mabyenot Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 hi have been lookin through this forum last couple of days and it made me want to build my own guitar. but i dont want to spend loads of money on wood. would i be able to make a guitar out of an old table? planning on buying a neck. if i go ahead with my project i will post on this forum so u can all laugh at my pathetic effort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axe_murderer Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 (edited) if the material is thick enough, dry enough, and wide enough, and if it's of good quality ...make it from whatever you want.....go for it..... some of the best woods are used to make furniture.... keep us posted. Edited April 11, 2006 by axe_murderer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 hi have been lookin through this forum last couple of days and it made me want to build my own guitar. but i dont want to spend loads of money on wood. would i be able to make a guitar out of an old table? planning on buying a neck. if i go ahead with my project i will post on this forum so u can all laugh at my pathetic effort the answer to your question depends on several things..what your woodworking skills are, what tools you have available to you and most importantly, what the table is made of. a pressed wood table with a formica top won't make a very good one but if it happens to be maple or mahogany or even oak in some cases it should work fine for a first project. let us know a few more details and maybe we can give you more specific advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 (edited) I'm making one right now from an old table! Here's the thread if you are interested If you are just making the body, then its even less risk, the neck is the most crucial stucturally. Do you know what wood the table is made of? Some woods are better suited for guitar making than others. Good luck! EDIT: What they said too! they beat me to it Edited April 11, 2006 by Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabyenot Posted April 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 (edited) i wanted to use a cheap material if possible free - old table because as its my first project i dont want to ruin extremely expensive wood. maybe if i find out im a natural then i will spend a hell of a lot in making the guitar of my dreams. but if i get round to this its just a tester so basically no massive losses if it goes horribly wrong. I'm making one right now from an old table! Here's the thread if you are interested If you are just making the body, then its even less risk, the neck is the most crucial stucturally. Do you know what wood the table is made of? Some woods are better suited for guitar making than others. Good luck! EDIT: What they said too! they beat me to it wow i hope mine may turn out as good as yours. and i dont have any specific table in mind, it was just an idea of how to get some wood cheap. i looked in the loft today and the only wood i could see that looked suitable was underneath sveral things and being used as a floor to cover up that fluffy loft/attic stuff. also i thought of an old tabletop we had lying around outside, went to have a look at it and it is one of the most rotted peices of wood ive ever seen. this means i may have to buy some wood. only problem is i have no money lol. dont know how im planning to buy a neck Oh yeah, can you buy complete through necks with a fretboard and headstock already on them or can you only buy replacement bolt on necks? EDIT- also is the wood used in doors suitable? Edited April 11, 2006 by mabyenot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Oh yeah, can you buy complete through necks with a fretboard and headstock already on them or can you only buy replacement bolt on necks? Yes: http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?a...ml&CURRENCY=GBP But if you dont want to spend the money to buy wood, I doubt you want to spend that much on the neck either! You can get cheaper bolt on necks, some very cheap ones on eBay, but I wouldnt be too sure of the quality. (I bought one and it was actually very good, cost £15, I was probably lucky though) Where do you live? I live in the UK and in my quest for free wood I put a notice on a webste called 'freecycle'. I got a reply within 15mins (!) from someone with an old dry barn full of the stuff. As for door wood, I'm no expert, but I think most are hollow. I can empathise with your lack of money, I am in the exact same situation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabyenot Posted April 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 (edited) wow that is an expensive neck lol i do really like the look of ebony fretboards but i may just get a rosewood one from ebay (im willing to risk it) was the neck you bought off ebay a bolt on or a through body one? edit- thanks for the advice- ive applied for an account on freecycle hopefully someone will have some spare wood Edited April 11, 2006 by mabyenot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Wood isn't always that expensive. I went to my local lumber yard and got enough mahogany for 3 guitar/bass bodys and five necks for around $70 dollars US after taxes. I had some extra that's made it's way into various other projects. No shipping, because I walked it home myself. (My car isn't big enough for the nine some odd feet of wood, so I got a little red wagon and carted it home) I probably could have gotten more out of that wood if I had planned ahead a little better (cutting out body sections rather than large, square blanks) and had access to a bandsaw - could have gotten two necks out of