Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello, I have recently decided to pursue a career in Luthiering. I am a 19 year old college student in tallahassee florida. I have been a Dedicated bassist for over 7 years now and I am currently working on a bachelors degree in music. I am posting to inquire help from some people who are experienced luthiers. How did you get started? did you do an apprenticeship? What tools should I invest in at first?
Although I have done some simple stuff before(converting my Old B.C. rich into a fretless) I feel that I don't know what I am doing at all.

The best thing you can do is spend about 6 months going back and reading old posts in these forums. You will be amazed at how much info there is here and how much you have to learn. It is not something you can just wake up one morning and decide to do. Seriously, go to the archives and go back to page one and start reading.

Best of luck.
Tim

_________________
Tim

I think a good start would not be initially to ask people how to do things but rather, to ask yourself how YOU would do it. Whether you are right or wrong, whether the task is easy or hard, this effort will commit your mind further to the endeavor. Develop an idea and THEN compare it to someone else's method.

It is commitment and passion that will see this all the way through.

Try to see luthrie as a set of problems to solve and then commit to solving each problem seperately....one at a time. The tools you need will become more obvious once you get into each task....and a lot of the time you will need to MAKE the tool. That said, there are common tools used for conventional luthrie. Others here will make better recommendations than I for these tools as I'm using cnc machines to make guitars, which is a very different approach from conventional luthrie.

I had a business that made aircraft propellers. It took years to develop the processes to manufacture them but learning to make tooling for propellers taught me a lot about making tooling in general - which applies to making all kinds of things...including guitars.

_________________
I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

thanks guys, and looking back through the forums definitely answered a few questions I had.

Could I get a few opinions on starting with a kit? Seeing as I do not have much experience in woodwork outside of junior high and high school shop class.

Dylan-
If you have the cash, you might consider taking a 'course' of some sort. There are 'luthier schools' and some builders teach courses in building. If you don't have any tools, experience or a shop space, it might be a smart alternative and would give you a better idea of what is involved in the work. Even a 'kit' will require some tools and some sort of work space - if you check the Stewart-Macdonald website you can download the 'instructions' for a kit- with a list of tools.

Are you interested in building acoustic or electric (ie solid body) instruments?

Cheers
John

I am mostly interested in electric instruments, but I am open to trying new things once I get a solid grip on what I am doing. As for the course, I have searched extensively but I can't find anything that has a thing to do with luthiering in Florida. I'm not completely up the river with tools and workspace either. I have a decent set of tools, and a somewhat spacious apartment. It's certainly not big enough for any large machinery, but I could definitely clear enough space to work.

thanks for the info on the stew-mac stuff

edit: I do know of one local luthier, as far as I know he only works with mandolins and classical instruments, I am not sure if he teaches either, I will post a reply when I find out more.

Stewmac also have a trades secrets email that comes out every couple pf weeks with a load of handy hints & tips.

as to getting into it, there are a lot of part time & amateur builders in the world, but only a handfull of full time professional boutique builders who make a decent wage.

how to end up with a million $ in guitar making?

start with 5 million and stop when you've used up 4!!

_________________
My soundclick xx luthier blog xx luthier soundclick

[quote="

how to end up with a million $ in guitar making?

start with 5 million and stop when you've used up 4!![/quote]

_________________
Tim

Dylan,

Go to GuitarFetish.com and purchase one of their Strat or Tele kits for $86. The Fender style guitars are the easiest to construct and with these kits you'll get everything you need to "build" a guitar. Use the parts you recieve to learn how to make templates for future use. Finish it, assemble it and learn how to do a good setup. Sell it for $300 and get another. They also have Gibson style guitars so you can try a set neck if you like. After you've done a few of these you'll have a base of knowledge to build upon and you can start building from scratch and with your own designs.
Don't forget to get a job so you can afford to live until your building can support you.

Steve

Thanks so much for the input guys, support is exactly what I need.
and the Kit Idea sounds great.
I have a job "WELCOME TO MOES!"

Most likely I'll go with a PRS kit though, a kit is a kit as I'm seeing it now if im wrong please correct me.

Hey I'm in Florida too! I'd recommend starting by getting some books and studying them. My favorite is "Building Electric Guitars" by Martin Koch. It's a cheap lil book but It's got loads of information on every type of electrified guitar, except lap steels I guess. The cool thing is he tells you like a bunch of different ways of doing the same thing and the strong and weak points of each. After spending a few days in that book I was feeling brave enough to make my own body for my first project, a bass, and I got some good results. I guess in order for us to tell you how to get started, we've got to know: are you a creative thinker, or a systematic thinker? Do you want to build brilliant spot-on replicas or loosely inspired guitars, or something completely new? It helps to know how you learn as well.

Tools, well a drill press is a good versatile tool. You can make any cavity with them for pickups and whatnot and then chisel out the excess. A plunge router is a good investment as well, I don't even need to tell you how versatile those things are. A jig saw can be used to rough out bodies if you can't afford a bandsaw. Rasps, files, chisels and those kinds of things are super easy to find. You'll need a hand plane to flatten the wood and true it up. I got mine at harbor freight and use it all the time. Perfect use of the phrase "good enough". Don't get too caught up on "luthier tools" because in a lot of cases you can get by using stuff from the hardware store. This is still a pretty expensive career to get into though.

I don't recommend a kit, because so much of the work is done for you already. I do recommend buying a neck however, because the precision involved may be out of your skill level. Oh yeah, and build whatever YOU want to build, not what's easy. You'll learn a whole lot more and end up with a guitar you'll want to have, rather than one you're stuck with. We're here for you if you are about to or already hit a roadblock or screw something up