Things You'll Need:
- Les Paul guitar kit (see Resources)
- Sandpaper
- Spray paint
- Primer
- Soldering iron
- Lacquer
- Masking tape
- Worktable
- Philips-head screwdriver
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Step 1
Clear off an adequate amount of workspace to build your Les Paul guitar. You will need a table (covered in newspaper) in a well-ventilated area that is out of the way from the rest of the activities at home.
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Step 2
Remove the guitar neck from your kit and cover the fretboard with strips of masking tape.
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Step 3
Cover the headstock and the back of the Les Paul guitar neck with a coat of wood finish. Give the fretboard at least 24 hours to dry and then remove the masking tape from the fretboard.
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Step 4
Take 100-grit sandpaper and sand the front and back of the Les Paul body until it is smooth on both sides. Use an old T-shirt to wipe away the sawdust from the body.
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Step 5
Apply a coat of primer to the Les Paul body. After your primer coat has dried, go over it again lightly with sandpaper to remove the dried runs in the primer coat.
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Step 6
Spray-paint the body of your guitar the color of your choice. Wait 24 hours for your first coat to dry and then apply a second coat of paint to the Les Paul body.
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Step 7
Use a screwdriver and the screws that come in your kit to connect the neck of the Les Paul to the body. There will be a cut out at the top of the body in the shape of the neck; just slide in place and fasten it down with screws. Pop all of the tuner pegs into the headstock of the neck and fasten the screws in place.
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Step 8
Wire the Les Paul control plate. Take a contact wire located in the middle of the control plate and solder it to the volume pot. Solder the other contact wire to the tone port. Lastly, solder the input jack to the contact wire coming out of the volume pot.
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Step 9
Screw on the Les Paul pick guard. The pick guard protects your body from taking damage from your pick while you play your guitar. This piece simply screws in right under the slots for the pickups.
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Step 10
Install the Humbucker guitar pickups. These are the standard type of pickups that come with a Les Paul-style guitar. Slide each pickup into its slot and run the wires down to the bottom of the body where the control plate will be attached.
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Step 11
Solder the Humbucker black wires to the volume pot, and the white wires to the toggle switch pot on the control plate. Fasten the control plate in place with screws and your screwdriver.
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Step 12
Snap your volume, tone and toggle switch knobs on the control plate. Connect your bridge to the body of the guitar.
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Step 13
Put your new guitar strings on and tune them up. Your guitar is now completed.
