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Old 01-13-2018, 07:33 PM
James77 James77 is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2017
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That is a beautiful guitar! I'm thinking about building me a road worn Tele. Electric may be easier for a first'n! I'm thinking anyway.





Quote:
Originally Posted by H165 View Post
Bruce comes closest to the comments I'd have made, had he not already made them.

If you're thinking "HEY - THIS LOOKS LIKE A BLAST!!!", then it is worth a try. Especially if you buy a guitar kit from one of the above-described 75%, and some sort of building guide with it. Buy the best materials you can, just in case it comes out so well you keep it all your life (like I have).

Disclaimer - I did tons of repairs before building my first guitar.

I built my first guitar when I had been injured and was off work for six weeks to recover. There are several pictures of it around this forum and the UMGF.

I used the StewMac video (VCR tape...yes, it's been a while) as a guide. I followed the instructions. I was careful. I bought the following from Martin Guitar: "40" top with rosette in place, a pre-bent "defective" prototype set of maple D/S sides (later destined to become J-65 sides), a dovetail neck blank (with T bar) and block, a bridge, and a fretboard. I got a blueprint, kerfed linings, tuners, bindings, and purflings from Stewmac.

I used two tools not ordinarily found in a hobbyist wood shop - a dial caliper and a binding channel cutter for my router.

There are endless resources for building. Frank Ford's repair website is one; Bryan Kimsey's is another. Repairs are much harder than building, and these websites give you a detailed look at many procedures used in building.

When I finished my guitar I absolutely could not believe how good it came out. I was like a little kid on Christmas - and at the same time amazed at myself. It is not the best guitar I've owned by a long shot, but it is definitely the most fun guitar in my life. Here it is, 25 years later, still going strong, with no failures and no repairs (not even a neck set):

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