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  #1  
Old 09-05-2018, 07:37 AM
ClaptonWannabe2 ClaptonWannabe2 is offline
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Default Ok. Now I am whining. Guitar build.

I badly want to get into guitar building. Is there any cheaper way to get into it?

My main gripe is that I do not want my first build to cost twice the amount I have ever spent on a guitar. 400-600 for a build kit is not outrageous but it is steep for what should be the worst guitar I am ever gonna build. Logically.

Scrap pieces available anywhere? eBay wood?

I understand I will need tools and I have a few. In addition, I have my late grandfathers old wood working tools. I recall chisels and hand planes that I would love to use. I am not sure to their quality, but they are old. I just have to go get them.

I know it's not cheap. Hobbies usually aren't. But I'd like to curb costs on my first attempt.
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Old 09-05-2018, 08:11 AM
tahoeguitar tahoeguitar is offline
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Google cheap guitar wood. Then google cheap pipe bender. Then google homemade drum sander etc.. etc... Lots of stuff on you tube. Theres a forum called MIMF that has a lot of build info.

My experience with doing things the cheap way is I spend $10 and six hours trying to make something, then screw it up devise another way, then spend $11 and five hours, get it done, decide it's inadequate. Then I buy the tool I shoulda bought for $50. Now I'm out $71 and eleven hours of work for something that should have cost me $50.

The stewmac kit is not a bad deal, and if you carefully follow the instructions you can end up with a decent guitar. It will tell you whether you really want to get into this or not. Warning... it's addictive.
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  #3  
Old 09-05-2018, 08:33 AM
mirwa mirwa is offline
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I get in lots of well meant guitar builds that never were finished, the owner had high expectations and unrealistic goals, for the instrument to finally go under a bed or into an attic for many years, only to see the light of the day when their partner pays to have it finished.

If you want to start cheap, build a cigar box instrument, do not underestimate the simplistic look, it’s still a decent learning curve without the bending.

From that you have a grasp of the basics and can continue.

Steve
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Old 09-05-2018, 08:39 AM
hat hat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ClaptonWannabe2 View Post
... but it is steep for what should be the worst guitar I am ever gonna build. Logically.......
Why do you sell yourself short even before you've tried? If you have good basic woodworking skills, and a lot of patience, there is no reason your first build can't come out as a quite wonderful instrument. Bad habits are hard to break, and there's no better way to start down that road than by starting with 'cheap wood, and anticipation of failure. There is a wealth of info on the interweb, any point of guitar construction is thoroughly covered on multiple sites - as well as the great and courteous Luthiers that post on this forum that are always great at offering advise.
Start with the idea that you're building the first of several great handmade guitars that will become family heirlooms, and have fun at it!
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Old 09-05-2018, 09:30 AM
redir redir is offline
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You can do it on the cheap. If you have a good hardwood store near you they are often a good way to get good materials cheap. You can just use domestic wooods. Do a search in this forum for the user 'Printer' who built a guitar from Home Depot / Lowes supplies.

I once built a good sounding guitar for $35 bucks. Granted I do have tools but you can get away with a lot by just using hand tools. Machines are great for speeding things up but not necessary.
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  #6  
Old 09-05-2018, 09:32 AM
JDaniel JDaniel is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ClaptonWannabe2 View Post
I badly want to get into guitar building. Is there any cheaper way to get into it?
Consider getting a ukulele kit, then a guitar kit with sides bent, neck made, etc. These do not require expensive tools and machines and will help orient you to more extensive building. Check out kit building forums for more information. And watch local auctions for more specialized tool/machines. You don't have to buy out StewMac's inventory to build or build well. My first few guitars were built with basic tools I found in my Dad's garage. The third of those I still play today, 42 years later.
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Old 09-05-2018, 12:09 PM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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Tonewood cutters generate lots of cosmetically challenged wood that is fine for a first effort. I suggest contacting the Hampton brothers, who have an Ebay store. Don't be put off by the prices of their items on Ebay, they are fledgling guitar makers who are more than willing to help beginners. They recently visited a guitar making school that is sponsored by the state to create jobs in Eastern KY, which is where they grew up. The aim is to supply affordable domestic woods to the school, thereby helping the local economy.

https://www.ebay.com/str/hamptonbrothersguitars/
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Old 09-05-2018, 10:19 PM
jtww01 jtww01 is offline
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Buy a Martin build it yourself kit from GC or MF with like a discount code. I usually buy mine on 20% off.

You can use simple tools and make your own jigs etc from scrap wood and stuff lying around.

I made one kit in the back of my kitchen ( I live in an apartment with only a small laundry/ yard space 1/4 the size of a small garage) portable workbench, which I lave a quartz slab which is slightly bigger than the guitar's sound box.

tools can be bought online for cheap for stuff that doesn't matter much.

good money should be spent on a laminate router to cut binding channels, as well as the router bit and bearings for spacing.

the rest is up to you to problem solve and create solutions. At least you are in a country with a home depot where you can buy wood, or materials. I live in a country with 0 DIY culture, so, I have to scrounge through shops from metal works to art shops to get what I need.

