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Building a Les Paul Jr; Big Thanks to AJCOHOLIC


voneville

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I wanted to share the bit of progress I've made on my Les Paul Junior build. I started this a while back but I got busy and didn't have any time to work on it. Now that things have started to wind down I have a little bit more time off so I've made some headway. Here are some pics.

 

A big huge thanks goes out to AJCOHOLIC, who put things in perspective with his build threads and his common sense "it isn't rocket science" approach. I can't say how much him taking the time to document his progress has helped me.

 

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I've made a lot of mistakes but the lessons I've learned fixing those mistakes are priceless. I used the Stewart Macdonald 59 Les Paul plans as well as the LP JR Double Cut plans that are floating around the net. I still have a little bit of work to do to finish it up, but I'm coming down the home stretch.

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You guys are CRAZY! No way you can make your own guitars... thats like... impossible and you have to study under some master luthyr or something.:cop:

 

Actually... I sent copies of the tracings I did off that 56' LP Jr to a number of members over the past few years. I hope to see a few more of these being built!

 

Glad I was of some help to someone...:wave:

 

AJC

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Thanks all.

 

I am leaning towards brown or cherry red for the finish. Not sure if I want to go with Nitro or a Cat Laquer, most of the finish work I've done has been with spar varnish, teak oil or poly and a brush. I have a sprayer and compressor at my house though.

 

I have a few more build pictures on a computer at work, I'll upload them this week and put them in chronological order. I didn't take as many pictures since most of what I have done was on the same lines of AJC's build. Since I am using the carpenter shop on my ship I have to do my work on my lunch break or after working hours.

 

Here's a picture of me striking the first fret. Proof that you don't need the fancy hammer or most of the other tools that Stewmac sells.

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And here's one of me shaping the neck.

3866167688_49e73a5e63.jpg I planned on using a spokeshave and a cabinet scraper, but I couldn't find the plane in the shop. The bitch about using someone else's shop is things aren't always were you saw them last. The guys that work in there don't use planes or chisels very often.

 

The pickups I planned on using are salvaged from my Vantage, I think they're Dimarzio's from the early days of the company, they're great pickups and coil tapped already. I plan on building another one down the road with P-90's now that my pickup winder is up and running (I'll save that for another thread).

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Thanks all.

 

I was a little bummed, I didn't calculate enough neck angle so I couldn't use the compensated stop tail piece I bought for this project. I happened to have a string through unit though, so there will be rock.... It feels a lot like a shorter scale length Tele (not a bad thing at all).

 

It's hard to believe how much sanding goes into a guitar. I've made a point to listen to great Les Paul players while working on this project. I also routed a big enough hole for a P90 if I ever choose to go that route. I'm leaning towards keeping this one buckered and build another with a P90 so I can properly play Mississippi Queen!

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