Official Luthiers Forum!

I apologize in advance... this question has probably been so many times it makes you guys sick. However, I did search through the threads and I couldn't find it mentioned much.

My question - Are most of you who would consider yourself "amateur" builders using kits for your builds or are you piecing stuff together via stew mac or lmi?

To clarify, I am not asking what kit to buy (yet). I'm just wondering as I have looking through all of the incredible pictures of instruments you all have built.... are kits the usual starting point?

By the way, really great forum!

Thank you!
Matt

Matt,

Check out LMI's Kit Wizard. Even if you don't buy all of your materials from them, it takes you step by step through all of the necesary parts. If you DO buy it all from them, they give you a pretty good discount on a lot of the parts when you buy as a kit.

That being said, some of the members here sell, or can put together, a kit for you as well. And most will offer advice as well, to support you in your build.

_________________
Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

I didn't start with a kit, I wouldn't be able to afford one, and would consider it cheating! I bought a book, I was given the wood and jumped in head first and when I got stuck asked here Hesh, Todd, and many others really helped me out and I thanks all those I haven mentioned to.

_________________
Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I think its whatever you feel comfortable with. If bending sides and carving a neck intimidates you, get a kit. If you want to just jump in and do it all, then dont. Like Ken mentioned though LMI sells kits that are basically just the materials and you can save money, so thats a good way to go to.

Most of us amateur builders here build from scratch. Many of us started with a kit from John Hall, LMI or Stew Mac as our first.

_________________
"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

There is nothing wrong with starting with a kit, other than the roughed in neck, blocks and pre bent sides a kit is only a bunch of material in a box. The selection of woods is done for you and the chasing of parts is eliminated. I am amused by OLF members who look down on kits and kit builders, the object of this is to create a decent sounding and playing guitar on the 1st time out with a minimal investment in tools. If you enjoy the experience of guitar creation then start buying all the woods and tools for the next one.

My 1st was a Martin kit and I am just as proud of it as the next 4 that were not kits, it sounds real good and has been played by a lot of real good players and luthiers and has received good reviews. My kit was built with tools I already had on hand from my other hobbies so the cost was reasonable, but since then I have purchased many thousands of dollars on tools and tone woods and have learned a lot about Luthiery in the process of building the next guitars. #6 and 7 are in process now, #5 was sold at a decent price and #6 is spoken for.

The last 4 1/2 years have been a great adventure and I have met some of the coolest people through this hobby.

Good luck with whatever you build and I hope you have as much fun as I have building guitars

Fred

_________________
Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

With the LMI kit you get free,a Build a Steel String Guitar DVD, by Robbie O`Brien,which he takes you thru the entire building process .To me this has proven to be priceless.Robbie is one of the finest builders and teachers out there.I still use his techniques everyday in my guitar building.
James

_________________
James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Wow guys..... so helpful! Thanks so much for all the input!

I'm sure I will be asking many more questions. It is so great to have a place where it is okay to ask them and a person can actually get some feedback.

I too am new builder and yes the people on this forum are amazing ( to OLF).

Kits from what I have priced for my first build are in the $400.00. I am not expecting perfection on my first build. If you get a list of everything you need you can get all the parts yourself for around 200.00. That does mean carving the neck, bending the sides, and thicknessing(if thats a word) the top/back.

Good luck, let me know what you went with.
matt

I've never used a kit. Never felt the need.

One can screw up a kit just as easily as raw parts

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

There were no kits when I started in 1970, so I went into the deep end of the pool by default.
The kits available today provide an excellent starting point, IMHO, especially if you get the sides prebent. This will save you a lot of time and money building a bending jig or buying a bending iron as well as providing very good quality materials in a one-stop shopping experience. Once you have built the kit, you will know what you need if you are going to continue and you can plan, build and/or otherwise acquire the the "tools of the trade" as you plan your second (now from scratch) instrument. Choose woods of the more available/less expensive variety for your early builds. Working with mahogany and EIR will give you a good feel for bending and for the finishing processes required. Stick with sitka spruce, too, for the early builds as it is more available and less expensive should a big OOPS occur.

