59' LP Build- "Vokey Burst" Build Thread

[vokeyz]

Post 15: Headstock Veneer, Neck Glue-Up, Parts Fitment

In full disclosure: This guitar was/is a gift, will not be sold, has not been sold. Like the first post indicated; this is the first Les Paul I have ever made, and it's heirloom territory for the family. This guitar has been marked on the inside as well, so even if someone tried to steal and then sell it, it would be hard to ever claim this to be "authentic".

With that out of the way.

I'm using a holly veneer. This veneer will help guide the final shape of the headstock. It’s copied exactly from a 59’s headstock, off a laser cutter.

The laser-cut outline fits close but not 100% to my template. The template I have is meant to choose your own outline, and it seems to follow closer to a more recent, standard headstock outline. After gluing, I'll shape the headstock to the outline of the veneer.

I used a few pieces of MDF to gently clamp the veneer into place, and let it sit overnight. Once dry, I ended up with this;

With a little trimming and sanding, I had a ready-to-glue neck:

Happy with the results, I began rehearsing the neck glue up. I have found gluing the neck is an operation where rehearsal really pays dividends, so I practice my sequence a few times, adjusting clamp size and blocks until I'm confident in my set up.

Here, I use Titebond hide glue, which isn't the same as the hot stuff, but when try feels (to me) VERY similar.

I use a freebie guitar pick and coat both the tenon and the pocket prior to mating the two together.

A few wipes with a rag for squeeze out and that's that. I check for gapping one last time before letting it sit for the night.

The unclamped guitar feels less and less like wood, and more and more like an instrument.

Before doing final sanding, I prep all of the hardware and ream/drill any of the holes that are left.

This includes the headstock, switch hole, bridge and saddle points, pickup cover drilling and fitting. I like to put low tack tape on the top, stick some sticky rhino paper on that, and shape each cover to the exact curve of the top to minimize any gapping or fitment issues.

As a final measure, I do a test assembly run. All of the hardware I'm using is the current Gibson historic hardware. It's nice stuff, and it's what Dad wanted for the build.

Next, I'll get into sanding, pore filling and staining. Stay tuned!

 

[TheVillageGrouch]

 

[vokeyz]

Post #16: Finish Sanding and Dye prep

During the wood working phases of building, I usually aim for 220 at each step. Sometimes I'll only go so far as 120 to roughly shape something in, so prior to taping up the guitar for pore filling, I'll go over the entire guitar again with 220. I don't "finish" a guitar at 220, so I'll follow up 220 with 320, which is enough to start pore filling. I'll use a handheld flashlight and shine it perpendicular to the sides of the guitar, looking for deep scratches that needed addressing.

Once satisfied I move onto pore filling. I've seen this done many different ways with many different products. I like using Stewmac's waterbased stuff because it dries really hard and can be mixed with tints. I use red, brown and black Mixol tints to get a very dark, almost black pore filling compound.

Once mixed up well, I apply by hand with a glove. It's a very messy process, so I keep my work area clean.

Once fully applied, the pore filler dries hard in 2 hours and I return back to sand. I sand this back first at 320, and then at 400. 400 Is the number I tend to aim for for painting. Another byproduct of using a water based filler is how it raises the grain. Generally, I raise the grain ahead of painting 3 times to cut any of the errant wood hairs that can complicate the finish process, and this saves me a step.

Once sanded back, I have a guitar that's ready for it's final sanding. I like to use waterborne aniline dye, which raises the grain, so this is why I repeat this process several times. Once you dye the guitar, you can't really sand out the raised hairs again without ruining the dye application and starting over.

I should also mention for the purpose of grain raising, I use straight water. Mineral spirits and other similar products raise the grain less, which is why I use them for getting a gauge on what the grain looks like instead of water.

I try to focus on one area at a time, allowing myself to compartmentalize each section and progress through the body. Between each one I'll simply run my hand along the entire guitar and take note of the rough areas I have missed.

After repeating this process 3 times, I get ready to dye the back and tape off the top, fretboard, and anywhere I don't want the dye to penetrate.

In the next post, I'll go over how I arrived at the back's color, along with the serial we landed on that has meaning to Dad.

