1

44 x 34 ver. 1.50

Double Cut Junior - design study

exposed heel varies, but... 0.625 0.3125 R 2.338* 2.328*

2.25

0.3125

0.25 D plastic pearloid fret markers - 0.9375 D side dots

0.1875 this headstock view distorted by headstock angle 2.15625

Download for better viewing. If found re-uploaded online, check for revisions here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gxzbb6524doqtn0/Double Cut LP Jr.pdf or this thread: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/212273-les-paul-junior-pdf.html Blue type denotes a clickable link: Spreadsheet - fractions tab. Measurements tagged with an * are not exact fractions. Measurements given in full (excessive) decimal form due to an odd personailty defect. This all on one main page can be imported into many cad and drawing programs. For those that need it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/39lajijp5k080dw/DCLPJr.dxf ...reduced to 4.5 mb. You may need to rejoin line segments into closed paths. Copies of the following pages can be printed as needed. Borders are drawn in 1 x 0.25 blocks for checking accuracy. Gator Payne covers the perils of printing pretty well here: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/131930-fret-slotting-templates-2.html the kyocera (xerox process) printer I test printed this 44 x 34 main page on was 1/8th off on the short side and near a 1/4 off on the long side. Two weeks later, the second try was a little worse... same printer. The 7 measurement on the headstock was closer to 7 - 1/16th. Take a good ruler and a calculator to find the percentages its off (in both directions as they wont necessarilly be the same). Most services will be able to tweak and reprint it. Depending on your need for print accuracy, it may be worth tracking down a service that can use a pen plotter and premium (again, depending on your needs) stable paper (i.e. vellum - plasticized paper). Posted freely, but all rights reserved, etc... blah blah blah. Value: http://www.mylespaul.com... subscriptions.html http://www.tdpri.com/forum/misc.php?do=donate they make the sharing possible.

1.4375

0.1875

the exposed flat sawn maple channel filler strip is sanded flush and covered by the nut and paint. 1.6875 0.50 27.530* x2 filed nut slot 3.8125 0.203 No headstock veneer on juniors. Filing a nut slot removes residual fret board glue and cleans up the nut edge of the headstock 6.8125 x-ray 9 R truss access detail - pages 3 & 4 17 2.560*

2.8125

18.078125

0.980*

0.890*

2.8125 1.493* 1.375 0.625 2.37 join line in red = 1.375 1.3762* cut angle drawn as 2.37 tapered fretboard adds 0.12+ for an effective neck angle of 2.5 3/16ths D truss rod cut to length 0.4375 0.625 0.375 D rod store bought options include stewmac kit (half moon D washer) not included 0.10 0.3125 threaded 10 -32 0.75 Rosewood fretboard 2.25
0.240* thick 0.240* thick 0.250 thick leftie side dots shown for reference 0.84375 profile straight between marks

0.120

0.5625

1.6875
0.200* thick 0.217* thick 0.250 thick

0.250

0.5625

12 Radius over 18.078125 board length 0.34375 0.5625 0.171875

A tapered thickness creates an even looking edge. The side profile above is drawn with the fretboard tapering from 0.240 to 0.200 (as measured). CAD perfect for a board of these dimensions would be from 0.240 to 0.217 other thicknesses / tapers can be accomodated when carving the neck profile... see right.

0.073 = problem see pg. 3 the headstock thickness / taper varies... some may even be even along the length. the posts on the tuners are 63/64ths long, youll want about 3/8ths or more of that above the face. 0.625 0.614* 0.602* 0.59375

x-ray of the 59 showed the anchor cut about 1/2 long, perhaps even a kerf width shy of 1/2 for 2 per inch of rod overall rod length will be somewhere between 18 and 18.5

bridge holes for illustration only see page 8

fret scale is drawn here as 24.75 - rule of 18 other scales (24.5625 or 24.625 - rule of 17.817) can be substituted with minimal change to the profile. frets measured as 0.10 wide x 0.043 high
very close

1.75

7.00 0.1875 neck and headstock angled up to show full size 2.15625 1.50 1.75 1.75 1.375 1.6875 1.717* 6.498* 1.375 3.005* 6.8125

