Gen_x_christian Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Whats up guys, Im new to this forum and i have been following the site and its tutorials for about a month. I'll have the ability to start my own custom shop pretty soon, starting out with simple modifications, wiring and paint jobs moving up to making full custom bodies and necks and everything else. Ill basically be going in to this with mostly faith and little experience with wood working or guitar modification except for guitar wiring. I'll be taking some classes that should help me a little or maybe alot. What I do need to know however, is what I'll need as far as equipment and supplies to start up my own shop. If some one could maybe list what I need in 2 or 3 groups such as "Modifications" and "Custom Bodyies and Necks" I would really appreciate it. Any thing at this point would help. Thanks for reading. Thanks Again Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 For making custom necks and bodies I would say a bandsaw and a router would be quite useful. For neck shaping, that depends on how you want to use it. I think most people here use a spokeshave, I'll let one of them tell you exactly the tools they use. I myself use the drum of one of my belt sanders. I find my BIG belt sander also useful for radiusing fingerboards and truing fingerbaord gluing surfaces, though a jointer would probably better for that. For custom necks you'll also want fretting and nut slotting tools. For fretting, if you slot the board yourself you'll need a fret saw, whether hand held or the kind that go into a tablesaw, Fret hammer, 8oz nylon plastic face is good, good straight edge, leveling file, beveling file, dressing file. I invested in a set of nut slotting files for hut work. These are just my recomendations, I'll let otherpeople chime in. StewMac and LMI are good sources for specialty tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 I agree with Lex on pretty much everything he said. The bandsaw (at least 14"), router, planer (at least 13"), jointer (at least 6"), and drill press are my most used power tools. You're not doing this to make money, right? Just a hobby kinda thing? It's extremely difficult to make money building guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Yeah, a drillpress too. I would go for a floor model so you can drill side mounted jacks in bodies. I personally would rather have a thickness sander then a planer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Yeah, a drillpress too. I would go for a floor model so you can drill side mounted jacks in bodies. I personally would rather have a thickness sander then a planer. i've seen those in busybee..... seems like they have their ups and downs though, can they take as much wood perpass as a planer?? and wouldn't they leave a scratchy feel unlike the glass look you get from a planed peice of wood? although i admit the no tear out thing would come in handy for figured tops and such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Yeah, a drillpress too. I would go for a floor model so you can drill side mounted jacks in bodies. I personally would rather have a thickness sander then a planer. i've seen those in busybee..... seems like they have their ups and downs though, can they take as much wood perpass as a planer?? and wouldn't they leave a scratchy feel unlike the glass look you get from a planed peice of wood? although i admit the no tear out thing would come in handy for figured tops and such You can't take of as much as a planer, about 1/128" - 1/64" per pass, and they do leave sanding lines, which you then sand out, but they are perfect for heavily figured woods because you don't get any tearout. I've seen quilted maple put through a planer, NOT PRETTY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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