Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all. I've just been researching making guitars for a few days. I'm thinking about getting into the craft. I guess my first questions (I'm sure there will be more if I decide to dive into this) would be where I could get large amounts of information on the web and what books would be particularly helpful.

Amazon recommends Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology: A Complete Reference for the Design & Construction of the Steel-String Folk Guitar & the Classical Guitar. Is this something that would be useful at my level (complete incompetence)?

My woodworking background is not extensive, though I have made some handmade longbows in the past. I fully expect my first guitar to be a complete train wreck, but I enjoyed working wood for the bows and I think I would enjoy making guitars as well.

Any help, information, or guidance would be great.

That's as good a book as any and this forum is also one of the best.

Matty: An excellant book,get it and read it from cover to cover,then reread it. If there are areas you have trouble with search the archives and /or ask questions here. Get a catalog from LMI and StewMacto get familiar with materials.Look at the woods that the sponcers here have in stock.Two way to get started, build a kit with some of the work done for you or build from scratch.You have to make the call on that based on your comfort level.I think most of the folks here started out building from scratch.Lots of work to do and tools to aquire before you start.Read the posts here for a while to start to get a feel for the processes. You may have been doin this for a while anyway.Good luck and most of all don't give up when a problem pops up.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

This forum will be a huge resource for you especially when you utilize the archives. There are endless topics you can search and the tutorial section is excellent. Welcome aboard!

What Todd said and read it a couple of times. If you think your first guitar might be a train wreck you might be pleasently surprised, depending of course what your go to guitar is right now.

Have Fun,
Danny

Try it out and build one.... You may decide it is a different sort of experience than what you thought it would be.... Or... You may get totally hooked like Us!

Just to give you an idea... Over on another forum where they do group builds.... About 1 in 10 people starting the group build actually complete an instrument.....

1 in 10! And that is with the whole group cheering you on...

I have a feeling (But no actual proof) that 1 on 1 luthier instruction has a higher 1st instrument success rate...... but I bet it is not higher than 1 in 3 finishing......

I would guess that Stew Mac and Martin kits bought cold are probably closer to 1 in 20 finish.... But.. Every single one of those 19 had the best of intentions and dreams of finishing it....

So...

The best thing to do is to try it out rather than spending time researching and romanticizing..... Musicians have this image of the Luthier as this great craftsman who can coax magic and music out of dead, silent wood...... The reality is that you spend an inordinate amount of time wiping up glue and sanding and obsessing about itty bitty gaps and ripples in the finish....

Thanks

John

Guitar building is a GREAT hobby. It's also really really hard to get nice results early on. The best thing you can do is to build things according to a plan, using accepted techniques. Don't take shortcuts and you'll do fine!

Trev

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com