Hello all,
Recently, I got the go-ahead from a friend of the family to use his workshop to build my first guitar. He is a carpenter by trade but has made cello's, a few double-basses and violins in the past and has some experience with making guitars.
He has allowed me to use his shop whenever I like (even to the point of giving me a key) as long as I keep the space I use to a minimum. This is a great opportunity and I have been reading books & doing A LOT of research lately. My father has a great level of carpentry skills so is more than willing to show me things I may get stuck with.
I used to be a tool salesman when I first left college before joining my current profession so access to any specialist tools isn't a real issue.
However I have a few questions mainly aimed at the builders (but anyone with answers please reply
)
1. I was thinking of making a 000 sized guitar, is this advisable or should I be looking at a larger guitar like a dreadnought?
2. What woods are best to work with first? I have never bent wood before and reading certain webistes & books they say some woods such as blackwood can be very hard to bend. I also hear certain tops have a tendency to be quite hard to work with.
3. The shop doesn't currently have access to anything for bending the sides. He used to have a bending iron but after years of use it broke. I have read mixed reviews about these and was advised to get a silicon blanket. is this necessarily true?
Obviously it isn't an easy thing to do, but I have a great chance to use a fully outfitted workshop which can make life a tiny bit easier and besides, I need a new passion for my downtime.
Any other advice would be great.
Thanks. If you prefer to PM me rather than post here please feel free.