Basket Case 52 Goldtop .... Conversion Candidate Just For Me

[Three13]

Wow! Impressive thread, as always. It is nice to see someone meticulously breathe life into an abused LP the way you do...

 

[kthesheep]

Thanks for sharing this project Jim.
Your work is outstanding:3zone

 

[sharky]

great documentation, Jim, thanks alot for the excellent pictures that make the whole progress easily understandable for me. I'd love to do things like that but have a massive lack of talent.

I can literally smell the different wood species in this thread. Yummy

 

[Ryan Givhan]

amazing! im drooling waiting for more pics!

 

[boogieongtr]

Up next are the mahogany plugs for the old P90 routes. First I use a template & a router to make the new plug routes.

New plug routes. I also cleaned up the neck pocket for a mahogany plug. You will see why later.

Mahogany plugs made and a dry fit:

Glue in the neck pocket plug that is 1/4" thick using hide glue.

Neck pocket plug glued in and pickup plugs ready to glue in.

Glue & clamp plugs. I used hot hide glue for every plug and also let them set in the clamps for 24 hours.

Plugs glued and next I'll use my carver to remove the excess wood.

Close enough for now:

 

[boogieongtr]

Remove the mahogany from the plugs for the wire channel:

Wire channel complete and ready for sanding:

Run thru a drum sander to level everything:

Body sanded:

Center line from the old neck used to layout the new top:

My trademark for hiding the holes from the tailpiece. Notch out about 1/8" deep of the mahogany:

Find a piece of matching mahogany from an old 57 Jr body:

Make a glue block for even pressure when clamping plug:

I used tightbond to glue the end grain plug:

End plug sanded:

 

[J.D.]

Incredible :jim

Will you fill the ground wire route?

 

[kharrison]

Simply amazing work...bravo!

 

[MapleFlame]

Nice Jimbo

 

[slimdave]

This thread is really impressing! Thanks

 

[JIMI55LP]

This is amazing to watch, so thanks for taking time to document a share your work! You are a true craftsman.

 

[BIG Dave]

I love seeing this stuff unfold. Can't wait to see the outcome. I know it's going to be superb!

 

[jimmi]

Great work....I think would rather just see the plug holes for the tailpc though but that is just me. At first I didn't understand why you retopped it but after seeing the way the maple top was broken I get it.

Should be great once completed.

 

[bushburst]

Love these threads, boogieongtr. Thanks for sharing your work, skills expertise and technique. Very inspiring!

 

[boogieongtr]

A bit more work on the body. I'll replace the poplar dowel with a mahogany one.

New mahogany plug cut. The hole is close to the edge so I'll wait till the top is glued on to glue in the plug.

Here is the new top I'm going to use.

Trace and cut out the new top.

I use UF glue to glue the top to the body.

Here is some UF glue in the ground channel from the factory compared to hide glue piece on the right.

More glue in the wire channel.

Here is a sample of UF glue that has dried over a month.

Top glued and clamped.

 

[boogieongtr]

I've always like the top carve on my 1957 Goldtop.

So I decided to make a dummy blank to use as my master. First I taped off the body so I could carve the dummy blank.

I then use the dummy blank of my 57 on the right as my master to carve the new top on the conversion

Bit of sanding to remove the router marks and then sand the top flush to the body.

Glue in the mahogany plug on the inside of the horn. Mix up a bit more mahogany & glue to fill any voids.

Sand plug flush

Looks better than the poplar plug.

 

[Kalamazookeeper]

Thanks for taking the trouble to share your amazing work.
Equally entertaining and educational, and that '57 top carve is a thing of beauty to behold.
Good choice!

 

[Steve Craw]

I love this!

 

[J.D.]

It appears you did not fill the wire channel to the rear pin then before gluing the top on to the body? I'm curious as to why, as the end of this route will be visible through the control cavity, correct?

 

[boogieongtr]

It appears you did not fill the wire channel to the rear pin then before gluing the top on to the body? I'm curious as to why, as the end of this route will be visible through the control cavity, correct?

I did not fill the ground wire channel for two reasons. I want the second route to show in the control cavity to help date the guitar. Also this is the lightest 50's mahogany I have ever seen. I remember holding one of Joe B's 57 Goldtops at one of his shows last year and the weight was in the low 8 lbs. I want this guitar to be as light as possible. Even the added mahogany plugs in the wire channel could add an ounce or two. I have already added an additional 4 oz. from the Grovers. The final weight will be right around 8 lbs.