 

[vokeyz]

Post #17: Back Dye and Serial Stamping

The goal with this guitar was to build Dad his ideal Les Paul. From the carve, components to colors, I wanted this to be his larger than life ideal. The way I am doing things here deviates from the way things were done in the 50's, but I was confident in the method I was choosing and that it would work out.

I used Lee Valley's water-soluble aniline dye as the base for the color. It's a mix of three different colors that I trialed with Dad on Facetime on offcuts. We ended up with a kind-of faded cherry, that isn't as neon red as some Les Pauls that I have seen, but will suit his ideal 'burst as well. I apply with a lint free cloth.

Staying consistent is important with aniline dye. Coats do "build" and its easy to overapply in one coat. Similar to sanding, I work one area at a time. The first coat is pale, as it should be based on the concentrations I chose. There's a balance in choosing how concentrated your mixture is. The lighter the coat, the easier it is to control the final color, but the higher the likelihood of raising more grain, which can have consequences.

I like to aim for 2-3 dye applications. It's just enough wiggle room to make adjustments to the color if need be, or to catch any pesky wood hairs that may show up again.

The second application is where I stopped for this build. I was really loving the color and knew it would be a hit after a day of fading. Aniline dye has a habit of growing more pale/faded after the first day of application. This is a feel-thing, where you aim a little higher than what you want the end product to be. One final step that I do to blend any application streaks is to wet a clean lint cloth and run the entire guitar over one more time. This removes very little dye, and helps to consolidate both applications and make them more uniform in appearance.

As for the dark pore filler; I like when the grain structure makes a more dramatic appearance, and as I was walking Dad through the process I found he liked the same things I did. This makes things a bit larger than life.

As for the Serial, we kept it light. Dad wanted it to represent his birthday.
9 8564
9- 59 Style Les Paul
8- 8th month of the year
5- 5th day of the month
64- The year he was born

It felt fitting given this was his 60th Birthday present/retirement gift!

Next up we stain the top. More to come!

 

[vokeyz]

Post #18: Staining the 'Burst

In the 50s (and today) the method of choice was shooting the burst onto the guitar with a spray gun. By this point in the build Dad had long figured out (It's been months of building at this point!) that this guitar was for him, and I decided that I wanted his exact direction on coloring. We traded lots of pics of other Les Pauls and wound up with a faded burst as the goal. Using this water soluble aniline dye is a bit tricky because it fades in the first 24 hours before "Settling into" the color it will be, and that means you over-shoot the finish you're looking for. This will end up looking like a dirty lemon burst, but will appear more red on the outset. I like using the hand-stained approach because I feel that it accentuates the top more than a spray-on finish. This gives an overall more "old" look the to guitar, highlighting the natural beauty of the wood more.

First I remove all the protective tape from staining the back.

And as I did the back, I raise the grain and sand several times.

For the first sanding pass I used the mouse sander to get any little dings or dents off from building (since first shaping the top)

Finally I retape the binding edge to protect both the already dyed back/sides and the binding itself.

Starting with pure Lemon yellow, I wipe the first layer of color.

For me, this color is a bit too stark yellow.

I add a touch of red to the yellow mix, and get a lighter amber/honey round 2.

Happy with the base color I start the faded burst.

I use a weaker solution of brown and start feathering the burst into the edges of the top.

I keep clean lint free cloths close by so I can "blend" each stage with warm, clean water. After the first burst pass, to avoid obvious application streaks, I blend.

It's subtle at first, but that is my goal for this top. Dad wanted it to be very subtle, and mostly concentrated at the top. On the next pass I push further into the center of the top.

Passing with a clean rag and water the color starts to become more apparent.

Not there yet, I do another layer of stain. I stay tighter to the edge this time to increase the perimeter contrast to the middle.

This is now close to what we want, so I did one more pass to "overshoot" the color to anticipate fading.

Which left me with this:

After a few hours, the guitar can be handled, so I prep the headstock and spray 4 coats of ebony black nitro.

And the next day, the guitar is ready for clear coats. I loved how the top "Faded" from the day before.

Next, we clear coat!

 

[BGood]

Waaa .... what a top !

I don't get how/why it faded though. Pigment is pigment, it should be stable or it would still go on fading. If it faded because it dried I'd get it, but it would then regain it's saturation with the clear coat.

