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1952 Les Paul Gold top case repair and neck support insert (PICS)

buyusfear

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Oct 3, 2006
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2,951
I've had the privilege of being the custodian of this fine '52 Les Paul for several weeks now.
My main task will be replacing an already poorly replaced 1st fret, and matching it to the current worn '52 frets, as well as re-glue down a couple of inlays; however, this thread is all about the case.

One question I have is what brand of case are these old flat top early lester cases?
Lifton, Stone, Geib?

With the condition of the case's interior, and how the machine heads were constantly catching on the unglued fabric, not to mention the fact that the guitar never actually rested on the cases neck support, but rather on the cases interior compartment-lid, combined with added support coming from the headstocks tip and D & G tuner tips, I felt I had to offer a better solution to the owner.

After clearing with the owner, both the case liner repair and custom improved neck support, I got to work.

I will state that the added neck support is 100% friction fit, and does not alter the case in any way whatsoever. This is very important to me, as it would be to any vintage enthusiast.
The modern upholstery adhesive was enough of a departure, but had to be done.

First a quick before and after, then a detailed pictorial.

Much of the lining was coming unglued
1952-les-paul-case-repair1_orig.jpg


And here you can see how the neck wore only on the case lid.
1952-les-paul-case-repair3_orig.jpg


But not on the actual neck support. Crazy!
If you look close you can see that there is almost no wear or grime on the neck supports fabric.
1952-les-paul-case-repair4_orig.jpg

Another crazy thing is that a guitar this old and used, living in a case with such poor neck support, didn't suffer a headstock break.

My fix was to make a custom fitting dual neck support insert.
I scoured all the local fabric and upholstery shops looking for the correct burgundy/royal-red velvet, but no luck. So I opted for classic purple which was at least very similar to vintage case linings nap and pile.
1952-les-paul-case-repair27_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair29_orig.jpg



Now i'll walk you through the steps.

This case was in bad need of TLC
1952-les-paul-case-repair2_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair5_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair6_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair7_orig.jpg
 
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buyusfear

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Oct 3, 2006
Messages
2,951
After gently vacuuming out the case, I taped off the parts that I didn't want adhesive on.
1952-les-paul-case-repair8_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair9_orig.jpg



1952-les-paul-case-repair10_orig.jpg


These were custom made clamps for this application. Very expensive.
1952-les-paul-case-repair11_orig.jpg


And sometimes things just work out lovely. Like finding the perfect reverse-clamping caul.
1952-les-paul-case-repair13_orig.jpg


I profiled the neck shape to aid in cutting out proper neck supports custom fit to this guitar.
I also made the neck supports from genuine old growth Honduran Mahogany.
This way the density of both the neck and supports are as similar as possible, lowering the risk of any chance of the neck supports hurting the neck.
1952-les-paul-case-repair14_orig.jpg

Or it's because I have a bunch of scrap hog lying around the shop....

This is another friction fit block to help keep the falling compartment lid up.
1952-les-paul-case-repair15_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair16_orig.jpg


Here i'm shaping and sanding the neck support to match the guitars neck angle to increase what is touching the neck.
1952-les-paul-case-repair17_orig.jpg


And then dry fit the whole thing until it absolutely fits perfect.
1952-les-paul-case-repair18_orig.jpg
 
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buyusfear

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Oct 3, 2006
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Finding the correct fabric, as I'd mentioned above, was just not happening. Such is life.
However, correct nap and pile was a success.

1952-les-paul-case-repair19_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair20_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair21_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair22_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair23_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair24_orig.jpg


Here you can see that nasty first fret I will need to replace
1952-les-paul-case-repair25_orig.jpg


And the friction fitting custom made neck support:
1952-les-paul-case-repair26_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair27_orig.jpg


1952-les-paul-case-repair28_orig.jpg
 

buyusfear

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Oct 3, 2006
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2,951
Thanks guys!

I realized that I never took a pic of the repaired headstock area lining.

1952-les-paul-case-repair2_orig.jpg
1952-les-paul-case-repair31_orig.jpg
 

Wally

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Feb 27, 2003
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3,535
Nice work, indeed. Personally, I would have opted for a tan cloth...something neutral to match with the guitar and the case rather than the purple which clashes with the original cloth..but....that is not important. Great work and forethought.
 

buyusfear

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Oct 3, 2006
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Nice work, indeed. Personally, I would have opted for a tan cloth...something neutral to match with the guitar and the case rather than the purple which clashes with the original cloth..but....that is not important. Great work and forethought.

Thanks.

The only velvet fabric I was finding was red, blue's, green's, and the purple.

I spec purple lining for the cases that I use for guitars I build, so I thought it only fitting to use the same colour for this repair out of the limited options.

Great job, congrats! :salude

Thanks Julio!
 

sidekick

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Jun 20, 2005
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Really nice work and I like the way it was documented with a little bit of humour too .... :salude
 

JIMI55LP

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Jun 28, 2005
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1,588
Nice save and craftsmanship is over the top! Thanks for documenting this effort. I always enjoy watching talented folks working their craft!
 

58burst

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May 11, 2002
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Nice- 50's LP's are notorious for being poorly supported in their cases, most people toss in a washcloth or two, your fix is the cadillac version. I use a cheap intermediate solution in my '58 case, Dr. Scholl's shoe padding, works great keeping the headstock properly supported and the guitar from rattling around in the case-

35bt3sx.jpg
 

buyusfear

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Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
2,951
Great work. You've done that case and guitar justice!

Love these repair threads - great work - thank you. :yah

Really nice work and I like the way it was documented with a little bit of humour too .... :salude

Nice save and craftsmanship is over the top! Thanks for documenting this effort. I always enjoy watching talented folks working their craft!

Thanks guys! I'm always happy to provide content to this section when I can.

Nice- 50's LP's are notorious for being poorly supported in their cases, most people toss in a washcloth or two, your fix is the cadillac version. I use a cheap intermediate solution in my '58 case, Dr. Scholl's shoe padding, works great keeping the headstock properly supported and the guitar from rattling around in the case

Thanks. You gotta do what you gotta do but you do have to watch sticky stuff like tape and pads as they can pull all of the lining off when removed.

If you were closer to me I'd gladly help you out with a custom fitting insert.

Great idea!! I would trademark that if I was you. :salude
Joe B

Thanks Joe! If only I had the time and money to market these bad boys.
Honestly, it's such a custom made thing that you couldn't really make a one size fits all. At least I wouldn't recommend it.
I spent about an hour sanding and shaping both neck supports, with the guitar in the case, constantly checking for a perfect fit, making sure the neck was contacting each block equally.


Outstanding work!...........................well done sir!:salude

Thanks!
 
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