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Thread: Guitar building

  1. #46
    Trial by Wombat Bubba's Avatar
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    • Former Cid's Knight

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    A very promising start! I'm hoping your little creation inspires me to give this a go. My experience in such things is severely lacking. I'm honestly not hugely knowledgeable on parts of an electric guitar. I just enjoy playing them! If I ever attempt this with little Bubba I may come to you for advice, Vivi.

  2. #47

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    Still a weird thought that these big chunks of wood will make a sweet guitar and produce sound one day! Keep up the progress ;D

  3. #48
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    Well depending on how much i continue to learn through failure it might end up being different chunks of wood that make a guitar one day.

    Thought I'd share one more picture today. I didn't make these templates for the body routing. They're made by the same company that sells the les paul plans i have. Bartlett Guitars in Ontario if I'm not mistaken. The plans they sell are quite well respected and frequently used by amateur builders like myself and these templates are sized based on those plans and probably even cut a bit more accurately than I'd manage on my first try. I figured I'd save myself a little effort and be able to focus more on building instead of template making for this one. The next one will be all my own templates which i already previewed for you guys, plus these will be nice to have as a reference for things like scale when creating my own shapes to be honest.



    If you're interested at all Bubba i could do a post on a lot of the free building resources out there, books I've been reading. Even for simpler stuff like repair and setup if you think you'd like to dip your toe in the water a bit slowly at first.

  4. #49
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    I don't always hand plane neck joints in my bedroom. But when i do i make an awful mess.


  5. #50
    Trial by Wombat Bubba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vivi22 View Post
    If you're interested at all Bubba i could do a post on a lot of the free building resources out there, books I've been reading. Even for simpler stuff like repair and setup if you think you'd like to dip your toe in the water a bit slowly at first.
    Yes please, that would be great! Baby Bubba is already showing a keen interest and he's only 10 months. I'll definitely need to brush up before attempting anything together. Cheers Vivi

  6. #51
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    So for free building resources online, I'd recommend the forums at tdpri.com. Particularly the DIY section. The place can be Telecaster-centric, but you'll find guys building all kinds of guitars there of many different types and there's always something to learn from how other people are building theirs, even if you're going for a different style. I was probably lurking around that place for a year or two before even attempting my first parts guitar build so it's a useful place filled with knowledgeable people. Plenty of good info on tools and doing finishes as well. There are a few other places around the internet as well and you can probably find a fair few through a google search, but the other place I've spent the most time is this thread: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luth...ools-only.html

    That guy built a Les Paul with no power tools in his apartment, and he goes into a lot of detail. Sadly, some of the pictures throughout the thread don't really load anymore, but there's still a lot of great pics, info, and details on how he did things. Well worth reading if you plan to build any kind of guitar. Hand tools take longer and, sometimes, can require a bit more skill and practice, but it let's you know what the basics kind of are for getting the job done if you're not looking to futz around with buying hundreds of dollars of power tools. It can also be pretty rewarding learning to use some of this stuff.

    Now as for books, there are some great ones out there. If I had to recommend one book for building I'd be a bit torn between these two:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-El...ilding+guitars

    and

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Gu...keting+guitars

    The former has a wealth of information. I mean it is absolutely packed to the gills with stuff and a lot of pictures, but there's a catch: I don't think it's laid out the best and all of the pictures are black and white, and sometimes, are too small and lacking detail. But if you wanted a comprehensive guide to a ton of different building techniques, it's probably the one to get. A great book, but maybe a little harder to get into and use for the beginner.

    On the other hand, the making and marketing book is lighter on explanation of the various techniques out there, but it still covers a range of ways to build a guitar, is laid out and explained in a way that's more concise and easier to get through start to finish, and I think the pictures and graphics are better done and easier to understand. If you just want a book that's easy to understand and pretty comprehensive, it's the better choice. I'd say get it first when you're starting out, and if you want to keep building guitars and expand on your knowledge get the first book later on.

    Now if you're not looking to outright build, or maybe you want to start off a bit simpler and maybe try building later, I'd recommend this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guitar-Play...=guitar+repair

    The author is a very well respected luthier, and this is the first book I bought on guitars. It covers things like setting up your guitar, tools you need for working on guitars, as well as a bunch of information on maintenance and repairs. Want to learn how to set up your guitars action? Get this book. Want to learn how to care for and maintain fretboards, adjust truss rods, or level frets? Get this book. Want to learn how to rewire your guitar with some new pickups or controls? Get this book. Have some chips or scratches in the finish you want to repair? I think you've got the idea.

    There are some other books out there as well, some I have and some I want to check out when I have the money (might order one or two more next pay cheque even).

