Dave,
Welcome to the OLF
You are at the right place and Martin has certainly steered you in the right direction. My advise, if you are to only build just one, get yourself a serviced kit from John Hall at Blues Creek, Johns a sponsor here at the OLF and from all reports does first class kits.
But, if you want to build more than one, and your post gives insight into the passion, just keep reading those archives, ask questions, build a data base of those golden keys you will discover as you research and Take Your Time.
Some will tell you to jump right in and make the mistakes so you can learn faster and get the experience, and that may be fine if you have everything at your finger tips to do so, but Dave, you are in England mate, the freight is gonna be a killer. The pit fall of jumping in is that each avenue you explore that turns out not to be quite how you want to go will cost time and money, money for freight and for the specific tooling that is required to explore that particular avenue in the first place. If you are like me, burning the bucks is just not an option.
I have been at this for ages, just over two years in fact and due to life and matters have not built a guitar as yet. I have however had the opportunity to look very carefully at the many different ways a builder can approach the same thing and have tried to define a method for each step along the way that will work for me before I commit.
I have also taken on repair work which, because of my better understanding from the research I have done, has given me an opportunity to develop hand skills in this arena, I even ended up with a nice guitar out of it for myself so that has been a bonus.
The research takes time, but it is fascinating and will not only pay you back in saved cash, but will also open your eyes to a better understanding of those little things, those details which help to make a great guitar great. Also, it must surely save a good quantity of fine material form finding their way to the scrap bin.
So, with all that ramble, what do I recommend you do first?? Pay the money and get a GOOD engineers square, for my money it is No1 in the shop, I got a little 4" and I KNOW it is true and will stay that way. Use this to set up all your static machinery or checking your progress with a hand plane, you will use it for heaps so DO NOT cheap out.
Also, again spend the money and get a GOOD straight edge and various steel rules for the same reasons mentioned above. There is a pattern here already, don't buy rubbish to save a buck, in this game, with the cost of material so high, it really is a false economy.
Once you can accurately measure things, start fixing a few old bunkies for friends and do it for free, even if you have to buy the suckers from a swap meet and resell that is OK but put your knowledge to the test and develop an understanding of just what it is you are trying to do when you set out to building a guitar.
During the time I have been doing the above, I have also built jigs and the components that they were designed to manufacture to test function and I have watched very carefully what others here are doing and how they have developed along the way. This place is a gold mine for you. At the OLF, we have many great builders, many innovative and generous people at all different levels, but they all seem willing to take the time to help you out along the way. So enjoy the journey Dave, and once again, welcome to the OLF.
Cheers
Kim
