Official Luthiers Forum!

You guys are unbelievable. I never expected so many responses in so
little time. I'll try to answer a few questions to. I definitely plan to
continue making guitars, not just doin' one. I've played guitar (not so
well) for about 7 years (im 26). I started collecting them soon afterward
because I found myself drawn to the beauty,uniqueness of different
instruments. Unfortunately, I had no idea the world of hand-built guitars
existed. I found that my playing would never catch up with the quality of
instruments I was buying, but I still have a passion for the guitar.
Combine this with the fact I always wanted to try woodworking (as I
mentioned before, I have access to my grandfathers shop, he was a
furniture maker who died in 1985). I only have vague memories of him,
but I wanted to sort of "follow in his footsteps" (cheesy but true).
As for some of the questions you all have asked me: I do not have a
laminate trimmer, but do plan to purchase one more than likely. there
are a number of clamps in the shop, but most are huge (used for beds,
corner cupboards etc...). I plan to inventory what I can use and go get
what I need. I agree you Paul (i think), a hygrometer is a good idea. I do
have a compressor, but I was planning on the KTM-9 route (thats WAY
down the road though).
another question on fretting: I had (tentatively) planned to purchase a
blade for the tablesaw specially made for fretting as well as a template
(Sloane I think theyre called) for fret layout...Any opinons on this?
   I do prefer to try building from parts (perhaps I'll regret this later,
hopefully not). I feel pretty comfortable with most steps, and I plan to
practice on scrap when necessary...im in no hurry
By the way, where is everyone lolcated...all I see is "United States". Im in
Knoxville, TN, but the shops in Lenoir City (15 minutes from home).
thanks again for all your help- and the name is Mark Hudson by the way,
although "hudson" works just fine too

In time I think setting your table saw up to slot your fingerboards is a decent idea, but for now I would buy them preslotted. LMI and Stewmac sell them as well as various other suppliers.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

While I own a fox-style bender, I don't think it's the best version out there. There are other benders that people make which are more simple and easy to use. That said, I agree with the folks who say that you should start with using a pipe for at least the first guitar, and use an easy to bend wood.

You'll also want to buy a bunch of cam clamps, which will come in very handy. Seems I never have enough of those things, and I have bunches of them.

Start with a kit...if you have no woodworking experience, it's safe. I built my first guitar from scratch, but wouldn't necessarily recommend that to others.

Now it's time to talk about Safety.

Those rather innocent looking powertools can cut off a finger, hand, or arm lickety-split, so you will need to have someone who really knows about them show you proper techniques before you mess around and lose a digit or worse. Take a class, or have an experienced woodworker help you through the project. Trust me on this one... There are a lot of folks who know what they are doing who still have accidents, and you need to know how to avoid them before sticking a piece of wood into a moving blade or other. I had a decent amount of woodworking experience before getting into guitar making, but still nearly lost two fingers because I was never taught about certain dangers.
Go slow. Be safe. You still want to be able to play a guitar, right?Don Williams38560.4697800926

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

don is correct about the issue of saftey.

it is essential to know the correct techniques for using power tools, and chisels for that matter. a power tool will remove small or not so small bits of you and you will not even know it's gone till you have to start wiping up the blood.

but along with knowing and using the correct techniques, there is also the issues of fatigue, awareness, and haste.

do not try to work when you are tired. besides ruining good wood you can ruin you.

do not try to work when your mind is elsewhere. you really have to be in the moment when working with power tools. i would go so far to say that when making cuts on a table saw, joiner, etc. that you talk, yes aloud, yourself through the operation, reciting the correct elements of the operations before you do them. some may think you daft but it's not their digits at risk.

finally haste will destroy wood and digits very quickly. if you are working against a time deadline to perform an operation, don't work. your mind will be on the time and not the business at hand. it will keep till you can work at a safe pace.

Great advise about safety!!
The only thing I would add is to wear safety glasses,ear protection and dust masks.

Piling on... I agree... fear those power tools. That router table scares the h*** out of me every time I turn it on. Learn to feed the work correctly, it only takes a split second to have a serious accident.

