Replica Les Paul rebuild

normula1

Dumb question, can you give the bleaching a second pass or is it a one-time activity?

WezV

You can do a second pass, but I don't think it would do much more here

WezV

I was spraying a few other bits today so decided to do a test burst to see how well this will be hidden.   Wouldn't normally do finishing before the neck is on, but I needed to know how successful this fill has been.

gone for a nice honeyburst for this, a little bit of red analine that will fade out a bit.   

good angle - no parts, inside


bad angle - no parts - inside


Good angle, with parts - outside


Bad angle - parts - outside



pretty darn close 

davros

With the pickguard on, the hole doesn't really stand out that much. It would be a shame to darken the burst to try and hide it when it's not prominent. I think the grain marks also look fine, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so depends what the owner thinks!

I love the colour and well applied burst!

LastMantra

So skillful! Always worth a look at your threads. 

WezV

davros  said:

With the pickguard on, the hole doesn't really stand out that much. It would be a shame to darken the burst to try and hide it when it's not prominent. I think the grain marks also look fine, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so depends what the owner thinks!

I love the colour and well applied burst!

I'm very happy with how it looks.  I think its comparable with those who do this kind of thing on proper Gibson husks and conversions. The aim is rarely to get it invisible with repairs like this, just get it close enough so it blends in.... most don't show you the unfavourable angles side by side like this


I may still reshoot the burst if this one doesn't survive the rest of the process intact, but now I know we are in a good place to continue.

normula1

Cracking job Wez

TTony

Genius at work.

Brilliant imagination, skills and technique Wez - as we're used to.  Thanks for sharing it all here.

Mattharrier

To my mind, entirely uneducated in the ways of woodworking and luthiery, hiding a hole like that to any real degree seems impossible, but that looks incredible. The attention to detail in matching the grain is impressive.

Would it not be possible, either instead of or in addition to the bleaching, to darken the plug to match the original wood more closely? Or is that just going to result in making the plug stand out even more?

WezV

Mattharrier said:

To my mind, entirely uneducated in the ways of woodworking and luthiery, hiding a hole like that to any real degree seems impossible, but that looks incredible. The attention to detail in matching the grain is impressive.

Would it not be possible, either instead of or in addition to the bleaching, to darken the plug to match the original wood more closely? Or is that just going to result in making the plug stand out even more?

It's possible, but yes, risky.

Also possible to do some wood graining in the finish.   The problem with that is you can get it looking great, but can't guarantee it will age at the same rate as the rest.... a good wood match is always safest in the long run

PhilKing

Hi Wez, I think it looks brilliant and the plug really isn't an issue.  Have you ever seen the PRS Howard Leese guitar where the top was from an old cabinet, so they had to plug the knob hole in it.


Yours is much more hidden that that.

WezV

Yes, I had forgotten about that one.

The aim is to get the eye to pass over the repair, which I have definitely achieved.   Obviously in a thread like this the repair is the subject matter, so we all know exactly where it is and see it straight away.

tanihhiavlt

It's true that we all now know the shape and position so are going to be drawn to it. 
When you think this is on a flame top the chances of matching grain, flame and flame-depth - it takes a high degree of craftsmanship to know which battles to pick and a high level of artistry to make the winnable battles work. 

If spotted at all, it looks like an artefact in the wood  

GSPBASSES

Been there done that, drill coming out of the body where you don't want it too.





Apart from those little cock ups, it would've been a lovely guitar, it now sits in the corner of the workshop in disgrace.

davros

I've been extremely lucky so far, this one was an incredibly near miss.

WezV

@GSPBASSES ... I'm sure many would take it as a B stock project.

@davros my recent TV yellow DC guitar wasn't far off that in the cavity.

JayGee

[Shrug] It’s a ((largely) hand made/finished object made from natural materials, and, in this case (like the Howard Leese PRS a bit further up the thread) there’s a back story.

Obviously you don’t want these things leaping right out at you but I’m very much inclined to put this in the category of things to be enjoyed for what they are rather than stressed over for what they’re not and a well executed but inconspicuously visible fix like this adds a little bit of charm to the package…

Sambostar

@WezV I do admire your level headed workings. Honestly, it's one of the main pulls of this forum.  The way you can find the time and rationalize stuff, put your hands together and just do, despite all the family and adverse commitments you must have, without ever asking or implying that anyone wipe your arse for you or ever needing to escape into the never world because it all becomes too much.  I really do feel you should teach.  Have you looked at a career change of late?

WezV

I left teaching 10 years ago, so that's out  

I do feel a career change coming, but it probably won't be guitar related.   I do this to keep me sane 

Hottubes

Good work there Wez, who had it before the butcher of Baghdad !!