Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all
I am new here. I have never built a guitar before but am dying to do it. I have wanted to build and repair guitars and amps since I can remember! With that being said I just wanted to thank all of you here for sharing your time and knowledge. I have been reading a lot here and understand some of it and some is foreign to me. I am planning on going to the Galloup school in the near future but until then I plan on driving myself and probably most of you crazy by starting to build. I have been playing guitar for 30 years so I know what I'm looking for as far as tone goes.
Thank you all again.
Mike

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Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right! - Henry Ford

Welcome Mike - you'll get lots of help here at every level of your building. If you are just getting started and obviously want to build electric I suggested getting Melvyn Hiscock's great book - he covers the fundimentals of design, the three basic neck styles, finish, electronics, setup - just about everything you need to know. Pour over all the build threads you can find too - you'll learn a lot about what others do, the kinds of tools they used, and importantly, the mistakes they make.

Wants to build a guitar eh...YAY!
Knows what tone him after....YAY!
Thirty years eh...YAY!
Well me been at it almost twice that and me still chasing the tone.

Best bit of advice to a nube me got is "go buy the box with everything in it." But then Flipo already say that.

So with that all saided... welcome to the forum Michael.
But please, do take me advise and don't go be reading me posts.
Woodn't wanna corrupt you.


Blessings
?adma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Thanks for the welcome!! Padma I have seen pics of your work and it is amazing so I will definitely let you corrupt my thoughts haha. Filippo I have taken more guitars apart and swapped parts, necks,pups,etc. And ruined many a guitar along the way than I care to think about lol. So a kit wouldn't be a challenge at all. I cringe when I think about all the things that I have done to perfectly good guitars. I have always had the need to see how and why things work or are put together the way they do/are ya know? I am mechanically inclined and have also dug into many amps the same way as I have guitars. Music is my passion and first love. I am good with my hands but have done very little fine woodworking. I love to watch and read woodworking shows and mags. I just have always had a thing for wood( that sounded a little creepy huh? Lol) There is nothing more beautiful to me than a finely made guitar or piece of furniture. OK I am rambling on sorry. I just want to be able to build and repair guitars for a living and I intend on making that a reality. But after reading a lot of the posts here I have more questions and ideas than I thought I would. It turns out I don't know half as much about guitars as I thought lol!
So here I am. I guess I need to keep reading and learning and buy some cheap wood to start with so when I make mistakes I'm not ruining a valuable piece. Any and all advice is welcome!
Thanks again
Mike

_________________
Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right! - Henry Ford

Freeman,
Sorry I didn't address you in my last reply!! Thank you I will check out

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Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right! - Henry Ford

Freeman,
Sorry I didn't address you in my last reply!! Thank you I will get the book you mentioned. I have been reading as much as I can here and have been checking out web pages of the guys that have their work posted. Very nice work I've seen so far and good info to boot. It just amazes me that you guys are sooo talented. I'm kinda mad that I didn't know about the high quality of craft man ship that comes from individual luthiers. Until 5-6 years ago I thought Gibson,fender and a few other companies were the only way to get a nice guitar. Then I got my first copy of acoustic guitar mag and my eyes were finally opened to the Luthier world.
So I just bought a router and palm sander and I want one of everything from stew Mac lol
What other basic tools do I need to get started? Glue? Etc?
Thank you very much
Mike

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Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right! - Henry Ford

I'll throw my hat in the ring for a kit build as well. Either an acoustic or a set-neck, LP style will really help you get a feel for the tools you'll be using. I still have my first LP kit and it's in the "main rotation" (got lucky I suppose).

As for the "what tools do I need" question; a simple answer is all of them.....or not. You'll quickly realize that Tool Acquisition Syndrome is not curable as well. But, basically, you need a way to cut out the bodies/plates (band saw, coping saw, scroll saw, etc.), a way to drill straight and true holes (drill press, hand drill), more sandpaper than you can even imagine you'll need in grits 80 through 2000 wet/dry, a way to carve if you're doing solid bodied, carved tops (router comes in handy here), a way to put a radius on a flat board (i.e. fretboard) and at least one good scraper for taking down bindings, et al. That's a good basic way to get started. As for glue; Titebond I, CA (Super glue), and pickup some modeling glue while you're at it. And then lastly, if you're building acoustics, a way to bend the wood (many ways to go here).

As an example, I started 2 years ago with zero wood working experience and a mitre saw and a skill saw. To date, I now own; 5 routers (one table, 2 laminates, 1 plunge and free-fixed base), 2 bandsaws (a 10" table top and 14" floor), a drill press, a jointer, a planer, palm sander, 6 hand planes, 6 chisels, a protractor, 19 pencils (somewhere around here), 22 clamps of various sizes, 3 straight edges, 4 levels (1 laser), 2 belt sanders, 6 drum sander attachments for the drill press, 32 router bits, 12 forestner bits, 36 drill bits, 3 dremel tools (1 regular, 1 Trio, 1 attached to a "wand"), 1 table saw ("Professional" model), 2 angle finders, 1 set digital calipers and an infrared thermometer (wait....that's not for guitar building is it?). Other than that, I'm sure I'm missing a few hundred dollars of stuff here and there, BUT, it's important to note I can quit any time I want to.....

A lot of the questions will be answered in the Hiscock book. As far as the tools and shop need, most of that depends on the level that you want to build. The advantage of a kit or buying some parts premade is that you don't need to invest in expensive tools (at that time) - this is particularly true if you decide to build an acoustic. For example, buying a fretboard already radiused and slotted eliminated one operation that if you screw up makes the guitar unplayable.

One way to see what is involved is to watch someone build a guitar from scratch - the easiest way to do that is follow a blog or build thread. Here is my very first electric - basically a Les Paul copy. I had built a number of acoustics to that point so shaping the neck, installing frets, binding and finish weren't new, but carving the body, routing the cavities and doing the wiring certainly were. You'll see my little garage shop - nothing fancy, and you'll learn which of the many StewMac tools have found their way to my bench.

Warning, very long thread that generated a lot of discussion - you can skip most of that. Also, I'm not necessarily saying this is the best way to do things, but it seemed to work out OK

http://www.harmonycentral.com/t5/Electr ... p/31808721

I'll also add that if you do decide to build an acoustic I would highly recommend starting with a kit - you'll have enough fun without bending sides or rough shaping a neck. The golden reference book for acoustics is Cumpanio/Natelson.

Welcome! For those recommending a kit, they seem to be focused on acoustic building. But this is the electric forum, right? So I'll assume you posted here because you're considering an electric build. Although I'm sure there's one out there somewhere, I've never seen an electric kit that would give you a guitar that approaches anything more than maybe a Squier, if you're lucky, so I'd forget the kit. MHO.
Get the basic tools, some good wood, pour over all the build threads you can find, read and re-read the Hiscock book, and then start building. Compared to an acoustic, electrics, especially a Tele, are much simpler. I'd recommend you start with a Tele build to get your feet wet.
Welcome to the forum, and happy building.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Right on Mike B!
Everyone likes twanging on Tele's!
Pretty straight forward construction.
I keep making them and giving them away and I still don't have one for myself.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

I'm not so sure that a Les Paul kit isn't a great start. You get tons of experience setting the neck, and most kits need quite a bit in the neck
angle arena, neck shaping, top refining, etc., tons of sanding, inlaying, and of course the all important finishing work.