Les Paul Jnr Double Cut: Polishing & Cavity Shielding

After a lovely christmas break, I finally got back to the Les Paul Junior today. First task was to polish the Minwax wipe-on poly finish using Colortone swirl-remover now that it's had time to fully cure. This process didn't actually add any more shine to the surface, but took away the 'plastic' feeling from the poly; making it beautful and smooth to the touch.

Once the poly had been polished, it was time to get the cavities shielded using adhesive copper foil. The pickup cavity and control cavity were completed with no issues. I also got the grounding wire from the bridge post installed, and soldered it to the control cavity.

All that is required to do now is to solder up the electronics and get the hardware installed. Should be well worth the wait!

Les Paul Jnr Double Cut: Fret Levelling & Redressing

Despite the fact that I should have done it during the mock-up phase (naughty!) I finally got around to levelling and redressing the frets on my Les Paul Jnr Double Cut. If you are interested in how this is done, have a look at my previous post on the subject.

Interestingly, I recently acquired a new piece of kit - a 12" radiused sanding block - and I'm keen to see how this goes as a replacement for the precision straight edge for this particular job. To this point I have always used the straight edge for fret levelling, so it will be interesting to see which works best. I have found that with the straight edge you need to really concentrate so that you keep the sanding even across the entire width of the fretboard, and that you maintain the radius of he frets. With the radiused sanding block, these problems shouldn't be an issue.

I also got myself a new Fret Re-crowning File from Stewmac. Up until now I've been using the 'Little Bone' fret file. To be honest I'm not sure which I like better. The Stewmac file is a complete semi-circular file which means that once the sides are formed correctly, the file will begin to take height off the top of the fret again, ruining your careful levelling job.

Additionally, you can't see what is happening to the fret while you file. The little bone only takes the sides off the fret, and it is much easier (IMO) to see how close you are to finishing. Maybe I'm just not used to the new file. I'll give it a few more tries to allow time for a proper evaluation.

Anyway, it's all done now including the polishing of the frets with chrome polish and some Dr Ducks Axe Wax for the fretboard. It's looking nice and I can't wait to string her up.

Les Paul Jnr Double Cut: Clear Coats Complete

Finally the clear coats are finished on the double-cut Jnr. I used Minwax Wipe-on Poly - about 4 coats - to help bring up the shine and to protect the finish a little more. To tell you the truth I just wasn't happy with the amount of clear that went on from the Wudtone bottle. Just 3 very thin coats! It didn't feel to me like it would survive the first bump.

So anyway, it's done and even without applying the Colortone polishing compound the poly has  really come up nicely.

Now to let the poly cure completely and then give it a quick buff with Colortone compounds. Should look killer when all that elbow grease has been applied.

Les Paul Florentine: Tru-Oil Going On!

The Florentine is slowly building up layers of Tru-Oil and is starting to look nice and shiny. I have about 12 coats on both the back and the front so far and have wet-sanded in between to 800 grit.

Time to start with the 1200 grit and 50:50 thinning of the Tru-Oil from here on out. This beasty is starting to look nice (IMHO), especially on the back. Hard to believe that this is only basswood! I really like how the wine red stain has come up. Wish the front was a little darker, even though the quilted maple does look pretty good. A more 'wine' shade would have been better and I'm kicking myself that I didn't trace dye with black at the very start of this project. Oh well, you live and learn.

I am also thinking about spraying some clear acrylic over the body for this build. That will allow me to darken up the colour a bit on the front (using Colortone dye in the clear). I'm even thinking of a subtle burst of even darker colour around the edges. Not sure yet. Of course I'm thinking big even though I've never yet used a spray gun in my life. It's go hard or go home I guess.

Les Paul Jnr Double Cut: Adeline Skulls!

Well, I couldn't wait any longer. After receiving my 'Adeline Skull' decals from Andy at City Signs and Print in Port Lincoln SA, I've been itching to see what they look like on my custom tortoiseshell pickguard and truss-rod cover. Well, here they are. They look freakin awesome and I couldn't be happier with them. This isn't a tribute build per-se, but a little salute to Green Day's Billie Joe was always on the cards with an LP Jnr.

Cool huh? Can't wait to see everything assembled and hear this baby scream.

Les Paul Jnr Double Cut: Wudtone is On!

So the last coats of Wudtone colour and clear have been applied to the Les Paul Jnr. That makes 8 coats of colour and 3 coats of clear in total. I would have liked to get a  few more clear coats on there, but the bottle ran out. There could have been a little more in the bottle for mind..

Anyway, the colour has deepened well and I'm very happy with it. There's a pretty good solid colour, with just a hint of grain showing through. Should look killer with the custom Tortoiseshell Pickguard I've made. I've allowed the Wudtone to cure for a week and I've started polishing it. Currently I've rubbed my heart out with Colortone medium compound and I also plan to apply fine and swirl remover grades before I'm finished. Gotta remember not to rub too hard on those edges and start taking colour off..

