My name is Phil.... blogging my build as well

[Phil]

Hello all! I am currently building a kit guitar - a 000 cutaway with mahogany back and sides, spruce top, mahogany neck, ebony board. I'm also working on a couple other little projects too (mainly teaching myself to refret on a couple cheap necks that I'm gonna make up a couple bodies for ha ha) and since many of my family and friends live far away, I put together a little website so I could show them what I'm working on.

A little about myself.... I used to work in the manufacturing industry in engineering but unfortunately with the global decline in that line of work, I've found myself unemployed for the past year and a half, and now after getting married I'm starting a job at a call center because that's all I can find. I've played guitar for about 15 years, and love guitars - both playing and collecting. I wanted to learn how to do my own setups and minor repairs and I have a US Strat that needs a refret so I started researching on the web.... I started finding SOOO much info on guitar repair and building, and it intrigued me. Also, a lot of my friends tried to encourage me to do something guitar related for work. Now don't get me wrong, I've read enough on the forums to learn that the likelihood of making a living building guitars is a long shot and will most likely never happen for me, but I still developed the desire to try building a guitar!

Back in highschool I build a Strat with a neck that I got partially built at a local luthier shop, but the process of acoustic building really appealed to me after doing so much reading. So finally I decided to go for it.

Now just to prepare everyone..... the pics you see on my blog might make experienced luthiers cringe and laugh at me.... some of my methods are crude but I'm trying to build this guitar with as few tools as possible and as inexpensively as possible (remember I said I was unemployed for a long time???). Did I mention I'm using a FOAM mold? I also live in a basement 1 bedroom apartment so my "shop" consists of a folding Mastercraft portable bench along the wall of my living room. No power tools (except for a Dremel) and might I add... haven't done any woodworking since highschool! So you might think I'm crazy (and maybe I am for trying to do this) but so far I'm enjoying my build and hopefully in the future I'll have a playable guitar. And once I get hooked on building and get another place with a small shop, then who knows where this hobby could take me?!?!?!

www.philsguitarprojects.weebly.com

I'm not worried about you guys being too harsh to me... I know from lurking around here that you all are great and helpful people. And I'm sure there will be times that I'll have to pick your brains!

Good to meet everyone!
Phil

[naccoachbob]

Welcome Phil. Looks like you're off to a good start. I think a few people here started with very little room to work in and came up with excellent results.
I use a room that we share with a computer, and go outside to do sanding and power tool work.
Keep it up.
Bob

[johnnparchem]

Welcome,

Your work looks very nice. Glad to have you on the forum.

[Phil]

I've made a ton of progress lately. I've got the box closed, and fingerboard inlays done. Check it out and let me know what you think!

[Bruce Dow]

Welcome to a fellow Canuck.

Your blog looks great. I can tell that you have the patience and attention to detail that will make you successful in this project.

Thanks for sharing with us.

I will be looking at your pictures as I attempt "Fretboard part deux"...

[Phil]

I've been regularly updating my blog. Got lots done over the last while.... closed the box, cut the binding channels in a rather unorthodox way, got the back bound..... and lots of pics too!

http://philsguitarprojects.weebly.com/000c-kit.html

[Ken Hundley]

Hey Phil, nice blog, nice jobn on the guitar too! I like your binding cutting tool, good improvisation. That cut you made had to be frustrating, but maybe this could be covered or fixed with some creative inlay into the top? might be kinda fun to come up with a design for that...... Anyway, great job so far!

[Phil]

I forgot to post about it, but I finally finished this guitar! Will post pics soon. Til then I've started on my next project - a L-0 loosely based off a 1941 L-0 - and I'm building it from scratch!

The Slippery Slope strikes again.
Looking forward to the pics.
-tommy

[Phil]

Finally got around to taking a few pics of my completed 000