Building a guitar?

Just a thought but how do you guys feel about something along the lines of the melody maker? The main advantage of that being that it would reduce the budget for timber as the prime difference between MM and Jnr is the body depth. It would also be useful in that it would be easier to cut the outline for those new to router work and the body routing is simpler as all the electrics are housed in a single pocket and attached to the pickguard. We could keep the body outline of the JNR if preferred.

Comments or opinion?

I'm still waiting on a reply from Chater about how to manage the threads but we will crack on as soon as I here back..
 
That may well suit some people. Especially if they have a drawing and technical engineering background. It's overkill for me because now I can pretty much go at it free and end up where I want. When I was doing my first necks I just used profile templates. I'd get the shape I want at the 1st fret and 12th fret and then join them join them up between and finish by carving the heel. I still do much the same.

What I do now is to finish the fingerboard including the radius. Then it gets stuck on the neck blank. I will know the thickness of the neck at the 1st and 12th fret so I'll carve that in or more likely route it to thickness. Put a centre line down it or mark the highest point if it is an asymmetric profile. From there I go at it by hand til it's nearly there and use profile templates if I'm copying an existing neck. It actually isn't that hard to carve a neck profile. A lot of people are intimidated by it but you just need to get stuck in and remember that you can always take more off but cant put it back so when you get close stop. I'll often do the final shaping once I have got the frets in and can really feel what it's like.
 
muttley600 said:
Or based on the "Junior" would be a better description I think..
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I think this is the best idea. The part's list is small so they're inexpensive to build. Once you've built one, you'll have the background, and the tooling to build at will.

I'll reinforce what muttley said. It's not that hard to do. All of the jigs that you'll need are cheap, and easy to make.

I've given this a lot of thought lately, about how I would go about building with minimal tools. When I started doing this I didn't think I could do it without my planer, or jointer etc. Sure they're nice to have, but hardly needed. Most of the heavy work I do with routers. When this build-along happens most of the discussion will likely be about tooling. The woodwork itself does not take much time.

I'm good at building on a small budget. I think most would be surprised how inexpensively they can make a guitar.
 
Making a guitar

MrWrenchey said:
I'm starting this thread because I didn't want to hijack someone else's. I'm kinda curious if anyone knows of any particularly good books or forums or WHATEVER to point me in the right direction of what exactly I need for tools to get started, and how much I should plan on investing.

I'm not afraid to spend upwards of $1,000 for all the hardware I need to do this, I'm just kinda curious what it would cost to do it and do it well, and what I'd need to do with the tools when I get them.

Thanks for any help! =)
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I have built some great playing guitars and taught a class on how to do it. Your hands down best book is "Make Your Own Electric Guitar" by Melvyn Hiscock. It is the only book you'll need for undertaking this challenge. You will need to make some of your own tools for sure, and you would need to buy a significant about of specialized tools. For those tools that you need to purchase, I rely on StewMac (Stewart MacDonald). They have a great customer service response and an excellent website with plenty of luthier's tips. I built a 36 fret one-of-a kind with those two being my primary resources, and it is to die for. Be prepared to spend more than 1000 total though for materials and tools. The tools are very expensive because of the laws of supply and demand. Not too many people buy such specialized tools, so the costs are surprising. On a good note, building is addictive, and you should have tools that will last you many builds.
 
dwesolowski said:
I have built some great playing guitars and taught a class on how to do it. Your hands down best book is "Make Your Own Electric Guitar" by Melvyn Hiscock. It is the only book you'll need for undertaking this challenge. You will need to make some of your own tools for sure, and you would need to buy a significant about of specialized tools. For those tools that you need to purchase, I rely on StewMac (Stewart MacDonald). They have a great customer service response and an excellent website with plenty of luthier's tips. I built a 36 fret one-of-a kind with those two being my primary resources, and it is to die for. Be prepared to spend more than 1000 total though for materials and tools. The tools are very expensive because of the laws of supply and demand. Not too many people buy such specialized tools, so the costs are surprising. On a good note, building is addictive, and you should have tools that will last you many builds.
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Here we go again...

I think you have missed the point of the thread. Just to recap, you do not need to spend a fortune on tools to build a guitar. Most everything you need to make a guitar can be found in the standard set of tools plus a bunch that you can make as you need them. Of the few specialized tools that you may need StewMac would be the most expensive place to get them. Yes they have good customer service. No you do not need most of the tools they offer. You do not need to spend any where near 1000.

