Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies

After test fitting the inlay we can super glue the inlay into place. I recommend FastCap brand super glue. FastCap has super glue available in thin, medium, thick, and Jel formulas. For these inlays, we will use the thick formula. This will help fill the unevenness in the inlay cavities. Since the cavities we routed are also radiused with the fingerboard we are going to need to use spring clamps to hold it down into the slots as the super glue sets. We will use one on each end of the inlays. After about 1 minute you can remove the clamps and the inlays will now hold the radiused shape.

After the inlays are all glued in place, sand the inlays flush with the fingerboard using a 12″ radius block with sandpaper attached. I taped the fingerboard down to a flat surface using double-sided tape and taped a straight edge parallel to the center line of the fingerboard. Use a straight edge to keep the radius block running down the center of the fingerboard. Use light and even pressure to sand the inlays flush being careful not the change the shape of your fingerboard. These celluloid inlays will sand very easily.

Leave the fingerboard and straight edge attached to the flat surface for the next step. We are going to fill the uneven gaps between the inlay and the fingerboard. You can see in the next picture some of the gaps. While most were nice and tight some are very unsightly. Look at the second inlay from the left.

Clean the fret slots and any gaps between the inlays and the fingerboard with compressed air. Tape the frets slots to prevent the gap filler from clogging the slots as seen in the above picture.

To make the gap filler we are going to use some fine rosewood sanding dust and Testors plastic model cement (in the orange tube). You can use a scrape piece of the rosewood fingerboard and sandpaper to make the fine rosewood sanding dust. Make more than you think you will need. Mix a small amount of the plastic glue and the sanding dust to make the gap filler. I used my fingertip to press the filler into all the gaps and left it a little high. The filler will sing and get lighter as it dries.

The picture above shows the 2nd or 3rd filling of the gap. After the gap filler dries (about 12 hours) you will want to use the radius block to lightly sand the filler flush. You will usually need to fill the gaps 3 times to completely fill the gaps because of shrinkage.

Sorry i don’t have any pictures of the fret installation. Seemed to have misplaced the set of pictures or accidentally deleted them. Tips on fret installations:

1. Clean fret slots…make sure there isn’t anything that will hinder the frets tangs from properly seating.

2. Use a file to slightly bevel both side of the fret slot. This will also help the fret to set close to the fingerboard surface.

3. Pre-radius your fretwire. Fret wire that matches the fingerboard radius are less likely to pop out of the slots.

4. If you have a fret that is not staying in the slot…use thin superglue at the fret edge. It will have a capillary action and suck the superglue into the slot. Use a spring clamp to hold the fret down until the superglue sets.

5. If hammering the fret in go with light taps across the surface starting at the middle. Hammering to hard will dent the fingerboard at the slot. Will require a lot of fret leveling later to fix.

This fingerboard is going to have nibs (binding over the fret ends) like most Gibson Les Paul guitars have on their fingerboards. Clip the end of the fretwire flush to the edge of the fingerboard. Run a flat file along the edge to clean up the end of the fret.

Next we are going to install the fingerboard binding. Use double side tape and attach the fingerboard to a piece of MDF that is larger than the fingerboard. This will help us align the bottom edge of the binding. To attach the binding I used a thick superglue formula. Pre-cut the binding for the 3 sides (2 sides and bottom). Attach to small piece of binding to the bottom edge of the fingerboard (where the 23rd fret would be). Make sure to hold it flush with the bottom surface. After the superglue dries (30 sec), trim and sand the installed binding flush on the side of the fretboard and the top to match the radius. Next install the side bindings with the thick superglue. Trim and sand the binding end. Use end nips to trim the binding above the fingerboard and frets to within a 1/16″.

There is two ways to trim the binding and shape the nibs. You can shave it with a cabinet scraper/file or use a flush trim bit installed on a router table. Using a cabinet scraper and file can take hours. With a flush trim bit it can be down in minutes. The trick to make sure only the bearing rides on the fret board. Adjust the router so cutter only hits the binding.

Finish up the binding detail with a feather edge and flat file. No need to do a perfect job yet. You will have time to finish the fret ends when dressing and leveling the frets.

Next we will start on the top carve….

For the fingerboard, we used a pre-slotted, pre-radiused fretboard. This makes the job a lot easier and saves plenty of time. This fingerboard came ready for 24 frets so we will need to remove the extra fingerboard length for this guitar. Cut the fretboard at the 23rd slot and sand to the final length. Make sure you account for your binding thickness.

We are next going to taper the fingerboard. Sorry I forgot to take picture of these steps. I will try my best to explain the procedure. First I marked the center of the fingerboard and then proceeded to mark the 43mm width at the nut and 58mm width at the body end. Make sure you again account for the binding thickness. On a table saw, we cut a scrape board (used a piece of mdf) to about 12″ wide. After cutting the board do no move the table saw fence. Using double side tape, tape the fingerboard to the scrape board lining up the 43mm and 58mm marks. After running the fingerboard through the table saw you will have one side of the fingerboard tapered. Repeat this process on the other side.

