WezV DC Juniorish build

Philly_Q

WezV said:

I think a super light body would potentially lead to a bit of neck dive with the heavier neck

I will see what the weight of neck and body are like, and if they feel like they will balance well once i'm further along.  Currently I'm expecting the finished guitar to be well under 8lb, but I haven't weighed as many of these through the process

Is that something you can predict from the separate weights of neck and body?  I'm always intrigued by the way some SGs have neck dive and others don't, and I wonder if there's a way of anticipating it at an earlier stage.

WezV

I can get a feel for it once the body and neck fit together, if its a tight join I can do it before i glue them.   

To judge a guitars balance I normally hold it loosely by the body a few inches behind the front strap button position, which will likely be on the upper horn for this

SteveRobinson

GSPBASSES said:

WezV said:

Its often called african mahogany, Gibson  may have even used it on some 50's guitars.

Like all mahogany, modern stocks do tend to be a bit heavier, but this one is okay.... should balance well with the maple neck

DD has loads of khaya  mahogany in stock at the moment all very very light one-piece bodies, downside most of it is only 40 mm thick, that’s great for Les Paul standards.

I hope it's better than the split one he sent me.

WezV

Body cut out and round over added.

Neck rough cut, planed headstock face and routed for truss rod

WezV

I have started laying out parts to get an idea of how it will look and where routes need to be.   gone for a modded Dc special guard shape for now... I will probably try a few card templates  once the build is further along and I can see how it looks with a neck on.  I'm curious how it will look with a more junior shaped guard 

PhilKing

Hi Wez, I think the switch is further back on an LP Special.  It's above the bridge volume.   You can see it in this pic:
Like the way it's looking with the special style scratchplate.

WezV

I think its the bridge controls I need to move a bit... squeeze them all together a bit more.  I don't think the switch is far off

Its an odd layout that messes with my preference for even spacing 

PeteC

Sorry if I missed it but what pickups are you going with in this Wez ?  

PhilKing

I think perhaps all the rhythm controls are further back than on a traditional Les Paul layout. 

The pickups are an old 2004 pair of Bare Knuckle humbuckers in early 60's Gibson covers,  The bridge is an Emerald and the middle is an A4 Mule.

PeteC

Ah.  That’s what you are sending across Phil ? 

Keen to see how you go about setting your neck angle Wez. 

PhilKing

Yes, pickups, an old Badass bridge and posts and an old set of Grover tuners.  Wez kindly agreed to make me a guitar that I used to have back in the late 70's (though that had T-Top Gibson embossed humbuckers).   It's an unusual combination of features and pickup positioning.  Of course my memory of how it sounds is probably flawed by time!

WezV

PeteC said:

Ah.  That’s what you are sending across Phil ? 

Keen to see how you go about setting your neck angle Wez. 

I have just cut a 3 degree angle into the heel.

Lots of progress to show later... I love how quickly Juniors comes together.  Although it will go on hold for a few weeks after this to settle in before I carve the neck

WezV

So got a lot done today.

First job was to process the neck blank a bit more.

I got the router thicknesses out for 3 jobs.

1.  Thickness headstock
2.  Thickness neck shift to give a consistent 1" thick starting point with fretboard 
3.  I jacked up one end of the thicknesser by 3 degrees to route the base of the heel.  I don't bother with a lip, its just a simple flat heel into a simple slot in the body.


Then I trimmed the neck, fretboard and headstock to shape.

Body has been routed for neck and I have added humbucker routes... but I just realised I've used the wrong hunbucker template.  I need to label these things better.  These are nice routes for a direct mounted uncovered humbucker, but a covered one only just fits, and won't at all once there is lacquer on there.   Oh well, I will give them a quick adjust tomorrow.

The neck join is nice and tight and everything lines up where it should.

WezV

Oh,  and for the weight watchers amongst you,  its currently 6 1/2 lb in this state

PhilKing

These will make it weigh more!  I took a picture of the parts before I get them sent off to you.

WezV

Awesome... yeah, they will add a fair bit back, although I still have a big control cavity to route and neck to carve.   I expect it will come in around 6lb before paint and parts.   Should be reasonable

WezV

just binding some pearl blocks

PhilKing

They look really nice Wez.  

PeteC

Nice to see a quick update - very much looking forward to seeing how this turns out. 

WezV

They should turn out okay.   I have gone for black veneer here for the John Birch look.

I'm never sure on the sizing of pearl blocks.  Gibson use an odd mix of sizes, but they look right once the frets are in.   Never sure if this is just because we are used to seeing the oddly sized blocks.

These are a mix of the usual gibson size blocks