ryeisnotcool2

snork dont get bummed out! heck i need a shop! its raining and freezing right now where i live! heres what you gotta do, first make a list of all the tools you need to build a guitar or i'll start it for you, these are the basics-

1. router(harborfreight.com)

2. router bits, a flush temp. bit , straight bit , and a roundover will do, (home depot)

3. sand paper 80,100,120,150,220 grits(home depot)

4. files, rough rasp and smooth bastard cut(home depot)

5. block plane, not nessecary but they help! (home depot)

6. double sided tape for templates

7. 1/4" plywood for template material or lexan(form of plexyglass) from depot

8. tightbond glue(home depot)

9. few clamps(depot)

10. rulers and a straight edge(depot)

this should be able to get you started in guitar building so print it out and give it to santa and you;;e have that whole week to buckle down and have fun building! if there is anything i missed guys feel free to add on.

snork patience is the key! there have been a few times were i get truelly pissed off in the shop and i make myself leave because its not worth screwing something else up because of an attitude because after you do you wil hate yourself even more!

so just take it easy and go step by step and trust me if you get the tools you will be soooooooo happy and they are totally a huge help in th ebuilding process!

i had thesame prob with the template bits funkle, thats why i started cutting as close as ai could get to the body, this helps a lot , also try shaving off the wood instead of taking 1 deep pass just shave like 1/16 at a time on the outside edges, until you roll on the template, you have to be steady but this works also.

i say go for it! im starting out doing it, but its going slow, i have two small local stores that get big names in them and they want to sell my guitars and i havent even really tried to push them yet! but like rhoads said you need to have perfection! and a lot of jigs so that all the guitars are the same quality. and i have been doing what GurrA said i do a three part payment 1st covers woods,frets,bridge 2nd covers,hardware,finishing, case, and 3rd is my profits. wich if yoiu dont have jigs and the right tools your profits will be like 2$ and hour unless you can speed up the process! thats why im looking into getting a duplicarver, cant afford a cnc. but good luck and if its what you love to do you will enjoy it much more! but remember dont let it become a "job" or elese it will be like every other job out there!

yeah i suggested an online battle of the bands wich i think would be better, i personally suck at doing solos so i wouldnt even enter but i can write songs so i think that could be more fun plus it would give a chance for us to hear everyones style . but i dont think its gonna happen

i usually take my magnifing desk lamp and place it about 6 inches away from the inlay once it is glued up, this i find speeds up the process alittle. its only a low wattage bulb so it just keeps the inlay around 80 -90 deg if that, so i dont have to worry about cooking it.

dude dont worry about it! christmas is comming so put a router on your list! you mom could get you a raobi and some bits from depot for under 100$ so ask for that then you will be set!

i agree i dont plan on filling its just sometimes yu have to, but im no expert either! ive been thinking of my next intricate inlay and i think im gonna do a tropical island scene on my bubinga/cannary hollow body

im thinkin a palm tree with coconuts,and maybe a hoola dancer or a tropical fish or something, im getting tired of just using abalone and mop. i want to start getting some more color on the intsrument!

nice job clavin, yeah i just tried stewmacs #20 instant glue with mahogany dust tonight and it works well, i think im gonna start using that instead of epoxy, that stuff takes forever to cure and its to soft for my tastes! the ca lets you keep working about 15 min later! thats the key!

make shallower cuts, this should help, it takes longer but is worth it. i had that problem on some mahogany bodies, just go very very slow! and also it helps if you are barely taking any wood off, so when you rough out the body on the band saw try to stay about 1/16 from your line this will also help.

i agree daveq, but right now it does seem like im selling faster than im building!lol

i think a duplicarver will still be faster but unfurtunetly i wont be able to build bridges on it, and i will still need to have a cnc make me some alluminum templates, but oh wel its all good!

yes file the edges with jewlers files(there the small ones) so that the peices fit perfect and then when glueing into the rout, i put enough glue so that it oozes out that way it fills in any defects and then sand off after its cured

well even if you try out a regular jimi crybaby wah, try a bunch every one sounds different why? i guess because of a little bit different capacitor and stuff readings, i dont know but they do.

