what woods to use

[grim83]

I'm thinking about trying to build my first guitar and have been looking at woods to use. What woods would you recommend someone start on I was thinking western red cedar for the top since its soft and cheap but not sure what to use on the sides. Also is there any books you would recommend on the subject. And where are the best places to buy wood from.

[ecguitar44]

Sinker redwood top.

Ancient Kauri back and sides.

Curly Koa binding.

Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge.

Flamed mahogany neck.

Moon spruce braces.

[grim83]

Originally Posted by ecguitar44

Sinker redwood top.

Ancient Kauri back and sides.

Curly Koa binding.

Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge.

Flamed mahogany neck.

Moon spruce braces.

Funny think I might cry if I wreck any of that lol. I'm mainly looking for some ideas that would cheap and easy to work with as a dry run before I try to make a really good one but it still needs to be worth the effort hopefully lol. Thought about sapele back and sides haven't really found much for it yet though

[Mystic]

you should definitely use the kind of wood that comes from trees.

[Tom West]

Grim:
Guitar building can be divided into two skill divisions. The first is the carpenter work, how to work the wood, make good glue joints, make the guitar look presentable, etc. The second is what you do with the wood to make it sound good, thickness of top, placement and size of braces, resonant tones of top and back, etc. The first few guitars is mostly about the carpentry and that's where your focus should be centered.
The Cumpiano book is a good reference to start with for your first guitar.
For wood I suggest Sitka for the top rather then cedar. The fact that Cedar is soft can be a liability because it can be marked very easily. Also to my mind Sitka has a wider dynamic range so to speak in that you can be a bit heavy or a bit light and still come away with an acceptable guitar. For the sides and back I suggest EIR as it is quite easy to bend with a high assurance of success. Just my opinion of course. Good luck in your adventure.
Tom

[ecguitar44]

Originally Posted by grim83

Funny think I might cry if I wreck any of that lol. I'm mainly looking for some ideas that would cheap and easy to work with as a dry run before I try to make a really good one but it still needs to be worth the effort hopefully lol. Thought about sapele back and sides haven't really found much for it yet though

The difference in cost of raw materials for top and back woods is relatively small (for the most part).

Sitka is plentiful and affordable.

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-wood/tops-tonewood

Sitka -- $40
Engleman -- $32
Adirondack -- $60

Back/sides you have more options.

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-wood/backs-sides

Sapele -- $45
EIR -- $90
Mahogany -- $65
Cherry -- $75
Walnut -- $58

[grim83]

Originally Posted by Tom West

Grim:
Guitar building can be divided into two skill divisions. The first is the carpenter work, how to work the wood, make good glue joints, make the guitar look presentable, etc. The second is what you do with the wood to make it sound good, thickness of top, placement and size of braces, resonant tones of top and back, etc. The first few guitars is mostly about the carpentry and that's where your focus should be centered.
The Cumpiano book is a good reference to start with for your first guitar.
For wood I suggest Sitka for the top rather then cedar. The fact that Cedar is soft can be a liability because it can be marked very easily. Also to my mind Sitka has a wider dynamic range so to speak in that you can be a bit heavy or a bit light and still come away with an acceptable guitar. For the sides and back I suggest EIR as it is quite easy to bend with a high assurance of success. Just my opinion of course. Good luck in your adventure.
Tom

Thank you for the advice how would engelman compare to Sitka as far as how easy it is to work with I haven't been a big fan of Sitka usually.

Originally Posted by ecguitar44

The difference in cost of raw materials for top and back woods is relatively small (for the most part).

Sitka is plentiful and affordable.

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-wood/tops-tonewood

Sitka -- $40
Engleman -- $32
Adirondack -- $60

Back/sides you have more options.

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-wood/backs-sides

Sapele -- $45
EIR -- $90
Mahogany -- $65
Cherry -- $75
Walnut -- $58

Thank you for that ec I had looked on stew Mac and they wanted much more for their wood. I will have to look at this a little closer before I decide to start when ever I do as I'm only toying with the idea atm

[ewh2]

Have you thought about a kit?

There are a few here, with pre bent sides.
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com/sho...&cPath=33_1_48

LMII also have some, and if you register and login you can change the stock options to cheaper ones.
https://www.lmii.com/products/mostly...ic-guitar-kits

I'd recommend some other places too. The Luthiers Forum has a lot of great advice, as does the 'Build and Repair' section of this forum.
http://luthiersforum.com/forum/

(the forum above seems to really rate the kits at LMII)

[geordie]

Honduras Mahogany and Spruce will give great results and are good to work with for a first time.

[ecguitar44]

Originally Posted by grim83

Thank you for that ec I had looked on stew Mac and they wanted much more for their wood. I will have to look at this a little closer before I decide to start when ever I do as I'm only toying with the idea atm

My guess is that you'll have a lot of consternation picking your tone woods!

The raw materials for a guitar are quite inexpensive (for the most part). Once you throw in tuners, fret wire, etc. you'll be in a few hundred dollars.

The really expensive part is all of the tools you'll need too. I won't even hazard a guess of how much that will cost.

It seems like it would be really fun...but I've never had much desire to try it myself.

Good luck!

[grim83]

Originally Posted by ecguitar44

My guess is that you'll have a lot of consternation picking your tone woods!

The raw materials for a guitar are quite inexpensive (for the most part). Once you throw in tuners, fret wire, etc. you'll be in a few hundred dollars.

The really expensive part is all of the tools you'll need too. I won't even hazard a guess of how much that will cost.

It seems like it would be really fun...but I've never had much desire to try it myself.

Good luck!

Luckily my girlfriends father who lives up the street is one of a long line of carpenters so I have access to numerous wood working tools and should have most everything I need or something close enough to get the job done. I have been working on a cigar box guitar and have really enjoyed it but if anything I'm sad I'm using a cigar box for the body instead of making something lol. Hand forming a neck has been a whole load of fun and I enjoy wood working so I figure it would be a good night and weekends project.

[geordie]

Originally Posted by grim83

Luckily my girlfriends father who lives up the street is one of a long line of carpenters so I have access to numerous wood working tools and should have most everything I need or something close enough to get the job done.

keep her sweet

[mikealpine]

Not sure how much Port Oxford Cedar is, but it's not really a cedar and makes a fine guitar. Good luck, and please keep us posted!

[ecguitar44]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Not sure how much Port Oxford Cedar is, but it's not really a cedar and makes a fine guitar. Good luck, and please keep us posted!

$70.10

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-...t-orford-cedar

[IndianHillMike]

I'd say Indian Rosewood and sitka or engelmann. Being a good bit softer cedar doesn't allow nearly as much room for mistakes and is harder to get clean rosette/purfling cuts. Rosewood is a pleasure to work with and because it's dark it is much easier to hide burn marks from bending and binding gaps.

Good luck!

Mike