TheCross Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 I've planned to build a guitar this summer. but if I take a closer look at my schedule there's only very little time left for it. So I just wanted to know how long you usually need to compelte your work. It is my first project but I'll have a friend who will help me and who has a real nice amateur shop. he never built guitars but has a lot of woodworking experience. so what do you say? don't rush it and do it maybe next year(he probably will only have some time to help me in summer) I have about three weeks left where I am at home and have to do some preparation for my move to a different city in october( I won't move there for ever I will change locations every three months). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfisher Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 I built a "prototype" bass- new original design, and logged 35 hours work. Being a prototype, the finish is not perfect, but good enough. (I gig it regularly). To do it really well I would reckon about 50 hours. I have access to a fair amount of machinery, i.e. planer/thicknesser, bandsaw, router etc., but many of the procedures were new to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Eh, I always say plan on twice as much time as you think it should take. I think I could probably knock one out in under week, maybe even a couple of days is put in full ones. Plus however long finishing takes (finishing takes days, but most of that is waiting for a days worth of filler or clear to dry before you spray more, and then waiting for it to dry enough to buff out) But I know I won't ever get one done that fast. I work leisurely, when I have the time, and I don't like working on a guitar for 8 hours if I don't have to, because then it feels like a job. And you got to plan on things like glue drying, of course. And even if you *think* you've got all the tools you need, you don't. And you never have all the supplies you think you need. And accidents happen. And you make changes to your plans. And that sort of thing. And you wait for parts to come to you in the mail. And the weather might not cooperate (if, like me, you have to do a lot of woodworking outdoors, and live in the northeast US, than you're really not being happy with the weather right now) Of course, that's all just me. But I think you should plan on your first one taking a while. I'm sure other people aren't a total flake like me. And some people probably even order their wood with a planned project in mind, rather than figure out how the hell to make the wood they have work for the project they want. I'm sure most folks here do the right thing and get their plans all perfect before they even start. I don't, which is probably why I only have three and a half finished instruments to my name. (Let's not talk about the 1/2 - it's currently being reworked.) I'm rambling, but uh - you should give yourself time, but I think that really only means don't book a show planning on having this guitar for it. There's no reason you can't get started on a body now, and if you don't get it wrapped up, store it properly and come back to it later. Heck, build a body for a bolt-on neck, slap a Warmoth neck on there and have fun. That won't take long. Later, build your own neck. Have fun. I can almost guarantee you won't stop at one guitar. (And once again, I make an obscenely long post with little to no actual information in it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custom22 Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 I know this answer isnt what you want to hear, but it depends on many things. Alot of times I get bored with a project and take long breaks, and there is time waiting for parts and drying and such. If you are using nitro laquer, that adds at least a month or two for curing. I finished one in about 2.5 months, but I didnt build the neck. However, I bought a piece of hard maple for a neck in February of this year and am just making it look like a neck. I havent been too ambitious with it. If you are planning on fretting and carving the neck, I wouldnt try it in three weeks. You could probably get a body done if its not a carved top, and maybe give it to an autobody shop to finish. Then when you move you can put in electronics and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 There is no definate answer, it all depends on your ability, tools at hand, type of finish etc... Can be from 1 week to 6 months... or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 First time? Well, maybe since you have help, it'll go smoother. Although there's a lot of guitar related things your pal won't know about (which may even make it worse, because he might just do things the way he's always done, instead of look at it from a guitar perspective.) Anyway, for me, it's a long, drawn-out tortuous process. I mean, the things I've done before go smoothly enough now, I know how to set up for them, how to do it, so that definitely goes faster than it used to. But as soon as I hit something new, it's another thing altogether. Takes me forever to figure out how to do things, how to get set up for it. And to practice --luckily, I'm pretty good about making sure I practice on scrap, otherwise I'd never make any progress..just a lot more scrap. And even when it's a simple thing to do, it's like I enter into some kind of time warp. Oh, I think, that shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to do. And THREE HOURS LATER, I might finally be close to finishing. Weird. Happens all the time. Every time. Like today...trying to figure out how to route an angled neck pocket. And I'm starting to figure out that it's a lot harder than I thought. I've been setting up for it for the last three hours--measuring, putting together a jig...I've been routing a test pocket in scrap...(taking a break right now to recheck my measurements because something's not right... ) Etc. etc. It's like that every time. Which means that it's not always possible --I took the afternoon off from working to do all this...I was hoping to be able to have the neck pocket done today, but now that's not looking possible. So maybe I'll be able to try again later in the week, maybe the weekend, maybe not till next week. So maybe you're starting to get the picture? Of course, that's just me --I'm learning about all of this, I have no one to help me (other than everyone in this forum ). It might just go much smoother for you. I can tell you this --your best chance of getting done within your time limits is to choose the simplest design possible ---fender style neck, no neck angle, flat top, etc. And you'd do better to plan entire days where you can devote yourself to doing only this. For me, there's no reason to rush...I have other guitars to play, and I like having to figure all this stuff out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doeringer Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 At first, I spent