3.00 59 guard 0.40625 D 2.338* 5.272* 50 1 D 14.074* flat sawn mahogany 13.00 16.138* ...meet Matt King 2.375 9.625 8.4375 4.875 2.8125 blocked neck (as drawn to the left) 2.25 pocket template 2.328* form fitted to individual neck 2.8125 0.3125 R 2.3125 manufacturers pinched neck pocket tapered sides arent in line with the taper of the neck. individual neck sanded to fit generic pocket

If, for whatever reason, you want or need to use a 0.25 corner radius, then youll want to shorten the tenon and pocket by a sixteenth to keep the corner of the pocket covered by the pick guard. blocked early 58 - large guard 59 note glue lines and 3/16 R roundovers 2.336* 2.328* 2.75 0.25 D 2.25 2.3125 2.307* 2.75 0.25 D 2.25 pinched

2.306*

2.8125 0.3125 R 2.25

1.75 to 1.78125

0.1875 R centered vertically 1 D 0.25 0.15625

1.30* 0.28* 0.553*

link 0.329* 0.585*

1.375

angled route (2 here) 0.625 varies - it seems to mirror how far the heel extends.

0.375 0.1875 R 1.3125 1.3125 0.078 thick bwb 1.00 0.375 1.00 Cover Ledge 1.46875 D 2.40625 1.196* 2.0625 0.040* thick Back Cover 0.09* thick 4.25 2.8125 4.28125 2.8125 b level route c will need to be 0.625 or a little over. to have the pup sitting on the wood, you want to get the pickup and cover first and then measure. original brand covers drawn to the right. aftermarket P90 dogear covers may be a mm or so shorter. 1.1875 D

Control Cavity 3.71875 2.53125 a c

0.375 1.625

0.4375

0.625

main pickup route measured 3.455 x 1.405 1.40625 0.0625

2 passes 0.375 D bit 0.5 D bit The Rist Option Soapbar P90s have been used under the dogear cover... 0.53125 0.4375 0.4375 DC Jr P90s seem to be most commonly around 8.2 to 8.3k. SC Jr P90s - high 7s 4 digit dc specials used 8.3k in the neck position and beefed up the bridge to 8.9 - 9.1k. Some of these may have found their way into single pup double cuts... as well as a high 7k here and there. the threaded end of the poles are 1/8th in diameter. vol - 500k split shaft audio taper pot tone - 250k split shaft audio taper pot 0.022 uf/mfd non-polar cap mono jack bridge ground braided pickup wire Back View .022 uf

4.6875 3.8125 3.40625

0.28125 R 3.390625

1.375 0.116*

0.3125 R 3.453125

3.359375 1.9375 /5 0.3875

#2 round head screws (pick-up cover screws) jack plate, back cover and pick guard are countersunk for: #3 oval head screws threaded 0.375 0.15625

1.4375 D

sleeve tip

1.03125

0.9375

The cover ledge is sized to give a 64th gap around the cover

soapbar cover in black 1/64th gap on sides 1/32nd gap top & bottom

0.03125

unused tab normally clipped off 2 tabs bent up and soldered to casing (ground)

2
34 x 22

Neck
0.980* 0.890*

x2 filed nut slot

3.8125 2.8125 1.493* 1.375 0.625 2.37 join line in red = 1.375 1.3762* cut angle drawn as 2.37 tapered fretboard adds 0.12+ for an effective neck angle of 2.5 exposed heel varies, but... 0.625 0.3125 R 2.338* 2.328* 1.4375 2.25
leftie side dots shown for reference 0.84375 profile straight between marks

0.203

No headstock veneer on juniors. Filing a nut slot removes residual fret board glue and cleans up the nut edge of the headstock 6.8125

x-ray 9 R

truss access detail - pages 3 & 4 17

2.560*

0.120

0.5625

a couple more vids from prs (Jack Higgenbotham 5:15 mark, and Herman Efland) http://youtu.be/UjHpVGMaleM http://youtu.be/loV2_sDuEo8 to stress the importance of removing wood in stages and letting the neck relax before going further.

