Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey everyone. This is my first post. I wanted to start a new thread for my questions and I hope its not against the rules to start new threads for simple topics like this but I don't think I could ever find all of the information I need by looking through every single thread on the forum.

I'm planning to build a ground-up electric guitar for my personal use both as a learning experience and to use it as my main guitar. I'm a fairly advanced guitarist and I plan for the guitar I build to be top-notch, high quality, and very custom to my style of playing. I'm planning to make it a custom strat-esque guitar intended for hard rock. My style is somewhat technical and requires a faster neck and I use a lot of tremolo. To make it easy, I'll just state that it will be similar to a van halen type guitar with a floyd rose, humbuckers, fast neck etc... But my style is more eclectic than that and I wanted it to be able to sound good in other styles as well.

Setting aside for a moment the details about the guitar I hope to build, is there any key advice a first-time builder should know? I want to know as much as I possibly can before I begin.

Pertaining to the style of guitar I want to build. What do I need in order to make it happen? I'm talking tools, materials, glues and adhesives, frets, etc... Again, I want a high-end, super well playing guitar that is good for speed, sustain, and one that feels good to play. I have considered basic swamp ash for the body, maple neck, ebony freboard etc... These are the woods that have appealed to me the most. Is it better to go with splices or a solid piece for the neck. I can order a solid maple piece from stewmac. It seems like the easier route to go. But again I'm a newb and any advice and reccomendations I could ge would be wonderful. I purchased the book "Build your own electric guitar" by: martin oakham which has been informative so far. Now that I've discovered this forum, I plan to use this and the book as my references.

Thanks to anyone who answers. If you need more information from me please ask. Thank you!

Please don't take this the wrong way.... but back in the 80's I had kids coming into my repair shop every week making the same claims, and asking the same questions. It's like asking "What is the meaning of life?", ya know?

So, that said... welcome. But don't expect to figure it all out in 10 minutes. I started in 1977 and I'm still learning.

Oh, yeah - if you want some real advice, here it is. You are going to spend tons of money on tools, equipment, and supplies before you reach your goal. You might be money and time ahead to just have a few instruments built to order. Unless you really want the experience.

Drive on.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks for the warm welcome. I think there may have been a little misunderstanding. I don't want to know everything about lutherie in 10 minutes. No its not like "what's the meaning of life". I gave you a specific style of instrument and an idea of what I wanted to do with it and asked for advice about it. I don't want to start a shop. I don't want to make more than one guitar. I don't want to pursue lutherie. Yes, maybe I'll build a few more guitars after this one. But I'm just working on this one project and proceeded to start my own thread so it would be more personal and people could individually give me advice through my project. Like I said, I'm referring to this thread and my text book. You don't have to list everything in one post. Maybe I'll get back to you guys when I've begun the first step and if I have any problems I can refer to you.

Hey and welcome!
If you want to build only 1 instrument you probably just need the basic fretwork/setup/electronics tools, and you can build from premade parts, such as can be obtained from Warmoth (and others).
However, no one can build just one.
I think you have a good idea, just start and ask questions as you go.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Thanks. Its my first build but I'm not building from pre-cut pieces, bodies, necks, etc... It's going to be from scratch from the ground up. I've got a cool design and a certain way I want it. I don't think I'd ever build a kit guitar. This guitar's going to be my baby and its going to be 100% custom made by me from raw materials. But thank you for the welcome. I'll ask more questions when I get started. But I'm really just looking for what I need to get started. I'm getting the body, neck, and fretboard blanks for christmas. My book goes into detail about tools, supplies etc... But I kind of wanted to get some personal opinions from some more experienced luthiers.

Well since you plan to build a top notch instrument with your first build let me suggest a few items you will need.

