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I'm a new guy working on my first, but I'm curious how much time it takes a pro or serious amateur builder to complete a guitar. Raw tops to fully set up. Do you try to get some sort of hourly rate out of that? Is it more than minimum wage ?

thanks in advance

Steve

I expect speed comes with experience and the development of tools and jigs and such. My first took me around 100+ hours and that was back several years ago. I would guess it takes me somewhere between 75 and 125 hours today depending on the appointments. Having said that I am no expert and after 25 under my belt I still wrestle with some of the details. Look forward to some of the more experienced builders.

Would also be curious to know how many they have built getting them to the point they are at. I always find it amazing that some build #1 and they look awesome. I see the work of others who are obvious pros and doing this for more than a part time hobby and they are stunning. I am hoping they will chime in and let us know they have 100 - 300 under their belts and that it takes 75 hours to do an average build. That would make me feel a little better about my personal experience to this point.

I have built over 250 guitars in the years I have been building. I do everything and buy very few parts out side of tuners, fret wire and bridge pins. It takes me 40-75 hours a guitar. I do a lot of inlay work as well as custom stuff so I spend a lot of time just looking at the guitar and figuring out where I am going with it. I don't just build 2-3 standard models. Building custom tooling adds to the time. It works out to about $75/hour.

Not sure I qualify as a serious amateur, but . . .

1) Electric or acoustic? It makes a big difference, in my case. I'll answer for acoustic.

2) Depends a lot on how much I decide to make myself versus buy. Usually, I mill all parts except tuners, frets and strings myself. Anything made from wood starts as rough-sawn lumber, from purfling, binding, kerfed lining, rosette materials, backs & sides, fretboards, etc. With all of this, it usually takes 125-150 hours. On those occasions where I had those sorts of things in hand to start with (either when I bought them (rarely) or made some extras during a previous build (more common), the build time goes down to 75-100 hours.

I build reaallly slow, because I like admiring my work and taking lots of breaks. It's a luxury when you do it as a hobby. If I were trying to make a real profit on my time, I could probably cut the build time to 60 hours without much difficulty. It wouldn't be as much fun, though. It might even feel like work. To get it less than 60 hours, I'd have to make a few more jigs.

There are some speed demons on here that can knock them out in no time flat. I personaly don't like to base my builds on time, because each build is different. "I'm not a factory, I'm a custom builder", I like to say. One thing I will say is, it doesn't take me long to build them, it just takes me forever to finish them. I guess I'm not much help, am I.

I'm guessing it took me about 300 hours for my first archtop and about half that for my next four. The first one always means building other things so you can build your guitar.

I've only built two guitars, and I have absolutely no clue how many hours it took. It would be hard to quantify anyway, as much of that time was spent building jigs and molds and such. I do know that the first one took a LOT longer than the second...

I build guitars for fun (I don't plan to sell them...ever...). It's a hobby for me, and therapy for having a real job that allows me to pay for such an expensive hobby. Honestly, the longer it takes the better (a lot cheaper,and fewer guitars to store/find homes for). I'm trying to learn what parts of the building processes I enjoy (building the box for example), and which ones I abhor (applying finish of any kind for example), and try to optimize my building around those considerations.

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Jim Hansen

If your shop is well jigged , you can influence the production time. I can close a box up in about 12 hours and neck in 8 . Finish work will take a bit longer. On average I can make a guitar in a week. The time frame in hours about 40 but it will take about 16 weeks from start to finish till it goes through the finish cycle and you have to wait so long for lacquer to cure .

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I don't make my own necks but do everything else. Takes me 40 to 50 hours to get to the finishing stage. My first one was a kit with much of the pre work down already, and it still took longer. I also spent two or three hours reading and researching for each hour of assembly on that first one.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

My first acoustic guitar was around 100 hours.But that included time accounted for processing the lumber , as i build from trees that i harvest myself.I also process my own pearl from shells for inlays.My nuts and saddles are also processed from deer bone, which i do myself.I only buy the tuners and frets for the guitars i build.And yes, i turn my own pins too.Once all that is done, the assembly takes me around 50 hours.But most of my guitars have fancy fretboard inlays and that takes more time.I do french polish to speed up the time frame sometimes as nitro does take longer to do.After all is said and done though,it's the quality more than the time spend that means more to me in the finished product.When it comes to custom building a guitar,i take as much time to do an operation as needed to get the best fit and finish which will save you extra time in the long run.Also , mistakes can cost you in time spent correcting,so i concentrate on doing it right the first time around.

I've only built one guitar...and like many others, I spent the majority of my time reading, watching video, building jigs and waiting for special tool orders I found I needed after I took on the project......Oh, and just standing there looking at it and scratching my head.
As an artist and sculptor, I'm always asked how much some thing costs....or (this one drives me crazy) HOW LONG IT TAKES to make it. I've stooped to saying "It takes about a case of beer to make one".
Speed is essential if you want to make it a business that pays the bills. As with art work...the more you do it...the faster you get. HOWEVER....NEVER trade speed for quality. Keep the quality and the speed will come.

It is the same rule as a player. If you practice speed with mistakes, you will only play horribly fast. Practice playing slowly and flawlessly and gradually pick up the pace.
Kent Bailey

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Wood Creations by Kent A. Bailey
EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

I have built several (6 or so?) and could probably get one ready for finish in about 40 hours or so. It would be FAR from perfect visually , but it would be playable and sound good. If I were to get into inlays and custom work...oh man...I can't even imagine how long that would take me. I don't think my ADhD will let me consider sitting still that long.

-Matthew

you all look pretty fast. I'd say that I make a guitar in 150/200 hours. I think I'm actually a bit slow but I do almost everything by hand and take time for each steps... and also I'm quite a young builder (3 years) and I might get quicker and quicker