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The Easy Way To Carve A Les Paul Top... Part I

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Carving a Les Paul Top might seem daunting, but the fact is that you can get the classic bell carve with a few easy to find tools. And the best part is there are a lot of power tools too!
Now, you can fart around for hours and hours with a bunch of specialty hand planes and scrapers but I’m going to show y’all how to do this the fast and easy way with hardly any hand sanding!
Lord knows I hate hand sanding.
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Original score: Electric Boogie Dawgs & Lords Of Distortion
Artwork: Paul Shellooe
DISCLAIMER: Our videos are strictly for documentary, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Imitation or the use of any acts depicted in these videos is solely AT YOUR OWN RISK. All work with power tools should be carried out by trained users.
We (including RU-vid) will not be held liable for any injury to yourself or damage to your property resulting from attempting anything shown in any our videos.
We do not endorse any specific product and this video is not an attempt to sell you a good or service.
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By viewing or flagging this video you are acknowledging the above. In the instance we include copy written material it is done so with consent of the owner.
In the rare instance we include someone else’s footage it is covered in Fair Use for Documentary and Educational purposes with intention of driving commentary and allowing freedom of speech.
If anyone has original music, they would like to have featured in a Texas Toast video let me know.

Опубликовано:

5 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 163

@docsiltanen 5 лет назад

Just got my Texas Toast LP today….I'm one happy guy !!!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Right on man! Hope you enjoy it my friend

@mattfischer3853 Месяц назад

Keep going man, great start. For the poly finish, if you don’t want to or can’t spend money on a bunch of different sandpapers, take a brown paper bag and rub the finish. It will knock down any of the bubbles. Great job, keep going!

@electroKrunch 5 лет назад

Those templates are an awesome move! I tried a carve top once decades ago, it sure was carved up! I was enlisting chisels & rasps, wasn't pretty (lots of bondo, no longer a clear coat)... Thanks man!!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Those templates are really the secret. We used to use a pattern bit and everything but we decided that close enough was close enough

@electroKrunch 5 лет назад

You is the pin router master Matt!!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

C'mon man, I'm just a dude who has a pin router hahaha certainly not a master

@Damaged262 5 лет назад

Thanks Matt, been dying to see you do one of these. Next, can you do an SG? I'm afraid of those cuts with limited wood carving experience. Keep rockin' man. Best youTube channel, bar none.

@Damaged262 5 лет назад

Hell, should I just send you the chunk of wood and you cut it up? Maybe that's the best way to go. Got a super marbled chunk of maple, maybe you cut me a slice and keep the rest as partial payment?

@Damaged262 5 лет назад

And all of this because I want a nice cherry sunburst SG and not the piece of shit VE Epi for $179 as of last year. Why won't they offer a burst SG without cartoon colors? I just don't know. I sure as shit won't spend Custom Shop money for an SG!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

We will be working on some SG stuff in the future. If you are interested in us doing some caving for you let me know my friend

@jonathankeith524 5 лет назад

Thank you for the video! I have some maple and mahogany lying around in my shop, and I’ve been wanting to make a Les Paul out of it. The carved top seemed somewhat challenging, but this video made the process look fun! You have a new subscriber! :)

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks Jonathan, glad to hear you are going to give the carved top a try. Send me some pictures as you go brotherman

@jonathankeith524 5 лет назад

Texas Toast Guitars Sure thing! It will be a while before I start it, because I’m still in the process of building a Telecaster and a guitar that I designed myself. But if I remember to document the process, I’ll be sure to send you some pictures! Have a blessed day!

@Ibaneddie76 5 лет назад

Killer video, would you mind doing a video on the angle jig you used to rout the 2.2 degree plane on the top? Even a quick look at it in a video would be cool. I made a dedicated box for my hand held router but since I have a pin router I would rather do it that way. It looks pretty simple but it always helps to see what people who know what they are doing use.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

You got it. I have lots of those sign plates and you should too. Thanks for the video idea

@pulaski1 5 лет назад

@6:02 A "sandpapery kinda thing" is a "flap disc", which you can get from your local big box home improvement store, or on-line. :) This was a very useful video for me as it shows exactly what I would like to do to make a carved top, except I only have a hand-held router.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

You can still do it with a hand held router.

@pulaski1 5 лет назад

@@TexasToastGuitars Thank you, I definitely will! :) I just need some "spare time". LOL I am also planning to try my hand at guitar building using pieces of timber that I felled myself, including some pine, which will probably be my first effort, for a telecaster, and some white oak, which is currently a log lying in my front yard, and heading to a local sawyer in the next few days, but will need to dry for a couple of years.

