Les Paul Build - Part 1

My plan is to build a Les Paul based on plans from Stew Mac. After reading about the plans elsewhere, I've heard that it may be better to use the Stew Mac plans for the neck, and the plans from MIMF for the body. The plan is to make the body and neck from mahogany, the top from quilted or curly maple, and the fretboard from rosewood. I will probably use a clear natural finish, as this is my #1 choice for the furniture I build. The wood usually stands out on its own, so why add (too much) color.

I say "too much" because after receiving a mahogany body blank from Stew Mac, I might have to color the mahogany slightly for the body and neck to match. The body was very very light in color. I have a little bit of mahogany left over from other projects that I am using for the neck, and it is pretty dark. The piece for the neck just happens to be the perfect size and it is nearly quartersawn, so I didn't want to spend extra money buying a neck blank.

My first step is to create a template for the body and then cut and shape the body to the template.

Template on body blank

Rough cut on bandsaw


Trim to final shape on the router table with a pattern and flush trim bit

There are a few burned spots that will sand out. I want to make sure I didn't hear any tearout, especially around the horn. I'm happy to say that I did not :-)

I did have a lesson learned though. I secured the template to the body blank with hot glue (I was out of double sided tape), and since I wanted to make sure the template didn't move, I used too much glue and had some trouble separating it from the body. I had to use a putty knife and heat gun to remove it.

I also learned that it helps to mark a line about 1/8" from the template to actually follow when rough cutting on the bandsaw. I did this by putting my pencil in a small washer and following the perimeter of the template. Since my rough cut was so close, the router didn't have to work as hard, to carve out big chunks. This is one of the main reasons I didn't get tearout. It also helped that my bits were brand new and sharp.

Since I haven't received the maple for the top, I started on the neck. I milled the blank to 7/8" and cut a scarf joint on the table saw. I also cut and planed one end so I could glue it on for the heel. Since the piece was short, I attached to longer pieces of scrap wood to the edges and ran it through the planer. I've known about this trick for awhile, but this is the first time I've used it. It worked great, and now the heel is 1 1/2", which is the exact size I'm using for the neck tenon.

Gluing neck


Close up of scarf joint (16 degrees)

I've also decided that I will cut my own control and switch cavity covers, so I made the templates for those as well. I still need to make the control cavity routing template. The covers will probably be walnut, that I will ebonize with india ink.

Body with control and switch cavity cover templates

More later....as if that wasn't enough.