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This thread will be chronicling my Vintage Les Paul build.
After having built a number of Classical and Steel Strings over the past few years it is time to switch gears.
The build will be mostly faithful to the Gibson late-50's design.
I will be using a traditional Mahogany body and Curly Maple top, Maple-bound Rosewood fretboard with EVO Gold frets.
The neck will have the 17 degree headstock angle, and I will use a scarf joint (vs the traditional 1-piece)
The frets will feature hemi...semi...er....rounded ends (vs the traditional ABS binding notched at the fret ends)
For the maple top, I am planning a nice amber burst.
I was unable to find 13.5" wide 8/4 Mahogany for the body, so I found some nice 8" wide stock that I will be gluing up for the 2-piece.

This is gonna be fun, thanks for looking!

Rob

There are a number of excellent plans available for Vintage Les Paul builds.

It is generally accepted the John Catto plans are accurate for the body shape and various cutouts and hardware placements.
John Catto v10 Plans

The Bartlett Plans are also well regarded as accurate, with full neck details:
Clicky here for Bartlett Plans

The Stew-Mac plans are regarded as accurate for the neck, the body shape, not so much....

I will be using the Catto plans for the body and SM for reference.

Another good set of plans out there are the top carve profile plans:
Top Carve
Top Carve Cross Section

You will need a few copies of the Catto plans and the Top Carve profiles - I brought mine to my local printer and had 10 each printed out.
The plans are to scale - be sure to tell your printer to print them with the "No Scaling" option

Here is a the parts list with part #s for all the bits and pieces - should be enough to get me started....

Les Paul Parts List:

Body and Top:
SA Mahogany: 8/4 x 18”l x 7.5”w
Curly Maple: 4/4 x 18”l x 7.5”w

Neck:
SA Mahogany, Curly Maple Binding, EVO Gold Frets (LMI FWG74)

Headstock Veneer:
Ebony

Misc Parts Stew-Mac:
1058-R Slotted Fingerboard for Gibson Guitar
0053-B Black Metal Jack Plate for Les Paul with Screws
0066 Humbucker Helpers Set/2
0126 JP LP Wiring Kit
0168 Chrome Stop Tailpiece with Metric Thread
0170 Chrome Strap Buttons - Set of 2
0615 Small Truss Rod Cover for Banjo/Mandolin 2-1/4 x 1-1/16 Gauge
0743 Nickel Slotted Roundhead 0.090 Diameter Truss Rod Cover Screw
0857 50's Les Paul Guitar Plan
0912 Nickel 3-left/3-right Vintage-Style Tuners with Keystone Knobs
2552 4mm Allen Nut Hot Rod - 18" overall length
1030 .059in Black Pickguard Material Sheet
1151 Black Switch Plate for Gibson-style Toggle Switch
1152 Cream Switch Plate for Gibson-style Toggle Switch
1194-A Amber bell knob
1509 1/4in Cream Plastic Humbucking Pickup Mounting Ring
1510 7/16in Cream Plastic Humbucking Pickup Mounting Ring
1511 Chrome Tune-O-Matic Bridge with Posts & Bushings
3359-G Gold Pickup Mounting Ring Screw
4397 Cream Binding .090 x .565 x 65
4652 Switchcraft Mono Output Jack

Allparts:
LT-1465-080 LT-1465-080 - Mother of Pearl Inlay Set
EP-4382-000 EP-4382-000 - .022 "Orange Drop" Capacitors
GS-0001-001 GS-0001-001 - Nickel Pickguard Screws

All righty then - let's get started!

Here are the woods I have selected, after an initial run through the drum sander:


After shooting the edges to be jointed, they are glued together.


I will set them aside and get cracking on the templates....

A number of templates need to be built before getting started with shaping the body.
Here is the Catto plan - cut out four outlines 1/8 outside of the body profile:



Trace the plan out on a piece of 1/2" MDF, then cut the rough profile on the band saw.
Glue the plan to the MDF.

Frank Montag has a pretty cool "Design Your Own Les Paul" site at:
http://www.frankmontag.com/

This is what I have in mind for my build - whadyya think?

Great info. I just put together a Les Paul kit guitar for a friend. The quality wasn't too bad but really made me want to make one from scratch. I noticed in your posting above that you had some good references for the carved top of the Les Paul. Do you where I could find a solid model of the top that I could use on my CNC? (I am confident I could make my own model but just seems like someone has already done this!)

_________________
Brad
Avon, OH

Thanks Brad!

I have not run across a model for the carved top - however there must be some out there!

Rob

Using the spindle sander to sand the edges almost to the line.


Using a sanding block to sand the edges exactly to the line. The 1 1/2" rubber attachment from the spindle sander is perfect for shaping the upper bouts and the cutaway.


Cut out and glue up two more plans and templates. On the Master Template, drill and countersink a screw hole in the center of each pickup, and screw the master template to the second template, ensuring the centerlines are exactly lined up. Use a pattern bit and rout the second template so it is a perfect copy of the master. Repeat for template #3.


The 3 templates are ready to configure.

Looking good!

_________________
Brad
Avon, OH

Thanks Brad - almost time to make some real sawdust!

Some progress on the templates. Much effort must be made to ensure the templates are exact.

To shape the cavities, first hog out as much material as possible with a 1" Forstner bit, just inside the line:


Here is one pattern all hogged out:


Shaping the cavities on the spindle sander (followed by shaping and smoothing with files):


Template 1: Cable Channel


Template 2: Switch and Control Cavities, and Pickup Lugs


Template 3: Switch and Control Covers, and Pickups


Template 4: Neck Tenon - note no cutaway to provide a base for the router

The back has been thicknessed to 1 3/4", and the master template was used with the 3/4" top bearing pattern bit to shape the sides. Mark the switch and control cavities with a pencil.