@plutorootswoodworking 5 лет назад

Great stuff man, appreciate the hard work you put into these videos. Rock on hombre

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks so much James, that is very kind of you

@MStone-im1mu 5 лет назад

Badassness once again! That Jam is gnarly rockin'!!! 🤘🍻

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

That song is White Line Fever by my homeboys Lords Of Distortion, one of my faves

@kevandrew2821 5 лет назад

yet more great tips Mat thanks take it easy

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks Kev, you take it easy to my friend

@jbachhuber 5 лет назад

That sounded like "Flight of the Bumblebee" at the end! Cool! A man of many talents.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

That is my homeboys in Lords Of Distortion, they are a great band

@dougkearns 5 лет назад

Sandpapery kinda thing? I like it. I'm going to test the bloke at the hardware store with that description tomorrow. :)

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

They will know exactly what you are talking about... kinda like a "wienie roller"

@michaeldorman 5 лет назад

I lust for your pin router every time I deal with my plunge router.

@blackfender100 5 лет назад

with you on that Mike !

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

I hear ya, the pin router is a game changer

@dalepiwek 4 месяца назад

Yeah u read me

@pipedreamfretworks 2 года назад

thanks Matt that's just what I needed. Have to rig up some kind of pin-router-type jig.

@Ibaneddie76 5 лет назад

The orbital boogie at the end of the video was freaking hilarious all it needs is a death metal track to go with it.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Like a death metal song called orbital boogie?

@Frankinsteinguitar 5 лет назад

Glad to see some hand work.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks Claire, if I were doing more than one I would have drug out the copy carver

@happyads9439 5 лет назад

I like it,, brave tooling and super cool.. nice combination homes

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks man, we don't do too many of these carved top guitars these days but it's fun to do on the old school way

@jonray305 5 лет назад

Very cool. I have a prs type body I’m working on and I was mulling over ways to carve the top. This is doable.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

It's totally doable. The PRS violin carve is much more pronounced than the Les Paul but you can do it

@chadzillaification 5 лет назад

Beloved pin router action makes any day better!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

You know it does too Chad

@scottmorris4914 2 года назад

Thats great you have really affordable Patreon membership rates. Nice to see there is a $1

@TexasToastGuitars 2 года назад

Thanks Scott

@kirkscobey3031 5 лет назад

Yours is the only channel I give a 👍🏼👍🏼 before watching because I always know I'll be satisfied and will always enjoy!! Why is the weenie roller not an emoji?

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks so much Kirk, I wish there was a weenie roller emoji too hahaha

@dpdupuis5 5 лет назад

Good video and a good way to get the job done fast. I prefer to make shavings rather than dust tho so I carve all my tops with chisels and gouges, but it's time consuming!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Lots of ways to get it done and have a great time building guitars too, thanks for watching David

@adrielpagoto7721 2 года назад

Hi, if you watched this video and thinking do the same, I recommend using FLAP sanding discs..

@kentuckyjim5108 5 лет назад

That's going to be one cool guitar when you get finished !

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks man, I'm really enjoying this guitar and think it is going to be relaly bad ass

@Channel01_T 5 лет назад

That was pretty cool. Last night I was literally wondering how something like this would be done.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

That is one way my friend. Thanks for watching my friend

@chokkan7 2 года назад

I got a real kick out of this. I remember back in the early '80s when I first got into building guitars myself, I used to take a drill bit and wrap tape around it to indicate the depth, then drill a series of holes corresponding to the contours around the guitar top; after that, I had a sort of a one-handed rasp-like tool that I'd use to scrape away the wood between the drill marks until there was some uniform continuity, and then it was a lot of hand sanding, but it always came out right. I also remember working on an older Epiphone (don't know the model or year; it was a total Lazarus job) that had a neck joint similar to what you have in this video, and I recall thinking that this was really the way to go with set-in necks. How has that been working for you?

@juliansuarez3849 5 лет назад

Love les paul whit floyd Matt!! Super cool slim les...

