1959 Les Paul Build

Got a 56 GT in the making.
Let me know if there's any interest in the process + the P90 internals + finishing... etc...

 

Not sure about another LP thread on a Tele forum...
I feel it's OK to add it to this thread because I will only show what was done differently in that period.

 

OK... here we go.

Since many of the P90 equipped GT's are a little harsh on the high end and raw sounding I really wanted a more solid and sweet sounding wood combination that is more desirable (TMHO) and makes an exceptional sounding 56.
Another consideration was the "I wonder how the top looks like under the gold..." issue (-;
To get that combo achieved I selected a featherweight Mahogany body blank that has a very airy and woody tap tone, medium density quarter sawned neck blank that is stiff enough but not too bright to complement the body, medium density rift sawned Brazilian board with a nice brown/black grain swirls and reclaimed maple that is also very warm sounding.
The top doesn't look much but the flames on those old pieces of maple jump out of nowhere when finished (you'll see...)





For the body I used a 56-57 template that is a hair larger than the 59 and has a slightly different channel width as well. The bodies got smaller and smaller between mid to late 50's due to template wear (the cavities got larger for the same reason as well).
The growth lines were set to "throw" the highs sideways and away from the center (bridge), once again, to get a sweeter tone.



Neck blank cut and shaped the usual way except for a stronger HS thickness tapper that is more common on mid 50's GT's than the later slightly tapered bursts (This also goes hand in hand with the thicker mid 50's necks of course).





Thicknessed to 2.27" width and routed for straight truss rod.



Top glued to body with PF glue in a high pressure press, trimmed to final outline and thicknessed to final thickness.



Here's the pile

 

Mid 50's control routs share the same pin router template with bursts but got a bit larger with the use. I used a mid 50's template for the outline and routed a little deeper then I would on a burst. Note that not all mid 50's cavities were deeper but I estimate about half of them went through down to the maple (bursts are typically left with about 1/16" mahogany layer at the bottom). I just kissed the maple for this build.



Same thing with the secondary cover rout...



The switch cavity was a lot smaller in 56 compared to bursts but this has nothing to do with template wear... it was that small from 1952 to 1957 and got enlarged by 1958 to allow easier switch installation.



Here's a 59 for comparison

 

The top rough carving is the same as the bursts but the mid 50's GT's were slack belt sanded differently and more material has been moved to get that nice round dish with tighter upper waist.
Here's the top getting roughed on the carving jig



This old maple is definitely very dry and crystallized and I feel it while I run the copy carving arm... (-;



50's binding were installed before slack belt sanding and it's a common mistake to think the binding height is even around the entire body... they never are (-;
I cut the channel and install the binding a little shy to leave enough maple for the slack belt sanding to follow. The cutaway area maple top is sanded smooth and routed in a different operation (see the burst build details).



Truss rod is made and installed. The cutter diameter for the nut access drill was larger up until 1958 when it got smaller on the bursts.
The one on the right is the 56 while the two on the left are 58-59.
The washer is larger too on a 56.



Another thing worth mentioning is that the TR channel is a little shallower on mid 50's necks measured a little over 1/2" on the heel side. Bursts are 5/8".

 

HS ears are glued with PF (not hide glue!). This was one of the little gluing operations Gibson did with radio wave to speed things up. PF and UF glues were used for radio (heat) curing while hide glue is melted by heat.



Holly veneer... (in the case of the original Gibson HS the logo was set about a 1/4" to 3/8" lower than on bursts).

 

ABS creme binding are the same as on bursts.



Neck is trued and HS is shaped to average 56 taper








The heel on mid 50's GT necks was bigger and extruded further away from the body joint.





roughing the tenon






Top is slack belt sanded. Note the narrow waist of the dish, it actually drops over the PU's area. Neck angle is 4°



Sides are sanded flush with the binding

 

Board and fret scale are identical to bursts



The correct fretwire is the narrower of course (52-58) but this particular GT is ordered with the 59 wider type.



Neck binding is thin creme celluloid and is glued with acetone.
Inlays are also made from Celluloid Nitrate and have a slightly "wilder" pattern than the later 50's inlays but not as "wild" as the early 50's LP's.



10.3mm pot and 1/2" switch mounting holes are the same as in the bursts





Secondary switch tilted cut is a bit shallower than on bursts





and needs to be done accurately because there's not much room in there for the switch (-;



tested to fit well and follow the top shape as well. Note how the switch sits low in the nut.



Secondary control rout is identical to bursts in shape but is about 1.5° flatter.
Same thing with the pot extension cuts...