StewMac OM kit - Finished!

[srick]

I purchased a used Grizzly laminate router off of Ebay thinking I could save a few bucks. After all, I was going to be cutting thin pieces of wood and giving it very little workload. Well, the beast drove me crazy. The bearings weren’t entirely concentric, The start up torque totally threw me off, etc. the final straw was when I put in my brand new StewMac router bit and discovered that the depth of the collet was way too shallow. Needless to say, it was unusable - it would have destroyed the guitar.

Off to the toy (uh tool) store for a Bosch Colt. Holy cow. Night and day. This is one nice router - Bosch knows what they are doing.

A life-lesson has been learned once again.

[phavriluk]

Been there, done that - - - on purpose. I bought a HF router which I suspect is a littermate to that Grizzly router so dear to your heart, for the dedicated purpose of permanently installing a quarter-inch flushcutting router bit with a lower bearing to use to trim the back/soundboard overhangs. It works just fine for that job and for the twenty-five bucks it cost me, I welcome the convenience of having the tool ready to use whenever I want to use it. While the bearings are lousy it's way more useful than a Dremel and it was cheap.

[Fathand]

My first trim router I paid $26 Cdn on Amazon, I still use it in my binding jig and my fretboard radius jig. It works fine in those applications.

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I didn't think it was powerful enough for body routing and pickup cavities in an ash telecaster so I bought the Makita 1701C, it was a big improvement so I wound up also buying a Chinese copycat on amazon for about 1/2 the price. I really can't tell the difference between those 2, even the accessories will swap. My old 1980 1 HP Black and Decker will outwork any of them though.

[srick]

Who needs a cardiac stress test at the doctor’s office? I’ve got a palm router and big honkin’ StewMac binding cutter with bearings that can destroy the last few weeks of work in mere seconds! I can see how this would get old really fast. The Fleischmann Style jig looks more attractive by the minute.

Once again, the star of the day is my roll of double stick tape. I used it to increase the surface area of the router plate (added a piece of lexan), make a temporary plug for the dovetail recess, used it to hold onto small pieces, and oh, so much more. Second star of the day was the StewMac bit with bearings. It made it unlikely, albeit still possible, to mess up the depth of cut. Third star was again, the Colt router. It was money well spent.

One hint I would give every newbie is to make sure that you put either a star washer or a lock washer under your adjusting knobs. This gives a little added insurance against something going loose from vibration at just the wrong time.

[TomB'sox]

You are really into this baby 100% Rick! How much has that kit cost now LOL!

When doing my student build, we never tapped the top when carving the braces. I did it for a photo and that was it. Now once the box was glued and before the binding channel was routed out, the entire box was tapped and it sounded like a big bass drum with the back higher pitched than the top, about 4 notes higher to my ears. That is where the money is!

[srick]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

You are really into this baby 100% Rick! How much has that kit cost now LOL!

I've been meaning to check that out Tom. With luck, I have everything else I need to complete the guitar except finishing material (unless I go with shellac, which I have on hand).

At this moment, the box is getting bound and soon, I will move on to the neck and fretboard.

And the total that I have spent (Including a new cordless drill, router, router that wasn't good enough, jig that wasn't good enough, things that I may not have really needed) is......


the total is.........




$1580.73 ($644.52 of that is from StewMac); This does not include mileage to Harbor Freight, Coastal Tool, Home Depot, Lowe's and Ace hardware.

The kit cost $650. Honestly, I'm not surprised by that number in the least. It's one of the reasons that I have never taken this hobby full on. But, now I have plenty of tools and knowledge for #2.

Rick

[phavriluk]

You won't believe how inexpensive making a guitar can be if one stays away from Stew-Mac and the 'advice' of fashionistas.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by phavriluk

You won't believe how inexpensive making a guitar can be if one stays away from Stew-Mac and the 'advice' of fashionistas.

I would. Biggest savings seems to be cutting one's own wood and not chasing down a rabbit hole of making an exact copy of a pre-war, _________ ______ , fill in blank.

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by srick

I've been meaning to check that out Tom. With luck, I have everything else I need to complete the guitar except finishing material (unless I go with shellac, which I have on hand).

At this moment, the box is getting bound and soon, I will move on to the neck and fretboard.

And the total that I have spent (Including a new cordless drill, router, router that wasn't good enough, jig that wasn't good enough, things that I may not have really needed) is......


the total is.........




$1580.73 ($644.52 of that is from StewMac); This does not include mileage to Harbor Freight, Coastal Tool, Home Depot, Lowe's and Ace hardware.

The kit cost $650. Honestly, I'm not surprised by that number in the least. It's one of the reasons that I have never taken this hobby full on. But, now I have plenty of tools and knowledge for #2.

Rick

Hehe - I'm on #3 but started a spreadsheet for #4 so that I can begin to get an idea of what to charge. I could probably do the same with #3 by going into my order history at StewMac, LMI, etc. I also need to figure in the cost of jigs, both purchases and ones I've made.

[srick]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

Hehe - I'm on #3 but started a spreadsheet for #4 so that I can begin to get an idea of what to charge. I could probably do the same with #3 by going into my order history at StewMac, LMI, etc. I also need to figure in the cost of jigs, both purchases and ones I've made.

Honestly Neil, I don’t know how luthiers can make a living building custom guitars. I can do the math. It makes me appreciate my Fairbanks 35 oh so much more.

[srick]

Binding- it’s an interesting job. And it seems it’s all worth it as you scrape, scrape, scrape it down. The beauty of the body begins to appear and the little defects that you had noticed are not as apparent. Time to put the box aside and work on the neck.

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[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by srick

Honestly Neil, I don’t know how luthiers can make a living building custom guitars. I can do the math. It makes me appreciate my Fairbanks 35 oh so much more.

Well, the joke on the luthier message boards is similar to other passions: "who do you become a millionaire? Start with $2M."

Personally I see as a way of paying my guitar karma forward. Most of the guitars I've owned over the years were actually gifts. My teenage son has shown some support in my "obsession" (his mother's word, not his) and mentioned that a friend of his wants to learn to play. I don't know if I would have the patience to try and teach him how to play but another part of me sees an opportunity to build a kit (even if it's one of those Stewmac kits where the body is already done and it just needs binding) to refine my skills and have someplace it can go.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

Well, the joke on the luthier message boards is similar to other passions: "who do you become a millionaire? Start with $2M."

. I don't know if I would have the patience to try and teach him how to play but another part of me sees an opportunity to build a kit (even if it's one of those Stewmac kits where the body is already done and it just needs binding) to refine my skills and have someplace it can go.

There are some really low priced kits like that with pre built bodies. I have done a $19 and $32 uke kit before tackling scratch built guitars. Might be a way to build interest.

[srick]

I never dreamed in a million years that I would be taking a photo of a guitar at this stage in my basement. It’s a wonderful feeling and I am beginning to understand the addiction!

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[srick]

The breadth and depth of skill needed to build a guitar continues to astound me. And right now, the goal is to get it together and hope that it sounds good. The last week has been spent refining my French polish technique. In the past, I have fp’ed small repairs, but never a whole guitar.

After several steps forward and several steps back, I’m getting there:

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Note that the top is ‘in progress’. I am on break!