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

It's going to be a really cool guitar my friend

@CaptainScarlet1961 5 лет назад

Great video liked & subbed, I love LP's so much I have 5 & it's nice to see that getting that classic arched top isn't as difficult as one would initially think so 10/10 top man :-)

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks for watching and subscribing SmokinJoe. Glad to hear you are enjoying the videos brotherman

@jonahguitarguy 5 лет назад

Cool Matt! Those grinders with a flap disc make one massive heck of a mess. But yours must be beyond worn out to be burning the wood like that.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Yeah, it's all wore out, I don't do many carved tops these days but I need to buy a new one

@Jet2416-Reloading 5 лет назад

I've seen this method used by quite a few guitar builders on RU-vid and a couple of other sites. It works and if you are patient and careful it can have a nice end result. The problem I see with this method is that the end result is never the same as the last (close, but not), which in a custom shop I suppose that doesn't really matter. Some use a router & tracing jig (maybe not the correct name) and the same pattern for every top. It seems to cut down a lot on the handwork and appears to give them a repeatable surface each time. If you don't make that many carved tops it may not be worth the investment but it it might save you some time and handwork.

@onpsxmember 5 лет назад

Some call it a copy carver. There are ones built like a tank who are very accurate and the owners that dump the money in those usually build "masters" that are exactly how they want them every time and make 6-8 in one run before they change the setup. Not worth it if you don't make a lot of the same special contours. From there it's not that big a jump to CNCs

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

We have a copy carver that we use when there are a lot of these kinds of things to do. Here is a video we made a long time ago...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kAbDlC8PwRE.html

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

It is a very big jump to a high quality CNC. I'm sure there are things at Rockler that will do it but those are hardly what I would consider the same thing as a 5 axis unit like the big shops use

@Jet2416-Reloading 5 лет назад

@@TexasToastGuitars Thanks for the link Matt. I thought I had seen most of your videos but apparently I missed that one. The copy carver is a nice machine but maybe a little slower than the way you did this one.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

especially if you count set-up time

@dalepiwek 4 месяца назад

Killer man🤘

@andrewflanders262 5 месяцев назад

How do some factories make Les Paul style gutiars so cheaply when the process of shaping the top is so time intensive?

@lynnritchie70 5 лет назад

" I'll show you just how easy it is." For you anyway lol . I've held a grinder with a flapper in it. Luckily I was distressing so I couldn't foul it up because that was my intention :-) Don't discount your skill. Awesome video.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Thanks for watching Lynn, I have done a few

@spannerman4886 5 лет назад

Man I wish my orbital was as fast as yours? Thanks for the great videos!👍🏼

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

High speed sanding is every woodworker's dream hahaha

@tiki_trash 5 лет назад

That song rocks!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

That song is White Line Fever by my homeboys Lords Of Distortion, it is a rocker!

@oscarvallejovalero6799 Год назад

Buenos días desde España, donde podría conseguir los planos de las plantillas, para hacer lo que usted hace?

@Terry3Gs 5 лет назад

Interesting way you's did it but awesome !! Nice job as always Matt !! :)

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

I learned everything I know from the guys at the Les Paul Forums

@doctortono Год назад

Hi!…where I got the templates? I would like to get a set or the plans in order to do them by myself.

@sutinahsutinah9156 2 года назад

awesome

@TexasToastGuitars 2 года назад

Thanks Sutinah

@ripwildy2022 4 года назад

I think I missed it, or maybe I didn't it understand it at all, but: why NOT use those templates to get a carve the old-fashioned way? I mean, did covered the tremolo cavity. (reason I'm asking is because I was planning to do a Jazzmaster style body, complete with a Jazzmaster bridge and tremolo tailpiece...but with a carved body).

@TexasToastGuitars 4 года назад

Yeah man, use the templates and do your guitar the way you want. We make these videos and titles to attempt to draw people to the channel but I certainly don't pretend to say that my way is the best. Be sure to send me some pics of your guitar when you get it going, it sounds cool

@ripwildy2022 4 года назад

@@TexasToastGuitars no no, I meant: is there something I should be taking into consideration here with regards to my Jazzmaster build that I might be missing? I mean, a typical Jazzmaster also needs to have the neck at an angle, so would I run into any problems using the template stacking method?

@TexasToastGuitars 4 года назад

@@ripwildy2022 I don't really know what tools you have on hand. We use the pin router and a sign plate to do the angled neck pocket. You could angle a template and get the same thing. As far as stacking templates for a custom carved top Jazz Master I don't know how I would proceed. You are in some uncharted territory brotherman but you can do it. It is going to depend on what kind of carve you are going for. For example... if you want a Les Paul style carve top it will be very different from say a Mosrite or even a PRS. Will you be binding it? I think you are going to just have to go for it and make some moves. Might not be a bad idea to make a couple so you can learn as you go. Good luck

@Bob_at_OZDiggzguitars 5 лет назад

Nice!..I want one (like I need another LP, but mine don't have Floyds)...needs a Compound Radius fretboard.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Say the word Bob

@k9taxi Год назад

What type of cutting bit is that in your pin router?