more time making jigs and templates than actually building. Now I put in about 60 hours over a 60-75 day timeframe, per guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Being your first, and having to figure out how things are done(building jigs and some needed templates). Makes it a very hard thing to estimate. It will also depend on the type of construction, laminates?, finish (oil, 2 pack, nitro, WB laq., French Polish), building or buying neck or other parts. If you have had time to plan well, and have your bits and pieces together. You could definately get started, and pick up later. Assuming say bolt-on. Start the body, and doe the neck later. Maybe get the construction done. Take it with you and work out finish sanding in your spare time then do the finish later. Build good jigs and templates. They will makes things quicker, but more importantly increase accuracy . The main thing is don't rush too much or you will have poor results and frustration (one step forward teo back kinda thing). Have fun with it! Peace,Rich P.S. Fast building does not mean good building. IMO- It is better to take a year to build an outstanding guitar. Rather than 12 basic average quality guitars. In a few years you can have a room piled to the rafters with average or a handful of knock out instruments that are outstanding to behold. Some of the best new builders I have seen have a small number of top notch builds under their belt. Take your time and challenge yourself to build the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 (edited) Well my first took me around 6-7months. Right now I'm in the process of building one and if I get done on time, and it looks like I will be done a week ahead of scheule (I'm building it for a band, the deadline is july 22nd) it will have taken 7 weeks to build. Finishing deffinitly takes the longest. I could build the body/neck in 1-3 weeks but finishing takes around 4 weeks with dry time, buff time etc. If you finish in oil or something like that you easily build one in under a month. I seriously doubt you could build your first that fast though. Edited June 13, 2006 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Job....kids....a life....one year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 I had a thought --head over to the progess section, have a look at some of the threads --you can easily tell how long many of those build took --look at the start date, and look at the date of the finished photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Trepagny Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 (edited) It took me between 40 and 50 hrs to build a bass. I work 1.5 hours a day on my project so it's about 10hrs/week. I'm a beginner and i realy take my time 'cause i'm relaxing when i'm in my workshop and i dont have more time. But at the end of the process i rush to make it playable. It's like to receve a new toy! Philippe Edited June 14, 2006 by De Trepagny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I can dream up these darn guitars much much faster then I can build them. My JS-7 build must be running into it's second year now. As it is/was my first build...........it doesn't bother me so much. Yes, I want to have it finished. But I'm not willing to cut corners. The quality of the end product is all that matters, besides the building experience in it self. The route is in this respect more important then the destination. Fast building does not mean good building. IMO- It is better to take a year to build an outstanding guitar. Rather than 12 basic average quality guitars. In a few years you can have a room piled to the rafters with average or a handful of knock out instruments that are outstanding to behold. Some of the best new builders I have seen have a small number of top notch builds under their belt. Take your time and challenge yourself to build the best. I agree with this completely. Although see that with experience things speed up considerably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 About a year. But I'm never in a rush to finish them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I can dream up these darn guitars much much faster then I can build them. My JS-7 build must be running into it's second year now. As it is/was my first build...........it doesn't bother me so much. Yes, I want to have it finished. But I'm not willing to cut corners. The quality of the end product is all that matters, besides the building experience in it self. The route is in this respect more important then the destination. Fast building does not mean good building. IMO- It is better to take a year to build an outstanding guitar. Rather than 12 basic average quality guitars. In a few years you can have a room piled to the rafters with average or a handful of knock out instruments that are outstanding to behold. Some of the best new builders I have seen have a small number of top notch builds under their belt. Take your time and challenge yourself to build the best. I agree with this completely. Although see that with experience things speed up considerably. Yes, with experience I think you can go faster. A lot of that comes from tooling, jigs, refining what methods work best for you, and skill with tools. I find in my case try to do something new and more challenging each time, but when I go back and build something very similar to what I had built before. It is much quicker. About a year. But I'm never in a rush to finish them. There is many years of experience talking. A guitar best not get caught speeding in Drak's castle. It would most likely get a one way ticket to the WOD. No mercy , and only the best survive . Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I think my average turnaround is about 1 year as well. But I'm a slow builder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Brian Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 It took me a year to do my 8. I only got to work on it 4 hours a week for 4 months, and then nothing for about another 4. When i got into my actual shop, i completed it in under a month, with about 30 hours additional tacked on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 This thread is making me feel a WHOLE lot better about my own progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 First one, 12 months. Second one 3 months because I was on a schedule. Both only had about 60 hours of work in them though. My newest is already a month into it and there's not much to show for it except some glued up parts. Why is it I spend more time reading these forums instead of building? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 Why is it I spend more time reading these forums instead of building? It's a paradox, my friend. We join the forum to learn how to build guitars, and then we end up spending all of our time reading the forum rather than actually building... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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