For the next step I like to use painters tape protect the wood and mark where the inlay marks will go. After taping the position of the inlays you should double check inlay position against a guitar. Many guitar builders have accidentally put inlays on the incorrect fret position.

Lay each inlay into position and trace the inlay with a x-acto knife.

Remove the inlays and go over the trace with the knife again to deepen mark. This will help the fingerboard from chipping when you’re routing the inlay pockets.

To route the inlay pocket I used a dremel with a router base and small endmill. This dremel router isn’t the best and requires a lot work to keep centered. We would recommend an upgraded to the dremel router base. The fingerboard was installed on a piece of MDF and clamped into place with acrylic plastic strips. The acrylic strips acted as a straight edge for the router base to run against. With some patients everything came out ok.

Here is a close-up picture of the fingerboard with the inlays installed. Any gaps will be filled will be filled with Testors plastic cement and fine rosewood sanding dust.

We will continue working on the fingerboard in the next blog entry which will include gluing in the inlays, fretting and binding the fingerboard.

We didn’t use a book matched maple set for this top. I found two boards that look very similar and glued them together with Titebond wood glue. After joining we planed the top to a 5/8″ thickness. Trace the body outline from the template to the maple board. You will be using the center seam as your center line throughout this build so make sure it accurate. Rough cut the maple using a bandsaw and leave about 1/8″ at the outer edge. You will be trimming the extra with a router once the top is glued to the mahogany body.

Trace the pickup routes onto the maple top using one of the templates. Drill two pilot holes in the pickup pocket to help you when gluing the maple top to the body. Carefully clamp the top to the body to dry fit without glue. Once everything is lined up, screw two drywall screws into predrilled holes.

Remove the screws and separate the two pieces. Tape the edge of the mahogany body to protect it from glue squeeze out. I used hide glue but you can also use titebond to join the two pieces. When working with hide glue you need to work quickly. Make sure you plan out the steps ahead of time and have everything within easy reach. Spread on the glue to the top and body and leave about 1/4″ of space around the wire channel and controls cavities. Spread a nice even coat that isn’t to thick. Join the two pieces and line up the center lines. Screw the two drywall screws. These will help things from shifting during assembly. Start clamping and make sure to keep checking the center line. I end up using most of the clamps I own. Don’t forget to get clamps into the center area.

After the glue has dried overnight you can remove the clamps. Flush trim the top to body with a router. Finish the sides by using an oscillating spindle sander for the inside curves and a block sand for the outer curve. Spend a lot of time to ensure a smooth surface. Use your hand and a good light source.

Next I drill small pilot holes for the volume/tone controls, and toggle switch. One thing I should have done was drill the pilot holes for the tailpiece. Doing this now while the surface is flat is a lot easier than when you already have the carved top.

Our next update we will take a break from the body and work on the fingerboard.

We will start by mounting the control cavity template to the back of the guitar using double side tape. Make sure and using the center lines drawn earlier to help with alignment of the template. We will use a forstner bit to remove most of the material before using the router to finish the job. To make a vintage looking bottom do not go all the way through. Leave about 5/16″ of material at the bottom of the cavity. You will use the router to get the final depth of the bottom. If go to deep with the forstner bit, the bottom will be littered with the center marks from the bit.

After removing majority of the material with the forstner bit you will use the router with a top bearing pattern bit. Do not try to remove all the material in one pass. Go down about 1/4″-1/2″ at a time and go slow. Leave about 1/16″ at the bottom of the control cavity and 1/8″ at the bottom of the switch cavity for the vintage look.

Attach the control cavity cover template using double side tape. Using a top bearing pattern bit, route the control cavity recesses. Check your control cavity thickness and go to a depth of the cover plus about 1/32″ to account for the paint thickness. You don’t want your control cavity to sit above the finish. Test fit the covers.

Mount the wire channel template to the front of the guitar using a screw in the pickup cavity area. Route the wire channel to a depth of 1/2″.

Here are two pictures of the back, you can see the wire channel entering the control cavity.

Put a 3/16″ radius bit, with the bottom bearing, on the router. Route the roundover on the back edge all the way around the guitar.

At this point I would want to weight the guitar body. A good weight for a blank at this stage of the build is less than 5 lbs. This one came in at 4 lbs 13 oz. Perfect. If it weighted more that 5 lbs I would consider either drilling large holes (swiss cheese) or chambering the body. There is many pictures online on how Gibson did this to the Les Paul to keep the weight down on the guitars.

Next we will start on the maple top.