duane v Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Where do I start...... I found the 1982 30th Anniversary neck on Reverb that was in need of a bit of work but for $180 it was worth a shot so I purchased it. Next I needed a body and finding a Gibson body that would mate with the 1982 short tenon had proven impossible. So I found this Ron Luczak 59 Body for a decent price an thought this would be a pretty straight forward project...... Well I couldn't have been more wrong..... lol .... Sow here we go. The 82 30th Anniversary neck cleanup and headstock veneer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 The 59 Body Arrives: I added some dye then sanded.... The last image was only halfway through the sanding process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Was that neck a repair job? There are no tuner holes and it looks like the head was glued into the neck by the squared off section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 The fun part.... Getting the neck tenon modified to fit properly in the body: (Neck Heel Spacer). In orderder to get the scale length correct I needed to add approximately .25" spacer to the neck heel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Next: Widening the neck tenon for a snug fit using mahogany strips. The neck now fits nicely into the body neck pocket 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Next: Making a neck tenon attachment. I have the basic shape cut out and I will shape and attach to the modified neck tenon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 33 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Was that neck a repair job? There are no tuner holes and it looks like the head was glued into the neck by the squared off section. Total headstock repair. That was a long process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Great to witness the process with the sequencial pix, Nicely thought through. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Yeah.. Good stuff 👍 We need to see more like this on here.. I have to get back to it myself soon which I fully plan to in the next month or so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 I shaped the "tenon extender" then glued it on the neck tenon then when the glue was dry enough I test fit and it worked. The fit is pretty snug, so I might do a little bit more sanding to give me a tad more clearance for the glue when I mate the body and neck together tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 14 hours ago, Rabs said: Yeah.. Good stuff 👍 We need to see more like this on here.. I have to get back to it myself soon which I fully plan to in the next month or so. Gracias I've always watched your projects with great interest.... It was an education for me. I could have taken the easy route and had a neck made after finding out when I received the body the Gibby neck was going to need some major modification.... But so far everything is moving along pretty smooth.... I recommend taking a Luthier class..... I know when I took mine at the Fret House it was an eye opening experience. It was the best $600 and two weeks I've invested towards guitar playing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 Wow... Awesome job Duane. Seems like you had your work cutout for you during this project. But the end result..... Looking good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 I drilled the ground wire hole from volume/tone cavity to the tailpiece holes and presses in the anchors. Glued the neck to the body and clamped yesterday. I checked the neck angle and it reads at 4.3 degrees so I think I'm okay....... will see. I have a bit of finishing work to the back of the neck and the body. Seal and sand the neck pours. Position and Drill / Tap the ABR1 bridge post holes. Sand the headstock overlay level Tape off the back of the headstock and neck heel for a black stinger design to hide some of the madness... lol. Stain the headstock overlay black. Stain the body and neck a medium brown. Spray sanding seal on the stained areas only then sand with 1000. Clean 10-12 coats of Nitro Gloss Lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 A little mockup after removing the clamps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) On 4/12/2024 at 4:52 PM, duane v said: A little mockup after removing the clamps I've heard some people refer to Chinese Gibson fakes as "Chibsons". I defiantly am NOT implying that your craftsmanship is "fake", or cheep, (and I bet this creation will give Gibson a run for their money.) I am just wondering if this creation should be dubbed a, "Dibson"? Or maybe a, "Vibson"? Edited April 14 by Sheepdog1969 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 5 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said: I've heard some people refer to Chinese Gibson fakes as "Chibsons". I defiantly am NOT implying that your craftsmanship is "fake", or cheep, (and I bet this creation will give Gibson a run for their money.) I am just wondering if this creation should be dubbed a, "Dibson"? Or maybe a, "Vibson"? Fibson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 On 4/14/2024 at 1:55 AM, Sheepdog1969 said: I've heard some people refer to Chinese Gibson fakes as "Chibsons". I defiantly am NOT implying that your craftsmanship is "fake", or cheep, (and I bet this creation will give Gibson a run for their money.) I am just wondering if this creation should be dubbed a, "Dibson"? Or maybe a, "Vibson"? "Chibson" implies fakes from China. The two components I'm working with are a neck from the Gibson Kalamazoo Factory in Michigan that was originally attached on a 1982 30th anniversary Les Paul that needed some work when the headstock was snapped in two. The body is also a product of Michigan as well from a well renown Luthier I never heard of... lol. As for me giving Gibson a run for their money.... I highly doubt it.... Every Gibson I own (and I have many) are outstanding instruments. All I'm doing is trying to get two components to work together, and so far everything seems to be working out. As for dubbing it anything, maybe a FrakenGib would be something I would consider. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 This weekend I finished painting the headstock stinger and started on the neck heel stinger. Interesting thing when painting over a porous medium like mahogany it takes patience and quite a few coats of nitro. As you can see on the neck heel that is 2.5 coats of nitro and the pores are very visible even with two passes of Timbermate wood filler prior to painting. I'm finding I'm needing 7 coats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 The headstock and "neck heel from hell" stingers are painted. Now for some cleanup work and the stain for the body and neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 Looking good!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 I grew up in California, don’t think I didn’t see the See’s candy box. Bourdough is my favorite. And those old school suckers are killer. Do they still give free samples when you walk in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 2 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: I grew up in California, don’t think I didn’t see the See’s candy box. Bourdough is my favorite. And those old school suckers are killer. Do they still give free samples when you walk in. 😄 If they did give free samples I would be planted at every See's Candy shop and I would get nothing done. My personal favorites are the dark chocolate molasses chips.... I think I may have muncheed myself into insulin shock a few times with those suckers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 (edited) 12 minutes ago, duane v said: 😄 If they did give free samples I would be planted at every See's Candy shop and I would get nothing done. My personal favorites are the dark chocolate molasses chips.... I think I may have muncheed myself into insulin shock a few times with those suckers. Those are great too, those thin waffer ones. Edited April 16 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 Stained the back and cleaned the guitar up a bit... gonna wait a few days then hit it with nitro clear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Looks sharp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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