Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Questions and answers for beginners. If you have a question, so do most other people.
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koolimy
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by koolimy »

ruby@magpage.com wrote:As I mentioned, I built a deep body 12 fret 000-18. The only problem is that no standard case will work so you are stuck with a custom case at $300++. Mine has been on a stand since 2013 and I have never needed a case. Building a popular shape will mean a case is readily available.

Ed
Thanks for letting me know about that! I have never thought about the case. Of course, I only play at home and my guitars are out in the open all the time, so I'll probably not need a case, but it's something I should think about if I ever want to transport the guitar.
koolimy
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by koolimy »

Sorry about posting the same topic twice, I did not know how the board worked so I posted the same topic twice, not knowing that it had to be approved for review (I was looking at another tab while this post got submitted). I actually asked for this one to be deleted, but will wait to see what happens.

Anyway I appreciate your replies! I'll have to think a bit more, especially about starting off with a non-standard model, but if it's okay for a beginner to start off with such a non-standard model I may go that route.

I also appreciate the reality check! I will probably have to just enjoy the journey when I embark on it, and not worry too much about the destination.
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by MaineGeezer »

My deep body OM fits in a TKL LTD-000 case. This is the link to it: https://www.elderly.com/products/ltd-000-guitar-case

Thickness of the guitar is 4-/2" at the tail pin wedge. I can even put a CD jewel case (about 7/16" thick) on top of the bridge and the case will still close...barely, but it will close. As a practical matter though, a 4-1/2" thick body is probably a comfortable maximum. You could probably go to 4-3/4" if you really needed to.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
tippie53
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Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by tippie53 »

with the virus I took a chance and set up the spray booth and cnc machine. Necks are starting to come back in so kits will soon be coming in on the site. That is also getting a face lift and will soon be updated.
Hope all are well and stay safe
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
koolimy
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by koolimy »

Thanks for that information. It's good to know I should probably not go over 4 1/2 if I go for a deep body OM.
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by MaineGeezer »

Regarding the cost of building a guitar. It can get expensive, indeed, especially the specialized tools. While one can build a guitar with few if any special tools, it sure is a lot easier if you have a few things.

Chief among these is a mold for the body. It can be done without one, or one can make a mold, but after making a couple I've decided that John's $100 price for a mold is one of the great bargains. It's probably worth getting his spreader too. While making a spreader isn't all that difficult, your time is worth something, and do you want to spend your time building a guitar or building stuff to build a guitar.

You can have John bend the sides for you --- much cheaper than buying a side bending machine. While one can bend over a hot pipe heated with a propane torch, it takes practice to get good results that way. It's a good skill to learn sometime, but for your first guitar pay John to bend the sides and have one less thing to worry about.

Likewise slotting and radiusing the fretboard. I don't know what John charges, but I'm sure it's reasonable The last time I checked, LMI will slot and radius a fretboard for about $16. Well worth the money. Again, someday you'll want to do it yourself, just for bragging rights, but for now get it done.

Radius dishes. It's possible to do without, but they sure are nice to have. But fairly expensive, and totally useless for anything other than building guitars. One could, however, sell them through this website if you decide guitar building is not for you.
You don't need many other tools. A thickness sander is invaluable...but a lot of money. Get the top and back sanded to thickness as part of the kit deal. Maybe even joined. Otherwise,
A small block plane
A larger plane
A few chisels
A way of keeping them, as we say in Maine, wicked sharp.
Clamps! You will need a LOT of clamps.
A way of cutting the channels for the binding and purfling.. It can be done with a binding machine ($$$), or a Dremel tool and suitable attachment. It can also be done with a gramil (see LMII.COM or stewmac.com ). I've done a couple of instruments using a gramil. It's not as onerous as one might think, although it does take several hours vs. 5 minutes with a proper binding machine. Speed matters to a professional. It doesn't matter to me.

But you really don't need all that much, if you have John do the specialized stuff. Yes, you should be able to do it in an apartment.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by MaineGeezer »

When you're building it yourself, there is no such thing as a standard model. Build what you want.

I've put slotted headstocks on 3 of my guitars because I like that look. I showed one of them to a guy who got al bent out of shape because "Martin never put a slotted headstock on a 14-fert OM." Well, I ain't Martin. What Martin has done, or not done, makes absolutely no difference to me. I like the guitar. That's all that matters to me.

Build what you want to build.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
koolimy
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by koolimy »

Wow, thank you for that insanely detailed reply! You guys really are a super helpful and friendly bunch here, I really appreciate it.

One of the reasons why I want to build the J-185 is because the mold seems to be similar to that of an archtop guitar. I come from an electric background so building an archtop is one of my long term goals (I know, I should probably complete an acoustic before even thinking about building an archtop LOL), and I was hoping that I could at least use the mold for the archtop if/when time comes.

The radius dishes do hurt. It's almost $150+ for two big, heavy pieces of wood that have very little use out of building an acoustic guitar. I have read about a way to make radius dishes w/o using a router, so I might try that.

I have assembled a kit telecaster, which only required a drill, soldering iron, sandpaper, files, and other basic tools. The acoustic guitar seems like a whole new ballgame, but it does seem exciting.

I really appreciate the list of tools. Do you know where one can find the gramil? I have searched LMI and Stewmac and it seems like neither of them offer the gramil anymore. Maybe it would be better to get a dremel tool, since that will have use outside of just building an acoustic guitar.
phavriluk
Posts: 554
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:49 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by phavriluk »

I infer that OP's reference to a 'standard model' carries an implication of how his kit project will sound if it copies specifications. I'm being repetitive, but that ain't happening.

I like MaineGeezer's comment, when we're building for ourselves, we can do as we wish without being arrested by the guitar police.
peter havriluk
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Acoustic guitar kit recommendation

Post by MaineGeezer »

Agreed. The sound will be its own, and it will probably be good, if the op does even a halfway decent job. But it almost certainly won't sound like a Martin or a Gibson or whatever. All three of my sort-of OM body profile guitars sound different, I like all of them, and none of them sound like a Martin OM. That's one of the exciting things about building a guitar,, stinging it up for the first time and hearing what yoou've got.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
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