@74dartman13 5 лет назад

It sure beats using a wood chisel!👍😎🎸🎶

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Oh yeah, I have had people tell me how much they love chip-carving. I don't get it, I want to get in and get out. If my tools had new abrasive it would have been really fast

@74dartman13 5 лет назад

@@TexasToastGuitars I'm with ya 100% on that. Get er done!👍😎🎸🎶

@Exgrmbl 5 лет назад

@@74dartman13 depends. If you have a set of those planes violin/cello or archtop builder use, it's very easy and enjoyable.

@74dartman13 5 лет назад

@@Exgrmbl maybe I'll try it sometime.☺

@williamharrison54 5 лет назад

The Ltd ec series are a slim body single cut available with a floyd, I dont know about the esp eclipse tho

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

ESP makes some great guitars, no doubt about it

@bevo65 5 лет назад

More great tunes! Reminds me of Triple XXX from Austin, circa 1986. (Also makes me wonder why rap and EDM are allowed to exist.)

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

HAHAHAHA that song is White Line Fever by my homeboys Lords Of Distortion

@rlm913 2 года назад

What speed does your pin router run at? I have a shopsmith and I can do overhead routing I just don't know if its fast enough. Also, have you ever done the Gibson neck joint? That look's like a bolt on neck, I could be wrong. I would like to understand the math you used to calculate the 2.2 angle you carved. I may be asking too much. I am retired now and starting to build guitars. I was going to start with a Tele but may do a thin Les Paul. My neck is messed up from slinging a heavy les paul for many years.

@ksharpe10 2 года назад

Check out some of Matt/texas toast latest videos, they do all sorts of builds for people, besides their regular line. And they are doing top carve guitars currently, so may have some really newish videos coming on them.

@brunoCondor 5 лет назад

Nice Matt ! That's the way i do that too. But didn't you had a Panthorouter table for that ? Just copy. Or would that take longer ? Thanks.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

I do have a copy carver and it works great... but it would have taken as long to set it up as it would to do it old school for this one. Thanks for watching my friend

@loganricherson 3 года назад

About how far is it between each template line? I know they it goes down every 1/16 inch per step but how far apart are each of the lines?

@TexasToastGuitars 3 года назад

I don't really know, they are different intervals along the perimeter of the body

@michaelailer5623 5 лет назад

Very impressive. Could you a shell mill of large diameter like 3" or bigger to hog off the material with the beloved pin router or is that too much torque to try hold on to with fixtures?

@michaelailer5623 5 лет назад

Forgot word "use". Oops

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

You know I have never used a bit larger than 3/4 on the pin router. I'm sure you could fit one in there but the manual dose not recommend it.

@michaellumetta7700 4 года назад

Where did you get those templates plans

@TexasToastGuitars 4 года назад

I made them

@ronstickle4694 5 лет назад

how did you adjust for the 2.2 i didn't see how you did that?

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Sign plate. We are going to do a follow-up video later this week and I'll show y'all how I did it

@amitsapir2 5 лет назад

Matt, why not many builders use the floyd rose pro?

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Hi Amit, I'm not sure, I am an old school guy... well, from the 80's and I like the original

@markmccawley2526 5 лет назад

awesome...but how does gibson do it?

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Hi Mark, these days Gibson has a great big CNC rig

@markmccawley2526 5 лет назад

@@TexasToastGuitars thank you for the reply, I figured that, but was hoping for something more nostalgic. Great channel BTW..

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

You got it Mark. I have seen pictures of the old school copy carvers in the Kalamazoo factory. We have one too but it takes a while to set up and I just wanted to go for it. Anyway, here is a video of the copy carver in action...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kAbDlC8PwRE.html

@ronfrey5327 5 лет назад

I just used a pantograph router to carve mine.. Its for sale also....

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Cool man, I have one of those too. It takes almost as much time to set up as it does to do one the old school way

@harleywood9588 5 лет назад

What bit are you using on your beloved pin router for carving?

