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For the longest time, I had been searching everywhere for the "perfect guitar". But I soon found out that premium guitars came with a premium price. I started by looking at kits, but they were either not the right woods, didn't like the finish, etc. Then I looked into building my own custom guitar from scratch, and that's how I ended up here. I have never done any woodwork before, but I know carpenters that could help me in that department. I've decided I want to build a Strat-style, solid-body electric guitar. For the body I want to use swamp ash as the back wood, 3A-5A flame maple for the top, and put white binding. I'm not sure what neck woods would go well with this combination (for looks and tone; open to suggestions ). I want to start the build with the body, but have no clue where to begin with tools. Not sure if this impacts what tools I will need, but i am going to rear-rout the guitar and also have an HH pickup setup (no middle pickup and no pick guard). Also going to have the classic Strat contours on the body. My budget for tools is about $500. Any help is appreciated!

I can make a very nice neck and a piece of junk body and build a great playing and sounding electric guitar.

I can make a beautiful body and a piece of junk neck and build a piece of junk.

I posted this (below) in 2011 thinking it may help a person attempting their first build.





I prepped by reading and watching just about any material I could find
but I organized it the best I could by breaking down all the processes and
ways/styles trying to get a step-by-step procedure established.
I also wanted an idea of the tools and materials that I would need.
By learning of the different ways a task may be done and the tools needed- it helped
me make a decision of which method I wanted to attempt first.

For example:
Making a neck- bolt on or neck-thru.
How many tasks are there to constructing a neck?
Dimension, fretboard, head design, shaping the neck, making a nut, installing a truss-rod, installing/leveling/dressing frets...etc.
For each one of these taks there are more questions and it's hard to know the questions so one should gather as much information as possible...for instance:
Just the Fretboard....what radius, how is it radiused, when do you radius it, what scale will be used how are the fretslots cut and how many ways are there to cut them? How are the frets installed and how many ways can that be done?...what tools does it take to do all of these tasks?

I believe if one is not prepared in the sense that there is a lot to it and it takes a pretty good sum of money for tools
to complete each task it could easily become overwhelming.
By spending time trying to get a mental picture of each process, it may enlighten them to the best approach to achieve
each goal. LOL I said "each goal" because tasks such as making a nut -it was a major goal achieved when it was
finally installed and nut action was set...

I did not want my first build to be a guitar that I wouldn't play or couldn't play. I realized I had to teach myself
so I wanted the best mental picture of every step of the build-knowing there would be things I missed-but still having
a very good grasp of the tasks, material and tools that would be needed.

That's just how I started for what it's worth...hope it helps you in some way.

I'll repeat what I said in my response to your tool question - get Melvyn Hiscock's book.

Your best bet is to buy a replacement neck, rather than building one. For a Strat-style body a Strat-style neck (maple w/ maple or rosewood fingerboard) would be the obvious choice, as well as the most affordable. Good quality replacements can be found all over the internet for $100-$150. Or you can go the Warmoth/similar route and have your dream features neck built for more. If it were me, I'd probably go mahogany/rosewood for the neck, to get more of a Les Paul sound from the pickups/body.

The neck is the easiest part of a build to screw up. I speak from experience. Bodies are relatively easy if you have the right tools and woodworking experience. And there's not really anything complicated about a Strat-style body.

With no pickguard, you're going to rear-route the control cavity, and the bridge springs cavity if you're going tremolo instead of hardtail, and top-route the pickup holes. You'll need, minimum, a band saw or jig saw, a drill, and a route, plus clamps, bits/blades, and wood glue.

For $500 you can get a decent jigsaw (~$50), a belt sander (~$100), a drill press (~$100), an orbital/finishing sander (~$30), a router (~$100), a collection of clamps (~$10-$20 each), and the bits and bobs for each. Those are approximate Depot/Lowes prices. Check pawn shops and craigslist, it's the cheapest way to build a tool collection.

You're better off waiting until you have the tools to do the job. Trying to do it without them will end in tears. Again, experience.

Here is a link to an excellent tutorial for a Strat body build.

Ron Kirn is active over on the Telecaster and Stratocaster sites that I hang out at.
http://www.ronkirn.com/tutorial/index.htm

There are many ways to do it but taking a look at Ron's site will give you an idea of what you need to accomplish.

What tools you need depends on what approach you are going to take. $500 goes fast when building a guitar. Michael's list sounds pretty spot on for what you are looking to do. Don't forget to add in stuff like sandpaper and any finishing tools. You also need a way to make usable routing templates.

There is a DIY section on the TDPRI (telecaster) site. Review some build threads over there. You'll see builds using minimal tools to all out production shop setups. From there decide how you want to go.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/index.php

Here is a link to the Home Depot Section. Be careful. You can lose days reading through the content there.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/

The telecaster site also has a sister site for Stratocasters. It would make sense to send you there since that's what you want to build, but it isn't quite as active as the tele site.
http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/

So with all that said, I'm not trying to send you away. I'm just pointing you to a vault of information you might find helpful. I come here for my acoustic stuff and go there for electrics.