Above all, have fun and enjoy the work. There will be all sorts of "moments" in the process...heck I still have them myself...but they are all learning experiences. And I have always felt that if I don't learn something new each shop day, I haven't been paying attention!
And the OLF is here to help.

_________________
Hank Mauel

Excellent advice, all the way around. I was one of those who just jumped in--but I had the benefit of decades of woodworking experience before I jumped. I agree completely with those who say there is nothing wrong with working from a kit. If you think you might be more comfortable with that approach, then I say go for it! Soon enough, you will be gathering materials for a 100% scratch-built instrument. Pretty soon after that, you will be working on your second, and planning your third, fourth, fifth.....you get the idea. Just do it. Jump in! You won't regret it. Be sure to chime back in and post some finished instruments as soon as you get them completed. You will find lots of support and encouragement here. (Spoken by a non-professional who has found much support and advice on this and other forums.)
Patrick

I built my first from scratch but I think building from a kit would be a great way to start.

Either way - once you start you probably won't want to stop

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Matt,
I am an amateur builder. Given the choices you have listed above, I would recommend you purchase a complete kit from a single source.

Go slow, take your time, be patient and have fun!

_________________
George :-)

I've built four banduras from scratch (there are no kits - see avatar at left) but when it came time to build a guitar, I went for a stew mac kit as I didn't want to jig up for guitars as I don't see building very many more of them.

I'll bet there's probably around a 50/50 split on those who started with kits vs. those who haven't.

_________________
http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

If I understand your question correctly you are asking if amature buildsers continue to build kits past their first or first build, and if not or even so do you by your material the top three luthier supply houses.

I can’t speak for all of course but I think you will find that few armature or hobbyist builders build more than just a couple kit builds. As a rule most that build their fifth or sixth guitar, tend to move on to scratch builds. They may still buy parts bone nuts, saddles and truss rods from Allied, LMI and Stewmac, and even some commission builders will sometimes by custom necks for various custom neck builders. I doubt you will find many commissions built from kits or LMI/Stewmac CNC necks. You will find al good bit of commission builds that have use Hanide Moon, Watkins CNC and other top end custom neck manufacture’s necks. But for the most part kits are a starting point and are fairly quickly abandoned as the builders expands his of her skill level.

In regards to woods most of us that build for any time by wood all over the place. From indipendent tonewood supplieers like RC Tonewood, Colonial Tonewood and many other of our sponcers here as well as the big three luthier supply houses.

I am still working on my first build so that is the extent of my experience. I built this one from scratch. I had a set of plans but deviated from it a lot more than not. A kit is a great idea. It will be much easier on you the first time. If you do go from scratch you might want to take the advise that was given to me. Keep it simple, be patient and don't go forward until you know where you are going. I took 2 out 3 of those pieces of advise and even though I feel that if I had to do it all over again, I would do it exactly the way I did it, I would think about keeping it simple (I did not).

There have been a lot of 2 steps forward and 1 back moments - even some 2 forward and 2 back! I have built so many forms and jigs that I have lost count (more time on these than the guitar itself for sure). This part has been extremely fun and educating. The real reason, that I would do this the same all over again though, is that I feel like I have been squeezed into a crash course on guitar building. I have learned so much more than I ever dreamed possible on one guitar. Fixing mistakes has been invaluable and has taught me to really stretch and think creatively. It might have taken me several kit assembled guitars to gain the experience I have at this point, I don't know, but if you have the disposition for patience and adventure both, you might give it a try. Either way, just know that your mistakes are your friend. Use this forum like crazy. The people here are awesome and will gladly pull you back from the brink when you're there. Good luck.......

My first guitar was an LMI kit. Probably the best reason to start with a kit is that every part you need to make a guitar comes in one box. It will save you from placing multiple orders because you forgot something or didn't know you needed it.

_________________
53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/