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I am planning a les paul build, yet have never done a les paul before. It is my understanding you have to angle the neck pocket about 4 degrees, do you also angle the pickup plane at 4 degrees? Or is it less? Also is the neck heel done at 4 degrees? Or is it also less?
And which way do you prefer to angle the pickup plane? I'm not sure how thick the cutaway horn starts at and tapers down to.

In my sense, 4° is too much... I'd go with 2.5 or 3°. From what I know (and how I would do it), to higher part of the carved top (where sit the bridge and the pickups) is flat and parralel to the back, so, no angle. You angle the neck pocket, and well, you have to angle your heel too. If you put a 3° angle to your pocket, your heel will be at 93° (or 87°, depends the way you look).

That's how I would do it myself.
Francis

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

personally i like for the pickups to be parallel to the strings, therfore i angle the pockets and the pickup rings, otherwise one coil will be slightly hotter than than the other. may not make a difference but thats just my preference. also you only need angle the neck pocket, or the heel, but not both. if you put a 4 degree angle on the neck and the heel they are going to add constructively or destructively depending on what you do. you'll either end up with 8 degrees or 0 degrees.

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~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

Dangit I really need to buy one of those jigs.

if you wanted to do a partial tenon like a les paul you could do one with a myka jig, but you would need to make a template piece that was the exact size as your tenon and then clamp that into the jig rather than the actual neck.. it would probably be a lot more work than its worth.

_________________
~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

The reason I would rather buy one is because I dont have the scrap wood for one. I dont have a planer to flatten out these boards, so by the time I got all the supplies and paid to get it all planed, I would probably just a little less than if I paid someone to make me one.

most lumber that you buy from the lumber yard is already plained, and sometimes jointed as well. but really i think you could go lowes and get everything you need for a myka style jig. half a sheet of plywood, a 6 foot 2x4 for the base a 1x2 for the top rails, and a hand full of nuts and bolts. i bet you could get all that you need to make a basic one for under 50 dollars, and i wouldnt think you could pay someone to make it for you for under 200.

_________________
~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/