JayT

18 hours ago, JouniK said:

Nice to hear.

Neck came without installed dot inlays because I ordered the neck without them since normally they would have installed white dots. I wanted just black neck/fretboard. As I understood their molding process the inlay holes are fixed in their mold casts.

At the current state of the build where I am now they are in place. but I have not yet posted the photos about those stages. I will in the following days.

So how did you get them flush smooth without having to sand the whole fingerboard? Or at least not without scuffing it all up. Did you have to re-sand every fret that has an inlay?  Forgive my ignorance here, but I can't image how that is possible otherwise.

Your contouring is looking awesome, this thing is going to be pretty slick. 

7 hours ago, willliam_q said:

Looks good, definitely doing the right think buying as you go.

you don’t need as many tools as you might think, especially when watching YouTube videos etc.  Most of the guys on there have thickness planers, jointers, large belt sanders, router tables, circular saws etc. All expensive kit but you don’t need any of it.  It just takes a hell of a lot longer without.

with the right preparation you can get away with a jig saw (or ideally a small cheap bandsaw) a hand plane, hand saw, router with a selection of bits, drill and bits, and some fretting tools like a fret levelling file, fret slotting saw etc.  Nut slotting filed unless you get a Floyd locking nut.

look for second hand power tools, I got myself a 8” band saw for £60 and haven’t had the need to upgrade. 

my router is a Bosch router that I picked up on eBay.

Thanks! I lucked out mostly on the tools, I already had the basics (jigsaw, tablesaw, mitersaw, drill, most handtools) and I picked up a decent (yet older) router and basic router table (with 4 bits) for $40 off CraigsList. A guy a work gave me a 9" Bandsaw more or less, I have to give it back if he ever needs it but he hasn't used it in 10 years and has no plans to. It needed a new blade and a tune-up...that was 2 nights of frustration but it helped a lot. All of the various "guitar tools" needed aren't very expensive...I'm getting by with less expensive off-brands mostly. $15 here, $20 there. Also SEARS is closing down here and all tools are all on clearance, good deals for clamps and such.

The thickness planer was essential for me, hand planning just isn't something I took to. After messing up 2 blanks I borrowed an electric hand planer with even worse results. I broke down a bought a new Wen 12.5" planer for $299 after 3 failed attempts at acquiring a used one. They are in demand around here I guess, like gone in minutes of being advertised...hobbyist level ones anyway.  But that night I played poker with work buddies and won $200 so that helped

The last "big" tool I'd like to get is a drill press, a bench-top. I'm waiting for sales after the holidays, figure I can get something for around $100 or less.

...and I don't have most of the proper tools (yet). Oh, also the "exotic wood" lumber place I buy materials from is so confusing I'm not sure what I even bought. At least I know what a board-foot is now...more or less.

But I'm determined to make a guitar still, here's where I am so far. Well, I figured I make 2 first guitars at the same time...my logic being I'd be able to immediately apply lessons learned from inevitable mistakes.

I settled on this design, figured I'd keep it simple as possible...close to Tele specs & construction. 

A little odd looking but I like it...and I finally had move off the drawing board after a month of "tweaking" -- Haven't really settled on the switch & knob placements but will work that out once I can lay he parts out on an actual body. For these first attempts I'm pretty much got the cheapest tuners, bridges, and pickups that Amazon offers (as long as they had decent reviews). My focus at this point is learning basics of building, learning the tools and making something somewhat playable.

Here are the body & neck templates. First I made some out of 1/8 inch pressed board then flush cut 3/4 inch mdf versions...

...this took a while...here are my false starts, screw ups and reject neck templates >>

Why is it so difficult to sand a perfectly straight edge? I figured it out eventually. And got to know some new tools & techniques pretty well. Time well spent, and spent again.

So, I finally bought some wood. For necks...African Limba? Some other kinds, who knows...the place was overwhelming and I had no idea what I was looking at. But I made it home with materials that the lumber guy assured me would be "just what I need"

Thanks to this site, YouTube, and many other resources I began making the jigs to be able to make fret boards and necks. Yeah I'm still working on these...but making progress. They're starting to look like something. 

This is an expensive hobby BTW. I'm buying tools as I go so not too bad all at once...that is if I can't figure out some cockamamy way to use the wrong tool. There was no way around needing a thickness planer, that was the most expensive purchase so far. 

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Just started carving/shaping the neck tonight...I'll update when I have something to show. I know I'm the definition of a rookie at amateur hour, but gotta start somewhere!

OK, these are crazy in the best way. I'm new here and have no idea what skill level you have...but if you pull off anything close to those renderings I'll have to reconsider guitar building as my new hobby. Godspeed to you, sir!

It looks factory finished. Maybe I will go with the Stewmac nitro after all...I was leaning towards shellac over acrylic paint but now not so sure. Was the curing time reasonable? I've flawed everything I've ever painted because I can't resist touching the project too soon

Nice job so far. I don't have much to add as far as advice, but it is interesting to see another first-timer's progress. I can relate to every single one of your "learning moments' ... my dreams (fantasies) of crafting the perfect guitar on my first build went out the window on my first cut. 

Question, are the fret inlay dots not in yet? Or does it just look that way in the pictures since they're black? 

Amazing work. Really inspiring, and of course a bit intimidating for someone new to building. Too much good stuff to single out any one part out to praise.