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I know we have sponsors for the forum, and I have been looking for a few things that I am not finding, at least not at the price I want to pay for it...I would prefer to do business with a supplier that can supply it all at fair prices, but will consider multiple sources. I have been doing business with LMII and StewMac, but their pricing is not the best..

Right now, here is the list of items needed:

I need about 10 fingerboards, assorted spieces, colors, etc.

I need about 10 bridge blanks to match the fingerboards above...same colors and spieces.

I need a fret slot circular saw blade.

I need a bolt on neck tennon & mortise jig

I need neck bolts, and the screw in nuts for the neck to match.

I could use a couple of sets of the temporary bridge screws.

I need a fingerboard template for a 25.4 martin scale.

I need about 10 sets of end pins and bridge pins...ebony, rosewood, bone, etc, I want them all to have a MOP dot or Paua dot.

I am going to need a steady supplier of tuners... gotah or waverly...prefer gold but willing to take a few chrome.

I need rosette material... MOP or paua or...about 10 sets.

I need fret files .010 to .050 or so....standard light strings.

I am going to need a steady supplier of cases... dreadnaughts and OM style.

I need a better supplier of nitrocellulose, in gallons.

I need a saddle cutting template.

I could use someone to inlay the word "HODGES" in some headstock...assorted spieces. I could also use some inlays for the 12th fret.... my style as I dont put dots on the fingerboard as a rule.

I can use some white and black side dot material.

I'm sure there are a few other things I could throw in there, but right now that is all I can think of.

Is there anybody that wants to make me a package deal on some of this stuff?

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Ask Shane he has most of that stuff.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I'm sorry, but I don't know Shane. Which one of the suppliers is he?

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

High Mountain Tonewoods

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Aoibeann

er... don't you mean nut files?

Here are some options that come to mind:
If you want to have things made, fingerboards, bridges, etc. John Watkins is your man. He's quite busy so plan ahead and order a big lot.
Things like hardware, bolts, inserts, etc can be had at various industrial suppliers. McMaster Carr, J&L, MSC. Also Reid Tool Supply has a lot of that kind of stuff.
Tuners, if you find a source, let me know. Paying retail for those stinks! I know Shane, (High Mountain) carries them but not sure what his stock is like. Drop him a line.

It sounds like you are bargain shopping, which is fine but for consistent, reliable sources you can not beat LMI, Stewart MacDonald, Allied Lutherie as mainstream suppliers. If their prices are higher (sometimes they are and sometimes they are not), they more than justify it through excellent service at all stages. There prices are always fair and even the few occasionals where a deal comes from another source, I still depend on this mainstream suppliers as they have a track record that can not be touched.

I have been doing business with these particular suppliers for over 25 years and have never been disappointed with them and in the rare case where any was not what I expected, they bent over backwards to provide service.

OLF does have a number of other suppliers that are also incredible but in the big picture of things the cost of the materials that go into a guitar is the smallest part of the price. The biggest factor is time. The value of the time put into building a guitar reduces the relative cost of the materials to noise level.

Here is an example...I can shop on eBay for a brazilian rosewood set for dubious sources without knowing whether it was legally obtained and get a decent set for under $300. I can go to the weekly specials pages on Allied's site and buy a set that I can see a much clearer image of for as low as $380 and buy it from Todd Taggart who I have bought supplies from since 1980! The miniscule difference in price is not worth the time it takes to shop around, especially when I have an upcharge of $1000+ for BRW on my guitars.

In a few minutes on Stew Mac or LMI or Bobc or Colonial's (pick any OLF supplier) websites, I can pick exactly what I need and it will be on my doorstep in a few days. While alot of our OLF suppliers have photos of their wood on their websites (Bobc, Steve at Colonial, Ed Dick of AC tonewoods and others) which is great, unless I am looking for something extremely particular, I would completely trust them to pick out wood for me sight unseen as they are so reliable.

Looking for bargains is okay and everyone wants a lower price when they can get one but the vast majority of builders I know still end up getting most of their supplies from the mainstream suppliers as well as our other OLF suppliers.

Even when it comes to luthier tools...the prices are not that different and for the most part you buy them once and then use them for many years. Personally it doesnt matter to me whether I paid John Hall $300 or $500 for a bender...if I have bent 80 sets of sides so far on it, the effective cost is only a few dollars per use and the amortized cost per set will only go down as I continue to use it. Compare that with the time and efficiancy gained over hand bending and no matter the price I come out way ahead.

Our most precious resource is time as we can not make any more and we dont know how much we have left so for me price is a matter of secondary importance. It looks like you are buying supplies for 10 guitars. All of the suppliers have volume discounts (some start at 12).

Personally I would rather pay the full price of a supplier that I want to do business with longterm and get superior service and consistent quality than shop around.