A piece of flat sawn maple is glued into the truss channel as a filler strip... itll need to be planed / sanded flush. Mahogany ears are glued to the sides of the headstock, theyll need to be planed / sanded flush front and back. Before the fretboard is glued on, about a third of a turn of tension should be put on the truss / compression rod and the glue face of the neck planed perfectly flat yet again. In other words, cut wide of the profile lines... youll have plenty of opportunities to get closer and closer to the final dimensions. 0.3125 0.25 D plastic pearloid fret markers - 0.9375 D side dots 0.1875 this headstock view distorted by headstock angle 2.15625

0.1875

the exposed flat sawn maple channel filler strip is sanded flush and covered by the nut and paint. 1.6875 0.50 27.530*

flat created by a cutter presumedly following a template... then belt sanded. its probably a good idea to shy away from the sides until after its set and glued to avoid the potential for gaps.

2.8125

18.078125

spreadsheet - Neck angle tab

with a fretboard that tapers in thickness, a distinction needs to be made between neck angle and cut angle. a 2.37 cut angle with a fretboard that tapers from 0.240 to 0.20 over the 18.078125 length creates an effective neck angle of 2.5 1.484*

2.815* 2.2 join lines in red = 1.375 1.376* 2.815* 1.489* 2.3 1.504* 1.496*

2.815* 2.5 1.514*

2.816* 2.8 1.530*

2.817* 3.1

1.376* 2.815* 2.6 1.519* 2.816* 2.9

1.377* 2.817* 1.535* 3.2

1.377*

join line in red = 1.375 back cut angle cut cut thick then sand to final thickness while neck fitting

1.376* 2.815* 1.494* 2.4 1.509* 2.816* 2.7

1.376* 2.816* 1.524* 3.0

1.377* 2.817* 1.540* 3.3

1.377*

Original is as above... but below is a viable option. 1.376* join line changes with angle 2.37 1.375 cut thick then sand to final thickness while neck fitting
1.3750 at 0.0 1.3760 at 2.2 1.3775 at 3.5

1.377*

1.377* 2.817*

1.377*

ramped template

1.545*

3.4

shim flat to body

c b 2.818* 1.550* 3.5 1.377*

shim flat to template

exposed heel can be sanded parallel to back after glueing

b c 1.378*

3
22 x 17

Truss (compression) Rod Access Options

3/16ths D truss rod cut to length 0.10

mcmaster.com 0.06 0.08 to to 0.09 0.011

Below are examples of truss (compression) rod channel depths optimized for other board thicknesses / tapers. Each shows the bottom of the channel angled up from the same point (5/8ths down at the butt end of the neck) to where its 1/8th from the back of the neck at the first fret (0.890). 0.240* to 0.200* as drawn on previous pages 0.625 0.203* rosewood 0.687* mahogany 2.206* 2.435* x-ray

0.625 0.375 D

0.34375 overall rod length will be somewhere between 18 and 18.5 threaded 10 -32 0.75 #8 #10

0.4375 x-ray of the 59 had the anchor about 1/2 long... perhaps even a kerf width shy for two per inch of rod.

0.5625

0.3125

store bought options include a stewmac kit . . . . . half moon D washer not included

0.4375 o.d. 0.1875 i.d.

0.50 o.d. 0.203125 i.d.

0.120* 0.75 D forstner drill bit see right of page for start (in blue) and stop points. if you read build threads, you may notice some of the guys letting thin superglue soak into the end grain of the access to reinforce the wood. It cant hurt. 0.240* to 0.200* same taper as above adjusted to 0.125

0.5625

vintage style - 3 down from horizontal then squared up so the washer sits flat

0.625 2.189* 2.413*

0.203* rosewood 0.687* mahogany

0.125 http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/162252-video-cutting-truss-rod-nut-recess.html counterbore / spotfacer 1/2 D - 1/8 pilot shank smaller diameter means less wood taken out of a vulnerable area, but not as convenient as the larger diameters with spare 3/16 rod as pilot. ...foil tape? ...brass tubing from a hobby shop? ...that or a metal lathe or creative shimming. 0.4375 D thin wall nut driver 1/2 D 1/8 P without shim 21/32 to 3/4 D - 3/16 pilot shank excess rod used as pilot 21/32 D 3/16 P clearance given determines the starting point, not the diameter of the bit used. 3/4, 21/32 & 1/2 shown 0.125 clearance = 0.03125 0.03125 bottom of channel shimmed 0.078125 0.109375 0.125 11/16 D 3/16 P set screw for 3/16 D rod as pilot 23/32 D 3/16 P 0.109375 0.140625 0.125 0.15625 #8 washer = same as driver in green 0.125 0.250 rosewood 0.640* mahogany 0.09375 0.125 0.25 even stewmac 1/2 D thick D washers 0.234375 even 15/64ths 0.0625 0.240* to 0.217*