A helical head planer
Helical Head Jointer
14" bandsaw
Thickness sander
High quality Templates
Router
Router table
Router bits
Straight Edge
Lots of rulers
Digital Calipers
Fret bender
Radius Blocks
Drill Press
Random Orbital Sander
Titebond I glue
Digital Angle Finder
Fret Press or hammer
Rasps
Lots of sandpaper
If you want to spray a finish you will need a good compressor, air line filter, air line, spray gun, regulator, respirator
Good buffing wheels and compounds
Sanding Blocks

Just off the top of my head. Just a bit of advice, dont be surprised if your first build doesn't go as smooth as you thought it would, I know my first build went from sugar to sh*t in an instant.

I think with your approach that you may want to find a luthier that will
let you "be part" of building a guitar based on your "high end" ideas.
It not only seems to be a much safer idea but a lot more reasonable.

If you can't find a luthier, find a school to attend. Both of these suggestions
may save you much more than money.

Consider this;
1.You want to build one guitar (your first) and want it to be "high-end".
2. You don't want to build more than one but you probably will.
3. You want your own thread so you can get personal advice from every one
that will offer it.

When I consider those three statements;
1. Good luck.
2. Good luck with those too.
3. I hope this helps you because I think it's great advice that may help although I'm most
certain it won't so I won't be wasting anymore of your time nor mine.

I've built a couple of acoustics & am starting on my first electric but I have woodworking experience.

I suggest you give a critical look over one of your existing guitars and ask how you would make each part - shape the body, route the pickup cavities, shape the neck, align the neck to body, fret the fretboard, blah, blah, blah then apply the finish.

On the cheap you could do it with some basic hand tools: saws, chisels, rasps & files, a drill, sandpaper then finish using aerosol cans.

If you want to buy some power tools: a bandsaw, drill press & router should cover the majority of the work but you will still need the hand tools listed above.

I would suggest buying a pre-radiused & pre-slotted fingerboard - Stewmac has Rosewood for about $20 & Ebony for about $40.

You should also try to be realistic in your expectations.
There's a reason why top quality guitars cost a lot of money - they're not easy to make. It takes years to become a good player, becoming a good builder may not take as long but it's not going to happen overnight.

Hope this helps and good luck

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I think this is where you went wrong. You shouldn't expect the first guitar you build to be top notch and high quality, because much more often than not, especially if your self taught, it wont be. Start simple. Just aim on making a playable instrument. My first build barely was. My second build was much better but I still made some mistakes.
And it's true that there definitely is some investment on tools and supplies. For your first build (as long as you don't expect it to be perfect) you can probably get by with just a drill press, router, jigsaw, and a bunch of hand tools. A safe-T-planer and a large handplane are also useful things to have. For your builds after that you'll likely want a bandsaw, router table, etc.

Welcome and good luck .

Do you have any tools at all?
Oh, welcome to da forum!

I plan to take my time and make this guitar as good as it can possibly be. I have access to a shop that has all the necessary power tools and more. I am able to purchase all the necessary specialty tools needed. I'm working on my masters degree in aerospace engineering. I have a background of working on technical projects. I've built 1/3 scale radio-controlled replicas of many popular aircraft. I know building a guitar from scratch will be a new and different challenge to me and I'm not trying to take anything away from luthiers. I know it is a highly refined skill and requires much expertise and knowledge to make a quality instrument. That is why I'm referring to you guys on this forum because I know the experts communicate through this community. Thanks for all the initial advice everyone. I'll definitely take it into consideration.

Well, then - suggest you read through this forum whenever you can.
It's a vast wealth of knowledge.
Post away, and we'll help you out.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks alot man. I'll do that. I'm glad this forum is here so I've got experts at my fingertips to get information from. Once I get started I'll post some pics of my stuff. I'll try to post some pics of my design and plans to get y'alls take on it.

Although it is certainly possible to build a very good guitar your first time, even a top notch one, it isn´t a guarantee. There is a learning curve, and your second, third, fourth guitars will be better than your first. Setup is key to getting a guitar playing really well, and is a skill in and of itself. If you are building a bolt on, getting neck angle right on is going to be easier than if you are doing a set neck or neck through your first time.

If you just want that one guitar, commission it from a good custom builder. It will almost certainly be cheaper and result in a better instrument.

