LP Double-Cut/Variax

I've got two Variax transplant projects going at once now. This will be a LP

double-cut carved top AAAAA maple/mahogany Variax transplant. On this

transplant, I will replace the stock Variax bridge with a piezo tune-o-matic (Baggs T-Bridge).

 It is 25" scale with a 24-fret board and deep tenon. The neck is flame maple with Purpleheart stripes.









I'm going with a raspberry color on this one.













You guys should be pretty familiar with all the steps that I do with these neck installs now, so

I'll just post the pics on this one instead of going into as much detail as I am on the M1-VX. I'm

doing everything the same way on this one.















The tune-o-matic will require quite a bit more neck angle than the standard Variax hardtail bridge.

 

CARVING THE TOP
I'll go through the steps of how I carve a top. Below is a DeWalt laminate trimmer I'll use to

cut the side down. It has a bearing guide built right on the base. It's great to use for binding and stuff like this.



I have a core box bit loaded in the trimmer and I have the guide

bearing set to the center of the bit. The bit will only cut as deep as the guide bearing.



When I carve a top, I work from the outside in. First, I get the edge of the

guitar to a uniform 1/4" thickness all the way around. This core box bit with the edge

guide works great. You just set the bit so it leaves 1/4" below the cut.



After I go all the way around, it looks like the pic below. The top now has the 1/4" edge I want.





Now for the really high-tech part. I load a sanding disc on the drill

and rough shape the top. I leave the full 1/2" of the top thickness in the center

and try to make a nice slope out and down to meet the 1/4" edge that the router left.





Finished with the drill and below is what it looks like. I stopped at my 1/4" edge that the router bit left.



Okay, now the really, really, high-tech part. I like that deep carve that a lot of

the pro builders do. The carve goes from the full thickness in the center and dips below the 1/4"

edge and then ramps back up.  I wrap some self-stick sand paper to an old plastic

cup and shape away until it looks good to me. 



I use a block to blend everything in.



I've found that if I turn out the lights and just use a small drop light, it will cast

 shadows across the top and I can see the lines really well. Still quite a ways to go with it yet...

The top carving is nearly finished. It's hard to see on bare wood in pics so

 I took a few shots in low light and bumped up the contrast so the contours are easier to see.

Again, I don't have any templates to go by on the top carving. I just keep

working on it until I like the flow. It's kind of like doing a sculpture I guess.













Got the bridge mounting holes drilled and the pickup routs done.





Since this will have the tune-o-matic bridge, I need to be able to route the

piezo leads into the circuit board cavity. I have cut a slot under the bridge that will go

into a pocket under the top. I cut this just like I do 5-way switches. I used a

dremel and a downcut bit w/ the stewmac router base.



Also got the routs done for the pickup wires. The weird rout is the channel for

the piezo leads. The slot I cut into the top under the bridge dumps into this rout. Once

the variax circuit cavity is cut into the back, this rout will meet the circuit board in

about the same location the stock variax 500 bridge cable does.





Got the headstock shaped and the tuner holes done. I made a truss rod

cover from the left over neck wood. It matches the headstock.



Tummy cut is in there.



Just about ready to glue the neck in and put the top on. I just have to shape

the neck heel first. After that comes my favorite part. The variax routs.



Starting to look like a guitar!



Got the neck heel shaped. I'm about ready to glue in the neck. Just gotta

do some finish sanding around where the neck meets the body. It's too

difficult to sand there once the neck is in.

 

UPDATE 11/17/05

The body and neck are glued in! She is now one piece!!! Also got the stop bar tail piece inserts pressed & glued in.



I put on a tuner and strung up the 6th string to see how the action and sustain

will be. Everything has turned out great! I'm pretty happy with it.



The quilt is really going to look good I think. It's hard to tell in web pics, but it looks great in person.



UPDATE 11/19/05

I've drilled for all of the pots. I also have the 5/8" pilot holes drilled for the router. When

you are placing your pots into a cavity, it's a good idea to draw in the cavity template

where you want it and then drill the holes for the pots from the back. This way you'll be

sure the pots will fit in the cavity where you want them. Don't drill the holes from the front

and hope they'll fit into the cavity. Don't ask how I learned that! Let's just say it was

one of those lessons you learn that you never forget.

Also, the reason I drill the holes for the pots now instead of after I do the variax rout is

 because I use the holes as a depth gauge for the rout. It makes it a lot easier to tell

 when you've routed deep enough by looking at how much material is left in the pot shaft

hole. It helps keep you from routing clear through the top by accident.



I used a 7/8" forstner bit to cut in where the knobs will sit in the top. The forstner bit

creates a flat bottomed.....girl you make the rockin'.... Oh wait, that's not right. The forstner bit

makes a recess with a flat bottom so the knobs will sit square on the top of a guitar that has a carved top.



Like this:





Got the variax routs done. Notice the hole showing where I did that rout

for the piezo lead wires. Whew! That all worked out as planned.



Test fit the board. Looks good to me!

 

UPDATE 11/20/05

All done! Got the 5-way and output jack cut. I also drilled for the A/B switch. I'm

done with the building part. Now comes a couple days of finish sanding and then I'll stain the top.

 

Finish sanding is complete.
 

I wipe on the base coat of stain. The first coat I put on is really dark.



After it dries, I sand most of it back off and just leave a bit of the dark color in the low

areas of the quilt. This will help get a nice deep 3D looking finish.