0.557*

0.59375 0.219* rosewood 0.671* mahogany 2.131* 2.436*

0.540*

set screw for 1/8 D rod as pilot

0.53125 0.234* rosewood 0.656* mahogany

2.070* 2.281*

0.523*

0.4375 2.005* 2.216*

3/4 D 3/16 P

0.506*

4
22 x 17

Headstock
7.00 0.1875 6.8125 3.3125 1.717* 2.15625 2.747158* 1.75 3.50 5.0625 1.375 1.375 1.75 2.4375 1.50 1.75

2.747187* 1.6875 2.672* 1.259* * see below 6.498* 3.005* 2.747418*

1.750018* 1.750166*

0.59375 0.53125

above: drilled from top - below: drilled from bottom with set 3 on a plate spacing, does it matter ? this was drawn to find out... now its page filler. thickness at tip: one 59 was 0.583 one 61 was 0.539 0.614* 2.747187* 0.602* 1.752742* 0.59375 2.747158* 0.609* 2.747223* 0.590* 1.754019* 0.578125 2.747158* 0.604* 0.579* 2.747273* 1.755234* 0.5625 2.747158* 0.598* 2.747338* 0.567* 1.756387* 0.546875 2.747158* 1.75 0.555* 2.747418* 1.757477* 0.53125 2.747158* 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75

0.625

0.614*

0.602*

0.59375 .....tip as drawn, but... wings need leveled, neck needs contoured / shaped, and the back of headstock needs to be level for the tuner plates. did I mention they varied?

the headstock thickness / taper varies... some might even be even along the length. the posts on the tuners are 63/64ths long, at least 3/8ths of that should be above the face.

symmetrical

closer to reality symmetrical in gray

0.593*

5
22 x 17

Scale

24.75 rule of 18

thickness tapering a fretboard

12 Radius 0.240*

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/194271-1959-les-paul-build-9.html#post2277092 http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/190617-1st-lp-burst-build-bartlett-plan-4.html#post3848540
0.200*

2.25 18.078125 then ends sanded

1.6875

24.75 rule of 18

Scale Comparison

24.5625 rule of 17.817

24.57 rule of 17.817

24.625 rule of 17.817

6
22 x 17

Scale

24.5625 12th root of 2 a.k.a. rule of 17.817

23rd fret slot width

A pre-slotted board from stewmac comes with slots for 24 frets... the 23rd will likely be short of the 18.078125 board length

2.25

1.6875

24.5625 rule of 17.817

18.078125 then ends sanded

24.625 rule of 17.817

2.25

1.6875

24.625 12th root of 2 a.k.a. rule of 17.817

7
22 x 17

DC Jr Profiles

neck shaping basics - more can be found online http://www.liutaiomottola.com/construction/NeckCarve.htm Preeb marking and carving Jr fretboard thickness The speculation below turned out to be way off the mark for the 1950s... Read how it was done by clicking here. How they do it today is shown in this vid @ the 9:50 mark. LP fretboard thickness

12 Radius over 18.078125 board length 2.25

0.240 0.215

1.6875
0.200 0.190

pic

if Im right about the shape of the cutter, it may have been designed specifically for the double cut and its extended neck access.

rub collar shaper cutter speculation custom ground 1/4 ellipse: 1.125 0.8125 shaper red sanding blue 17th 12th 7th 5th 3rd 1st

early 58 (top) - full half ellipse. exposed heel has a rounded shape created by the cutter later 58 & 59 - the cutter edge is a 32nd past the glue line - changing the shape of the shoulders slightly. starts to flatten out after the 17th to blend into the exposed heel. remember that mean looking cutter in the pic linked above? 60s thin - 1/8th inside glue line - head lowered about a 64th. the template starts pushing the neck away after the 15th fret. exposed heels 58

