WezV Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 I've actually got a piece of Honduran Mahogany lined up at a local shop for the body, guy said it would run about 35 bucks for 2 pieces of it (10"x12"x2") Ill be able to glue 'em together to make the necessary size for the body I want. And I'll probably pick up a nice looking piece of cheap maple for the top. er... no. that isnt going to work grain needs to run the length of the body... you need a piece about 20" long and i would guess 12.5" wide... if you are doing that out of two pieces you want them to be 20"x 6.25" so the join follows the grain and really - slightly oversize is better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Honestly, and I know I'll get railed for this, I would encourage a beginner to buy a neck for the first build. There are already a LOT of things that can and will go wrong the first time out. It may be a LOT more expensive than building it yourself, but it also eliminates about 300 things that can go wrong. You can get away with a slip here and there on the body. One slip in the wrong place on the neck and you're screwed. Consider yourself Railed! BTW; What do you mean by "railed" I've actually got a piece of Honduran Mahogany lined up at a local shop for the body, guy said it would run about 35 bucks for 2 pieces of it (10"x12"x2") Ill be able to glue 'em together to make the necessary size for the body I want. And I'll probably pick up a nice looking piece of cheap maple for the top. This is why you need your book, and plans before you even think about shopping. Two pieces that size are not going to give you the grain orientation or dimensions you need. However, for what it is worth Genuine Mahogany in 8/4 will run about $10 bd. ft.(so his price is normal for the market). There is also the option of a full kit. You can get kits for this style guitar(pre-built neck, routed body, hardware, figured top, carved top and all that jazz) for less than $300. There is no reason to fear making a guitar completely from scratch, but there is a learning curve. What ever suits you from full scratch building to kit or bolt together project, just choose what suits you. If a person wants to continue to build, build your neck, there is no good reason not to(again if you want to keep building). Seriously, the guys who absolutely knock there first build out of the park, do not dink around. They plan well, buy quality materials(nothing wrong with buying in volume or buying the right parts that are a solid value, but avoid compramises in quality), use solid equipment and tools, are self starters, do not need much more than a nudge in the right direction to track down info or materials, do not dodge tasks because they are afraid of mistakes(they do what it takes to plan and exicute well),and are very independant. People who seem to have the most trouble ask for advise about the smallest things, try to cut corners, buy poor materials, try to use the wrong tools for a task, don't make proper jigs or learn to use tools properly, rush tasks, and wind up fighting mistakes or sloppy work throughout a project. You should always keep that in your mind. Keep asking if what you are doing falls into the "knock it out of the park" catagory, or the "troublesome" path. Think of it like this. One guy has a couple chunks of 4/4 Khaya setting around. He decides he will surface them and joint them to make a body blank so he doesn't have to buy a piece of 8/4 stock. That is a "troublesome" path to take. As it will take time, glue, wear and tear on tools, actually the same amount of material(which is really not that much money for the right stock). Then there is the guy who does not plan well and know what he needs. He goes out to buy a hunk of 8/4 khaya for the strat he is building and buys 8" stock(enough for 24" blanks) because he does not know for sure how wide it has to be(wastes money), then decides to pick up a cool looking piece of maple for a cap(again oversized) and never even thinks about using thinner khaya stock since the cap will add thickness. If this fella spent $6 bd. ft. for the khaya and $10 for the figured maple, he could have bought $30 bd. ft. high grade figured maple(or just knocked 40% off the cost of the same material with less waste) with properly dimensioned bits of wood for the same price and had less prep. work to boot. Planning and doing your dilligence will control cost and give you better results every time. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 Honestly, and I know I'll get railed for this, I would encourage a beginner to buy a neck for the first build. Consider yourself Railed! BTW; What do you mean by "railed" Told I don't know what I'm talking about, ran up one side & down the other, explain to everyone why I'm wrong... take your pick. In the end, it's all a matter of opinion. ...do not dodge tasks because they are afraid of mistakes(they do what it takes to plan and execute well)... That was subtle, Rich. I caught it, though. Seriously, that's not me. I just know how sloppy I work sometimes, and I know I'd screw it up. It's not being afraid of making mistakes; it's knowing your limitations. If I were afraid of making mistakes, I'd not have re-married after the first one went so badly. I suggest that beginners buy their first neck not because that's what I'll be doing, but because that's the greatest point of failure. As I said earlier, there are more things that can be done wrong on the neck than on the rest of the guitar twice over. For a rookie at anything, I highly encourage baby steps. A little success can go a long way. Succeeding at making an ax with a bought neck can encourage you to push yourself to make it the next time. By then, you'll (hopefully) have developed some skills and understanding you'd not have had were you to dive into the deep end right away. Remember that learning curve you mentioned. As I said at the beginning of this post, it all comes down to personal taste. Whatever a person is comfortable doing is the right thing for him to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 fwiw i did my first build with many of the same intentions as you (sans bonding and without equipment) my total tally was somewhere around 2.5k after everything was said and done. becuase you cant forget about ALL the little tools to prep the FB and the nut and everything else and in the end the guitar was **** compared my favorite guitar which happened to only cost 500 so really i would not try to build a guitar to save money if your intrested in guitar building...do IT! if you want a nice guitar, dont bother...your end result will not be what you wanted (in comparison to an import prs) anyways, thats my 2cents Kenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 That was subtle, Rich. I caught it, though. Seriously, that's not me. I just know how sloppy I work sometimes, and I know I'd screw it up. It's not being afraid of making mistakes; it's knowing your limitations. If I were afraid of making mistakes, I'd not have re-married after the