i have an old crybaby that was made in italy like in the 60's or something, its really cool and different sounding, also i have a morely wah, its pretty cool, it works of a light sencing diaod it has a nice sound but the only draw back is you cant kick it around cause the bulbs blows and then you gotta replace it!

yeah they are nice ! you should check out what some silly guy did with them exact ones on his guitar this month for the contest! he is sooooo silly!oh and vote for him!

just kidding, these are the ones i use for my "inlayed" strap locks, i had a special bit made so i could inlay them with a perfect fit so they dont move. it works great! when you screw them to the guitar i personally think they suck monkey balls! you have no idea how many basses and guitars i had to fix because there is so much leverage from the strap that it bends the screw or worst yet it sometimes breaks!

thats why i created my idea of reccesing them into the body, this way it looks freakin cool and it will never break or bend!

freind of mine that is in a band that i do shows with just got a full scholarship to juliard! he a drummer and hes quite good!

yeah im not gonna get that cnc, it wont work for me, its to skinny

i guess its back to the duplicarver idea, gotta start designing!

theres alot more you can do with a spindle sander i didnt think you needed me to list them, neck sanding, body edges, headstock sanding, jeez just use your emagination! i plan on getting one this christmas, hopefully? besides why spend hours when you can spend minutes! the quiker its done the quicker you can play the instrument( im a little of an immpatient type of guy but i still try to use patience when building i just prefer to speed things up when possible!) and also unless you really like to sand there is way more fun things to do on building guitars!

i'd like to see a pic of litchfilds way on a finished body?

sounds interesting

well also if you smoke or know someone who does buy them a few packs and have them chain smoke and blo it al on the plastic! that should help, i heard tea works well to.

spindle sanders ae great for sanding up the edges of the guitar! and boyu are you lucky a 250$ card man someone really loves you! i only ever get like 25$ ones. Oh the bosch bits at lowes are also pretty good, freuds are my fav though but are expensive! ive been using carb techs they are fairly descent to.

wow thats cool!

Here is another pic, sorry they are soooo big! i am getting photo shop soon so then i can shrink them down. thanks wes for telling me how to do this.

OK this is my OFFICIAL entry for this month!

This is my RH1 prototype-

IT is a hollow Mahogany carve top, with walnut back. Three layer binding work wich consists of maple/black walnut/bass wood. the fret board, pup rings and truss rod cover are all Wenge.

i used a Gotoh 510 bridge and Vintagevibe humbucker sized soapbars. two volumes and one three way switch.

grover tuners and erinie ball reg. slinky strings.

this guitar has a very nice med. hollow sound with a little bit of a growl when really driven. the neck pup is placed so that it does not have to much low end wich i find really annoying, this has a very nice warm neck position though, and the bridge possition sounds very SG ish but with the hollow tones too. (ive never played a 335 so i cant compare to that?) i finished this off with Behlen nitro laquer i think it was 14 coats? i lost count!lol

i also included a "signature" logo out of one peice of ebony, i dont think this is gonna be my final design though? and i also used a graph-tech nut. the Wenge fret board is very nice! it has an ebony feel but looks beutiful! Wenge is close to the same density as ebony so its a nice alternativei hope you enjoy the pics as much as i enjoy this instrument!

Oh and if your wondering how it plays? well i leave my PRS at home now when i do shows, so that should give you an idea!

well its really easy! i do it on all my guitar tops,there on the guitar im entering this month also, you take a forsner bit wich is the flat kind, i use 1 1/8" for the knobs and i use 3/4" for the switch, then i just use the dremel with a diamond bit to taper the eges a little on the knobs and to cut out the indentations for the switch. they look great! then of coarse you touch em up with sanding. also when doing this if you have your control cavity already cut to depth you can drill the forsner to the depth needed for the pot shafts then go from there so this way your knobs look good and sunken in after your finished carving!

i have a set of gibson gold covered humbuckers with five leads off of them, 45$ plus shipping

well i have a flex shaft and i havent really used it at all, thats just me though. i dont like the feel of it, unless you have the dremel mounted way way obove you the shaft flexes to much and heats up and then puts to much stress on the motor.