59

60s thin needs curved truss rod

comparison

8
22 x 17

segmented outline over scan

9
22 x 17

Drawn vs. the body measured - loose jig / tray slop - for whatever reason

bushings set by jig placed on neck (do not trust these marks for a build) (seriously... just dont)

pickup route square to neck

neck center line 0.686 to body centerline

if you look at a dozen double cuts, youll see worse... in both directions. on a single cut junior, the treble side of the neck pocket tells the story. vol. & tone holes 1.475 to body centerline channel: as a separate operation, one or both of the 1/32nd soapbar ledges in the lower left corner often (partially or fully) dissapeared in production on the double cut, its the fit of the bottom of the pick guard. The flat of the guard is flush to the butt end of the neck. The pick-up route is cut with the neck pocket, so the guard will be fairly consistent in relation to the pup cover. its pretty ingenious, really.

control cavity routes same tray - around 1 to body centerline

although its close to being exaclty 50 it was probably drawn as 51.05... in line with how the body outline was drawn

quiz time... go full screen and guess the direction of the neck center line here: http://youtu.be/IKBVRO_6T4s

10
22 x 17

Body Template - original pinched neck pocket

Roundover: early 58 was 3/16ths R straight into pocket. In late 58, it got visibly rounder - see link: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/123788-mlp-bartlett-build-4.html#post2404892

the outline is symmetrical from the center of the hips back which would make it easy to double up and have both the control cavity and control plate ledge on one template. holes for the vol. and tone pots can be easily positioned with pencil.

4.28125

1.46875 D 1 - 15/32 forstner bit

3.00 1.40625 2.3125 blocked 3.453125 pinched pinched pocket 2.338* 0.625 2.328* 2.8125 2.25 0.3125 R 2.25 blocked pocket

14.074*

12.031*

9.625

8.4375

4.875

2.8125

0.3125 R 0.109 D 0.3125 R 2.375 1.1875 D 1 - 3/16 forstner bit 3.00 0.40625 D 0.1875 D 2.306* at widest

using a stop takes some of the excitement out of it

13/32 drill bit

3.71875 5.272* 50 1.00 D (drill after roundover) 2.3125 2.307* 2.75 0.25 D 2.25 pinched pocket 2.336* 2.328* 2.75 0.25 D 2.25 blocked pocket

If using a 0.25 corner radius, see note on page 1.

11 letter

58

12 letter

59

13 letter

Misc plastics 0.1875 R 1.3125

1.3125

0.078 thick bwb 1.00 1.1875 D

Control Cavity 3.71875 2.53125

0.375 1.00 Cover Ledge 1.46875 D 2.40625 1.196* 2.0625 0.040* thick Back Cover 0.09* thick 4.25 2.8125 4.28125 2.8125

#2 round head screws (pick-up cover screws) jack plate, back cover and pick guard are countersunk for: #3 oval head screws threaded 0.375 0.15625

1.4375 D

for something stiffer than pickguard material, have a look at Garolite (XX) http://www.mcmaster.com/#garolite/=iot2sr

14 letter

Wiring - View From Back

http://youtu.be/hgUg9Sa1SZs

bridge ground .022 uf V unused tab normally clipped off 2 tabs bent up and soldered to casing (ground) T

braided pickup wire

Volume - 500k split shaft audio taper pot Tone - 250k split shaft audio taper pot 0.022 uf/mfd non-polar cap mono jack sleeve tip

pg 15 letter

Bridge Placement - stop bar / stop tail / wrap tail

7.5 50s vintage 6.5 historic reissue

...so many names

5.1 modern

post comparison
7.5 6.5 5.1

7.5 6.5 5.1

if you value the vintage look over intonation then this is the angle for you! But... now you can have both the vintage look and perfect intonation with a bridge specifically designed to compensate for vintage placement Mojoaxe.com obviously, it was designed as an ideal replacement bridge, but theres no reason it cant be used on a new build IF you use the vintage placement Strings change... (pardon the pun) and as they improved over the years, people found they were backing away from the treble post about a 16th more than they did the from the bass post... so the reissues have the treble post a 16th back. the mojoaxe bridge intonates in about the same position as the best fit for an uncompensated bridge, so this is a better angle than vintage for using it. for an uncompensated stop tail, these modern stud positions will give you the best overall intonation. the method for finding them comes from an authorized gibson repair tech via ltdave32 on the MLP forums. so... if planning to use a plain stop tail, then use this method... if planning on the compensated bridge mentioned, use one of the previous angles... the compensated bridge on this angle will not be ideal. (more on this later)

pg 16 letter

ltdave32 described a method for locating the bushings in the MyLesPaul forums... words in quotation marks are his own.

step 1: Measure from the face of the nut to the center point of the 12th fret. Transfer that measurement to the lower bout, marking a straight line with a pencil across the body.

pg 17 letter

step 2: Lay a ruler against each side of the neck, down the body, and mark two lines that are perpendicular to the first line you drew.