Just so you know, you will only ever be able to get Waverly's from Stew Mac as they are the sole supplier of Waverly's.

Watch for the group buys on things like tuners, wood, some tools (lining clamps from last year) and you'll find some good deals.

Really there are only a few locations to get ALL of the items you want (in one place) and that would be Stew-Mac or LMI (maybe Grizzly too). That's if you need to get them all from one source.

Sounds like your ramping up to do this as more than a hobby Ken? Let us know where your at dude.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

[QUOTE=Hodges_Guitars]

I would prefer to do business with a supplier that can supply it all at fair prices, but will consider multiple sources. I have been doing business with LMII and StewMac, but their pricing is not the best..

[/QUOTE]

That is exactly what I said before. With LMII and stewmac, you really dont get to see what it is that you are buying as far as wood goes. I am not in the position to purchase these in lots of a dozen right now, at least from these 2 vendors. I am, however, buying in lots of 10.

Officially, I am retired...twice as a mater of fact. I am 50 years old. I didnt get to this point by being less than frugal with my money. I want good quality at a fair price and I dont fell like that is "bargain shopping".

With the amount of items I am going to purchase, there should be some kind of a discount even though some of it is not in lots of 10. I have purchased large amount of items already from Blues creek, and he was generous enough to discount his listed prices because I was spending so much at once.  It was a good deal for me and an easy sale for him. I think both of us were happy. By the way, his stuff is top quality and I highly reccomend it to anyone!

I am not buying tops, backs and sides right now as I have enough to build at least 8 guitars and possibly 10. It is some of the other necessary supplies that I am wanting to buy in bulk.  I do, however, want to try some of the Lutz tops that Shane is selling at some point.

It is the large bulk of what I want to order that makes the difference, not necessarily each individual item.

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

There is no one place that has all that for the price you want to pay - read cheap (in the dictionary, under cheap there is a picture of a luthier!!) - that I know of (and as was mentioned, Waverlies only come for SM). I could give you some places where you will get the cheapest price (that I know of) for certain things (Australian MOP has the best price on strips), but lots of that you will either have to make, or simply buck up and pay the price (jigs). Sometimes as well , the cheapest price is only because its local, and shipping is cheap or free if you go and get it (thats how I buy lacquer, TKL cases, Gotohs). It may be less somewhere else, but the cost to then acquire it makes it more expensive in the end.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

By the way, this *is* more than a hobby for me. I am most definitely in it for the long haul and for profit as a business. So far, I have had good reviews of my guitars and the demand is there for me to continue as a business. I guess I am my own worst critic when it comes to the guitars as far as some of the artistic items such as inlays, but that is improving with each instrument I build. The sound, tone quality, playability and volume are outstanding and this is what is the highest selling point for me so far.

I have built or purchased a lot of jigs, tools and supplies already and have literally spent thousands on these items. I even turned my 2 1/2 car garage into a guitar building shop. I am still buying "stuff" that I need for future builds and this is the reason for the post here. I am not a hobby builder at this point even though I thoroughly enjoy every minute of the guitar building process and would gladly do it even if I was loosing money.

It is amazing to me the poeple that are willing to buy my guitars. Such people as the clerk at the paint store, a salesman at Ace Hardware, and a young guy that works at an auto parts supply store. Seems like people that are serious about their music are willing to pay the price for a quality hand made guitar. 

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Hi Ken,

I can supply all of that stuff except the following:

Bridge Screws - Stew Mac has them, they are not expensive, I actually bout their saddematic so I can play around with intonation things

Nut and Fret files - I bought nut files from STew-mac and my Friend Todd at Allied, for fret files, stop in at one of your industrial supply places, bring a strainght edge and start sorting through their inventory. I have a drawer full of them.

Cases - TKL and Ameritage seem the stabdard there.

As for all of the rest, I have myself or can supply through my partner who does CNC stuff. We have vacuum clamping devices and stuff also coming on line. I have abalone and MOP and can have all of logo inlayed in both your headstock and in your fretboards. Anyway, I could go on! Oh ya I have Gotoh tuners and they are less expensive in volume. I have fretwire as well as bone for nuts and saddles. Maybe call or e-mail Ken and we can discuss further. All of my contact is on my website available from the icon below. If I don't have something I can usually let you know where to get it.

Shane

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Canada

I called and left message. Will call back on Monday to talk about it. I guess I should have looked at your web site a little closer... I thought all you had was spruce ??

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

You'd be surprised how much stuff Shane has. Stew Mac and LMI need to watch their backs :)

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

[QUOTE=Bob Garrish]You'd be surprised how much stuff Shane has. Stew Mac and LMI need to watch their backs :)[/QUOTE]

Just an update:

I talked to Shane this afternoon and looks like he can supply most of my needs at really fair prices. Thanks to all who replied to this thread with suggestions for suppliers!

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H