DLP Les Paul Prototype - 11 - Prime and Fill

Work is progressing with the Les Paul prototype, I have been spraying layers of primer then filling any blemishes and sanding before spraying another thin layer of primer.

Gradually the surfaces are getting smoother and approaching readiness for a final colour, although I haven't yet decided what colour scheme to go for yet!

It doesn't take long to fill up the bench.  I am still tinkering with the setup of 'Scraps' the Telecaster and at the same time I am painting topcoat on a Stratocaster body I have been working on.

New Garage Workbench

Looking round my garage it's amazing I am able to make anything with such little bench space.  And as much as I try and keep things tidy it is almost impossible.

A couple of weeks ago I moved my drill press and bench grinder to make a little more room but it is still not enough. 

So I decided to clear one side of the garage and build a new workbench using a few bits I have doing nothing in the garage.  

The top was an internal door, and the legs and shelf are made from the kids old bunk bed and the top is finished off with a couple of wardrobe doors and a radiator cover.

Lots of light on that side of the garage in the day.  I have mounted a vice at the far end but I'm undecided about the drill stand and bench grinder.

So much room, I should be able to work on a couple of bodies at the same time which is my ultimate goal.

There is a lot of storage space under the bench which is a great help and despite the bench been so large a lot of things can to stored out of the way opening up the garage a little.

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 10 - A Little Primer

After a busy couple of days concentrating on other jobs around the house I finally had chance to do a little work on the DLP Les Paul Prototype.  I smoother out the filler I had put round the edge of the back cover and just have everything a once over ready for grey primer.

I put a very light coat on the back cover knowing it is going to soak into the MDF.  It's late at night here and very damp and humid so I don't want to put too much paint on at this point.

Very dark grey primer! I put a little on the body but did miss a few bits out as I was holding the body with my other hand! Not a very professional way to spray but as I mentioned above, it is late here and dark and I just wanted to start the process off.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 15 - Reconnecting Electrics and Stringing Up

First job of the evening is to solder all the components back together.  These are the original Epiphone pots and wires however the switch, pickups and jack socket are all brand new.

Earlier today I gave the fingerboard a good clean and a coat or tow of lemon oil as the masking tape I used whilst levelling the frets had sucked a lot of the oil out of the top of the wood.

With everything tested and secured I restrung the Les Paul and tuned it whilst ensuring the strings did not buzz anywhere on the neck.

A quick test before I call it a night and the action is great before I even think about giving the guitar its final setup.

I loved the design and the colour combination seems to work well. 

It's a unique guitar with a unique finish which gives the guitar an old look with a modern twist.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 14 - Fret Levelling and Crowning

Now the paint and lacquer has completely dried I was able to sand the surface smooth with wet and dry sand paper and then use abrasive  pastes to bring the finish back on the Epiphone Les Paul Special Model.  I then decided to level and crown the frets.  I firstly straightened the neck using the truss rod and then levelled the frets with my spirit level (which has sand paper taped to the one side).  There was a lot of wear it took a little time to take the blemishes out of the affected frets.

Next I rounded the frets to the same profile as the the neck using my home made radius block and then I crowned the frets using a 3 sides file (with one of the edges ground round).  Finally I polished the frets with my Dremel and some abrasive creams to a high shine.

With the frets polished and levelled I will be able to refit all the electrics and strings and then tune and set up the guitar.  And maybe think about finding this beauty a new loving home!

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 9 - Smoothing The Binding

The binding channel was deliberately cut slightly shallow and narrow to allow it to stand proud allowing me to smooth the binding level to top and side.  

I started by sanding the majority on the sides away with 320 sandpaper and then used a brand new Stanley / utility knife blade.  There was a couple of places where there were gaps so I melted some leftover binding with some nail polish remover and dabbed it into the gaps, once it dried I sanded off the excess.

I also noticed quiet a gap around the edge of the back cover so applied a little filler to build up the missing material.  I will sand this smooth once it sets and add a little more filler if required.

I need to start thinking about building the neck as I'm running out of jobs to do on the body.  I don't have any primer so I can't really painting yet.

Telecaster Project - 26 - Intonation Issues

After a good tidy up in the garage I managed to get some extra bench space so while I continue to work on the Les Paul style prototype I wanted to have a look at the original Telecaster prototype.

Despite everything been set up by the book the intonation is still proving difficult to set up.  I deliberately mounted the bridge to give me maximum forwards and backwards travel to allow me to adjust the string length either  longer or shorter depending on what ever is required, however I have the strings adjusted to their maximum length and still they don't seem to want to intonate.

Still at least it gives me a chance to add a couple more coats of tru-oil while I work out what the problem is.

Telecaster Project - 25 - Headstock Decoration Finished

I gave the headstock 'swish' several coats of black gloss, lightly sanded it and then covered it with a couple of coats of clear.  

Once dry I drilled 3 tiny holes into the swish and into the headstock itself and screwed it in place.

