Guitar Building 121

[HuntinDoug]

For some time now I have been toying with the idea of teaching a small guitar building class. A few weeks ago I finally started. I plan on calling it "Guitar Building 101 121" (one-to-one).

It is an accelerated class that utilizes Cad & CNC. Twelve to fifteen, 3 hour sessions gets a student a custom guitar ready for paint, with an extra neck for a possible future build, and some radius blocks & cauls. It's a one on one "tandem" format that allows me to complete a build as I show the student how to produce a set neck guitar. The student will get to do some CNC operation, as well as a small amount of programming (depending on their level of understanding). There is also a good amount of old school hand carving as well. The only things it doesnt cover is final wiring, & paint. Here is a loose curriculum:

session 1: Consultation. Design & wood choices

session 2: Tool overview. Process overview & Wood prep.

session 3: Neck and body glue up. Intro to Cad & CNC processes

session 4: Roughing in necks, milling TR channel. Inlay design

session 5: CNC and/or hand carve neck(s)

Homework: Sanding necks

session 6: FB slotting & Inlay (if applicable)

session 7: FB radius & binding

session 8: CNC radius blocks & cauls, FB glue up, & body layout

session 9: Fretting

session 10: CNC body (including all pup routs & neck pocket, fit & glue neck, hand carve body (if applicable)

session 11: Complete hand carving body (if applicable)

Homework: More Sanding

session 12: Hardware installation, nut & string up,

session 13: Guest teacher Dennis Rodderman covers fret level, temporary pup install, fret ldressing & crowning.

session 14: Open lab

session 15: TR cover, control plates, disassemble & final finish prep

I am currently about 1/3 of the way through with my first student, Terry Roark. He's a friend of mine that has always wanted to build his own guitar. Tonight was session #5. Terry & I ran one of his necks on the CNC. The next session will cover slotting & inlay. Here are some pics:

[dpm99]

Wow. I don't know of any other courses that cover that angle of building. That's cool, Doug.

EDIT: It just occurred to me. Why are you CNC'ing radius blocks, rather than just radiusing fretboards with the CNC?

Edited November 13, 2011 by dpm99

[verhoevenc]

I'd imagine the blocks are just for the students to take away for their future building endeavors?

Chris

[Bmth Builder]

Also CNCs leave tooling marks that need to be cleaned up with radius blocks, and a lot of people would go up through the lower grits using a radius block to get up to the polishing grades for mirror finish fretboards.

Course looks awesome though, neat idea doing the cnc side of things.

Edited November 13, 2011 by Neil Beith

[HuntinDoug]

Actually, it's for both. I rough in the FB radius in the CNC. Then use the blocks to clean up & final sand the board. Several years ago I took a class on toolmaking. The project parts we made were actual machinist tools. I still use a lot of them today. The idea is for the student to have enough resources to tackle a second build if he so desires. We initially run 2 necks. If the student scraps one, there is a backup. If not it becomes a motivator for a second build. If there is time in the open lab session, we can even fret the second neck.

[jessejames]

What kind of CNC machine is that? That doesn't look too awfully big or expensive, (which I am sure it's still thousands of dollars, but maybe not TOO many thousands.)

[HuntinDoug]

Romaxx WD1 24 x 36

[Kammo1]

Doug that is awesomme and believe me bro if I were in the US I'd be signing up straight away,CNC is an exciting new venture for me having built my own small one for fretboard inlays and have the big boy ready soon. Would love to have someone like yourself show me the ropes as doing it on your own and from books is a long,long road but that brutha is an excellent service you are providing and US folks shouldn't even be thinking about it but calling you ASAP well done bro and hope it all goes well.

[Juntunen Guitars]

Cool idea. I like how it covers all that in a short amount of time. I'm surrently in luthiery school and it won't be until the second year until we cover CNC and CAD.