Advice for a Luthiery virgin?

[Shanster695]

Hello Seveners

I'm getting super excited and inspired by this forum and am dead set on building myself a custom 8 string from scratch. I am effing TERRIFIED haha.

I purchased a "how to" book from Warmoth and will likely practice cuts on some scrap plywood at work.

Any words of advice for a first timer?

Thanks!

 

[Superwoodle]

Plan everything out and take your time.


A book a lot of people start with:
Make Your Own Electric Guitar: Melvyn Hiscock, Brian May: 9780953104901: Amazon.com: Books

Stewmac has some great free information:
STEWMAC.COM : Free Information

If you haven't been here yet:
Project Guitar.com :: Guitar Project.com

A couple of tools that would make the job a lot easier:
A router
Amazon.com: 10" Surform Blade Holder with Three-position Handle: Home Improvement

 

[Shanster695]

That is the book I purchased. Those sites are fantastic! Thanks XD

 

[BlackMastodon]

I would practice on some cheap wood (pine or something from Home Depot, just make sure it's a solid piece) over plywood. Plywood will react differently to machining over solid a solid piece. Making routing templates out of 1/2" plywood wouldn't be a bad idea, though, as it will be pretty solid and more stable than MDF.
Absolutely take your time, though, and plan every single part of the build out. Can't stress that enough.
Use this to print out your fretboard in a 1:1 scale and then you can draw a body shape to scale with the headstock and everything and see how hardware will line up with it all: http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/

 

[Shanster695]

Oh a fellow Canuck

That fret designer thing is neat, but confusing and brain-hurty. I have to weave my way through that. The Melvyn Hiscock book should be here next week!

 

[BlackMastodon]

It definitely takes some time to get everything right but it is an amazing tool, especially for multiscale builds, though I wouldn't recommend doing one of those for your first build. Keep it simple.

 

[Shanster695]

Multi scale confuses me, even though I've heard they're amazingly comfortable.

I'll stick to a more conventional scale of a 26.5" 8-string.

 

[BlackMastodon]

Good stuff. Take a look at one of your other guitars and check out the string spacing and the distance from the edge of the fretboard to the outermost strings. This should help with some of the measurements. As for the width of the fretboard at the 1st and 12th fret positions, I just looked at the specs on a couple Agile and Ibanez guitars and though of what would be most comfortable for me.

Once you get the fretboard printed out, glue it to some cardboard and cut it out and play around with it as if it were a real neck and see if it is comfortable. If not, change some of the values and print some more out.

 

[Navid]

Multi scale confuses me, even though I've heard they're amazingly comfortable.

I'll stick to a more conventional scale of a 26.5" 8-string.

NOOOO!
Check this out http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/ and go multiscale!

 

[Necromagnon]

Making routing templates out of 1/2" plywood wouldn't be a bad idea, though, as it will be pretty solid and more stable than MDF.

Not sure. I've bought laser cut template made of professionnal mdf, and it's a much higher quality than market mdf we can find. And it's really stronger than plywood.
Plywood are subject to openings betwenn layers, and I already got a bearings getting between layers, and shitting my piece off... :/

And also, 26.5 is clearly not enough, IMO, for an 8 strings. My point of view is the minimum for an 8 string is 28.5. You're 1 step up to the bass, so the scale must be close to it. With 8" smaller scale, I just can't figure out how it can sound, except with using huge cables as strings.

 

[Navid]

And also, 26.5 is clearly not enough, IMO, for an 8 strings. My point of view is the minimum for an 8 string is 28.5. You're 1 step up to the bass, so the scale must be close to it. With 8" smaller scale, I just can't figure out how it can sound, except with using huge cables as strings.

My bedroom-made 8 is a 31''

 

[Shanster695]

And also, 26.5 is clearly not enough, IMO, for an 8 strings. My point of view is the minimum for an 8 string is 28.5. You're 1 step up to the bass, so the scale must be close to it. With 8" smaller scale, I just can't figure out how it can sound, except with using huge cables as strings.

I've played the Schecter Hellraiser C-8 and it was a 26.5" scale. It was so unbelievably comfortable.

 

[Shanster695]

Also, I have decided to let Carvin make the neck for me.

I am scared of the neck, and for my first...I'll just stick with the body!

 

[Navid]

Also, I have decided to let Carvin make the neck for me.

I am scared of the neck, and for my first...I'll just stick with the body!