And finally here it is, the thought is that the swish adds something unique to the guitar that identifies it with DLP Guitars and also complements the DLP f-hole in the body.

I'm still in two minds weather or not to add text to the headstock in the shape of water slide transfers.  I have some paper to print my ideas on so I will see what it looks like and decide if the make them permanent.

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 8 - Cutting The Binding Channel and Glueing on the Binding

Last night I made a Meccano router base for my Dremel.  Once I fixed the Dremel on place it became apparent that it needed a slight modification as the side guide was too high and would have got in the way of the cutter bit. 

It didn't take long to get the feel of the Dremil and base, after several passes I routed a fairly consistent channel around the perimeter of the DLP Les Paul prototype body.

Unfortunately the screws on the bottom are used to slide across the surface of the body and provide a stable base, they aslo provided some nice scratches.  I was expecting this and was not too worried as the whole thing will need a complete sanding anyway to bring back the shiny surface.

Once the channel was cut all around I gave it a clean out and a wipe over with naphtha and then used super glue and masking tape to stick the plastic binding to the MDF body.

The most difficult part was around the cut out.  I used a heat gun to help bend the binding around the sharpest corners, unfortunately the heat came quicker than I thought and the plastic became very soft very quickly.

I left everything to dry for an hour or so then removed the masking tape.  In some places the super glue has squeezed out and adhered to the tape leaving a bit of a sticky mess.  Nothing a good sanding and scrap wont sort out though!  The damage caused by the router base is also apparent in the picture below.

A little while later and plenty of hard work with the sander and the top is starting to look really classy!

There is still a lot of work to do around the edge and there are a couple of places where the binding does not quite meat the body.  I will melt some of the left overs with cellulose thinners and use the paste as a filler.

It really is starting to look classy, despite the messy paint and filler on the edge.  I am thinking of painting the back and sides black and having a contrast colour inside the back cavities.  Obviously the top will remain natural with the cream bindings.

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 7 - Rounding Over The Back

After a little bit of sanding inside the body and the back cover I rounded the back edge of the body with my router.  While MDF is not the greatest material for guitar bodies it is very easy to work although it's not the kindest on the cutting tools!

I have not taken a lot off with the roundover, just enough for a comfortable feel to the back of the body.

Meccano Dremel Router Base

I want to route a binding channel around the edge of current Les Paul project and I decided the my Dremel seems like the best tool for the job.  Its not too powerful and its a light tool which would seem to be ideal for the job.  I have a base which screws onto the end of the tool and it can be adjusted up or down but I need to come up with a way of holding the cutting bit in a specific place relative to the edge of the guitar. 

So it was time to get the Meccano out!  I used to play with this when I was a boy and old habits die hard.  I guess all that play leads the mind to be creative and be able to imagine solutions to engineering problems.  It didn't take long to mock up a base to hold the router base securely in place and then the adjustable yellow wheel underneath sets the location of the cutter as it is  moved around the edge of the guitar.

The base rides on the alum screw heads which isn't ideal as they could scratch the surface if too much pressure is applied.  The latest project I am working on if flat but there may be scope for adjustment should I need to route a binding channel on a body with a carved top.  Hopefully I can test this tomorrow...

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 6 - Back Cover Preperation

Today I have continued to prepare the back cover for the DLP Prototype Telecaster.  I continued to sand it down smooth both sides.  As this was part of a radiator cover it was covered on one side with white gloss paint.  There is no point in sanding right back to bare MDF as it will only need to be sealed again.

After one of two repairs with a little super glue the back and inside were given a generous coat of sanding sealer and put to one side to dry for a while.  It may need several coats as MDF drinks sanding sealer.

So with everything drying I have time to consider if I should put an f-hole in the front of the body using the same styling as the f-hole in the two Telecaster style guitars I have already made.

DLP Les Paul Prototype - 5 - Refining the Back Cover

I have refined the edge of the back cover for the DLP Les Paul prototype to make a nice tight fit, its not perfect but the nature of the thin material does not make it easy to shape perfectly as it breaks so easily. 

It's a laborious process but I need to sand the surface smooth and remove all the drops of paint.  The back only needs a gentle rub down as the paint will act as a primer / sealer.

Even the dust patten looks cool!  As this is a prototype the back cover should be as near as perfect as possible but I'm not going to loose sleep if it is not.

Telecaster Project - 24 - Headstock Decoration

I fitted a blue swish to the headstock of my second Telecaster ('Luke') so I think I would like to do the same with 'Scraps'.  Maybe this will be DLP Guitars trademark so I'd better make one for Scraps.  I think my guitars should have an identity and the cutout in the body and the swish on the headstock could be it.

DLP Guitars 'Swish' on Luke

Laid out ready to cut.

Cut and ready to prime and spray black to match the pickguard.  I will have to make a pick guard and headstock decoration out of this and leave it copper side up and shined up and left to age naturally.

Something like this but painted gloss black.  It will complement the body cutout and add some individuality to the guitar.