 

[vokeyz]

Waaa .... what a top !

I don't get how/why it faded though. Pigment is pigment, it should be stable or it would still go on fading. If it faded because it dried I'd get it, but it would then regain it's saturation with the clear coat.

I’m not particularly a scientist with this at all. I may be using the wrong words, but the colour desaturates to a certain degree on each build I do. I think applying by hand means the dye goes deeper into the wood, and continues to migrate as it dries out in the first 24 hours. I have yet to see it not do this on any of my builds. When it dries, yes it fades, but comes back with clear coat. But the colour itself subtly shifts in the first 24 hours at a fundamental level, and I have yet to come up with a reason for why. All I know is to prepare for it haha

 

[BGood]

I’m not particularly a scientist with this at all. I may be using the wrong words, but the colour desaturates to a certain degree on each build I do. I think applying by hand means the dye goes deeper into the wood, and continues to migrate as it dries out in the first 24 hours. I have yet to see it not do this on any of my builds. When it dries, yes it fades, but comes back with clear coat. But the colour itself subtly shifts in the first 24 hours at a fundamental level, and I have yet to come up with a reason for why. All I know is to prepare for it haha

OK. Might just be an impression. Saturation fades as most any color dries, I don't think it migrates deeper into the wood. To find out, you'd need to stain two identical pieces of wood. First one gets stained, dried and lacquered. Then second one gets stained and compared to first when still wet.

I'm no scientist, but I spent most of my life mixing and applying paint on canvas
jeangaudet.ca

 

[vokeyz]

OK. Might just be an impression. Saturation fades as most any color dries, I don't think it migrates deeper into the wood. To find out, you'd need to stain two identical pieces of wood. First one gets stained, dried and lacquered. Then second one gets stained and compared to first when still wet.

I'm no scientist, but I spent most of my life mixing and applying paint on canvas
jeangaudet.ca

Lovely work.
I’d agree that it’s an impression, I just find when comparing the dry surface the first day in comparison to the dry surface the following day, there’s a notable difference in the two. I regret I don’t have photos of that particular comparison.
I’ll share a comparison image later in my final posts of the first day wet from the above post vs what it looks like under finish on the final product. It’s a subtle shift, but one I’ve seen using aniline dye specifically. Other pigments and stains don’t seem to have this particular shift. The Lee Valley product I use is not light-fast (and I choose that on purpose for this particular style of finish) so it ages through time and the pigment becomes more and more bleached/faded, so it’s similar to the guitars of the original era. I think specifically the red and brown loses their colour the most, the yellow doesn’t seem to change at all.
I could be wrong of course, and this is all anecdotal/personal experience. I have no formal training or education in any of this!

 

[vokeyz]

Post #19: Clear coating and Decal application

In Canada, there's not too many options for Nitrocellulose lacquer, but one fantastic company I've been using faithfully for my builds is Oxford Supply Company. These guys have stellar products and their customer service rules. Because the color for the guitar is complete, I'm ready to move right into clear coats. I'm aiming for around 10-12, so as to not create a very thick finish. I know that Dad wants this thing to haze and do what nitro does, so I planned to do 5-6 coats a day over the course of 2 days (Like 30 hours or so)

Spraying nitro in Alberta's summer climate is arguably the best. It's dry around 35-40% humidity in the garage, and the temperatures are generally mid 20's (Mid 70's). I tend to aim for a pretty low pressure and high atomization when I paint. I feel like I can control it better, and as coats are layered on, I add more paint volume to increase the spread. Once there's some finish on the guitar, I like to build with thicker coats.

A cautionary word about nitro: We all know paint fumes are bad, but nitro paint fumes are on the further side of the bad spectrum. Use a respirator or fresh air system when spraying nitro. I switched to long sleeves part way through because I didn't like the idea of nitro even landing on my body. I also put on my safety glasses for obvious reasons as well. I vented the garage between coats, and never let anyone near it while I was conducting the job. Stay safe out there!

The first couple coats yielded exciting results:

Progressing further, coats 3,4 and 5 yielded exceptional (And exciting) results.

