Beginner Builder: What Tools Do I Need?

[Ken Kaniff]

Hey everybody.

I've been playing guitar for a year and a half, and love it. Dedicated, and I play everyday. I've always wanted to build my own too. I have a wood shop in the basement, but have never attempted anything of this caliber before.

All I'm thinking of is a simple, solid body electric guitar. The hardest part seems to be the neck. What tools will I need to build this? I would like to do this for as cheaply as possible (obviously) Is it worth attempting? Can this be done?

Thanks everyone.

Rock On!

[Buter]

Hi Ken

Martin's site

Melvyn's book

Project Guitar tutorials forum

Acquaint yourself with the above and you should have very few basic questions left. There are some amazing builders on here who can answer your tougher questions or provide clarification to anything you're struggling with.

Guitar building isn't that difficult and it's great fun, enjoy!

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers

Buter

[verhoevenc]

Or send me your email address in a PM and I'll email you the ebook I wrote that shows you can build a guitar in college dorm like conditions with just a drill press, router table, and a couple hand tools and some ingenuity.

Chris

[avengers63]

I'm working under the assumption that you have a reasonably equipped wood shop with the "basic" power tools or the hand-held tools that can perform the same task (IE: bandsaw vs. jig saw), and that since you have a shop that you also have at least basic woodworking and joinery skills.

The only extra tool you'd need is possibly a deadblow hammer for fretting and a hyper-accurate way to measure fret placement. If you don't have any decent sized rasps ot a spokeshave, you'll need to get them (or something similar) to shape the neck.

Whenever you decide to get some lutherie-specific tools, don't get sucked into the notion that you have to get them from Stew-Mac or LMII. Except for things like slotting templates, there's a LOT that can be found elsewhere for a lot less money.

[padbug]

I'd hate to hi-jack a thread, but this is a fairly similar question and in itself not worth a thread, so I hope noone minds!

I'm in a similar position to the OP but without the woodshop. I have little experience with woodwork but am keen to have a bash anyway, and I'm under no illusions that it will be a long time before I'm building more than a guitar every two years in my spare time. Also, with space and cash being big factors, I can't/don't feel inclined to shell out for a fabulously equiped cupboard, not that I'm going to scrimp on a necassary tool if it gets the job done right.

To that end, thought it may sound like a ridiculous question, can anyone recommend an alternative hand tool to a band saw? My first planned guitar is a neck through V, so I've two 1 3/4" thick mahogany triangles to cut as well as, most importantly, the neck from it's blank. Given how little of the blank the neck itself comprises I'm rather precious about hacking it to peices a bit at a time with a hacksaw and I recognise the value in a band saw at this point but I cannot afford it. I mean at the first fret I'm cutting a 2" thick maple oblong down to 0.8" :S it's a bit daunting! I have a jigsaw but I'm not confident in the length of the blade and the power of the tool to cope, and the drawn-out profile of the angled head stock is looking very delicate at this point!

Any extra arm work and elbow grease needed to compensate is not an issue in the slightest, but I don't want to compromise on quality in the long run

[Geo]

can anyone recommend an alternative hand tool to a band saw?

I have a jigsaw but I'm not confident in the length of the blade and the power of the tool to cope, and the drawn-out profile of the angled head stock is looking very delicate at this point!

Any extra arm work and elbow grease needed to compensate is not an issue in the slightest, but I don't want to compromise on quality in the long run

Have a little more faith in your jigsaw! Just make sure you use a new blade. I find that 10 TPI (teeth per inch) blades work best for cutting hardwood more than ~1/2" thick. The blade should be about 3" long.

I use an old Black and Decker jigsaw (so old it's orange, not black!). It's gotta be from the 80's. It hasn't failed me yet (although I have heard stories of them exploding). I have cut out about 5 guitar bodies and neck profiles with it--probably gone through about that many blades.

The trick with the jigsaw is not to push it. Let the teeth do the cutting, not your arm. If the saw gets stuck and you see black sawdust, back off, you're burning the wood. Go slow, practice, and leave about 1/8" around whatever cut you're making, because the saw won't cut perpendicular to the top surface of the piece (the blade swings from side to side).

[ihocky2]

+1 to what Geo said on the jigsaw. I made several guitars without a bandsaw.

Keep an eye on your local Craigslist and yardsales. You'll need to do some research on what are good tools and how to tell if a used tool is still on good condition, but there are plenty of bargains to be had if you are patient. But remember, if it looks like a lemon, smells like and lemon and tastes like a lemon, it is a lemon not a cherry. If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

[MrValentine]

for cavities use a chisel...it builds character

[willliam_q]

I got a bandsaw in Gumtree belfast for £60! bargain. Local ads really can be the best to get decent kit. There is very little specialist guitar making tools that you actually need. The first guitar I built was built using a jigsaw, cheap router, surform and sand paper. I cut the fret slots with a hacksaw. Admittedly it wasn't a very good guitar, but it was playable and only cost me very little to build.

[Mattia]

What the rest have said. 'Essential' basic power tools are, in my book, a router (preferably one that takes a 1/2" shaft bit) and a jigsaw, as well as a corded drill for a variety of things. Access to a drill press only required for a few odds and ends. Add a rasp, scraper and sandpaper and you've got the bare essentials. At that point, simply buy tools as you find you need them, rather than equipping an entire workshop with tools you're not quite sure what to do with.