Once the Wudtone polishing is done, I'll decide whether the gloss is enough to call the finish complete and go on to the assembly. Wudtone is not made to duplicate the lustrous shines achieved with Nitro or Poly, so I'll have to see. On Siena's Stratocaster I ended up with a few coats of Minwax Wipe-on Poly, but that was also for protection in addition to the shine factor. We'll see how I feel. I have a new spray gun and am planning to give the Les Paul Florentine a few coats of Vinyl lacquer. Possibly I could bring the schedule forward to include the Jnr?

Flamed Telecaster: Unboxing

On a whim, about a month ago I ordered a Telecaster kit from a wholly unknown Chinese supplier (Zimbo J&W International) advertising on Alibaba. I chose this kit and this supplier in particular, because a) not only was the price good, but b) because they accepted Paypal! Woohoo! The price was so good that I thought 'what the hell' and placed the order basically to see what the result would be! My original specifications were a little different from the advertisement, but Betsy the nice Chinese lady I dealt with was very patient and cooperative in meeting my every request. This is what we eventually agreed on:

• Mahogany body.
• Maple neck and fretboard.
• Flame maple veneer with white binding.
• Pickup routing as per traditional Telecaster with a small route at the neck.
• Bolt on neck.
• All hardware including pickups etc.

The kit arrived today and I gotta say I'm pretty happy with the quality. The mahogany looks great, as does the figure in the maple top. It will look lovely with some Colortone dye!

You may have noticed that there is, however, one issue with the kit as delivered - the binding around the top has been missed. This is a pretty large omission as it happens, not in a monetary sense (it was only a $5USD addition to the overall price) but in regards to the look of the finished guitar. Hmmm.. oh well, it could have been worse right? I've emailed Betsy so maybe I can get some credit for it or something, but that remains to be seen.

Even with this oversight I'm pretty excited about this build. I've never owned a Telecaster before, but I have always wanted one.  Anyway, the next step for this bad boy is a test fit of all the hardware. I have already ordered a Premium 4-way Telecaster Wiring Harness from Stewmac and 1952 Tele Professional Series pickups from Guitar Fetish - both of which I have very high hopes for!

Tru-Oil Tip: When It's Getting Old and Grainy..

I have just discovered a neat fix for Tru-Oil that has started to oxidise and has gotten grainy and isn't wiping on smooth. A luthier from the Pitbull forum (Gavin Bramley) recommended mixing some Shellite (Naphtha) with the Tru-Oil and giving it a shake. The Shellite disolves the grains back into the mix and brings the Tru-Oil back to its original smooth state. Briliant!

Just tried it out on my Florentine build - I had stopped short due to highly gritty Tru-Oil (which I discovered too late to avoid) and was waiting on a replacement bottle. No need for it now. Cheers! Instead I am due for a few days of careful wet-sanding to try and remove as much of the gritty finish as I can before I start re-applying. Fun times!

Siena's Stratocaster: Birthday Surprise!

Siena finally took ownership of her Stratocaster yesterday for her 10th birthday, and I think she was pleased with her surprise gift. I certainly thought the custom 'aqua' looked great being unwrapped and I couldnt help saying goodbye with a few chords.

There's no doubt that this colour (surf foam green etc) is one of the best colours for Stratocasters. I really love the way this one looks, and have already started dreaming of one for myself. Even with all the stock hardware and electronics, the guitar plays really nicely and Siena took to it like a fish to water.

Looks like another rock godess is on the way...!

Les Paul Florentine: Scraping Binding & Tru-Oil

A bit more work on the Les Paul Florentine saw me sanding and dying the neck and headstock, as well as put the first coat of Tru-Oil on the quilted veneer. The quilting hasn't come up as well as I would have liked, but I guess it isn't too bad. Hopefully the quilting will pop as more layers of Tru-Oil are applied (typically it takes 3-4 coats for the full effect). The neck got the same wine-red mix (90% Cherry, 10% Blue) as the back and sides of the body.

Before applying the Tru-Oil, I was also able to scrape the all the binding clean of dye. What has been a stressful undertaking on previous builds turned out to be smooth sailng this time around, although I gotta say - trying to scrape that binding on the inside of the f-holes is a bitch! I finally managed it though with a small exacto-blade and a lot of patience. Fun times!

Les Paul Florentine: Dying the Back and Sides

Well, I finally got the dye on the sides and back of the Les Paul Florentine. I used the same wine-red colour that I mixed up for the front - 90% Cherry and 10% Blue Colortone dye.

The grain on the back of the guitar has come up really nicely, and the contrast with the front of the guitar (I wanted the back of the guitar a little darker) is good. It's amazing that even though this is only basswood, there's some real flame figure happening there! The colour is looking rather pink on the front now that it is fully dry, but both will darken up a quite bit as the Tru-Oil goes on.

The dye went on without incident (it's uniform at least), although there were one or two minor glue spots that I missed during sanding. For these I'll have to do a bit more sanding and then patch up the dye job.

Once the dye is finished, the next job is to scrape the binding, both in the f-holes and around the top edge. For me, that's the most stressful part of this whole process. Stay tuned!