coule questions and a statement to you luthiers

[Zappa]

first, the statement.

i was reading through a couple of these threads till about 3 am and let me just say, you guys are the tits.
it's insane how much talent you have.
looking through the 59 page guitar build with all the photo's, i'm serious when i say that there are a couple of you that should seriously think of setting up shop and making custom guitars. even if it's not a primary income. do it as a hobby that makes money.

most people don't even know what the eff a luthier is and you guys are in an elite club. hats off to you.

now my questions.

after reading through these i feel inspired. i will probably screw it up royal but i can say i tried. i've never really worked with wood cause well, i don't like woodworking but all that is changing every since i started playing guitar.
i'm a wrench, a welder......if it can be made with metal and welded together, there is a good chance i could do it. wood, i'm not so sure.

anyway, my father in law has a heated/cooled garage with a bench and all teh power tools i would need to do this.

first i just would like some general info on your opinions.

first, why 2 pieces glued together? maybe i am missing something completely obvious but can you not just cut your pattern out of 1 chunk of wood and use a die grinder to cut out all the holes for your hardware? get in there with a dremel or something?
do you use 2 pieces so you can cut some sort of 'access panel' in the back piece to get to your wiring?

are there specifics on how much wood you take away. i mean essentially, can it be as thick/thin as you want?

now onto wood. let me say i'm thinking of doing this cause 'what the hell'.
i know it's not gonna be perfect and i'm not worried about getting the best tone or anything like that so as far as wood goes, is pretty much anything game?

when it comes to the neck, do you cut the neck too and then what, make your frets somehow?
i was thinking of just doing a body and adding a precut, pre fretted(sp) neck.
what i want is a completely unique body pattern. i have a few ideas in my head and at the very least, i'd get a cool piece of wall art that i can say i made that......

thoughts?opinion?....anything?


again, you guys have crazy talent. i'm serious about the custom guitar thing. you could probably make some cash doing that.
i don't know about a grand per, i guess it would depend on how much cash in material you spend.

i would think though, if you had a couple jigs you could get 1 or 2 going at the same time, each one a little different.
you could buy the glue/sealer in bulk and **** like that.
just turn out say 50 guitars a year.

you never know.
you might get a reality show on discovery channel and blow up like west coast choppers and be a millionare.

[Zappa]

http://www.guitarpartsusa.com/item--Saga-Guitar-Kit-Les-Paul-®Style--PROD341

i'm thinking about doing this. i don't think i could even begin to make my own cuts and all that but i think it would be cool to assemble one and do my own paint/staining.

is this a rip or no?

[DLR Guitars]

I have an ebook with pictures you might enjoy looking through. Send me an email, and I"ll get it to you after I get off of work later this afternoon.

The body is glued together for two reasons. The first is cost, It is easier to find several or a couple of pieces of wood close to the right size, and glue them together, than to find a "chunk" of wood that is the right size all by its self. There are one piece body blanks available though, and I've used one myself too. The other reason is stabililty. Since the glue bond is stronger than wood, it stiffens up the wood.

The fretboard you can have slotted, and even radiused for you from places like www.stewmac.com , which are a great way to go. You cut out the shape of the neck from the material, like maple, cut a truss rod channel and install the rod, then glue the fretboard on the neck. From there you used the maple part of the neck as a template, and trim the excess from the fretboard off so that the sides of your neck are flush. Then you radius the back of the neck.

You may also want to check out this site.
http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/electricguitar.htm

I got the Kramer Baretta temoplate, and was relatively happy with it. The neck pocket was a little larger than I wanted, so I modified it for a tighter fit...

I'd love to say more, but I gotta head out to work to fuel my guitar obsession.... I'll be around later though

[mishmannah]

I'd love to say more, but I gotta head out to work to fuel my guitar obsession.... I'll be around later though

I'm working on my first guitar, and there's a deep sense of creative satisfaction...some elements of the build feels like I have been making guitars for years...I can't put my finger on exactly what, but stuff seems to make sense...


How it will turn out, I dunno...I need some solid fuel this year for my open fire :p

[Zappa]

i'd like to get a kit and put it together myself to start but i really don't want the same ole shapes. i'd like to make myelf a custom body that is unique.

whats some opinions on those kits?

[Ogier]

Repeat after me: I can do it. I can do it. I can do it....


Ok, now go do it. It is a huge amount of fun and very educational.

Besides, where else are you going to get a guitar that has all the features you want for $500-800 US...

[D|s]

glad to hear that someone is appreciating our work as amateur luthiers :D

first off, a 2piece work wud be cheaper. however, i did find a suitable 1 piece block of alder which didnt cost me much. its a question of finding the right bargain. for wood types, i wud suggest an easy qwood to work with the first time over. try poplar or ash/alder as they are reasonably easy to work with.

i also strongly suggest u buy a book on how to build a guitar. there is so much material on the internet at your finger tips. I myself bought Melvyn hiscock's How to make your own electric gutiar. loads of information-everything is covered in a casual informal way!

about body thinkness. as a general rules: more wood = more sustain. however in an electric guitar u must take into consideration the pickups and electronics that are going to be "stuffed" into the wood, as it were. hence u must have a body thick enough to support everything.
usually 1 3/4" or 2" will do u fine.

dimensions and all relevant measurements: you do not know the importance of measure until uve done it wrong.. so.. PLEASE dont! lol measure things correctly 3 times over until everything shud be snuggly fit.

as for the neck, i bought a ready made jackson neck which i bolted on to my project. since i didnt want a jackson on the headstock i refinished it and sprayed it the colour i wanted. so all in all ive achieved a certain authenticity (dont tell the guys at jackson that!)

tools tools tools- essential. either rent a router or buy one if u decide on using it frequently. in guitar building it is essential. make several blue prints for your guitar then cancel the bad ones out. make sure it will be balanced well and feasible to cut out etc.. make sure its just the right size!

i say go ahead if ur willing. what u need is time and a heckload of patience and well.. common sense :)

hope that helps

[PlayerOfGuitar]

you could also go to warmoth (http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/bodyblanks.cfm)
they sell body blanks of a lot of woods. also, if youre not completely comfortable with routing the neck pocket/bridge/pickups. they sell the body blanks with whatever config you ask for. and then you can cut out your custom shaped body.
it would be more fun to just make the entire thing tho. :D :D