Post No.1

So here it is, my first post of a blog documenting the making of my first guitar...

a Gibson Explorer shaped lapsteel!

After seeing a website explaining how to make a lapsteel, I thought it would be a good intro into building my own guitars. The lapsteel on the website was a pretty standard 'plank' shape guitar, but as I work at a company that has a timber workshop an a CNC machine, I thought I'd go for building something a bit more adventurous.

I like the idea of making a guitar in a shape that personified 'rock' - a '58 Gibson Explorer, but also mixing it with a lapsteel, which I see as a quite laid back, country and western instrument. I also like the way that a guitar that was designed in the 50's still looks modern and futuristic today.

I searched the web and downloaded a few sets of explorer plans. I work as a draughtsman, so it was simple for me to knock out a CAD drawing of the shape I was looking for, printed out some 1:1 scale drawings to check over.

Whilst doing this I was checking the internet to find out what hardware early Explorer's and Flying V's used. I checked out a lot of forums for images (links, links, links!)

I scoured Ebay and a few online guitar hardware shops and managed to get some good deals on gold hardware and a bargain second-hand Gibson humbucker. I'll post a list of my purchases in a future post.

When drawing the guitar up, I wanted a Gibson scale length (24 3/4"), but I also wanted a small body as it was a lapsteel. Before I could produce my CNC drawing file I really needed to get all of the hardware dimensions, so that I could make sure that all pieces would fit together without clashing, making sure that control cavity would work and that the bridge would work out.

I decided to follow the instructions on the 'Build your own Lapsteel' website and go for a 'wrap-around' bridge, the type used on early Les Paul & SG Juniors. I wanted to make the body as small as possible, and I think this bridge reduced the overall length of the guitar, whilst remaining 'Gibson'-like. Of course, I had to get a gold one to keep in-line with the hardware look!

Another change I made from the original Explorer silhouette was to change the headstock shape. Instead of going for the original six-a-side headstock, which I didn't think would work with the lapsteel construction, I opted to use a Flying V style. Both guitars were launched at the same time, so I think it stays in keeping with the design.

More soon...