At coat #5, I decided to hold off and let it flash/set up overnight. I had some orange peeling I wanted to address and felt now was a good time to take a moment and level the next day. Here's the guitar on the bench the next day after 5 coats overnight:

Alongside levelling some orange peel, I also levelled the headstock to apply the waterslide Les Paul script. I did not feel equipped to dive into the world of silk screening, so I opted for the decal under finish approach.

With the decal on, some orange peel addressed it was time to proceed with the next 5-6 coats. By the 8th coat, everything was starting to hit the mark.

By coat 10, I felt I could have left things alone, but opted to go for one more.

With a little orange peel to deal with, I was happy to call this phase complete. In different types of light, the top colors were stunning!

At this stage in the project, I was able to step back and see the bits of wood look like a Les Paul. In the next post I'll cover wet sanding and the electronics. Stay tuned as I wrap up this build!

 

[TheVillageGrouch]

Gave this some thought. This is the most impressive build thread I have ever been witness to.

 

[vokeyz]

Gave this some thought. This is the most impressive build thread I have ever been witness to.

View attachment 842

Man, thank you. This was a lot of work, and more work still to assemble a thread with pics, so I'm glad to hear people have been enjoying to follow along.

 

[Chloedogsdad]

Man! There's about an hour of productivity lost, and well worth it! This is a pleasure to follow along with, I love how well you have documented each step along the way. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

[vokeyz]

T

Man! There's about an hour of productivity lost, and well worth it! This is a pleasure to follow along with, I love how well you have documented each step along the way. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Haha thank you man, I’ll try to post more by the weekend!

 

[vokeyz]

Post #20 : Wet Sanding and Electronics

In the majority of my (albeit short) time building guitars, I have wet sanded my finishes. There can be some drawbacks when wet sanding, primarily water getting into unfinished areas and causing havoc to the finish itself, by swelling wood. Moderation is key with the wet sand approach, and drying often to check work has yielded me some great results. I generally cut in at 600 in areas where there is significant orange peel to work on. 800 grit is a safe spot, so I move there quickly.

I got a bit heavy with the water in the below pic as I got clumsy with clean up. I keep a roll of blue shop towels around for when I dip my paper too frequently. I always get results I like with the WetOrDry from 3M, though as a progress through to 2000 grit, I find myself enjoying the sharkskin products as well.

A word of caution to avoid swirl marks in the your fresh finish: Allow it to cure at least 7 days under ideal weather circumstances. Nitro finish is soft for a long time as it continues to harden up, and therefore susceptible to "side marks" from your paper. I don't know what else to call these, but if part of the paper you are using is folded to have a sharp edge that drags as you work, you will need to go back a grit and start that grit over, or worse, respray.

Buffing is something that still feels a little like black magic to me. I am hoping to get a real stand-mounted buffer soon, but with the Stewmac foam pads and their polishing grits, I can get great results with a steady hand and a cordless drill.

I'll mention here that the balance for buffing is enough compound to "cut" the finish is often less than I think it needs to be. I've learned a little heat is ok, but to avoid hotspots as these can do funny things to nitro as well.

Keeping the drill moving is key. Working around control cavities is also a little tricky, as you need to mindful the foam wheel doesn't kick the instrument or mar the finish. This is another area where a stand mounted buffer is probably a worth investment.

Stewmac has a medium, fine and swirl remover "Cream" type compound that I have found works well on nitro. I've used it on some other finishes with success as well. After some time on the drill, we begin to get a mirror finish:

With the swirl remover stage completed, I'm content for the time being.

As for the sticky situation for electronics; I simply went with what I know sounds good. I used the higher end CTS 500K Audio taper pots (Which to be honest haven't failed me yet), classic 50's wiring (.17 and .22 Mallory caps on the tone pots which are also audio (Vintage kinda?) taper. I couldn't bring myself to spend a lot of extra money on "period correct" caps, and neither was my Dad looking for that.

After I get the pots laid out together, I wire in the main switch loom. Here I use rigid 20awg lacquer covered cloth wire.

Before I installed the wire, I decided to oil up that dry Indian rosewood board. Results were also exciting.

From here, I begin the final install. A step I didn't cover with a video/picture was a quick perimeter clean up of the cavity face with black paint. I find it helps clean up the "uncovered" look a bit.

