Official Luthiers Forum!

G'day Everyone, my names Evan, long time lurker here, first time poster.

I may be a youngster around here, but am very serious about getting into
building. I know there's been a number of these threads popping up, so I
hope this isn't getting old.

I've done my research and am thinking of starting to tool up a little bit to
start my first build this summer. For my approach, I was thinking of
buying my chisels and planes now, get good at getting them razor sharp,
then think about possible jigs I'll want to start with (ie side bender, neck
tenon, jointer setup, possibly a mold and sanding dish, etc.) to get things
moving smoothly and reach an understanding with woodworking.

I think I want start with some tried and true materials (possibly a sitka/
rosewood) but am far more interested in building quality small bodies.

So I guess some of my inital questions are:
does this seem like a practical approach?

how many here build specifically from plans and who thinks its better to
learn from experience?

if I decide I want to build a side bender right away, would it make sense
to anticipate other body shapes, and build the appropriate molds?

Sorry if this is getting repetitive for some. I guess I'm having a hard time
wrapping my head around the whole process since there are so many
steps, and theres no good way to do this besides to dive in head first.

And to answer any initial questions, yes, I've considered a kit, but would
like to build from scratch; I've read Cumpiano cover to cover and plan to
keep doing so; I also plan to order Robbie's DVD.

Thanks everyone! This is a fantastic resource, and I don't know if I'd be
up to the challenge without it!

Welcome to the club.
As per many previous threads, starting from a kit is great way to start.
See other threads about them and where to get them.
As far as plans and experience...BOTH
There is nothing like experience.
As far as plans go, when you make your first from scratch....work from a
plan. Tried and true plans are great. This site has some sizes and LMI
and Stew Mac have others.
John at Blues creek has molds and matching bending forms for almost
every guitar shape ever made. you can get one of his benders or make
one that will allow the forms to be added.
Most side benders, Johns at Blues Creek, allow you to change the bending
form so it can be used for many different size guitars. I made one of my
mold, now I just buy them with a matching bending form from John..
He is great.
Welcome to the Forum
THIS IS AN AWESOME RESOURCE
I wouldn't be where I am in Lutherie without it
Andy

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Welcome,

From a fellow newbie who is 40% through builds 1 and 2, I can say that if I had it to do over again, I would probably have started with a kit. On the other hand, doing it from scratch has forced me to examine EVERY little aspect of what I've done to date and I suppose that is a good thing too.

Long story short, everyone here has been extremely helpful and has reduced my fearoffailure level to something manageable!

Welcome and good luck,

Steve

PS There two schools of thought about side bending. Personally, I think learning to bend by hand teaches a certain feel of the wood that you can get no other way so this is what I did. After a number of practice sides (avaialble from Bob C., the Zootman) I approached the first real bends with enormous confidence! (Actually, I was quaking in my boots! ). Anyway, all went well and there is nothing that compares to the feel (through welder's gloves) of the wood beginning to yield as you move it over the iron.sfbrown38748.8719675926

Welcome Evan - You came to the right place, the people here will help you with any questions you have. I think you are on the right track by starting with sharpening; nothing else works without sharp tools. You should be able to shave hair off your arm with a sharp plane blade-the man who taught me woodworking said that when the blade was really sharp the hairs would jump off in terror before the blade got to them.
Building jigs and forms is neccessary but I would start with one size and build a few guitars before starting a lot of different shapes. You may find there are things you want to change before building more forms. Just my 2 cents.

                Paul Harrell

Evan, welcome. I think you'll find guitar building has few other peers in terms of end-product gratification. It is seriously fun.
I don't know you but, for your first build, I would heavily suggest a kit. There is SO much to learn about building guitars that a kit lets you concentrate on the actual fabrication without spending time jigging up etc. I mean, a kit is really just the same as "from scratch" except that someone else has taken the time sourcing all the parts and roughing out some of the more time-intensive parts for you.
Anywho, building without referring to plans is kind of like building a house without prior experience building from plans. They are an excellent place to start and possibly deviate from to suite your taste. Getting bracing patterns, suggested dimensions etc. is very valuable.
You're young, plenty of time to build from scratch, make all your own jigs, carve a whole guitar from a single tree etc. Take it a step at a time and you'll avoid some of those deep hole along the way.

Evan,
You have definitely come to the right place to get your answers. Welcome and good luck with your build.

Howdy, welcome pardner!

Welcome here Evan, i did it from scratch and would not trade my beginning for anything else, or maybe just one thing, i wish i had had the OLF then. No matter what you choose to do, a kit or from scratch, make sure like Alan Taylor says to stay close to a plan, to keep a notebook near, to stay tuned to the OLF and most importantly, SEND PICTURES!

