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Diving into my first acoustic build. I've made 2 Strats, 2 Teles and 1 Ric bass, all from scratch. Two are out in the world being played regularly, the rest I have at home. They all seem to play pretty well. I've also made a few additional necks because I enjoy that part more than solid body making.

The first acoustic will be based on a Martin OM. I've got Jonathan Kinkead's book to guide me.

Before jumping into the work, I decided to get edjumacated. That was the first smart thing I did. I've watched about 8 hours of videos, most from GAL seminars and have learned a lot. At this point, I'm thinking I need to get some experience with making soundboards. So I picked up a couple of cheapo soundboards from Alaska Specialty, along with some sitka splits for braces.

My intent is to make the soundboards and learn something about tap testing and shaping the braces.

For those of you in the know, is this a good way to go for the first build?

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Julie Moriarty
http://JulimorCreations.com

"So I picked up a couple of cheapo soundboards from Alaska Specialty, along with some sitka splits for braces."

" My intent is to make the soundboards and learn something about tap testing and shaping the braces."

Even Alaska Specialty's "cheapo" soundboards can make a fine instrument, so my suggestion would be to buy some inexpensive back and side wood and build a guitar. You don't have to spend a lot on materials to make a nice guitar.
I think trying to learn tap testing and brace carving separate from building a guitar is putting the cart before the horse "edjumacation" wise. I could see making your first a quickly thrown together "test mule" and swapping out parts, if that that is how you feel you would learn better. I think it will be very hard to perfect individual components without seeing how they work with the complete assemblage.

I’m with Clay. Making a bunch of soundboards will only teach you so much (unless you are putting them on a guitar/test mule). If your plan is to practice making my a lot of tops so you can make one ideal guitar, you are fooling yourself. You won’t make just one. And, you won’t ever stop learning. Just make that first guitar. You will learn a lot about other parts of the process you haven’t even realized you need to learn yet.

That first effort will probably not hit your “ideal” tone, but I promise, you’ll love it.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Jonathan Kinkead's book is nice and full of pictures, but if you want to learn more about why guitars are constructed as they are, and how in much more detail, you might get Cumpiano's book as well. It's how many of us got started (well, I did anyway).

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Please remember that building guitars is how you learn how to build guitars. Watching videos and reading lots of books is good and all as it gets you mentally ready - but often just starting the build on Chapter 1 and then going from there is what needs to happen... If you get stuck or confused - then watch a video or read somebody else's take on how to do that 1 thing.

If you want to build a Martin, get a good plan and build it to the dimensions on the plan. After that, evaluate and make one small change at a time.

I also believe that making guitars is a learn by doing endeavour. You can certainly make a good sounding guitar on your first one, especially after having built some solid bodies, but don't get disappointing if it's not. For me personally, and this jibes with many others too, your tenth guitar will be when you actually start making them good, your 50th guitar is when you start to actually have control, and your 100th guitar is a milestone and a goal to look towards in establishing yourself as a builder. I'm on my 60th now and I can tell ya, tapping plates is still very much in the voodoo phase of guitar building. I always do it and I always end up just as confused as the last time. In fact I have three braced 000 tops right now that were all built identically and all tap differently. So what does that mean? Which one is the 'best'? What can I do to make them all sound the same? Do I want them to sound the same? Is it possible to make them sound the same? Which one will make a more sparkly guitar? Which one will have more bass?

And so on...

In fact in Cumpiano's book, which you should also get, he mentions tap tuning plates as something like witch craft. I tend to agree thought I still do it and hope to learn something from it because that's what we do.

The more definitive approach that I have taken and has shown some promise is in doing deflection testing. Regardless of the inherent stiffness of any given top or the species of wood, if they deflect the same then you can expect similar properties.

So basically just jump right into the pool and start building, that's where to start.

Best new builder advice heard was Kenny Hill talking at the 2004 GAL.

“Just keep building, just keep building”

I remain a big proponent of starting with a good kit and building to spec as a starting point. The woodworking portion that is done for you in a kit is the least important part of making a great sounding and easy playing instrument. You still have to do all the really important stuff yourself.

Like Hans says, build, evaluate, read, make tweaks on the next and “just keep building “.