first one went so badly. Extra subtle I guess. It was not directed at you in any way. When I wrote this, Seriously, the guys who absolutely knock there first build out of the park, do not dink around. They plan well, buy quality materials(nothing wrong with buying in volume or buying the right parts that are a solid value, but avoid compramises in quality), use solid equipment and tools, are self starters, do not need much more than a nudge in the right direction to track down info or materials, do not dodge tasks because they are afraid of mistakes(they do what it takes to plan and exicute well),and are very independant. People who seem to have the most trouble ask for advise about the smallest things, try to cut corners, buy poor materials, try to use the wrong tools for a task, don't make proper jigs or learn to use tools properly, rush tasks, and wind up fighting mistakes or sloppy work throughout a project. You should always keep that in your mind. Keep asking if what you are doing falls into the "knock it out of the park" catagory, or the "troublesome" path. the whole thing was relating what I have seen over the years from new builders. You can go look at some build threads by first time builders and see what you think for yourself. FWIW; I used to have no opinion on waiting to build a neck, and tip toed around what I said when I was talking to people when I made suggestions about making a neck early on. To be honest my opinion changed completely after several people I knew who had held off on necks for their first few guitars were in an awquard spot(because they could not build a neck, never developed the skills.). They could build a fine body, and do a bang up job of finishing, but could not build a complete instrument. It also left holes in their knowledge of instrument construction, set up, troubleshooting and so forth. I really do understand where you are coming from, I had much more neutral opinion before also. My current belief may be too strong, and you may be spot on. Like I said though, my thoughts have developed from what I have seen people go through. My first from scratch build was a neck through bass, so I never fully knew what the difference was first hand. I am going to say this, to be absolutlely clear. I will state my opinion, it is just that, my opinion(I believe it to be true, otherwise it would not be my honest opinion). I will also say this. I am just a hobbiest weekend builder, just like most of you(beginners and pro's not withstanding) and that is about what my opinion is worth. No better or worse than anyone else. I often feel like I should explain my thinking, mainly because there is no reason for anyone to take what I say as anything more than the opinion of a part time hobbiest(maybe if I did this for a living there would be some safe assumptions someone could draw by me just saying it is so, but that is not the case). Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycee Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 Welcome to the forum Tyrs. a nice interesting thread to start off with. Your question shows up your lack of experience or naivity about guitar building. ( not a critisism just an observation) You will not find the answer of how to build a guitar on these forums, you will however find the answers and possible solutions to problems that you encounter along the way. As many have allready said go and get Melvin's book "how to build an electric guitar" check your library they may have it there. That will tell you how it is done and then you will have a greater understanding of whats required. people like Rich (fryovani) and Wez have a lot of experience, they have 1000's of posts between them they know what thier saying as do generally most builders with a couple of hundred posts next to their name. When I get a reply from such ones I know that i'm in good hands. Just check out their blogs or sites you'll know what I mean. Most of they guys here just want to help and a passionate about building and are trying to help the rest of us avoid the many pitfalls that this hobby has. Just get as much info as you can, build your guitar in your mind first then start on the wood Happy building Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyrsFromAbove Posted June 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 Welcome to the forum Tyrs. a nice interesting thread to start off with. Your question shows up your lack of experience or naivity about guitar building. ( not a critisism just an observation) You will not find the answer of how to build a guitar on these forums, you will however find the answers and possible solutions to problems that you encounter along the way. As many have allready said go and get Melvin's book "how to build an electric guitar" check your library they may have it there. That will tell you how it is done and then you will have a greater understanding of whats required. people like Rich (fryovani) and Wez have a lot of experience, they have 1000's of posts between them they know what thier saying as do generally most builders with a couple of hundred posts next to their name. When I get a reply from such ones I know that i'm in good hands. Just check out their blogs or sites you'll know what I mean. Most of they guys here just want to help and a passionate about building and are trying to help the rest of us avoid the many pitfalls that this hobby has. Just get as much info as you can, build your guitar in your mind first then start on the wood Happy building Thanks for the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyrsFromAbove Posted June 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 BTW, anyone know exactly how to get to the "advanced" section of the forum where member uploaded plans are stored? (I found some wood that's going to work out, and I want to get the preliminary template done before I leave on vacation for two weeks.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 BTW, anyone know exactly how to get to the "advanced" section of the forum where member uploaded plans are stored? (I found some wood that's going to work out, and I want to get the preliminary template done before I leave on vacation for two weeks.....) Yes, you need to have made a donation of at least $10 to Project Guitar to gain access to the Advanced section. You can use the PayPal link on this page to do so. DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyrsFromAbove Posted June 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 BTW, anyone know exactly how to get to the "advanced" section of the forum where member uploaded plans are stored? (I found some wood that's going to work out, and I want to get the preliminary template done before I leave on vacation for two weeks.....) Yes, you need to have made a donation of at least $10 to Project Guitar to gain access to the Advanced section. You can use the PayPal link on this page to do so. DJ Thanks, I'll look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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