Official Luthiers Forum!

I have never built a guitar before & am wondering the best way to start. I have a garage full of tools & want to put them to good use. I have been watching utube videos & searching the web. I don't really want to start with a kit but is there a list somewhere of all the parts that I will need with good sources to buy them. Any advice will be appreciated.

1.Read this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811806405

2.Ask questions here

3.Have fun

Check out the build threads on this forum, particularly the challenges. There's quite a few techniques, and they will also show all the parts and how the fit together. Also check out Cumpiano's website, he's made some improvements since the book was written.

_________________
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

You can use LMI's Kit wizard. It lists all the parts necessary to build an acoustic.
However, I would recommend a good book on building as opposed to just roaming the internet looking for info. There are several out there, from Cumpiano to Kinkade to Sloane to Gore/Gillet .

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I hope it's a steel guitar!! That would be interesting to watch

First off Tony, welcome to the forum, and you're in the right place.
If you're looking at an acoustic scratch build, this is also worth a look http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Own-Acoustic-Guitar/dp/0634054635/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1390932129&sr=8-5&keywords=make+your+own+guitar
Comes with a full sized plan for an OM style guitar.
The sponsors here are a good source of all kinds of stuff of course.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

Steel string acoustic.......

I think for some folks who are starting off with limited wood working experience, a kit is the perfect way to start. They come with varying levels of fabricated parts, depending on the kit you choose. I did two kits before going at it on my own. That gave me a chance to slowly obtain some of the specialty tools that I didn't already have.
There are plenty of folks with the skill to get started without using a kit. In which case just reading a couple of the books already suggested would probably be fine, along with the help of the fine folks here at the OLF. So I would say if in your research you feel you have the skill to go for it then go for it! Good luck and I hope to see what you decided on soon.

_________________
Kyle

I talked at my wood and she said no way she was goin to be a guitar.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Oh well ...maybe try stamp collecting instead, me hear its less stressful.

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

ATTITUDE! DUDE attitude.

Try talking with it...nobody likes to be talked at.

Oh well ...maybe try stamp collecting instead, me hear its less stressful.

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

Flipo me dear and esteemed friend...

ain't no philatelist would ever lick the gum off a stamp...it would deface the stamp from being in mint condition and lower it's value, don't ya know.

As for ?adma lickin stamps...no way hoser...me had secretaries doing the licken.

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

You're in the right place! Welcome. My own favorite "starter" book for a first guitar is this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Own-Ac ... 489&sr=1-1

For me it was a very good, comprehensive introduction to building a first guitar, including a discussion of the types of tools and jigs that are helpful. (notice I didn't say "necessary". There are many ways to skin a cat, and the gang on this site has tackled lots of them.)

One suggestion is that when you have a question, do a quick search on the archives here. I'd bet that the same question has been posed a bunch of times in the last couple of years. there's a wealth of info here.

Have fun!

Yes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Sounds like you might already have some woodworking skills....? Hope you do, 'cause it's hard to learn woodworking and acoustic guitar building at the same time.

I've done lots of woodworking and usually everything I build is from my own plans and from scratch. But for an acoustic guitar I thought it was necessary to follow a plan - first because the interlationships of the parts is critical to get the right neck angle, neck relief, action, etc. And mostly because without experience I have no way to judge how to brace the guitar AND get good sound from it.

I built a nylon string classical, and bought the instructional DVD, plans, and templates from John Bogdanovich. The DVD was expensive, but being able to watch someone do each task and discuss what is happening was invaluable. Buying the templates saved some time. I slavishly followed his advice for top thicknessing and brace dimensions, and the end result was very good in my opinion.

I also read and studied the books by Cumpiano Courtnal, Bogdanovich, and Kinkead. I referred to all the books to understand the different construction methods, but mostly stuck to the Bogdanovich methods.

I took Bogdanovich's .pdf plans, and redrew them in AutoCAD (I'm an engineer I can't help myself). I found that having my own electronic plans helped me understand how neck angle, bridge height, top doming, etc. fit together, and the model was very useful to pull off dimensions that are omitted, unclear, or wrong in the plans. I also customized the plans to build exactly what I wanted (a classical with a cutaway).

Then I made a list of all the tools and materials that I needed to order and sent a bunch of money to Stewmac, LMI, and Allied. Don't buy a bunch of specialist tools/crap you don't need - so much of what is offered is in my opinion really not necessary. I think I did pretty good avoiding junk; the only tool I regret buying is the string height gauge.

Personally I see no need to start from a kit, although there may be some cost savings if you do (eg. if you have prebent sides and use plastic binding I guess you could avoid buying a bending iron).

Then start building. There's nothing complicated about the woodworking if you already have experience in performing precision woodworking. Bending is probably a new skill you'll learn on the fly, but otherwise just dive into it and a year or so later you'll have a great guitar in your hands. For me the DVD instruction was very useful.

Welcome , I didnt start with a Kit . I have severallllll years of wud werkin cperince ... I bought a repair job off ebay and messed around with that a bit seeing how things were done and read alot . Asked ALOT of dumb questions ..... and started building . LOL

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I highly recommend these online courses.

http://www.obrienguitars.com/courses/

_________________
_____________

EddieLee

Where you start is probably a person thing, but for me, I bought a book and had at it.
The hardest part is getting started. The rest is piece of cake.