The internet has a bevy of information just open to you to learn from adopt solutions from etc.

no mold? build your own etc. I made a mold by gluing wooden blocks to a piece of plywood, and used the underside of my dining table and some extendable curtain rods as go bar deck and go bar rods. ( I could only find multi coloured curtain rods, so my friend said it looked like a carousell for fairies.

You can save quite a bit of money if you are quite good at problem solving.
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Old 09-06-2018, 07:03 AM
mercy mercy is offline
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Note that jt only has brand name guitars in his list.
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Old 09-06-2018, 07:27 AM
JonWint JonWint is offline
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I suggest you read the StewMac instructions and decide if you can justify acquiring (or borrowing) sufficient tooling and spend 60 to 100 hours to complete a build.

There are free instruction manuals out there to teach you how to assemble a guitar. Buy a kit with bent sides. Martin sells kits starting at $400. You get 20% if you are a Martin OC member. They used to discount kits. I've bought them for about $280 for rosewood previously.

My first build sounds great. I've built 5 so far.

Stop whining; start reading and studying.

https://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/i-5295/i-5295.pdf
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  #11  
Old 09-06-2018, 08:48 AM
ruby50 ruby50 is offline
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Build a uke first. You can get a kit with pre-bent sides and a finished neck on sale right now

https://www.stewmac.com/Materials_an...lele_Kits.html

It has all of the steps you would do with a guitar kit with fewer mental hurdles. The top is flat, the neck geometry is easy to understand, and I have helped 10-13 year old girls build 8 of those kits and they all turned out great

Ed
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  #12  
Old 09-07-2018, 08:48 AM
printer2 printer2 is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redir View Post
You can do it on the cheap. If you have a good hardwood store near you they are often a good way to get good materials cheap. You can just use domestic wooods. Do a search in this forum for the user 'Printer' who built a guitar from Home Depot / Lowes supplies.

I once built a good sounding guitar for $35 bucks. Granted I do have tools but you can get away with a lot by just using hand tools. Machines are great for speeding things up but not necessary.
Did I hear my name? Yes I am world renowned for using cheap wood, really. A school teacher in Germany showed his students my fence board guitar thread as an example of, well I am not sure what he said about it but he was excited. Check out my build threads, lots of different ideas of getting things done and mistakes on the way to keep others from making the same. If needed there is a thread on how to see the pictures of older Photobucket photos. I have used wood from local lumberyards but they can take some work to get them down thin enough to use. I made a drum sander that is about as simple as practical, also in my threads, but a good plane will do the same.

Since you are in the US shipping is not too bad and a few of the luthier supply houses have second grade materials that are reasonably priced. Some may even sand them down to the thickness you want, one of the challenges for a first time builder. Look up luthiersforum and you will see links to a few of the major sellers. I see a top can be had for $20 and $40 for B&S's. EBay has also been a place I bought wood, some wood being sold as guitar sets are rather questionable in my mind though. I have used worse myself but at a fraction of the cost, say the fence board guitar. As John said, the Hampton brothers might be able to help you out. Look up Grellier guitars and you can find some plans for guitars, a 00 might be a good idea for a first guitar. Use Fretfind2D to print out fret locations.

Tools, you can get away with few but I do recommend a laminate router also, it can get all your router work done for you. I bought truss rods and cheap tuners and fret wire online. Needle files will do your nuts and fretwork, I recently sprung for a diamond fret file to shape the crown but used the needle files previously. I could go on but check my build threads and a few others in this forum. Keep it simple for the first guitar, there is enough to get right without getting fancy. Start a thread and keep us posted and ask questions. Maybe start off by making a baritone ukulele? Cheaper, flat fretboard, no need for binding. Can make one quickly and keep the interest up.
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Old 09-07-2018, 09:33 AM
jtww01 jtww01 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mercy View Post
Note that jt only has brand name guitars in his list.
Not sure what that has got to do with building a guitar actually.
I bought the Martin kit, just cos it was the cheapest easy to do kit I could find, without having to source for components from 20 different places and have it sent to my shipper.

I don't live in a place where wood is readily available.
Best tonewood I've seen here was a few beams of what could have been mahogany that was used to support the ceiling of my in laws house when they rebuilt the roof. gave a lovely tone when i tapped them with my knuckle.

I was tempted to buy a couple of beams off the builder and start making necks or electric guitars.
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  #14  
Old 09-09-2018, 08:45 AM
Carl1Mayer Carl1Mayer is offline
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Its definitely possible to build guitars with inexpensive materials and have them sound, play, and look better than store bought. If you're in it just for fun or want to try out experimental ideas its a good way to go but I wouldn't expect to sell them for much if you use inexpensive/non-traditional materials.

Most of what Ive made has been in the $100-200 range for materials but I only documented a couple of them (an upright bass and a howe-orme guitar)

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/alm...-bass.1194755/

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=493886

Plus finished pics of a couple arch tops and pedal steel that I have less than $200 in each.





Another thing to consider is what tooling you have access to. The price of a soundboard on StewMac looks like a great deal after you finish ripping a vertical grain 2x8 you found at lowes into a book matched soundboard set using only a hand saw.
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  #15  
Old 09-09-2018, 08:56 AM
ruby50 ruby50 is offline
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Ripping a softwood 2X8 is simple and quick. Ripping a hardwood 2 X 8 is three times the work but still only a 15-20 minute job. Is your saw sharp?

Ed
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