again, no frets, just a high action and a bottleneck.

I glued up a centre "neck" piece and two sides to make the blank.

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Then rough shaped it when dry (and planed flat)


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The top is some wonderful curly maple I got from Canada. I've edge jointed it and then glued it up.


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That was last nights work - today if I get a chance I'll hollow out some cavities in the body to lighten it and also give it a semi acoustic tone.

Watch this space....

Philly :D
 
Thanks Olly! Pretty fired up about this one so hoping to make some progress :D
Here's todays work.

Hollowed out the top..

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glued on the top

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The maple looks awesome - really want to see the finish applied to this!

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Cheers
Philly :D
 
Will you be carving the top on this? looking good so far. You can go much further with the chambering - as long as you leave 1/2" around the perimiter to glue on the top, and some meat to support the bridge, you'll be fine.

Here's a shot of the chambering I did on my last completed project:

32_hollowedtop.jpg
 
Hey slow down Phil or you're really going to show me up :D

Looks good so far and another original design, can't wait to see what you do with that maple
 
This looks like an interesting design, your progress is frightening. I'm dying to start a new guitar project, but real life keeps getting in the way.
 
Setch
Wow - looks great. Guess I could of gone much further with my hollowing. It's made a noticeable difference to the weight, though, and that was a big goal.

Iron/BB
Apologies for the rapid progress - I've been so excited to get stuck in. I've done some more shaping and am ready to fit the fingerboard. Been making shopping lists for parts - no doing this one for pennies..... :lol:


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I'm keeping a photo diary on my website....

www.philsville.co.uk

Cheers
Philly :D
 
Phil - can I outsource all my other projects to you so I can get on with my guitars? :)

In all seriousness, this one looks fab, Im excited to see the finish on the maple - what kind of finish are you going for?
 
Excelent - Looking forward to seeing this one progess!

One question - I would guess as its a lap intrument, then the strings wont ever make contact with the fingerboard, would you be able to build this kind of intrument with a softer fingerboard, say something burled or spalted? :)
 
BB
Going to use Chestnut melamine lacquer - used it a lot and love it.
Can I get back to you about the outsourcing thing..... :wink:

Mikey
Yes, lap steel, so strings won't be going near the "fretboard". I have some rosewood handy so will be using that, but anything goes!

Didn't get anything done today - children's birthday party......

Cheers
Philly :D
 
Phil, I have some nice ebony fingerboards if you want one? Although if you could get your hands on some, I think some snakewood would like great next to the maple. (I used a chestnut product on my explorer - very happy with it indeed, I love chestnut finishes, so I'm sure yours will look great).
 
Oooh..Snakewood! Slightly pricey stuff, though :shock:

I want to go with the Rosewood to keep the "Les Paul" theme going. I'm also a complete child and keep giggling to myself about getting transfers made up with "Philson" and "Les Phil" on them. :lol:

Again, the Chestnut lacquer is sat on the shelf (I bought a 5 litre can a while ago!) and I know how to use it to get the results I want. It also buffs out really easily!

Darn - want to get out in the workshop now but should really eat something :roll:
Cheers
Philly :D
 
Mike
No, its not a nitro. But it dries fast, is real tough once cured and is a piece of cake to buff out. I finished an earlier electric with it and was very pleased!
And its a spray application - it might be possible to brush it on thinned, but I wouldn't.
Hope this helps
Philly :D
 
I've also been using Chestnut's Melamine Lacquer recently. Great stuff, even though I've been brushing it on like a peasant... :roll: :oops: I am interested in getting some sort of spray equipment and I'd be interested to hear of what you use, Phil? Does it run off a noisy compressor or is it battery or mains-powered?
 
Olly
I used to use a cheap spray set from B+Q (search on B+Q HVLP for details) but now use an Earlex HV5000, which is an excellent setup for the money. I used to use a cheap gun with my compressor, but never got it running consistently - the HVLP guns are much simpler and with less waste.
Hope this helps
Philly :D
 
Thanks for that, Phil, I'll keep my eyes open. Looks like they're made in Britain as well! :D :wink:
 
HI Folks
After a delay due to illness and work, I'm back onto this project.
Routed out the recesses for the pickups yesterday and have been doing a little inlay work on the fingerboard.


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More soon....
Philly :D
 
That is coming along, remember what I said about not finishing before me :wink:

Are you having the body bound or unbound? Nice inlays by the way too, that's one of my upcoming jobs, think I'm going to make a jig that the fretboard sits in so I can slide a dremel over the top and rout out most of the waste
 

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