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#32
12-29-2020, 06:41 PM
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Quote:
 I mean obviously a Uke is not a guitar.. and a kit is not a scratch build... but I assume that all parts of a Uke build also apply to a guitar for the most part? Is there nothing to be learned about how a lute-like instrument is built by building a ukulele from a kit? I mean... I dont expect to come out of it knowing how to scratch build a guitar.. but I was thinking I would maybe get a better idea of the birds eye view of building. I could be wrong of course.. which is why I made this thread in the first place 
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#33
12-29-2020, 09:32 PM
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opinion
Us junior birdmen gotta stick together....
My thinking was (is) that a guitar is so much more nuanced a project than a uke that assembling a uke wouldn't offer much in the way of experience or skill-building as to warrant the sidetrip and expense when it's not on the road to a guitar. Stew-Mac's recent ad promotes their mostly-built guitar kits, the body's assembled, the builder attaches the fretboard, frets same, attaches neck, installs bridge, installs tuners, finishes the whole thing. Price is right, but it doesn't offer any experience or illumination about building up the box, but covers everything else. But it's a guitar, the first one chases away lots of mysteries, and that would be by my lights a more appropriate increment to learning guitar building. And it sure will look good finished in the builder's hands.
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#34
12-29-2020, 09:49 PM
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#35
01-03-2021, 04:12 PM
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I was a 45 year woodworker when I came to guitars, mostly hand tools and mostly amateur. I made boats and windsor chairs bending wood, and lots of hand cut joinery, so it seemed like a good fit, but still a bit intimidating. I built 2 kits (Blues Creek- highly recommended as they will put together whatever you want), then had them bend sides and supply a neck for #3, then just a neck for #4, and by#5 I was on my own. This was a solid path for me.
The most important thing to understand is the geometry, and having the kit with profiled sides and neck heel cut at an angle helped understand that. I am up to #10 and I have realized that I m never going to build enough instruments to make sense of brace shaving and top tuning because every instrument I build is unique - but they all sound like a guitar - some very very good, some not so good. It is tremendous fun, and I laugh out loud when I accomplish something a little tricky. And I try to do it as much with hand tools as possible. And a uke kit is nothing like a guitar - butt joint with no adjustment, flat top and back - so you don't learn a lot that transfers. I did build a copy of a 1916 Martin Style 3 uke after I had built 5-6 guitars and it was great fun. Ed M
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#37
01-06-2021, 01:14 PM
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Seems to me that kits are for folks that don't have a shop full of tools and don't want to build the myriad of jigs required of the task. I started out building F5 mandolins from scratch using the Roger Siminoff book. I though building a guitar was going to be a snap after 3 carved mandolins. Boy was I wrong. I can't wait to start number two with all I've learned and the tooling in place.
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