Learning how to build an electric guitar

[lumberjim]

The other thing is the nut width. We want it wider than the standard Gibson nut. The standard template I have for the Les Paul is 1.71".



We want it at least 1.75". Seems like a small difference, but you'd be surprised at how you can feel it. I don't think I can count on help with this from Pete. He's not bored. So I tinkered with the idea of making my own, slightly wider template with a minutely wider nut. Then I thought, maybe I'll just widen the one I have.

I want the nut wider, but the heel still needs to fit inside the neck pocket. The template is 1/2" thick. I have 1/2" masking tape for doing frets. If I layer that tape in decreasing lengths, I'll get a taper.





I layed a piece 1" short of the heel, then 3" short. Then 6" short, then 10" short, then 15" short, and then 1 cover layer over the length.


So, at the nut, I have 6 layers on both sides and 2 in the pocket. 12 layers of the tape makes it 1.75" wide.



I added a couple more to get it to 1.785. I may have to shave the heel end a bit to fit into the pocket, but that's fine. I'd rather have excess than a loose joint.