You're gonna love this place!

Serge

Welcome Evan,

My first was started with a tracing of a cheap dreadnought that my wife plays. I soon bought the Kinkhead (sp?) book because there is a plan included. A Stanley block plane and a few Sandvick chisels got those braces carved but a router was great for the rosette trimming sides and back, and the binding. The neck was done freehand with a belt sander.

I just made some radius bowls, you need a jig to make this jig! Also just finished a go-bar deck and a band saw table. I'm thinking of building a thickness sander with the cheap motor and pulleys from my Harbor Freight tabletop drill press so I can buy a real drill press.

Number 2 is well under way. I would post pictures but I am unsure how to reduce the size.

Kurt Housh
San Anselmo, CA USA

Hi Kurt, if you have adobe photoshop, open your pic with it, click on image size and the coming window will allow you to reduce them one at a time.

Serge

Every one has great info and insight here. So I will limit mine to the one thing I think will help a new builder later down the road.

Start a journal. Be religious about keeping it. note every trouble, solution, failure and success in chronological order. Note materials properties, stiffness, tap tones every thing you can note, note it. Then two or ten or one hundred guitars down the road you can go back and see how you handled issues. You will find that as this journal expands it will be one of your most valuable tools.
MichaelP38749.5843981481

Hi Evan,

I'm a begginer also. I've completed one and am 60% through number 2. I did my first from scratch using only Cumpiano's book. I would suggest that if you feel like starting from scratch then do so. I have nothing against kits, but that's not for me. When I built my first I ordered all my wood from Timeless Instruments and they offer a "kit" of wood that has everything you need to build the guitar, but nothing has been done to it. I mentioned this to my friends at the time and now I can't seem to convince them that I actually built it from scratch. They always mention the guitar I built from a "Kit".

Welcome Evan,
   I started with a kit and glad I did. It got me going
in the right direction and I learned a lot from it. Now building from scratch,one jig at a time,one step at a time. The first seems to take a long time but thanks to all the fine people here,it makes it a bit easier and a lot of fun! Good luck with your 1st!

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Finally another Evan!!! We need a few more and we can branch off and start the OEF Official Evan Forum.
Welcome aboard.
Evan

_________________
http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

Hey Evan,
Welcome aboard! Don't worry about posting questions that might be similar to others. Some of us don't get to read the forum every day (forgive me all for saying that!), so you'll get a variety of responses whenever you post. My advice to you in addition to everything above, is to see if there are any luthiers in your area that wouldn't mind you peeking over their shoulder a few times to watch their methods. I'm a hands on kinda guy, and do a lot of reading, but find out so much more when in the presence of other craftsmen.
Good luck on your first build. Let us know how it goes.
Craig
CT Holden Luthiery and Supplies, Inc.

Thanks everyone for the kind words! I couldn't be more excited about the
build.

[Quote] I would suggest that if you feel like starting from scratch then do
so. I have nothing against kits, but that's not for me. [/Quote]

This was kind of what I was thinking too, but haven't completely ruled out
the possibility of working from a kit.

[Quote] Personally, I think learning to bend by hand teaches a certain feel
of the wood that you can get no other way so this is what I did. [/Quote]

This is true, and I'd like to learn this aspect also.

[Quote] Start a journal. Be religious about keeping it. note every trouble,
solution, failure and success in chronological order. [/Quote]

Good advice. I was planning on doing this also. I'm anticipating a lot of
mistakes, and hopefully I'll learn from them.

[Quote] Finally another Evan!!! We need a few more and we can branch off
and start the OEF Official Evan Forum. [/Quote]

Sounds like a plan!

[Quote] see if there are any luthiers in your area that wouldn't mind you
peeking over their shoulder a few times to watch their methods. [/Quote]

This would be great, and I'm hoping to get that chance this summer. I've
wanted to do this for fun anyway, since locally there's Jim Olson, Charlie
Hoffman, and Michael Keller.

Evan, kits come in various degrees of completeness. Some basically package all the materials you'll need with the ribs, back and top sanded to near final thickness. Others come "fully services" with pre-bent sides, rosettes already installed, etc.

I wouldn't hesitate to go with the former as in the end it might save you a fair bit of money and the materials will be good quality. For example I did the math on what it would cost me including shipping for all the materials for one of my next builds and it came to about USD$460 for quality materials but nothing exotic in terms of back/sides and top.

Last piece of advise is don't skimp to much on materials.