I haven't heard back from Chatar yet about organising the build thread so as yet we are still waiting for lift off.
 
JCH said:
I think this is the best idea. The part's list is small so they're inexpensive to build. Once you've built one, you'll have the background, and the tooling to build at will.

I'll reinforce what muttley said. It's not that hard to do. All of the jigs that you'll need are cheap, and easy to make.

I've given this a lot of thought lately, about how I would go about building with minimal tools. When I started doing this I didn't think I could do it without my planer, or jointer etc. Sure they're nice to have, but hardly needed. Most of the heavy work I do with routers. When this build-along happens most of the discussion will likely be about tooling. The woodwork itself does not take much time.

I'm good at building on a small budget. I think most would be surprised how inexpensively they can make a guitar.
Click to expand...

The reason I suggested the Melody maker as a start point is primarily that the body thickness. Being a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thinner it is easier for people to get the hang of routing outlines and cavities plus the stock would be cheaper. It makes no difference to me whichever, I was just trying to facilitate ease of the build.. If people want the Junior thats the way we shall go..

You are right about the jointer, you don't need one. Even if you have I would recommend shooting the joint by hand as you get a better join. What join by the way. I was thinking one piece body.;)

I wood thing think tooling, jigging up and tool handling will be the thing that first time builders will be looking for.
 
muttley600 said:
I haven't heard back from Chatar yet about organising the build thread so as yet we are still waiting for lift off.
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Sorry, her and I are bouncing ideas around about how to facilitate the thread. She doesn't usually pop in on weekends.
 
muttley600 said:
The reason I suggested the Melody maker as a start point is primarily that the body thickness. Being a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thinner it is easier for people to get the hang of routing outlines and cavities plus the stock would be cheaper. It makes no difference to me whichever, I was just trying to facilitate ease of the build.. If people want the Junior thats the way we shall go..

You are right about the jointer, you don't need one. Even if you have I would recommend shooting the joint by hand as you get a better join. What join by the way. I was thinking one piece body.;)

I wood thing think tooling, jigging up and tool handling will be the thing that first time builders will be looking for.
Click to expand...

You know, for me, cutting and routing isn't a concern. My biggest worry is stuff like the neck pocket. Getting the neck angle right. Getting the bridge in the exact right spot. Truss rod channels. Stuff like that.
 
bileshake said:
Articles - Homepage - ProjectGuitar.com Don't mess around, this is the place to go. The PG forum has a ton of good info.
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Projectguitar has some real good builds. It also has a lot of duff stuff posted. If you really want to go elsewhere the best of the best in mimf and then tdpi. That isn't the point of this project though. If it was simply posting links to other sites then the job would be done. Some people like it here and get on well with other and trust the validity of what is posted.
 
Greg_L said:
You know, for me, cutting and routing isn't a concern. My biggest worry is stuff like the neck pocket. Getting the neck angle right. Getting the bridge in the exact right spot. Truss rod channels. Stuff like that.
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How you gonna know until you try it..;)

It really isn't that hard and hopefully we are going to walk through it step by step..
 
muttley600 said:
How you gonna know until you try it..;)

It really isn't that hard and hopefully we are going to walk through it step by step..
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No, I know dude. Machining my first cylinder head or engine block was sketchy too. I'm just saying, those are the areas that I can't wrap my head around yet.
 
muttley600 said:
The reason I suggested the Melody maker as a start point is primarily that the body thickness. Being a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thinner it is easier for people to get the hang of routing outlines and cavities plus the stock would be cheaper. It makes no difference to me whichever, I was just trying to facilitate ease of the build.. If people want the Junior thats the way we shall go..
Click to expand...
I think a Junior would be much better. Melody makers are cool, but they kind of feel like a toy when you pick one up
You are right about the jointer, you don't need one. Even if you have I would recommend shooting the joint by hand as you get a better join. What join by the way. I was thinking one piece body.;)
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I could do a one piece, but decided to do a two piece because participants may have to join their bodies together, and I could provide an example. I hardly ever use my jointer. I table saw, then shoot the joint by hand.