Be careful.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I appreciate the advice. Guess I should mention Ive spent the last two
years working for a contractor. the first year was doing home repairs/
renovations, the second year building homes. I dont claim to be a "power
tool expert", but I do have everyday experience over the last two years
with about every tool imaginable (ok, not EVERY tool). Plus, Ive had to
listen to my mom, aunts and uncles (not to mention grandmother) tell me
how my grandfather cut the tips off of nearly every finger in his 60+ years
of furniture building "so dont you do the same thing". again, i appreciate
the tips, just dont want you all to think ill have to learn to type with my
nose after my first guitar

Hudson,
Something that has helped me out in the course of "making toothpicks out of them thar big boards" has been to go ahead and snoop through Grandad`s old tool box and those little drawers in the shop and elsewhere, too (granted that you have permission or rights to do so). Actually, the old guy might just be tickled.
I inherited alot of old tools and books and what-not from my Great Grandad as well as my Dad. At first it was sentimental reasons for keeping these things around, but as time, age and experience came along, I found out just what alot of them were used for. Lo and behold, they may need to be cleaned up and resharpened, but you`d be impressed at the quality and strength of some of these things. With the cost of living and everything else going up, as well as today`s ways of trying to cut manufacturing costs to the point of many products being inferior to what one may expect at first glance, why not save some cash?
I know too well what it is to need that "Binford 2000" and just can`t afford it at the moment. The bills will always be due, and the babies need shoes. (Hey, that`s a good start for a song, huh?)
What I`m getting at is, maybe, just maybe, the prototype of the origional Binford 2000 might be hiding in that layer of sawdust under Grandad`s bench!
Don`t get me wrong, if there`s a better way or tool, and it can be afforded, go for it.
-Just a little hint from a fellow rookie luthier.

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

I have some Paring Chisels that were my great uncles, I don't know what they used to make them out of butthey hold an edge foreever.

Hi
Welcome to the Forum
I am also a newbie. I am building my 2nd guitar. The 1st was a 000 kit
from stewmac and the one I am building now is mostly from scratch. I did
follow the advice here to have somethings done by others. (Slotted
fretboard etc) I figured that with each guitar I can do more and more on my
own depending on what tools I have and the skills I develop.

The advice here is great. As soon as I finish this 1st guitar from scratch, I
will post a pic.

Andy

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Safety:
I always remember the spiel we got when we were introduced to the joiner in carpentry school in the Navy. You're pushing the work through with your right hand thumb hooked behind it, and your left hand is holding the stock down over the cutter head. When the work kicks out it folds your right hand thumb back against your arm and breaks it, your left hand goes down into the cutter, and you don't know which one to suck on....

I never heard of anyone cutting off their arm with a 5/8" chisel.

Fancy tools and jigs often substitute for time and skill. You don't _need_ about 90% of that stuff to make a guitar eventually, but it will help you get through it faster and (maybe) do a better job. I believe I could make a guitar pretty comfortably with two hand saws (big and little), two chisels(1/4" and 5/8"), a knife, a smooth plane, a scraper, a drill, a marking gauge, a bender, a hammer, wire cutters, a couple of files, a ruler, a compasses (for getting the angles right)and my French polishing pad. Of course, you need sharpening gear to keep the edges good. The rest of the shop full of stuff just makes it go quicker (boy howdy!).

I love my side bending blanket, and use it with a Sloan type mold: a cuttout of a guitar half, in essence. Wet the side and clamp it to the mold with the blanket. In a pinch you could wrap the blanket around something to make a side bending 'pipe'.

IMO Dremels are hardly worth it. About the only use I get out of mine is is when I chuck in an abrasive cuttoff wheel to trim a carbon fiber rod.

It's amazing how well the 'popsicle stick' circle cutter that Cumpiano shows works.

Don't get carried away buying tools. Everybody works a bit diferently, and prefers different tools. The thing that one person finds indispensible you might never take out.

If you can learn to do stuff by hand I think you'll be better off in the long run. I've had lutherie school grads look around my shop and ask how it's possible to make a guitar without a drum sander. Torres did it.... There are times (say, when working with Osage Orange) that I wish I had a sander, but there are very few times when you _need_ a lot of technology if you have the skill. Fortuneately guitars are rather easy woodworking if you are willing to take your time and work exactly.

You might consider LMI's serviced kits to get you going. The come with the back and top prejoined with the rosette inlaid. The sides are pre bent and the scale is slotted. This will save you a bunch of time and a lot if investment in tools and still allow you to put a guitar together. You can branch out from there on your next guitar and do more of the steps yourself.