Hog out the cavities with a 1" Forstner bit to 1-1/2" deep.

Hogged out and ready to route.

Use the top-bearing pattern bit to create the cavities.

Remove the template to get enough depth for the last pass. Route to 1 11/16" deep, leaving 1/16" of material.

Control and Switch Cavities done

Routing the Cable Channel with the pattern adapter and a 1/4" bit. The cable channel is 1/2" wide and 1/2" deep.

Note the channel just cuts into the control cavity, and well into the switch cavity, to allow room for the switch.

Align the top to the back and drill 1/8" holes through the top into the back by 1/4". Use the screw holes used previously by the Master Template, which are in the center of the pickup location. Insert 1/8" dowels 1" long to align the top during glue-up.

Keep the glue at least 1/2" away from the cable channel.

The top was thicknessed to 5/8" and rough shaped with the bandsaw, ensuring the centerlines line up. Using two templates as clamping cauls. Clean up the glue squeeze-out ASAP.

Thanks to ExNihlo for making these top profile maps available. They are a topographical map of a '59 burst, in 1/16" gradients. Cut out the 7 profiles and glue to 1/2" MDF. The 8th print is left whole and glued to the maple top.

They are cut out with the bandsaw, then smoothed to the line with the spindle sander.

Using a bottom-bearing flush-cut bit to trim the top to the sides. Then sand the sides perfectly smooth up to 220.
2906
Before contouring the top, use the Master Template and drill 1/16" holes to mark the center location of the pots and the switch - they are a pain to mark later....

The full pattern has been glued to the maple top. Here the first gradient pattern is screwed in place. Using a pattern sleeve rout down in 1/8" increments until there is 3/16" left above the back. In this case, The top is 5/8", the pattern is 1/2", so the final depth of the first rout is 15/16". Successive patterns will be routed 1/16" less.

After stepping down 1/8" per pass, the first 15/16" cut is complete

All the passes are complete, creating the rough profile of the top

Rob -

Too cool! Keep em coming!

Your techniques are very logical and easy to follow.

Thanks for sharing.

_________________
Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

To route the neck angle, mount the body with the centerline square to the hinged routing jig

The target neck angle is 4.4 degrees as shown.

Use the jig as shown to route the neck angle. Increase the depth by 1/16" per pass to keep it smooth. Continue routing until the depth of the maple top at the neck/body join matches the rest of the body - 3/16"

Perfect!

The target pickup angle is 1.2 degrees.

Route the pickup angle, increasing the depth minimally per pass. the target depth is reached when the intersection of the neck angle and pickup angle is exactly at the end of the fretboard (and start of the pickup ring). In this case, the line was 82mm in from the top edge of the body.

Perfect!

Using a ROS to smooth out the gradient lines

Use an assortment of sanding tools/scrapers to get the curves smooth.

Hog out the cavity with a 1" Forstner bit

The template is held in place with 2-sided tape and finishing nails

The cavity is 1.5" wide and 1.5" deep

Thanks for the feedback Steve!
Things are going well so far.....lots to do yet!
This is so much different from the acoustic builds - having a blast!

Rob

The pickup lugs get routed separately from the main pickup cavity, as they are deeper (1.4").
The template is held in place with double-sided tape and follows the pickup angle.
.
The pickup cavities get routed down to a 1.1" depth

Cavities cut

Align the cavity cover template and route to the thickness of the cavity cover.

Control and switch cavities routed for the covers

Using a Stew-Mac binding bit set to 6mm deep, cutting a 0.070" channel. The binding is 0.090" which will be scraped flush to the body after installation.

Routing the binding channel.

The channel is cut

The binding came 12mm tall; it was ripped down to 8mm on the router table. The install started at the cutaway. The binding was warmed with a heat gun set to low heat to bend around the horn. Thin CA was wicked in once the joint was tight.

A small plane is used to trim down the bulk of the protruding binding. Note the masking tape on the inside of the plane to prevent marking the top

A cabinet scraper with a burnished edge makes quick work of trimming the binding flush.

Using the Troji guitar vise to hold the body.

A 3/16" roundover bit is used on the back edge. This step is done near the end of the body build to protect the edge.

The 1" output jack hole is centered in between the edge of the roundover and the binding. The location in on the Catto plan. A 1" forstner bit is used. Stop drilling once the bit just reaches the control cavity to prevent tearout in the control cavity. Complete the hole in the cavity with a round file.

Locate the tailpiece with the Catto plan, ensuring it follows the centerline. Check that your tailpiece matches the plan. The Gotoh unit is standard 3-1/4" on center, which matches the plan.

The 7/16" tailpiece bushing holes were drilled exactly 1" deep. Before installing the bushings, a 1/8" hole is drilled from the treble side bushing into the control cavity for the ground wire.

After feeding the 22ga tinned ground wire through the hole, leave 1/2" in the bushing hole, then install the bushings. The top of the bushing should be just below the surface. Use a small socket and extension to seat the bushing.

Perfect!

The ground wire, coiled up out of the way for now.

After laying out the 17 degree angle, allowing for enough material to accommodate the headstock dimensions, cut the scarf joint.

The ultra-sharp low-angle block plane does a nice job of truing the scarf joint

After truing the joint, reduce the headstock thickness to 1/2" The finished headstock will be 9/16" after applying the 1/16" ebony headstock veneer.

Glue-up

A 1/16" deep bed is routed out in the MDF carrier before reducing the headstock veneer thickness to 1/16" in the drum sander