Fully hollow and carved Les Paul

paulnb57 · June 2020

ICBM said:

guitargeek62 said:

With that in mind, how about ebony/rosewood to match the bridge? It'll keep the wood theme going and minimise plastics throughout - maybe use the same for the knobs too?

Wooden pickguards and knobs - and pickup surrounds - are an abomination. 1970s furniture guitar accessories.

I think the guard is perfect as it is. It just needs a pair of old bakelite knobs to go with it.

(I still think it needs the triple diamond tailpiece too! )

Agreed!

roberty · June 2020

I think it looks effing amazing personally! So cool

enjo · June 2020

WezV said:

Whatever I use will look hand buffed.... I'm not after super shiny.

I meant the guard rather than the guitar - personally I think both look great as they are for the record

WezV · June 2020

thanks, i'm not mad at it as is, but happy to try a few bits out to make sure its as good as it can be.

Its the guard i am talking about too. normal black plastic will be too perfect, i don't want that. Some 50's Gibson plastic with roll marks would be nice, or a bit of Bakelite. just a bit of texture. we will see

PhilKing · June 2020

Hi Wez, I still have the 50's Gibson guard if you want that for this guitar.

WezV · June 2020

PhilKing said:

Hi Wez, I still have the 50's Gibson guard if you want that for this guitar.

thanks Phil, i think the bracket hole will still be in the wrong place.

I'm still trying to decide whether i want to age this or not... i might actually keep it new looking, or at least NOS

TTony · June 2020

^^

Wis’d !!

PhilKing · June 2020

That's fine. If I get chance I'll take a look around, but I probably won't have any NOS stuff, perhaps some older Gretsch or Silvertone plastic that you could reshape.

WezV · June 2020

Thanks Phil. speaking of Gretsch, i was considering a clear guard painted on the back, I also noticed their solution for old style tort guards is to laminate some thin tort onto a clear guard. thin tort is much easier to find, so it might be one option for me to consider.

although i risk going down a rabbit hole here

PhilKing · June 2020

Yes, basically all the older Gretsch guards are clear with etching and paint on the back. It gives you a lot of choices (hence your rabbit hole, I guess).

WezV · June 2020

I've also orders some bits to try and make my own tortoiseshell knobs for it.

This may not work. Even if it does they might not get used on this.... But down the rabbit hole I go

ICBM · June 2020

WezV said:

I've also orders some bits to try and make my own tortoiseshell knobs for it.

This may not work. Even if it does they might not get used on this.... But down the rabbit hole I go

Matching tortoiseshell knobs would be fantastic if you can do it. If it doesn't work, you could get a couple of old 'swirl' bakelite radio knobs off Ebay... I have quite a few, but no matching pairs unfortunately.

WezV · June 2020

Yeah, I was looking at eBay earlier but didn't really spot many pairs I was confident in

GuyBoden · June 2020

Wow great build, now it's nearly finished, it looks a bit ES125 (ish)

They seemed to have Gold knobs with a Tort pickguard.

WezV · June 2020

Yeah, I don't think the normal gold or amber Gibson style knob will be bad at all. I have some as my backup option.

greggreg66 · June 2020

This is looking so beautiful. The pickguard, (I’m looking on a phone not computer) maybe appears on the murky side and lacking the clarity of the Cromwell one. I also like the sharper angles of the Cromwell guard, gives it a deco edge somehow, it contrasts well with all the other curves.

GuyBoden · June 2020

IMHO, the best looking Jazz archtop pickguards are the one's with the 5-ply binding, but they are way too expensive for what is basically a piece of plastic.

$200 plus post from USA, the link for ref purposes only: Archtop.com

I have two of these for my 1949 Gibson L4, one with a cutout for a floating pickup, one without for a pure acoustic look:

Image: https://www.archtop.com/PageMill_Resources/L5Cgd.jpg

Image: https://www.archtop.com/PageMill_Resources/L5gd_cu.jpg

WezV · June 2020

I agree, but it's not right for this as everything else is so simple.

I would make one myself if I was doing that.

WezV · June 2020

just doing a few drop fills on the finish before i flat it off and do its final coats of clear,

got a pic with the tailpiece whilst i was at it

it will be subtlety aged, jut to take the shine off to match the pickup a bit better

normula1 · June 2020

That's stunning. Does it actually need a pickguard?

WezV · June 2020

normula1 said:

That's stunning. Does it actually need a pickguard?

Yes!

WezV · June 2020

got some knob making material. this is a 1" imitation tortoiseshell turning blank.

it has the advantage of already being the right diameter for a guitar knob, just a bit smaller than a speed knob size

I have some brass inserts with set-screws on the way from here
https://www.thonk.co.uk/shop/knob-insert-for-diy-knobs/

i will cut off some slices of the right depth, drill for the inserts, mount on a stick, then turn to final shape and polish on the drill press

PeteC · June 2020

that's a great solution - and looks like an absolutely perfect match.

WezV · June 2020

had a quick play and managed to make a torty knob very quickly. might not be right for this so i will start a new thread with the method and more pics

Corvus · June 2020

Lovely stuff Wez, the burst colour's great.

MattNovak · June 2020

Ingenious knob solution! Whole build looks great. Also, thanks for the etsy tip - some great craft stuff on there, suitable for guitar making...

Rocker · June 2020

I think the guitar looks better without the pickguard. Either way, top class work.

WezV · June 2020

the plastics from etsy have turned up, and i'm rather happy. the tort looks as good as any of the options out there. the other one looks like marble, which I am sure will come in handy for something at some point

white backing really shows the pattern

doesnt quite match the knobs, but they my still work together... i will decide on that later

PeteC · June 2020

Looks great. Would a dark greenish tint on the back of the tort help match the knobs?

Inspired by your build I’ve ordered the Benedetto book to learn about archtops.

WezV · June 2020

Yeah, I think the knobs will get dark paint on the back and inside anyway so I don't think it will be massively out when done... But if it looks bad I will just revert to standard options

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Fully hollow and carved Les Paul

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