I wood thing think tooling, jigging up and tool handling will be the thing that first time builders will be looking for.
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Absolutely, That's the valuable lesson that will come from this

bileshake said:
Articles - Homepage - ProjectGuitar.com Don't mess around, this is the place to go. The PG forum has a ton of good info.
Click to expand...
The PG forum is cool. There are some talented builders there, but the guitar's that most of them build are so over the top that I could never see myself playing one. I'm just not into pointy over designed stuff. It's not a great place for beginners.

selectedout said:
wish i could post links here

byoguitar.com
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Nice of you to help out, but the whole point of this is to make a guitar, not assemble a kit.

Greg_L said:
You know, for me, cutting and routing isn't a concern. My biggest worry is stuff like the neck pocket. Getting the neck angle right. Getting the bridge in the exact right spot. Truss rod channels. Stuff like that.
Click to expand...
Don't be overwhelmed by these things. It's not that tough to do any of it, and how will you know if you don't try.
 
Greg_L said:
My biggest worry is stuff like the neck pocket. Getting the neck angle right. Getting the bridge in the exact right spot. Truss rod channels. Stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, me too. Spotting the bridge is easy. Truss rod I can see through the whole step. The pocket and neck angle is what I worry about. Mostly, if I eff it up, will I be able to fix it?

My big concern is building a neck from scratch. Mutt is probably laughing at our petty worries, but if we haven't crossed the bridge yet, we don't know how we'll do. And I think with something like the Jr or Melody Maker, material is cheap so starting over won't be expensive.

Gonna find out.
 
There are two methods used on Juniors to set the neck angle. The very early ones had the angle on the neck heel and the later ones (the vast majority) had it cut into the tenon. Either way is good. I have also seen one in for repair that was obviously an in house mash up because the angle was shimmed. We can any one of those methods it's not hard whichever you chose.
 
JCH said:
I think a Junior would be much better. Melody makers are cool, but they kind of feel like a toy when you pick one upI could do a one piece, but decided to do a two piece because participants may have to join their bodies together, and I could provide an example. I hardly ever use my jointer. I table saw, then shoot the joint by hand.

Absolutely, That's the valuable lesson that will come from this

The PG forum is cool. There are some talented builders there, but the guitar's that most of them build are so over the top that I could never see myself playing one. I'm just not into pointy over designed stuff. It's not a great place for beginners.

Nice of you to help out, but the whole point of this is to make a guitar, not assemble a kit.

Don't be overwhelmed by these things. It's not that tough to do any of it, and how will you know if you don't try.
Click to expand...

One or two piece is fine with me. It maybe cool if people want to put a drop top on it as it would give another skill to the mix.

I rip all my centre joints on the bandsaw then shoot with a no.5...
 
Chili said:
Yeah, me too. Spotting the bridge is easy. Truss rod I can see through the whole step. The pocket and neck angle is what I worry about. Mostly, if I eff it up, will I be able to fix it?

My big concern is building a neck from scratch. Mutt is probably laughing at our petty worries, but if we haven't crossed the bridge yet, we don't know how we'll do. And I think with something like the Jr or Melody Maker, material is cheap so starting over won't be expensive.

Gonna find out.
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Yep, that was one reason I mentioned the MM because it would bring cost down qu8ite a bit as inch and a half stock is considerably cheaper that 2 inch. Not a problem though. You could quite happily build a Junior with a slimmer body depth, it's just a matter of adjusting the cut to suit.

Doing a neck is pretty easy but it is the bit where you have to leave the "everything is cut square" thing, that isn't a problem iof you approach it methodically and think through it as you go. I often think the old "measure twice cut once" maxim should be "think twice, think some more,, cut once.."....;)
 
One or two piece is fine with me. It maybe cool if people want to put a drop top on it as it would give another skill to the mix.
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I think focusing on the basics would be the best way to go. It's just natural enthusiasm that makes a person want to do things better, and or different than is planned originally. I think embellishments can only slow the process, and divert the attention away from what is most important. I have a few friends that I've helped build guitar's, so I speak from experience when I say "keep it simple".

Most of the material that's commonly available here in the USA is 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 7/4. About the only time you'll see 1 1/2" is in construction grade lumber.

I've been researching sources for low cost body blanks, so I'm prepared for when this happens. I'll have info to pass along in the project thread.
 
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