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

In this video, I am using a plain ol' Freud 3/4" straight bit

@mrz80 3 года назад

Ummm.... slim Les Paul with a Floyd. Sounds like the Gibby Alex Lifeson Axcess signature model :D

@TexasToastGuitars 3 года назад

Not the Les Paul Lite from the late 80's?

@mrz80 3 года назад

@@TexasToastGuitars Ooh, I forgot about that one. I was totally not paying attention to Gibson in that time period. After Pete Townshend went with those Schecter partscasters (and I discovered Steve Morse :D ) I became obsessed with humbucker equipped Telecasters. Only since I got hold of a good set of plans and made my carve-top templates have I gotten back on the Les Paul bandwagon.

@ChristopherJ655 4 года назад

Im just curious how much roughly is it to get a custom built guitar. I know it depends on a lot of factors but what is the ball park range?

@TexasToastGuitars 4 года назад

I really don't like to talk about prices on social media, however, as of 6-30-2020 all full blown custom guitars start at 2500, prices subject to change

@baladocustomguitars73 4 года назад

How many mm depth do you remove in each template pass?

@TexasToastGuitars 4 года назад

I think it is 1/16"

@baladocustomguitars73 4 года назад

@@TexasToastGuitars Thank you so much. Love your guitars and how you buid them. Best regards from Spain

@ErGoyoTV 5 лет назад

Way cool. If G**$** was so smart they could do this themselves.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

The guitar makers at Gibson are pretty damn smart guys. think their hands might be tied by management sometimes?

@ErGoyoTV 5 лет назад

@@TexasToastGuitars Of course, I believe so. Usually not enough managers from the carpeted floors come down to the factory floor to pick some wisdom from the really smart guys. (Hey G**$** just copy a bit from the F**d** business model some day!!!)

@darrylbellotti 5 лет назад

Dust mask, eye protection, and ear protection!

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

What about them?

@darrylbellotti 5 лет назад

Texas Toast Guitars the ringing in my ears tells me I should have taken my own advice! 😂

@darrylbellotti 5 лет назад

Texas Toast Guitars now that I think of it - you don’t see a lot of guitar players talk about tinnitus and how to deal with it. That’d be something to cover at some point

@josephsperrazza3082 5 лет назад

Just think how a floor polisher with 36, or 80 grit paper wood work , instead of a grinder , .

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

DAMN! That would get it done hahaha

@josephsperrazza3082 5 лет назад

@@TexasToastGuitars it's , grinds , sands , and polishes,. If you put the machine on a track device , 3 applications in 1,machine , it could replace the people standing at a buffer. "Man is the master of the machine " man is used a term. A machine could never duplicate it's self with a man inventing a machine.

@stevefpv4669 5 лет назад

and 6 months later still looking for a good deal on a decent pin router here in Europe 😣

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

You will find one Steve, stay the course brotherman

@StMoritzGuitars 5 лет назад

Until I invest in a Copy carver I'll keep doing it this way...

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

It's still a really great way to go

@pedrolarenas 4 года назад

and, when you show the easy way?

@TexasToastGuitars 4 года назад

Seems easy to me

@jacobbrown1690 5 лет назад

a 2600.00 cnc machine will do that perfectly. much easier....

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

HAHAHAHA you must not know how I feel about CNC machines

@lucabennati360 3 года назад

where is the fun? :-)

@roryoconnor31 5 лет назад

Dust mask brother. ...

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

What about it?

@roryoconnor31 5 лет назад

@@TexasToastGuitars Please wear a dust mask i had a friend who died from a lung disease doing similar work

@jamesstroud6037 5 лет назад

Dust mask and extraction !!! just saying what about it is not big or clever! might save you life.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

See the disclaimer at the beginning... it was pretty much put there for you

@jasonbossardt9453 5 лет назад

Yeah this would be "easy" IF you have several thousand dollars worth of power tools... That JET power router table probably cost more than my car...

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Hi Jason, I don't know what kind of car you have. You can do something very similar with a regular router and a sled... we used to do it exactly like that back in the day. The grinder is pretty affordable too should be able to buy one for under 50 bucks. Of course... no one said that building guitars was an inexpensive proposition. The longer you do this the more tools you will acquire and before you know it you will have so much stuff you won't know where to keep it all

@Frankinsteinguitar 5 лет назад

Just buy a CNC machine and hire a clever programmer.

@TexasToastGuitars 5 лет назад

Just a second ago you said you were happy to see some hand work. You must not really know what we do here