Official Luthiers Forum!

Well I have finally decided (after many years of pondering) to give this project a go. Their are so many reasons why I want to do this. Reason #1 is the self gratification of creating something. reason #2, I have been to many guitar stores around my area and on the inside of 90% of every acoustic guitar are those dreadful words. "Made in China" or somewhere else overseas where some poor fellow is sweating his butt off slapping these things together as fast as he can for a wage that is comparable to my 4yo daughters allowance. sure I can order something made in the states from Martin or Taylor but as a player, I will never buy a guitar without playing it for a while.

A little of my back ground:

32yo,Married with 1 and 1/2 children (one on the way). I am currently employed as a freight train conductor for CSX railroad. Reside in Syracuse NY. I am also an acoustic singer/songwriter (11years) and am working on my 3rd CD this winter.

http://www.myspace.com/jonathancoleman1
My father also has been performing for over 40yrs and has done very well. I have no woodworking skills in the past but learn quickly. I know this is gonna be one heck of a journey. As of right now I dont have many tools but have made some spool clamps and I would like to put together a Mold I'm not sure how to put the mold together and was wondering if there is a post on here on how to do that. I also don't have a controlled room and wont until late fall when we buy our house so I am collecting as much tools as I will need so I will be ready to start then.

I think Im going to go with a LMI kit dreadnought. and have jonathan kinkeads guitar building book on the way. Is there a waiting period I need to wait out when I receive the kit?

I look forward to starting and thanks for a great site.

Welcome to the forum. Spend some time and learn by viewing the posts and doing searches on topics. A warning though, you can end up addicted to this hobby.. My only regret is I didn't start sooner.. Great music on you My Space site. I have a daughter who is playing the first one I built so the Daughter song hits close to home.

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Wisdom is justified by her children

Welcome. Lots of great people here and most all are ready and willing to help out. This section of the forum is rather new and a little less traveled than the main section. Take your time and look around at the other areas, read a lot and join the fun--it's a good group. Be sure to run through the tutorial section--it's very helpful. For an excellent source for kit-specific info, including how to go about ordering and receiving your first kit, I'd recommend you check out Bill Cory's sites, http://www.kitguitarforum.com and http://www.kitguitarbuilder.com.

Go slow, don't rush, be patient... and have fun. :-)

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George :-)

Welcome to the forum!
Good call on the LMI kit - my first was a serviced LMI kit and for me, it was well worth it.
Much time is spent on the first one with making jigs, assembling tools, learning how to sharpen chisels, how to use a scraper, learning the build process...etc
If I had started with carving the spanish heel neck I am quite sure I would have ended up with a pile of expensive firewood.
I have since been building from scratch and lovin' it!
Keep us posted on your progress!

Hello, welcome aboard!

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Welcome, your at the right place to learn a lot. Good luck with your first build!

Welcome, Jonathan,

Here are some tutorials on making your own mold.

http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=11384&st=0&sk=t&sd=a%22

http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=14138&%22

You can also buy excellent molds from our own John Hall at Blues Creek Guitars. He also puts together kits and will provide support. LMI is also a good choice.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

good tutorial pat thanks a lot. Im gonna get started with it tomorow. How do I go about getting the template for the mold?