Luthier wannabe! - tool help

[ToastyMagician]

hi guys,

so i want to start building guitars and ive been modding and working on on my existing guitars for years, i know the basic theory and i figured id try building my own guitar from scratch (NOT from a kit)

Pretty much im a complete noob when it comes to this and and im just looking for any advise, what tools would be ideal and anything to avoid doing.

Cheers

 

[greekdude]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

That's hard unless you are a skilled carpenter and have the premises to do the job.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

hi guys,

so i want to start building guitars and ive been modding and working on on my existing guitars for years, i know the basic theory and i figured id try building my own guitar from scratch (NOT from a kit)

Pretty much im a complete noob when it comes to this and and im just looking for any advise, what tools would be ideal and anything to avoid doing.

Cheers

The basics are soldering iron, a set of screw drivers, a ruler that goes to mm or 1/32", and some allen keys. If you want to get more into it, such as crowning frets or truss rod adjustments, Stewmac has what you need. But you probably already know that as you have been modding for a while. Since you want to build your guitar from scratch, you need a whole lot of wood working tools that I forget the name of. The must important things are wood clamps, routers, and the routing templates that go with them. Again, a lot of that can be found at Stewmac.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

If you want real advice from working luthiers, log on over at the Official Luthier's Forum....

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/

 

[Mincer]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

Yeah, forums are a great source of info, and there are also several DVD sets available. But in the end, it is like any other trade. It is best to apprentice with a master. You'll learn the right way to take shortcuts, and save a lot of time, and make fewer expensive mistakes. You'll learn what tools are indispensable, and how to properly use them.

 

[ToastyMagician]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

Cheers guys! I'll start saving for tools, as it happens i do know a very good luthier (check out empire guitars) based not too far from me who gave me a book on guitar building and ive been perstering him for a while

 

[Discharged]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Trade_Secrets/

If you don't know anything, that's the best source for beginners. And it's free!

http://catalog.stewmac.com/app.php?RelId=6.11.5.0.2

And don't forget to download StewMac's catalogue. :cool2:

/Peter

 

[jeremy]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

by from scratch, you mean from boards? do you have a table saw, band saw, router and/or router table, thickness sander or planer, belt sander, or drill press? i use all those things when i build a guitar from boards and probably a few others im forgetting. there are plenty of ways to get things done but some take significantly more time and effort if you dont have the right tools

 

[AlexR]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

^Not to mention that all the fretboard/fretting tools you need will have to come from specialty stores.

You can probably budget for $2000+ in tools all up.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

to get all the stuff you want, youd spend potentially way more than that but, as i said, there are lots of ways to do things so if you have lots of time but not so much money there is usually a way to get it done

 

[AlexR]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

^ I think you might be able to buy the budget tools and get close......but by the time you get the ancillary stuff for say inlay cutting, consumables like sandpaper and make jigs then yes, I agree that you would spend a quite a bit more.

Plus the actual cost of the materials too. At the extreme of price, when I do a burst clone (buying all period accurate components) I usually budget for $2k Aus for all the materials for 1 guitar.

 

[ToastyMagician]

Re: Luthier wannabe! - tool help

Cheers guys, here in the uk 2nd hand tools are quite cheap and usually still work, i think the big costs will the router and jigsaw as most of the other jobs can be done by hand and a load of elbow grease. Im not so worried about the material costs though as that will different from guitar to guitar and for my first build im going cheap and chinese for the pups & hardware (if the guitar turns out good ill upgrade)