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Greetings All!

I am trying to gather some info. Hope someone has a second to help me out! I'm trying to determine if it would be worth my while to build a guitar using a kit. (Having some difficulty finding a nice guitar off the shelf with the specs I want at an intermediate player's reasonable price range...~$1500, though I'm still searching--OM w/cutaway, short scale, 1-3/4 nut.) I am pretty handy and have done quite a bit of carpentry around the house... not a lot of fine finish work, though. My question is, what is the absolute minimum set of tools, jigs, etc. I would need to have a good chance of succeeding. Assume I have no tools/jig at all and am starting as a complete newbie. Assume time is not an issue.

Thanks in advance!

--Jim

this depends on a number of things
what your skill level is
so lets look at a few things that I feel are needed
A mold
this keeps the symmetry and neck block in location
B clamps
spring clamps or cloths pins for kerfed lining
Deep throat C clamps for gluing bridge
C clamps for blocks
Go bar deck for gluing braces and can also be used for gluing the plates on
C Files
Nut files
Pillar files are great for fret work
Crowning file for shaping the frets after leveling
D router
used for binding and a set of binding bits
E Sand paper
80 100 120 180 220
these are all I use in building
finish work I use 800 1200 1500 2000
then buffing and polishing pads

check out the finish section
here I used wipe on finish and it came out pretty well
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8498

another finish experiment using rattle can Minwax finish


viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8500

Thank you, John!!

PS.. I will contact Dave on the OM today.

Assuming you get a kit with pre-bent sides and a slotted/radiused fingerboard:

You'll need a mold to maintain the proper body shape while you're building it. John sells molds for $95 and spreaders for $35. While it is quite possible to make your own mold -- I've made a couple -- given cost of materials and the amount of work involved in making a mold, I think $95 is a bargain. I made my own primarily because they were unique designs that I couldn't buy.

Radius dishes for sanding the proper curvature into the top and bottom of the sides and end blocks. While you can achieve the required results with a curved batten, the radius dishes make it a lot easier. You would need two different radii, one for the top radius (typically about a 25 foot radius) and one for the back (typically about a 15 foot radius). The dishes are 70 bucks apiece. Again, it is possible to make your own, but it is LOT of work and by the time you are done $70 will look like a great deal.

Those are the big-ticket items. Otherwise, a couple of GOOD chisels and a way to make and keep them wicked sharp -- if they won't shave the hair off your arm,they aern't sharp enough. A good small block plane, a larger plane. Clamps. There is no such thing as too many clamps. Spring clothespins work well for gluing on kerfing. I like the medim-size Irwin one-hand bar clamps. About 10 feet of 3/8" diameter latex rubber tubing makes a great clamp for odd shapes.

John mentions a go-bar deck for clamping braces. My "go-bar deck" is my benchtop and the basement ceiling. I use those fiberglass rod driveway markers as the rods, which happen to be just the right length to go between the benchtop and the ceiling with a good amount of spring to them. You could probably manage without a go-bar deck, using weights and conventional clamps to glue the braces. The go-bar setup makes it so much easier though.

You'll need some way to cut the binding and purfling channels. The cheapest way out is probably a gramil. I've done several instruments that way. It's slow, but meditative, and controllable. There are assorted attachments for a Dremel tool, which work with varying degrees of success, My experience using a Dremel has been mixed. It's certainly a lot faster than using a gramil; on the other hand, one can achieve total catastrophe in an instant. The ultimate way of doing it is with something like a Fleishman binding machine, but that's a luxury.

John has an extensive set of videos on YouTube covering virtually every aspect of guitar building (search for Blues Creek Guitars). Work your way through those, and you should get a pretty good idea of what you need.

Thank you, MaineGeezer! Appreciate the info!

Clamps, clamps, and more clamps! You can never have too many. Harbor freight is the best place to buy them.

I second what John and mainegeezer said. Watch closely here on the forum. You might find someone willing to sell their old mold or radius dish.

I'll also reiterate what maingeeezer said about the chisels. Get GOOD chisels. Don't use the ones from Harbor freight. I made this mistake and did enough damage to my hands and thumbs that it required surgery. They wouldn't stay sharp. Scary sharp chisels are a necessity, not only because they do the job better without force, but for safety. Dull chisels slip and while they may be too dull for wood, they will go through your finger, something I learned the hard way.

I suggest 2 chisels, I used my 5/8" and 1/8" frequently. You can opt for a 1/4" or 1/8", both sizes are useful. Old chisels, esp the old Stankey Sweetheart, are great chisels. I have some old Stanley, as well as German made Two Cherries and Dastra. Irwin Blue Chip Chisels (with vanadium) are easy to find and economical. You'll also need a Sharpening stone.

Thanks Diane!

My buddy is manager of a Harbor Freight. Time to give him a call.

I'm thinking I'll dip my toes in the water this week. Another buddy of mine owns the local guitar shop. I'm sure he has some broken inventory in the basement. Gonna grab something, buy the necessary tools, and attempt some practice repair work as a start. I.e. figure out how to do a fret job and set up, may fix some structural issues, whatever I can do with what's at hand. One big reason I'm hesitating on a kit as my first project is the neck/frets/setup part. If I'm confident I can nail that, I can a) start on a kit, and b) start to do my own fret work and set ups on my other guitars. Win win.

:-)

Before making my first guitar, I bought a project guitar from Ebay for $30. I replaced the top, fretboard, bridge and refinished the whole thing. It helped a lot.

Your friend may have a mold and radius discs that you can borrow when the time comes, to save you some money.

My first build project was a mountain dulcimer. I did things more "guitar-like" than is usually done with a dulcimer (e.g. I put a radius on the the back) to get used to those aspects of building.