You have to try or you'll never learn
I suggest you to do it, maybe do it first with cheap wood.
The second time already goes much better

 

[BlackMastodon]

Not sure. I've bought laser cut template made of professionnal mdf, and it's a much higher quality than market mdf we can find. And it's really stronger than plywood.
Plywood are subject to openings betwenn layers, and I already got a bearings getting between layers, and shitting my piece off... :/

And also, 26.5 is clearly not enough, IMO, for an 8 strings. My point of view is the minimum for an 8 string is 28.5. You're 1 step up to the bass, so the scale must be close to it. With 8" smaller scale, I just can't figure out how it can sound, except with using huge cables as strings.

Laser cut templates would definitely be higher quality than some homemade ones using MDF you buy from Home Depot.

As for the scale, he can make it whatever he wants and can compensate with different gauges of strings. I think 26.5" would be a good starting point as most people who haven't touched an ERG haven't gone past 25.5" scales.

Also, I have decided to let Carvin make the neck for me.

I am scared of the neck, and for my first...I'll just stick with the body!

This is what I did on my first build but I had the Warmoth neck. If you wanna keep doing this then you will eventually have to make a neck but I think it's a good idea to get the basics down with learning how to make the body.

 

[Necromagnon]

I agree neck is the most scary part, but I'm not really sure it's the hardest one, and evenmore, it's the most enjoyable one!
Really. I was scary about building my first neck, and in France, buying a neck from Carvin or Warmoth was soooooooooooo expensive that it was cheaper for me to screw a few necks...
And it's so great to see the neck shape coming to life from this piece of wood. To place regurlarly your hands on it to feel how it grows... Yeah, better than sex!


I really encourage you to build your own neck. Routing the body is quite boring (take a template, start the router, route, and done... ). And making a template is also really boring... That's why I've all my templates laser cut by a guy that do it very weel and cheap (30$ for 3 body templates +2 pickups cavity templates, including shipping).

 

[HaMMerHeD]

For what it's worth, here are some things I learned from my first build.

Buy a pre-slotted fretboard. If you get your fretboard from LMII, they only charge $9 to slot it for you. They offer a 27.5" scale, which will be sufficient for an 8-string guitar. Call them and tell them what you're building, and they'll have some advice about specific boards. For example, their standard board won't fit 8 strings, nor will it fit 24 fret slots at 27.5". But they'll have alternatives, such as a 5-string bass board, etc.

Neck carving is not only very easy, it is very fun. It was the most intimidating process to me, because of all the subtle shapes and changes and angles. But it turned out to be very easy, and has become my favorite part of a build.

You don't need a million dollars worth of tools for this. For my first build, I owned a router, a benchtop drill press, a hand drill, a random orbital sander, and an oscillating spindle sander. I borrowed loads of hand tools and made friends.

Make friends with local woodworkers, especially cabinet makers. Cabinet makers have most of the same kinds of large power tools luthiers commonly use. I found a guy with a couple of 27" thickness planers and a mammoth bandsaw who works cheap, sometimes free, and sometimes for beer. He is even glad to teach me how to use them, maintain them, and set them up. He has been an invaluable resource and a great friend. Don't be afraid to call around and ask.

Buy a router. They're cheap and indispensable. Pawn shops have great routers at great prices. It doesn't have to be Bosch or Porter-Cable. My $49 Ryobi router from Home Depot is one of the most reliable tools I have. The more you use it and get comfortable with it, the more uses you will find for it. These days I use it to shape bodies, make scarf joints, trim necks and headstocks, profile bodies, and lots of other purposes.

Don't be afraid of old tools. Craigslist (or whichever Canuckistani equivalent you prefer) is a good source. I got a 60-70 year old 6" U.S. made jointer for $20. It needed some love, but after investing about $50 more in parts, it works brilliantly. I have since acquired a WWII-era U.S. made 12" table saw for $40. It's not operational yet, but it won't take much.

Go slow, use templates where possible and make templates where necessary. I use 1/2" MDF for my templates. After they're shaped, I soak the stress-bearing edges in thin CA, and they're made pretty rugged.

 

[Shanster695]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is LMII?

Thanks for the tips guys! I'm getting super excited!

 

[Necromagnon]

Completely agree with Hammered post. Exactly what I'm thinking about. And the pride it gives to say "I've done this neck" is really uncomparable, even if the neck is so comfortable as you've expected. And you can always say: I'll do better next time.

LMII is an online luthier supplier. Good stuff, sometimes correct price, sometimes very expensive, but reliable. Check LMII on google.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is LMII?

Thanks for the tips guys! I'm getting super excited!

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