I am on #78 and continue to be amazed at what a bottomless pit the knowledge base in lutherie really is.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I paid to work with a master builder one night a week for my first few guitars which was invaluable. Especially sharpening and planning skills for thicknessing and jointing. The guitars sounded pretty decent as well. I was also reading Cumpiano's book. If you can find someone to help hands on, it would be worth it and definitely speed up your progress.

I also agree with everyone that just building is the way to learn. I wouldn't get too hung up on making my first couple guitars perfect. Just get them done.

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Pat

Thanks for all the great advice. I guess I just proved that I didn't even know enough to ask an intelligent question. But learning is half the fun.

I don't see myself building 100, 50 or even 10 guitars. It's the old living on a fixed income with not a whole lot of discretionary money lying around problem. But I do have some stock lying around and all the tools needed to resaw and thickness the wood into backs and sides. I had a 62x16x8/4 slab of figured bubinga I bought years ago as a possible solid body for an electric. The weight persuaded me not to. Had I envisioned I'd embark on making an acoustic, I never would have made a bar top out of it.

My years of woodworking had me envisioning a gorgeous, jaw droppingly beautiful guitar. At that time I hadn't a clue about soundboards, braces, or that there was a bass and treble side of a guitar body. Now I'm wondering if this endeavor is wise for someone on a tight budget. But since I already have most of the tools and forms needed, along with some wood, to proceed, that's what I'll do.

Thanks again for all the excellent advice. Who knows, maybe I might get to that 10th guitar someday.

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Julie Moriarty
http://JulimorCreations.com

A sheet of plywood will do for a bar top

Bass side and treble side are really just names, like left and right, but less ambiguous. Especially if you're building a left handed guitar They don't have much to do with tone, although some builders have designed bracing patterns on the idea that they do.

I'll give another recommendation for Cumpiano's book. Lots of good techniques for building with minimal tooling. Use the updated neck joint https://www.cumpiano.com/an-improved-neck-body-joint

Make sure you use good straight grained wood for the neck shaft. Headstock and heel can be lower quality. I never do one-piece necks.

Fret work was one of the things I had the most trouble learning, and spent the most money on tools for. If possible, find someone to teach you how to do it.

As for soundboards, my second guitar was a hacked-together test mule designed for soundboard swapping. The only thing I regret is not doing more experiments on it, since I've had a rather high dud rate in my first 12 builds...

You definitely need to get strings on each experimental soundboard so you can see how they really sound compared to the tap tones, and so you can measure the bridge rotation under tension (1.5 to 2 degrees is good) and develop your feel for stiffness.

"My years of woodworking had me envisioning a gorgeous, jaw droppingly beautiful guitar........Now I'm wondering if this endeavor is wise for someone on a tight budget. "


You don't need to spend a lot of money building a guitar, although many do. If you build with local materials (walnut, maple, ash, birch, osage orange, and several others) and buy "A" grade soundboards you can source most of the materials for less than $100. There are some tropical woods used by the flooring industry that also make fine guitars. Some of us split out brace wood from spruce 2X4's , resaw wood, and laminate veneer to help keep costs down.
Tuners are generally the most expensive single component of the guitars I build. A set of Grover Sta-Tites can run about $50. But even $10 economy tuners will work.
Some of the nicest guitars I've seen had the least exotic components, but were just superbly put together.

Like all the guys have said, just do it. The first one for me, a kit, did not turn out great, but did open my eyes to the structure and methodology required. My 30 years of professional woodworking sure helped but this did not ensure a “jaw droppingly beautiful guitar”, but it sounded ok and played horribly. Thankfully, I did not go for that flamed koa set on the first build and am now stashing premium sets for the time when my skills are equal to the task.
This forum particularly, and others, have proved to be the most valuable resource thanks to all the knowledge generously shared by all here.
The cost, as others have stated, does not need to be high. As Clay mentioned, the tuners can be the most expensive single item, unless you are buying BRW or high figure Koa, but inexpensive tuners can be more than acceptable and be changed later if needed.
If you have a hardwood supplier locally that will let you poke through the piles, you can find back and sides very economically.
This week on a residential remodel job site I picked up a 5’ length of clear spruce 2x4 in the cutoff pile. This will likely give me 3 or 4 guitars worth of bracing for no cost, just the time to process and dry.
Buying precut shell for inlays can add up, but dots, bindings and purflings can be made up from scrap wood. If I were to add up the costs of the handful I have built I would guess that the average is $125 per, plus the tuners. The tooling cost is a different deal, but again many jigs can be made in the shop at a low cost.
Happy building, but beware of the addictive nature. I am not aware of any rehab program to assist those trying to quit, though I suspect my wife of planning an intervention.

