How would one go about learning to build/customise guitars?

[Tobi]

Having been a guitarist since I was a wee nipper, and having bought customised guitars in the past, I feel it's time I learnt to do this myself
I've dreampt of building my own guitars for some time but cannot find the resources on how to do so.
Any suggestions? I have a project in mind but I'd probably end up making a log with holes in it at best.

[Jemwielder]

There's a great many books on the subject as well as many good resources on the net. Projectguitar.com is one i think. I've never been one for all the setup stuff, i can do it, but I prefer to play the guitar . Good luck on your search and be sure to post pics of the fruits of your labor when you do start building!

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by Jemwielder

There's a great many books on the subject as well as many good resources on the net. Projectguitar.com is one i think. I've never been one for all the setup stuff, i can do it, but I prefer to play the guitar . Good luck on your search and be sure to post pics of the fruits of your labor when you do start building!

Thanks man I'm checking that site out just now

I should imagine I'll be buying the parts pre made, just puttin em all together and getting em painted
Me thinks the outcome will be mighty tasty, of course I'll post pics

[Jaden]

Tobi, you need:
*lots and lots of tools
*lots and lots of wood
*lots and lots of time
*lots and lots of money (which will all go on all of the above)

then I would recommend some books like the one from Melvyn His**** (cant remember the title) but its very good...

and lots of patience

[Nordhauser]

Good to know. Hell, that's the reason I'm in college for industrial design.

[Ki swordsman]

Originally Posted by Jaden

Tobi, you need:
*lots and lots of tools
*lots and lots of wood
*lots and lots of time
*lots and lots of money (which will all go on all of the above)

then I would recommend some books like the one from Melvyn His**** (cant remember the title) but its very good...

and lots of patience

i disagree that you need all that. he's not talking about running a luthier business..

time and patience- yes.
money- well a custom will run you a lot less than buying a high end ibanez..

tools- depends what you're doing, if you're having the neck built by a luthier(that'd be my preference) and you have access to a workshop with a few basic machines like a bandsaw and drill press etc..

..then you really don't need many tools at all, you'll need a sander and a lot of hand sanding, a drill, a router, some basic screwdrivers etc for assemblies, a few clamps, wood filler and glue etc. as long as you have the router, drill and sander you'll be set and you can buy the rest as you need it.

wood- well you'll need as much as you're going to use on a body + a few pieces of scrap for routing templates into etc..

to answer the original question- just research a lot and start trying things imo.
be safe though and always do your homework on everything you do.

[Jaden]

yes, granted some of that is true - im looking at the question from a slanted perspective here - when I buy tools I generally buy with the expectation and associated cost of never having to replace it.

I would recommend putting your money into: (things I wouldnt be without)

A good bandsaw - record have some good deals at the moment !
A good router - 1/2" - the best you can afford - trend/bosch/triton etc
router accessories - guide rails etc, router bits, extraction - the list is endless, get the trend catalogue and you'll end up a router junkie like me - I think I own 5 or 6
a good sander - again -the best you can afford.
some hand tools...

and again Ki is right, hang out at project guitar, the tutorials there are pretty good and the forum is very useful too, most questions have already been answered.

[Tobi]

I just happen to be in the ever so lucky position of teaching at an art college, sooooo I have a fully stocked workshop at my disposal
God knows what I'll create, probably just a neck at first, I'll show you all one day haha, could be either hilarious or awesome.

[Jemwielder]

also might want to check out stew-mac's website. They've got some specialist tools for fretwork and also some resources.

[Jaden]

cool !
necks are harder than bodies BTW - much more work too.

stewmac are very good - they have it all but import duty (ouch)
if I can get stuff from allparts then I do... otherwise stewmac !

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by Jaden

cool !
necks are harder than bodies BTW - much more work too.

stewmac are very good - they have it all but import duty (ouch)
if I can get stuff from allparts then I do... otherwise stewmac !

Well it's more of a practice run really, so if it goes tits up I'll live and try again.
But I'll use those websites to buy all the parts seperately I think, not gonna jump straight into building a guitar from scratch lol.