DLP Les Paul Prototype - 34 - Putting It All Together

After polishing the neck and body I decided to put the DLP Les Paul prototype together yesterday.  Now this is a prototype and I don't have high expectations.  It is the first scarf jointed neck I have made (mahogany with an oak fingerboard) and the body is made of MDF, it is also my first attempt at a nitrocellulose finish.

I started with the easy bits, the switch and pots which fitted fine and then moved onto the pickups.  They were originally installed in an Epiphone Les Paul Special model and I believe they are made by DiMarzio.  I drilled through to the rear cavity to accommodate the wires and drilled holes for the mounting rings.  This bit went fine.

I had to use epoxy to secure the new chrome pickup covers to the pickups and they fitted into the routed slots perfectly.

However then I moved onto the bridge and saddle pegs.  The holes had filled with paint and lacquer and were unwilling to take the pegs and with the body been made of MDF there was no give at all and I chipped the finish.  I had to use the drill to make the holes slightly bigger, however the largest bit I had was 10mm and it needed to be slightly bigger than that so with some perseverance i finally managed to mount all 4 pegs... and they are not coming out again in a hurry!

I installed the volume and tone knobs, its starting to look like a guitar now.  The theme is cream on black with a little chrome thrown in!

The pick guard needs a little fine tuning before it can be fitted.  I used the bench grinder to fine tune the fit before drilling the screw holes and mounting it in place.

Next I installed the tuners / machine heads.  This was a simple job, I used a straight edge and some Blu-Tak to hold the machine heads in position while I marked the positions of the screw holes.  I then attached the neck to the body... A guitar at last!

Now for the bone of contention... The body, been made out of solid MDF, is quite heavy so I routed out two compartments in rear of the body and made a cover out of an old radiator cover panel.  I have toyed with both silver and black but ended up painting it silver.  Remember, this is a prototype so comments are more than welcome, but I'm thinking of going back to black!

I put stings on and straight away noticed how low the nut was so I added a small oak shim and will continue fine tuning the setup over then next couple of nights.  I made a truss rod cover out of the same material as the pick guard which turned out really well.

There are some issues with the electronics... all the pots are wired backwards! I need to look at my circuit diagram again for that one!  there are also some imperfections in the paint including blooming on the head.  but once again this is a prototype and for me it's more about how it plays and sounds that a perfect paint job.

A lot of the dimensions are based on my Epiphone Les Paul Special Model, although I opted for 2 volume and 2 tone controls, so more like a Gibson Les Paul Studio I guess.

I would love you hear your comments, especially on the rear cover. I can't wait to get home from work now to carry on working / playing with it!