B

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

In my present stock I have some pretty decent wood. And there's a place about an hour from here where I can pick up woods like sipo and ambrosia maple for fairly cheap. They also carry Nicaraguan rosewood, something I'll check out next time I'm there. Wood to me is not the issue when it comes to cost.

As already mentioned, tuners can up the cost. But tooling adds up too. While I've got everything I need to build electrics, there are certain tools required for acoustics I don't have - Bridge pin reamer, 25.4" scale template, tools for steaming and bending wood, etc. Well, I didn't have them a week ago. I dropped $$$.00 on them (thanks to money earned from a side job ), so now I'm committed. Or maybe I'll be committed when my SO finds out what I did with that money.

And I did get started on that first build. It's been fun.

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Julie Moriarty
http://JulimorCreations.com

You really don't need to go crazy on the tools. A lot of instruments get built with very little in the way of fancy tools.

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https://www.instagram.com/fostinoguitars/
https://www.facebook.com/PuraVidaUkuleles/

Lots sound advise here. I’ve been doing acoustics for a little more than a year now. I’m on build 7 (I think) now. What you want to do is learn by doing. Yes building a top is important, but it is directly related to everything else on the instrument as to how it acts.
I’d say aim to do the entire instrument.
Build something every day. Even little things... but every day if possible. When you get frustrated or stuck .... take some time to think about it before “fixing it”.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I've been using the same copper pipe that I got for free, a cut off at the local shop, and a blow torch for bending sides for 25 years now. Never used a fret scale template, a good ruler with 100/inch works great, can be found at a reasonable price. I only recently just bought a bridge pin reamer, prior to that I used a ground down tail of a bas*tard file. I've also used needle files for the same amount of time to cut nut slots.

You can definitely do it on a tight budget... Now, weather it's wise or not?

One of the best approaches is to get one of the books. mentioned, Kinkaids, Cupianos and there are a few others that guide you through the process. Try to find a local luthier that you can pay or bribe with beer or whatever to get the process started. Maybe start out with a Ukulele as its a smaller commitment cost wise but all the same building details as a larger instrument. You can get an entry level kit for less then $100 and don't need a ton of tools to make these.

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https://www.instagram.com/fostinoguitars/
https://www.facebook.com/PuraVidaUkuleles/

I am working on my first guitar as well, and since I am working from the Kinkead plans, I thought I would chime in.

I started with Kinkead because he provides drawings and references measurements ect. during the book from those drawings. I thought that would go a long way towards success. I have gradually realized that his plans are a bit 'unique'. Not bad necessarily, but they are a bit of a departure from what most people would consider standard. This makes it a bit difficult to follow some of the advice given on this forum and elsewhere. I think if I had it to do over again I would reference the Kinkead book (I love the way he has written and laid it out), but I would build from a more standard OM plan. That is unless my guitar turns out to sound amazing, and then you can scratch out all the stuff I just said.

Some of the things that are a bit different:

-The bridge plate is huge!
-The upper transverse brace is huge!
-The tone bars stop well short of the sides
-The bracing in general is fairly heavy (this is hearsay from various other builders on forums. I don't really have a good way to judge this, but I went a bit lighter than called for. I've yet to find out the results)
-Kinkead doesn't really go into enough detail about shaping the sides before gluing the top and back on. Depending on what building philosophy you go with, it seems like the shape of the sides around the upper bout can be really important to the neck angle/geometry ect. Again, a bit over my head, but I basically did exactly what was recommended by Hesh on this forum. You can search for his tutorial.
-Kinkead also doesn't go into much detail for the neck joint. For some weird reason I decided to hand cut a dovetail joint. I think you'll find whichever way you go, you'll need a bit more detail.

Ok, well that sounded like a bit of a rant, but really my build is going quite well if extremely slowly. It's just a bit frustrating when people tell you, "Find one method and stick to it all the way through. Don't mix different peoples systems." , and I feel like this is exactly what I have ended up doing out of necessity. Hope your build goes well. I am in the middle of blogging mine on a different forum (one that deals with building guitars from kits, even though I am building from scratch), so you could go over there to check out the mistakes I've already made (some forums don't really like it when you refer people to other forums or I'd give you a link).

Cheers,

Adam