At this point my brain works in overdrive to worry about any errant tool, scratch or ding that happens during assembly. Here I attach the pokerchip and a Switchcraft 3 way toggle.

Now, for the pickups. I have a custom pickup maker based out of Manitoba, Canada named Peg City Pickups. Kris builds the pickups for the T-styles I sell, and I love them. He makes 4 sets in particular for me, and one is his 59' Reproduction PAF's. He really nails what a PAF in mind is. Obviously there are tons of variations in original PAF's, but generally we think of a given tone made famous by PAF's, and for me Jimmy Page and Billy Gibbons comes to mind. These pickups do that. Original Butyrate bobbins, nickel covers, alnico 4 magnets and plain enamel wire. I will get some audio clips to share sooner than later.

Stay tuned for parts assembly!

 

[TheVillageGrouch]

Post #20 : Wet Sanding and Electronics

In the majority of my (albeit short) time building guitars, I have wet sanded my finishes. There can be some drawbacks when wet sanding, primarily water getting into unfinished areas and causing havoc to the finish itself, by swelling wood. Moderation is key with the wet sand approach, and drying often to check work has yielded me some great results. I generally cut in at 600 in areas where there is significant orange peel to work on. 800 grit is a safe spot, so I move there quickly.

I got a bit heavy with the water in the below pic as I got clumsy with clean up. I keep a roll of blue shop towels around for when I dip my paper too frequently. I always get results I like with the WetOrDry from 3M, though as a progress through to 2000 grit, I find myself enjoying the sharkskin products as well.

A word of caution to avoid swirl marks in the your fresh finish: Allow it to cure at least 7 days under ideal weather circumstances. Nitro finish is soft for a long time as it continues to harden up, and therefore susceptible to "side marks" from your paper. I don't know what else to call these, but if part of the paper you are using is folded to have a sharp edge that drags as you work, you will need to go back a grit and start that grit over, or worse, respray.

Buffing is something that still feels a little like black magic to me. I am hoping to get a real stand-mounted buffer soon, but with the Stewmac foam pads and their polishing grits, I can get great results with a steady hand and a cordless drill.

I'll mention here that the balance for buffing is enough compound to "cut" the finish is often less than I think it needs to be. I've learned a little heat is ok, but to avoid hotspots as these can do funny things to nitro as well.

Keeping the drill moving is key. Working around control cavities is also a little tricky, as you need to mindful the foam wheel doesn't kick the instrument or mar the finish. This is another area where a stand mounted buffer is probably a worth investment.

Stewmac has a medium, fine and swirl remover "Cream" type compound that I have found works well on nitro. I've used it on some other finishes with success as well. After some time on the drill, we begin to get a mirror finish:

With the swirl remover stage completed, I'm content for the time being.

As for the sticky situation for electronics; I simply went with what I know sounds good. I used the higher end CTS 500K Audio taper pots (Which to be honest haven't failed me yet), classic 50's wiring (.17 and .22 Mallory caps on the tone pots which are also audio (Vintage kinda?) taper. I couldn't bring myself to spend a lot of extra money on "period correct" caps, and neither was my Dad looking for that.

After I get the pots laid out together, I wire in the main switch loom. Here I use rigid 20awg lacquer covered cloth wire.

Before I installed the wire, I decided to oil up that dry Indian rosewood board. Results were also exciting.

From here, I begin the final install. A step I didn't cover with a video/picture was a quick perimeter clean up of the cavity face with black paint. I find it helps clean up the "uncovered" look a bit.

At this point my brain works in overdrive to worry about any errant tool, scratch or ding that happens during assembly. Here I attach the pokerchip and a Switchcraft 3 way toggle.

Now, for the pickups. I have a custom pickup maker based out of Manitoba, Canada named Peg City Pickups. Kris builds the pickups for the T-styles I sell, and I love them. He makes 4 sets in particular for me, and one is his 59' Reproduction PAF's. He really nails what a PAF in mind is. Obviously there are tons of variations in original PAF's, but generally we think of a given tone made famous by PAF's, and for me Jimmy Page and Billy Gibbons comes to mind. These pickups do that. Original Butyrate bobbins, nickel covers, alnico 4 magnets and plain enamel wire. I will get some audio clips to share sooner than later.

