Basvarken Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 This week I completed the build of a guitar (yes, six string). It is a hybrid of a Les Paul Junior Double Cut and a Tele (or actually Esquire). The Brooks LP-TC Amalgamation - Mahogany body - Bookmatched Quilted Maple top - Mahogany 3-piece set neck. Glued in - Wine Red stain - Ebony fretboard with abalone inlays - Jumbo frets - Checkerboard binding - 24 3/4" scale - Buffalo horn nut - Telecaster style bridge. With compensated saddles. Black - Double action spoke wheel truss rod - DiMarzio The Chopper T (DP-384) humbucker - Gotoh SG-381 locking tuners. Black - Push-pull Volume knob for parallel-series switching - 250k Tone knob - Black knurled barrel knobs - Mallory Mustard Tone capacitor - Weight 3.25 kg Serial number: 2022006 With a special Amalgamation logo on the headstock and Starman logo on the custom pick guard. How does it sound? Like this! I'll post pics of the build process in separate posts below. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share Posted October 26, 2022 I started with two nice slabs of Mahogany or actually it's called Khaya. It has a nice and even grain and it is very light weight. I asked the timber supplier to make the neck blank a three piece for me. It saves me a lot of time. For the 12th position inlay I use a tube of aluminium and cut off a ring. Bought a pre-slotted ebony fretboard at Holz Faszination in Germany. Drilled holes. And glued then inlays in The inside ring of the 12th inlay is exactly the size of a regular black inlay. So I just glued that dot in. I mixed the superglue with ebony sawdust, just in case there would be a gap Then sanded the inlays level with a radius block. Sorry no pics. (forgot) Taped off the fretboard to get ready for hammering the frets in. I fill each fret slot with a few drops of super glue./ The tape makes sure it doesn't splatter onto the fretboard Cut off the excess on both sides 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share Posted October 26, 2022 Fast forward to the neck. Got no pics of routing the truss rod channel. And no pics of cutting the headstock angle. Nor trimming the neck to the right width. Glued the fretboard onto the rough shaped neck Left enough wood beyond the heel to allow for decent clamping onto the workbench. Shaped the neck profile. Using a spoke shave and a coarse file. I should try a shinto rasp some day. At my day job I have access to a laser cutter. I made vector files and cut out the templates for the body. Prepared the slab for the body. Drilled a few holes with a forstner bit, to make it easier for the handheld router. Routed the control cavity and the slot for the pickup wires Glued the beautiful quilted maple top -that I scored at Holz Faszination- onto the body. You can never have too many clamps, right? Routed the body shape along the laser cut template Body outline ready Routed the profile for the controls cover on the back On the front side I routed the channel for the binding 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share Posted October 26, 2022 Glued in the strips of checkerboard binding. Using acetone instead of glue, in order to prevent glue spilling on the top or side. Then routed the black strip off on the outside of the binding. Leaving just the clean black and white block pattern Glued the outer (white) binding in place. Again using acetone Scraped it clean Back to the neck; Drilled holes for the side dots Glued the side markers in For the 12th position I used the same method as the one on the fretboard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share Posted October 26, 2022 Routed the neck pocket. Using the laser cut template Shaped the heel to make it a good fit Checked the angle Before I glued the neck in, I drilled holes into the headstock Then glued the neck into the pocket Routed the pickup cavity Checked if it fits. And if it lines up properly Drilled the string through body holes on the back side of the body Taped of the fretboard. Getting ready to stain the body Stained the back and sides a dark brown with a hint of red Then stained the top a wine red / blood red Scraped the binding clean. And sprayed the first layer of clear Sprayed the headstock face black. After many layers of clear and lots of sanding in between I put the decals in place Made the custom pick guard per special request. The guy who ordered the guitar is a massive fan of the band Rush. Used the laser cutter to engrave the Starman logo. Then filled it with white acrylic paint. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 😍 NICE! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Wow! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Fabulous work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 That looks lovely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Lovely job 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Wow (too)! 👏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Lovely work but can you please focus on what Samuel L Jackson in pulp fiction called “the path of the righteous man” and leave the weedy six string dreck alone? Too much of it and you’ll be refusing to turn down as “you can’t hear it properly when it’s too quiet” and other such merchant-banker excuses 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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