For the second coat, I thin the stain more so it is a tad lighter than the base coat.

 

 

 

UPDATE 12/3/05

GRAIN FILLING THE BACK
If you're not familiar with grain filling, this is something you need to do on wood with large

pores if you want it to look like glass when you're done. If you don't fill the grain, you will have

 large pits in the finish. Types of wood that need to be filled are rosewood, mahogany,

korina (limba), ash and walnut. There are others, but these are probably the most encountered

in guitar building. You don't need to fill maple or alder because they are tighter grained woods (small pores).

I'm using epoxy for the grain filler. The reason I use epoxy is because it doesn't color the

wood and it doesn't make the pores a different color like some oil based fillers I tried. That

was probably my fault, but I just couldn't get oil based fillers to work right. Epoxy fills up the

pores in a couple applications and it leaves the wood looking natural IMHO. I use the 5 minute

stuff you get a Lowes. When I mix it up, I thin it just a little with denatured alcohol. I use a

plastic auto body filler spreader and scrape it across the grain filling the pores. After I pack it

into all the pores, I wipe off any excess with a rag dipped in alcohol. Make sure to wear rubber

gloves and keep a rag dampened in alcohol ready. You can become a sticky mess real

quick if you're not careful. Practice on scrap first.

Here I've done a couple coats of epoxy. Once it hardens, I'll just scuff it with 320 sandpaper

and it'll be ready. I want to leave the epoxy just in the pores and not on the top of the wood.

If you leave too much on, it will show as light and dark places in the finish. Use naptha to check for light and dark places.

You can gently scrape your fingernail across the grain to check if the pores are filled.

If it feels rough with your fingernail, you need to fill more. You want it to feel

like you are running your fingernail across a piece of glass.



I started the clear coats. The beauty of the maple neck really shows now. That flame really pops!

 

UPDATE 12/15/05

Nothing much to report except that I got all of the clear coats done! What a

 labor intensive job that is... I used the Behlen nitrocellulose stringed instrument lacquer

 on this one. She'll have to dry for at least a couple weeks before I do the final sanding and buffing.

 

UPDATE 1/2/06

I started the final sanding and buffing. This is the worst part of the whole build. Absolutely no

fun whatsoever. I don't use a machine buffer (yet), I hand rub the finish. So far she's looking pretty good.

 

UPDATE 1/3/06

Started buffing the top. I still have a lot to do. It'll be a few more days.

 

UPDATE 1/8/06

Buffing, buffing and more buffing... I got the bridge piezo wires routed

 through the body now. That all worked out as planned! The variax output

 jack and pots are installed. I installed a 5-way super switch. I'm nearing the end

 this build. I have a few things left to do and then it's time for final assembly.

 This is the part of the build that is very stressful for me. I really don't want

 to put a big scratch on something after I've spent hours sanding and buffing.

 

I've decided I'm going to try and hand make a set of AAAAA quilted maple pickup rings.

I don't care for the black plastic rings. I always try to do something new with each one of these

I build, so IMHO these will be a cool addition if it all works out.







UPDATE 1/14/06

Okay, I think I finally got a handle on how to make these dang pickup rings by hand.

 I'm embarrassed to admit how much R&D this took me. There was quite a lot of error

 by trial. I broke a few rings before I figured it out. I got to the point where I was pretty

 damn determined I was going to win or else! I think they'll look nice.











UPDATE 1/17/06

Got the tuners installed! A nice set of Planet Waves auto-trims. We're gettin' down

 to the wires here. It won't be too much longer. I should have her completed

by this weekend. Now it's on to installing the pickups...





UPDATE 1/18/06

Pickups are in. I'm roundin' 3rd! Woohoooo!!

 

UPDATE 1/20/06

Started the wiring. After I complete the wiring, all I have left is the

fretboard cleanup, fret dress, make the nut and install the truss rod cover. Oh yeah,

I have to make a cover for the circuit board cavity too. That should be it.



UPDATE 1/21/06

The wiring is done. I made a nut and got her strung up. I'm ready to do some tests and see how (or if) she sounds.





Since I set the neck out more than a real LP double-cut and it's a longer scale (25"),

 I figured it'd be a good idea to see if she fits into the case! That'd suck if it didn't fit in the case. She fits!





UPDATE 1/22/06

All done! Got the nut and rear cover made. Also installed the truss rod

 cover. Yeeeeeehaaaaaw! Man, this guitar was a lot of work! I guess they all are though.

 

Below are the first few sound samples of Variax/LPDC. I'll post more as I

do some more tests. I used the Vetta II straight to the board. No EQ on the board.

This is the passive bridge pickup in series. It's the Crawler humbucker from Bare Knuckle Pickups in the UK.
http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/lpdc/crawler_bridge.mp3

Variax Lester model
http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/lpdc/variax_lester.mp3

Variax Spank
http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/lpdc/variax_spank.mp3

Variax Tele
http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/lpdc/variax_tele.mp3

Variax ES-175
http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/lpdc/variax_es175.mp3


Here's a video clip I did of the Variax/LPDC. These both are the same video, but one

 has a geek talking at the front and the other one doesn't. :-P 



With geek intro:
http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/videos/jeff_miller_variax_doublecut.wmv

Without geek intro:
http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/videos/jeff_miller_variaxdc_no_intro.wmv