Solo Music Gear Coupon: GUITAR OF THE MONTH

Congratulations go out to Steven Tusinski for his guitar build, to earn him Guitar of the Month for January 2022.

Steven used our LPK-10L DIY kit as the basis to create his guitar.

“I bought an LPK-10L Left Handed DIY Guitar Kit With Flame Maple Top for a summer project. I always wanted a Les Paul but I could never find a left-handed one that I connected with. I decided to draw inspiration from some of my favorite Les Paul players as the theme for the build.

• 50’s wiring schematic (Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Peter Greene, Gary Moore)
• 500K CTS pots, with Orange Drop Caps (022 uF for the bridge pickup and .015 uF for the neck pickup (to get a brighter, clearer Clapton/Cream sound)
• Switchcraft 3 way toggle and jack
• Solo kit top hat knobs, jack plate, poker chip pickup selector, pickup mount rings and pickguard. Aftermarket Gibson style truss rod cover
• Tobacco Burst finish (Ace Frehley’s smoker) using Color FX dyes, Oxford Sanding Sealer, and Oxford Aged Clear Gloss Nitro
• Natural finish for the Neck and back of the body using water-based grain filler, Oxford Sanding Sealer, and Oxford Aged Clear Gloss Nitro
• Grover kidney tuner (Jimmy Page)
• Liberty Headstock water slide decal from StringKraft (on Etsy)
• Headstock Hand painted star (Ace Frehley)

I started with a modification to the headstock shape using a coping saw and Dremel tool. I then sanded down the face of the headstock and added a piece of ebony veneer using Elmers wood glue. (VERY IMPORTANT) The headstock was sanded down to offset the thickness of the ebony veneer to ensure the tuning peg height fitment was not impacted.  From there, I drilled out the tuning peg holes and used a Dremel tool and 60 grit sandpaper to shape the veneer to match the headstock. Tuner holes sized for the Grover’s using a T-handled Reamer. The neck was then smoothed out with 320 grit sandpaper.

 For the body, I sized the pickup selector, volume, and tone holes using a T-Handled Reamer. The entire body and neck, including the binding, was given a final inspection and cleaned up with 320 grit sandpaper and a straight edge blade to remove any latent glue stains and rough edges.  The rough fit of the neck revealed some fitment gaps at the heal. This was resolved with a multi-layer buildup of wood filler. Each layer was sanded flat with 320 grit sandpaper wrapped around a 2in x 2in block of wood. I then removed the stock nut and cleaned up any latent glue.

 I applied a water-based grain filler to the neck and back of body. I found that following the instructions (apply the filler on top of a light coat of sanding sealer) did not get the desired outcome. In retrospect, I should have followed my previous experience with non-water-based grain fillers and applied the filler to the bare wood. The overall outcome was great, however, you can still see the grain bleeding through.

 Dye Process

The Tobacco Burst finish was achieved using multiple coats of water-based Color FX dyes (Yellow, Black, Van Dyke Brown and Raw Sienna). Using strips of cotton-based material (white t-shirt) I applied a few coats of yellow.

(VERY IMPORTANT) Because of the water base, I allowed at least 2 hours between every 2 -3 coats and then at least 24 hours after every 3rd coat to avoid veneer lift/bubbling.

For the fade, I started with Raw Sienna, then Van Dyke Brown and Black. The fade was achieved with blending yellow dye or a damp (water only) strip of material while the coat is still wet.  3 coats of black were applied to the headstock.

Total process took about 2 weeks because of the drying process.

 Neck Setting Process

Once the dyeing process was complete, I glued the neck to the body with titebond glue using a couple of clamps and a 1/2 inch x 4 inch x 6 inch piece of cedar to ensure the clamp pressure was applied equally across the bonding surface.

(VERY IMPORTANT) Solo Music Gear Coupon: Immediately following clamp up, I cleaned up the excess glue with warm water and a rag to avoid any dry glue stains that will bleed through when finishing product are applied.

Clamps were removed after 24 hours.

Before starting the finishing process, I allowed one week for additional drying to ensure dye and veneer are completely dry.

After the additional drying, I taped off the neck fingerboard using blue painter tape to protect it from the lacquers.

 Finishing Process

Sanding Sealer – I applied 8 coats of Oxford Sanding Sealer with light to medium dry sanding using 600 grit in between the first 6 coats and then light to medium wet sanding using 600 grit in between the last 2 coats. Drying time for each coat varied before sanding, 2-4 hours for the first 2 coats and then about 8 to 12 hours for the next 4 coats and then 2-3 days for the last 2 coats.

 Laquer – I applied 8 coats of Oxford Aged Clear Gloss Nitro Laquer with light dry sanding using 600 grit for the 1st coat and then wet sanding using 600 grit for the 2nd coat, wet 1000 grit for the 3rd and 4th, wet 2000 grit for the 5th and 6th and wet 3000 grit for the last 2 2 coats. Drying time for each coat varied before sanding, 8 hours for the first 2 coats and then about 8 to 12 hours for the next 4 coats and then 2-3 days for the last 2 coats. I painted the headstock star and applied the water slide decal after the 5th coat of laquer.

 Buffing – I hand buffed using Meguiars M105 Compound and  M205 Polish.

 Wiring and pickups

Because there are virtually no left-handed wiring diagrams on the internet, I had to transcribe a left-handed diagram from a right-handed 50’s wiring diagram.

• 500K CTS pots, with Orange Drop Caps (022 uF for the bridge pickup and .015 uF for the neck pickup)
• Switchcraft 3 way toggle and jack
• Classic ’59 pickups from Peg City Pickups

 Hardware

I installed the Solo kit top hat knobs, jack plate, poker chip pickup selector, pickup mount rings and pickguard. The poker chip needed to be thinned with 320 sandpaper to fit up with the Switchcraft 3-way toggle. The pickup mount rings and pickguard needed slight modification with 320 grit sandpaper to fit up perfectly. I installed the Grover tuners with no issues.

 Setup

I installed the Solo kit bridge and saddle with no issues. Because there are virtually no left-handed pre-cut bone nuts available, I decided to cut one from a blank. Ultimately, I didn’t get string spacing right, so I opted for a pre-cut Tusq from Solo, which fit up perfectly with some minor edge smoothing using 320 and 600 grit sandpaper.

Before fret leveling and polishing, I removed the old tape from the neck fingerboard and installed a fresh layer of blue painters tape on the fretboard leaving only the frets exposed.

Using fret leveling and blending files from Solo, I leveled and blended each fret. I then used various Dollar store fingernail Emory and polishing boards to achieve the final fret smoothing prior to polishing.  I then polished the frets to a mirror finish using a Dremel tool and Meguiars M205 Polish. I then applied 3 coats of lemon oil to the fretboard.

Next step, I installed the strings and accomplished final intonation with neck adjustments along the way. As with all Les Paul type bridges, intonation can be a trying experience!

(VERY IMPORTANT) Be patient with the neck truss rod adjustments and intonation as the wood is still adjusting to its new finish and environment and will take time to settle in.

Overall, it took me about 2 months to dial in the perfect setup for Liberty.

 Great experience and I look forward to the next Solo kit build.

-Steven Tusinski

Source: Guitar Of The Month-January-2022/