    This one is a good book if you're less interested in repairs. It covers some of the same ground as the last book but also expands on some of the setup and maintenance advice. If you don't care about doing your own repairs it's worth having. If you buy the repair guide I might give it a pass though: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Your-E...W142VC12X47RVN

    This one is a great resource for fret jobs. It comes with their essential fretting tool set they sell which is how I got a copy. Not sure if there are cheaper alternatives for the tools in other countries for guys like you Bubba so if you go down the fretting road it may or may not be best to buy it on it's own and find the tools from a UK supplier. Must have book as far as I'm concerned though. A bit pricey, but all of the pictures are detailed and full colour so it's worth every penny. They also sell a book on finishing guitars on that site that's supposed to be good but I don't own a copy. The repair guide actually covers finishing a bit as well though: http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Books/...p-By-Step.html

    I got this last one about guitar and bass design a few days ago. It's by the same author as the making and marketing book and it's also stellar. It won't really teach you anything about building your guitar, but it's got a hell of a lot of knowledge about things to consider when designing your own guitars from concept to making blueprints. I absolutely love this one and wish I'd heard of and bought it months ago. Really easy read and I highly recommend it: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Gu...nd+bass+design

    That's about it as far as books and things. I should mention as well (since I forgot above) Stewmac.com has a ton of online resources in the form of guides, videos, wiring diagrams, etc. that are all free and well worth checking out if there's something you want to try. Great site and source for tools all around, though I really hate that every time I order from them customs kits me up for an extra $30-50 so they might not be the best source for tools in your neck of the woods.

    Free trade my left nut.

  7. #52
    Trial by Wombat Bubba's Avatar
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    Thanks so much, man! That's incredibly detailed

  8. #53
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    No problem buddy.

    Glued up the body blank and the top this weekend.




  9. #54
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    Pretty sure i messed up my walnut neck enough that i won't have a piece think enough to make the headstock from. But it was $40 and practice is practice so I'm not overly bothered. I'll use it to practice everything i have to do for the final neck.

    But to replace the walnut i got this:


    Some Indian rosewood. The grain is amazing and it feels nice even without being finished.

    And i saw this at the same time i got the rosewood and couldn't resist:


    It's a piece of zircote for the fretboard. Also unfinished and so smooth already. Absolutely amazing. Can't wait to be playing this eventually.

  10. #55

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    Looks awesome! Can't wait to see the whole thing come together ;D

  11. #56
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    So i was illegally fired from my job (which i hated) last Friday. So the good news is that while i pursue my legal options against said employer i finally have a crap ton of time to work on guitar stuff. Made up a list of things to work on each day for the next week or so, with plenty of wiggle room in case some things take longer than i expect. Luckily most of the things I've been flying through so far. The only thing I'm kind of struggling with us planing the wood for the body and top flat but that's because my plane is cheap and most of its adjustments don't work right.

    But here's a couple of the highlights of today.

    I bought an edge guide for my router a couple of weeks back. Tested it out for routing the truss rod channels today and the thing works marvellously. Maybe three minutes of work and look at how straight and clean that channel is.




    Well, maybe it's a little hard to see because troutty phone pic in a poorly lit garage but just trust me.

    And these in ear monitors came today. A pair of shure 215's. Probably the best sound isolation of any isolating headphones I've used (all over the ear before this). They fit great and the sound quality is good. Definitely recommend them for anyone looking for an inexpensive pair and i finally won't have to limit my time with power tools because of a lack of comfortable headphones.



    Aside from that, I've made some pieces of mdf to use as saw guides when cutting neck blanks to make the joint and headstock, I've done work on getting my hand plane sorted out, and I'm working on getting the body and neck of the strat i bought to modify ready for finishing.

    I've abandoned my plans of putting a fanned fret neck on it for the time being. Since I'm now unemployed I'm going to try and leverage my experience refinishing furniture and get some examples of my refinished instruments so I can try offering those services to earn some extra money. If there's enough interest then maybe I'll be able to get by without relying on finding another job in the future. I'd like to get to the point in making enough to pay my bills and focus on this stuff full time.

  12. #57
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    Took a break from guitar work late last week to do destress since my depression has been particularly bad lately. Decided to test out an oil finish on the inside of this spare drum shell I had laying around. Used walnut oil and a few coats made quite a difference.


    And the guitar this will become is a long way off still but got this gorgeous flamed spalted maple top for a guitar a friend wants me to build him in a few months. It's going to make a gorgeous carved top.


  13. #58
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    Hot damn all this stuff was cool. Good Job!


  14. #59
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    Need money, going to offer refinishing services for said money, so been working on finishing some drum shells I had laying around. The first is a ton shell dyed black, sanded down to mainly keep the black in the pores and dyed red then oiled and later waxed. The second is a bass drum shell dyed red, sanded, then dyed purple. Going to oil it and then wax it as well so the grain will pop.




  15. #60
    Slothstronaut Recognized Member Slothy's Avatar
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    Don't mind me. Just finishing a drum and a neck up in here.




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