Stay tuned for parts assembly!

 

[vokeyz]

Post 21: Final Assembly and Nut Construction

After final polish and electrical install is complete, I can wire in the pickups, and begin mounting all the hardware. I used all Gibson Historic 'replacement' hardware for this build, in nickel to match the nickel pickup covers as well.

Once again, patience is certainly key to not mark up the fresh finish on this guy.

I'm not a huge vintage tuner guy, but admittedly they look perfect for this build.

With the hardware mounted, it was time to get into building the nut. Sure, I could have just bought a Tusq nut, but where's the craft in doing that? I started with an oversized camel bone nut from SoloMusicGear. Using the HeartMusic nut and saddle sander, I got the bottom squared up to the sides.

An expensive but functionally easy tool that saves me a jig! From here, I mark and cut the nut to the approximate width of the neck at the slot.

With some light sanding, I get a nicely fitting nut and begin to layout string spacing with my spacing rule. I aim for just narrower than an 1/8th of an inch on the outside of the string to the bound fretboard edge.

With my outside layout complete, I move forwards and start to rough in the top curvature of the nut. I do this by eye first so I don't have to file slots more than necessary.

With the curve roughed in and spacing marked, I notch and file each string to size. This guitar is being sized for 10-46's, my Dad's preferred string size and the overall Les Paul standard.

Once slotted, I choose a sacrificial set of strings to help do the set up. They get sacrificed because the saddles aren't notched yet.

Unslotted saddles are more work, but help create spacing that feels wonderful under your picking hand. I use a small 8oz hammer and once my spacing is sorted, I gently tap each saddle where the string is.

From there, I pull the nut from the slot and shape the top and headstock side.

From here, I polish the nut. I use a few grits starting at 1000 and finishing with 4000 so it shines a lot more than average. I wet sand, because at this point I've smelt enough bone dust.

I use a small dab of thick super glue to set the nut, and then the outer sacrificial E strings to hold the nut in place while the glue dries up.

Once set, I quickly burnish the inside of the nut string slots with some vick's lip balm and the sacrificial strings that correspond the slot. I find this gives them a head start on "settling in" and helps to lubricate the micro pores of the nut. Not sure if this is scientific but it works really well for me.

I replace the strings with a fresh set of Daddario NYXL 10-46s, and for the first time, I can strike a chord. After some quick adjustments, I throw the guitar in it's new Gator case.

And then I pack up my H&K Quad Statesman EL84, and head to the farm.. Where I can hear this guitar for the first time at the right, tube-cooked volume of 10.

Stay tuned!

 

[vokeyz]

Post #22: Completion and initial thoughts

It's done!

These first few chords felt phenomenal. The quad statesman has that Vox style break up, so it sounds instantly Queen-esque.

A few thoughts:

It feels and plays amazing. It's for sure influenced by the fact I made the guitar, but it's light (around 8.2Lbs) and resonates more than any of the Les Pauls I've ever owned or played. This is due to lots of things I'm sure, but it's amazing.
The pickups feel and sound fantastic. I can't be sure how accurate they are because I've never played a real 59', but they "Do the thing" you want it to, and I think that counts.
While the carve certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, it has a larger than life look to it that feels wonderful. I think on a personal build I would consider doing a re-carve for some subtle roll in the base of the top.
There's a few things that are "tells" that this isn't an authentic Les Paul, but they're subtle, and an untrained eye would likely miss. The point wasn't to make it perfect however, it was to make it my Dad's ideal guitar, which I think I succeeded in.
120 man hours later, 70 hours of footage, and countless more invested in research, I made Dad the best 60th Birthday gift I could. And in the next post..I'll be sure to share his personal reaction and thoughts as well.

Here's the full 29-minute build video, for those looking for some more entertainment.

And the shorter, whirlwind 3 minute edit:

Thanks for following along here, I hope it's been fun for you to follow along. I have another post coming, so stay tuned!

 

[BGood]

That was the easiest most gripping thread to follow. Thank YOU for it.

 

[GrooVey]

That was the easiest most gripping thread to follow. Thank YOU for it.

This^

Crazy awesome build!!!