the piece of wood I got one out of. I had to surface it myself and join it myself to make body blanks, and it's not the prettiest wood out there, and it's probably not as good as a really nice mahogany body blank from one of the guitar places, (for one, I'm pretty sure it's honduran as opposed to African, which I hear is nicer) but I also saved a lot of money compared to buying one of those blanks from LMI or Warmoth or Stewmac or whoever. It meant more work since I don't have many bench/table tools, but I did drive to my uncle's house and use some of his on the last guitar. I also got really good with a hand planer doing all that work. The wood at the lumber yard was all well-dried and true. I put some cheap 1/4" walnut on top to pretty it up. Going this route certainly means more work, and more tools than just bandsawing out of an already made blank, and you have to hunt the lumber yard for "that" piece of wood, but if you have more time than money, and access to the tools you need, it's a good route to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabyenot Posted April 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 thanks i iwll take that into consideration. i was thinking of getting it from a hardware shop like B&Q but this seems like a better option as there wil be more variety in wood and at better prices. i dont mind the extra work gone into it- will just give me more satisfaction when/if it is made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Guitar Made of Table? This is exactly how I am going to get my hands on some old honduran mahogany to use for a replica 50's LP flametop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardd Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 I made my first guitar out of a figured maple table my mom picked up at an auction or rummage sale. It looked like some kid had made it in shop class maybe. But, the wood was nice. The hardest part as I recall (did this in 1978) was working around all the screw holes. The other big problem was of course keeping the legs from poking you when you strapped it on. Good luck, d ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 I'm making guitars from found wood too (I found a huge plank --might be ipe?--in the loft here). But the wood is probably the least expensive about making a guitar. So if you end up having to buy a table for this, have a look around for cheap body blanks --alder not expensive, for example. Whatever you do, practice on scrap first --it really helps to minimize the risk of screwing up. Oh, and once you start making one guitar, you'll never stop....it's an addiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 was the neck you bought off ebay a bolt on or a through body one? It was a bolt on, a standard, strat type one. i was thinking of getting it from a hardware shop like B&Q B&Q have MDF, Plywood, and Pine. If you were going to pay for the wood, you would probably be wiser to spend your money on something half decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabyenot Posted April 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 (edited) thanks for the replys. WOW the freecycle thing is amazing!!!!!! the day i was accepted as a member there, i log on and theres adverts for a large wardrobe- not sure how thick the wood is though AND woodworking tools FREE edit- oh no wait, those arent the newest messages, someones probably already got them edit2- does anyone know what wood pianos are usually made of- someones got a broken one on freecycle Edited April 12, 2006 by mabyenot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Quit wasting your time with broken pianos...get yer cheap guitar wood here Well, okay, I love the idea of guitars built from found wood too....mostly because buying tone wood here is really expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axe_murderer Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 I'm no builder, but I do play piano, and I can't personally think on a better tonewood ..... the older the better IMO..GO for it... worse that can come out of it...you get some wood, some wire, and some misc parts you can resell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabyenot Posted April 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 i thought that as it is a piano then it would have a very nice tone to the wood but im not sure if the wood would be very thick because pianos are acoustic and therefore hollow so i dont know i will check it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitey Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 money isnt really a problem,i went to a local furniture maker,and i bought a piece of maple that was big enough for 2 guitar bodies for only...£16 it was the exact thickness that i needed aswell lol so have you got a design? oh,and you can find cheap guitars at car boot sales,or ebay,were you can have a neck and electronics aswell..and a body for another project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabyenot Posted April 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 money isnt really a problem,i went to a local furniture maker,and i bought a piece of maple that was big enough for 2 guitar bodies for only...£16 it was the exact thickness that i needed aswell lol so have you got a design? oh,and you can find cheap guitars at car boot sales,or ebay,were you can have a neck and electronics aswell..and a body for another project im gonna try to get hold of some wood which would be good for a first guitar- not ver expensive incase i screw up and im either gonna make an explorer or a design of my own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.