1/2 scale to fit on letter size page

pg 18 letter

step 3: from the treble side intersection, measure 1/16 toward the neck (sharp). from the bass side intersection, measure 5/32 away from the neck (flat). draw a line through these two points.

5/32

1/16

This is your bridge line.

(click link)

pg 19 letter

step 4: measure and mark the center of your bridge line.

pg 20 letter

step 5: Wraptail Only: because of the 5.1 angle, the strings will exit the bridge and make their bend lower than they would if the bridge was square to the body center line. To compensate for this, move the center of the bridge 1/16 to the bass side.

This will result in the strings being perfectly aligned over the pole pieces.

pg 21 letter

step 6: Measure your bridge from the centers of the ear hooks and divide by 2. Measure and mark your bridge line from center mark (for tune o matic types) or compensated center mark for wrap tail bridge (as shown here).

pg 22 letter

step 7: Measure the diameter of the stud at the point where the bridge makes contact. Divide the diameter by 2 for the radius and measure that distance toward the neck from your previous marks. This is where the drill point goes.

pg 23 letter

clear?

pg 24 letter

done

pg 25 letter

not to make it complicated, but rather to explain small differences that might add up...
link to pic posted by danelectro how much strings are allowed to pull down depends on the individual bridge design... not all stop / wrap tail bridges are the same. the downhill string shift may be minimal and not be worth worrying about, or it may be enough (depending on how picky you are about string alignment over the poles and up the neck) that youll want to shift the bridge more toward the bass to compensate for it. (step 5 of the previous method).

having perfect intonation with the back of the bridge hooks flush to the posts is not a realistic (or even desirable) goal... better to have the posts set forward of where the bridge will intonate to avoid a noticeable shift in string alignment when adjusting. in this regard, the positions shown previously are fine; the bridge will need to be backed out slightly and it will brace against the bass side of the hook. Adjusting about a 32nd back is enough. string tension dominant angle tension comes more into play... and shifts bridge 0.0293 toward treble

green from hole center

1.0372

1.0109

0.9797

1.0122

red shift 1/32nd down as a reference

0.0575 difference toward bass

0.0013 essentially even

spread drawn 2.025 E to E.

right... so after the shift, the centers of the back of the through holes are equidistant from the neck (and pickup) center line. but... with an angled bridge, strings will not start straight lines to their respective nut slots from the center of the string hole exit. theyll pull down with the angle toward the treble post.

so it may be worth pulling a string taught with the the bridge at your angle to check the amount of pull from center. it may also be that your choice of stud diameter offsets the amount of pull, or it may be that it adds to the misalignment. see next page

pg 26 letter

stud diameter - to finish this finicky train of thought before moving on. 0.260 D was drawn on previous pages... adjustments here are relative to that
again, the differences are small, but can add to, or partially offset, the string pull on the bridge.

0.245 D tonepros locking

smaller radius shifts the bridge more toward treble potential need to compensate more toward bass
the difference here from the standard 0.260 D is only a 0.0075 difference in radius which translates to a marginal 0.00683 on the bridge angle line

0.0361713 string shift to treble 1/32nd = 0.03125

0.300 D schroeder locking *

larger radius shifts the bridge less toward treble potential need to compensate less toward bass
the difference here from the standard 0.260 D is a 0.020 difference in radius which translates to 0.0182 on the bridge angle line (a little over a 64th)

0.0112239 string shift to treble 1/64th = 0.015625

* the stewmac page says schroeder studs wont work with a pigtail wraparound bridge... they mean the adjustable saddle wraparound they sell. It has thinner ears and the schroeders wont clamp down far enough to secure them. The vintage type stop tail bridges available today have thicker ears and can be clamped by these.

pg 27 letter

50s vintage gibson stud placement...

for bridges specifically designed to compensate for such placement... or, for those that just prefer the look and flatter lower end of old juniors, etc. Many do.