If you want the learning experience, by all means build. Just don´t kid yourself you will save yourself any cash. I think I may verge into ´break even´ territory (paying myself nothing at all for labour) by the time I reach guitar 30 or so, given the investment I´ve made in tooling and materials. Admittedly, you don´t need a massive initial outlay and can make do with a fairly limited set of tools (there have been discussions on this in the past, a search should turn them up), but the right equipment does make the experience as a whole significantly more pleasant. The cash I´ve spent, I could own a Traugott, a Ryan and a couple of other nice custom built high-end acoustics and a few fancy schmancy electrics. But I prefer rolling my own. Build because you want to build guitar is my advice, if you want that one dream guitar, have it built for you. I haven´t met many who have been able to leave it at just one guitar

My favourite book is ´Make Your Own Electric Guitar´ by Melvyn Hiscock, which guides you through various styles step by step. In terms of what I consider essential tooling, you´re looking at a decent router, a decent rasp, a good jigsaw or access to a bandsaw for initial roughing out, lots of clamps, bottle of fresh titebond, a good straightedge (no, a ruler is not good enough if you want a dead on setup job), good quality sandpaper (I like 3M gold for hand sanding), a set of small files for detail work, access to a drill press for tuner and tremolo post holes. That´s off the top of my head, and the list can certainly get longer. Budget for materials largely depends on materials chosen - I wouldn´t buy wood from StewMac, mostly because it´s a tad overpriced, IMO.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not going to have to spend much money. I've got full access to a school shop that has every power tool you can think of and just about any other tool as well. With wood, electrics, specialy tools, hardware etc... I'm looking at only spending about as much as it would cost to buy a quality instrument. Like I said I plan to take my time. And I'm a quite experienced engineer.

Experienced engineers used to say dragsters would never go faster than 150MPH in the quarter mile, too.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Starting to get the feeling you don't want me to succeed do you? Lol

Consider it a challenge!

From what I've seen on this forum, someone with your background and access to tools should have no problem building a top notch first electric guitar.

Take your time, don't rush, do the right steps in the right order, you'll be fine.

There's a million different ways to do every step.

The problem I see you possibly having is over-thinking the steps, and making it more complicated than it has to be.

Some guys try to "improve" the overall design of the guitar on their first build and correct "problems" that have plagued guitars since their inception, whether or not they really are in fact actual problems or design flaws.

The most important thing is to have fun, and take yourself as seriously as you want to, or not at all.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Hey Elikeatts, check your private messages on your Luthiers Forum account. I sent you a message that will hopefully help you out! Good luck on your first build!

I got the pm. Thanks.

I'm not sure art is necessarily harder than engineering. Art is something that I believe is more or less natural or acquired over time and determination. I guess you could say the same thing about engineering. Learning guitar came natural to me. Calculus-based physics wasn't so simple. Lol

Wow chris, great work.
Just printed out your Ebook!
Really really good stuff.

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I think everyone wants you to succeed, I just think we all realize your first build isn't going to meet your hopes. router tearout, gouges, and lacquer don't care if you're an engineer.
I planned on my first build to be top notch mind blowing stuff too, we all did, just dont be too surprised if you dont end up with a show stopping guitar your first time out.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst. And post pics of your build.

Just use really nice figured wood and it will look good.

I officially put an end to all negative comments. Nothing but optimistic, helpful comments from here forth. Thank you all for warning me about the necessary precautions of first-time lutherie. No more comments about "don't get your expectations so high on your first build", "it might not turn out how you intended on your first build", "just because your a good engineer doesn't mean you can build a quality guitar" etc... I get the point and its noted, no need to say it anymore. It was helpful the first couple of times just to inform about what I'm up against. But this thread was not made for you to tell me over and over how I'm not likely of success on the first try. I don't want 5 straight pages of people telling me how I'm not likely to do well on the first attempt. No more comments like that (I mean NONE). Thank you for understanding!

P.S. Don't respond to this post on this thread. I don't mean for this to sound rude or controlling. Just let it be.

...are you the new site administrator?