Danelectros measurements of a 55 sc Jr.

12.516

1.715 neck center line ... can be found / verified as shown in step 4 previously

1.508

12.092

http://www.mojoaxe.com

pg 28 letter

55 sc Jr in blue - previous method in red

(same nut to 12th fret measurement -12.31)

With only 0.002 difference in the distance of the treble posts from the nut, the real difference here is in angles. A bridge designed to compensate for a 50s vintages wider angle will be a bit off on the steeper 5.1 angle. the flatter bass side can come in handy with heavier low end strings and higher action.

50s vintage bridge shifted nearly an additional 3/64ths toward the bass due to increased bridge angles effect on string alignment *

50s vintage bass post is: 0.1371 flat of what the method gave us 0.0336 more toward bass

vintage angle = 7.494 method angle = 5.10

50s vintage treble post is: 0.0019 flat of what the method gave us 0.0478 more toward bass

pg 1 - you could increase the methods angle from 5.1 by backing the bass side away from the post, but the strings shift down by about a 32nd by the time you reach 6.5. A 32nd doesnt sound like much, but it will be noticeable over the poles and up the neck.

pg 29 letter

Historic Reissue wraptail guitars have the treble post about 1/16th flat of 50s vintage.
The step 3 treble mark at the intersection leaves the treble post flat by 0.0565 Thats a 16th less of adjusting the treble away from the post.

bass post 0.0020 flat 0.0052 less toward bass than 50s vintage wraptail

9/32 3/32

0 - 9/32 line angle = 6.528

treble post 0.0565 flat - 0.006 shy of 1/16th 0.0111 less toward bass than 50s vintage wraptail

1.625 R 3.25 bridge

we could also recreate the vintage positions using ltdave32s method by substituting 0.0528548 for the treble and 0.2703106 for the bass to draw the bridge line (page 3) and changing the shift to the bass in step 6 from 1/16th to 0.1018566. It seems a bit redundant, though.

pg 30 letter

wrap-around adjustable saddle bridge... (for lack of a consistent name)

its not necessarily ideal to use 50s vintage, historic reissue or even the methods 5.1 angled stud positions when planning on using an adjustable saddle wrap around - click link. strings riding the extreme treble edge of the saddles G and low E saddles all the way back treble side backed way out from post

so... http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Fretting/i-fretcalc.html

after entering the number of frets and the scale, you get recommendations at the bottom of the page for the bridges they carry. example: @ 24.625 scale with pigtail (the one that doesnt work with the schroeder studs) quote: 24.685" (0.030") from nut to center of mounting studs. Note: Some bridge/tailpieces may require you to mount the bass-side stud an additional 1/16"-1/8" further from the nut.

pg 31 letter

straight is a no brainer... once you find the neck center line. bass 1/8th back might make it a little better for thicker strings and / or higher action.

1/8th back gives a 2.2 angle 1/16th back gives a 1.1 angle

1/8

on neck center line

1/16

pgs 10 & 11 - to compensate (if you think it needs it) shift the center of the radius straight toward the bass

pg 32 letter

like so...

pg 33 letter

comparison... for fun n such

vintage 7.5 method 5.1

clearly, the saddles reach further forward.

pg 33 letter

lightning bars - rough representations below

for wound G string

for plain G string

lightening bars appeared in the early 60s... first on SGs, I think. The angle of the studs is about 2. Theyre mainly sold as replacement bridges for such guitars, but theres no reason they couldnt be used on a new build. stewmac carries a wound G one... and gives the same stud placement advice for them as for the adjustable saddle bridge just covered. Again, when the bass stud is placed an 8th behind, the angle is 2.2 degrees. The ones for a plain G are much more difficult to find, but mojoaxe.com carries them. They may have additional advice on stud placement... maybe even know where the studs were placed on original guitars that sported these.

misc links: posts 29 & 32 by Danelectro posts 4 & 7 by Danelectro and : http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178930 and for tune o matics: http://youtu.be/CUpLDgygD2g