Building Tutorials and Links Thread
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bandinaboy
SS.org Unsui
good tutorial, and very informative, but i felt incredible nervous, with the way he breathed and talked... at least until the end with that witty mandolin joke. haha.
drenz
Well-Known Member
That is an excellent video, learnt something new 
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Tritono
Well-Known Member
Im subscribed to this thread. I dont have experience building guitars but since two months Im starting in "refret and leveling frets", something very important to learn to do correctly and accurate. I can recommend the "Fret Basic" DVD of Dan Erlewine. Is a good dvd for fretwork, maybe the better in the market. Some details are missing but you can learn good and useful information. Thanks for this thread and please keep sharing webs and tips!
rasguitars
rasguitars
Great Idea for a thread.I remember looking for all of this the old fashioned way(without the internet).It is a great tool to have the knowledge of others to speed up the process.But I also think you can learn a lot by just trying your own....let me put it this way....dumb ideas as the schooled luthiers might call them.Leads to innovation sometimes. It's all in what you want out of the craft.Some people are happy with building one guitar and thats it.Some never get enough(like myself).Super cool to start this thread my man.I wish I would have had something like this when I was getting started.
endo
Well-Known Member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k08Oxd47IQc&NR=1Hello all. This is my first post, I've been reading the forums for a while. I am going to attempt building a 7 string guitar for my first build this month. I have, however, been looking endlessly for specs! I have no idea where you're supposed to place the pickups or what math is used to even figure out the placement. I am very new to the idea of building a guitar, but have been involved and around wood working my entire life.
Any help with specs would be highly appreciated. I'm not looking to copy someones build, I just want to know what a standard width of neck is at the head stock to the body, how do I figure out how big to make the head stock, placement of bridge, etc.
Also, I came across this and am sure some of you will find it to be a great source of info. I'm planning on purchasing this DVD (which is 3.5 hours long), but I haven't been paid yet, which is why I'm asking for the info I have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k08Oxd47IQc&NR=1
Any help with specs would be highly appreciated. I'm not looking to copy someones build, I just want to know what a standard width of neck is at the head stock to the body, how do I figure out how big to make the head stock, placement of bridge, etc.
Also, I came across this and am sure some of you will find it to be a great source of info. I'm planning on purchasing this DVD (which is 3.5 hours long), but I haven't been paid yet, which is why I'm asking for the info I have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k08Oxd47IQc&NR=1
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That looks like a sweet video and the guy in it has a sweet mullet. That said, your questions can all be answered by checking out some of the resources compiled in this thread. The best ones for those questions probably being the how to build books.
endo
Well-Known Member
Ha ha, I purchased the video (it's not a mullet!), and there is a lot of great info in it, especially if you want your first build to be a neck thru. Secondly, I've been searching, literally for hours upon hours, for the last 3 days. I have still not found what I need, ideally being, neck width from 1st fret - 24th and the string spacing on the nut. I hate to be the annoying new guy, but like I have said, I have exhausted what resources I have for searching and have only this venue left, in hopes that someone will save the day.
-Endo
*edit* I forgot to mention that, while I know it would be in my best interest to purchase the guitar luthier books, I am looking to make a seven string, period. I don't want to buy a book that I'm not sure whether or not it has anything in it about extended range guitars. Thanks again!
The Munk
Well-Known Member
Here is a great resource for Locking nut replacement bolts as well as Bridge saddle height adjustment bolts.
(They even have them in stainless!
)
Buy Metric fasteners, bolts, screws, and more! - Mr. Metric
(They even have them in stainless!
)Buy Metric fasteners, bolts, screws, and more! - Mr. Metric
knuckle_head
Well-Known Member
A little nugget that seems to sort of fit here; adding frets to traditional scale lengths.
If you know what you like on a Gibson or Fender standard as far as tensions and gauges these numbers might help in exploring alternative scale lengths and have a good idea what you'll end up with when you're done. The lists start with the baseline scale length and then gives the measurement of each successive fret adding one at a time;
24.5"
25.95"
27.5"
29.13"
30.86"
32.7"
34.65"
25.5"
27"
28.61"
30.32"
32.12"
34.03"
EDIT; Another interesting nugget; to take a standard Fender 25.5" to octave down E and maintain the 15/16 pounds of tension expected you'd want roughly a .106 to do it. The same gauge is roughly standard for the same note frequency and tension on a scale length that is almost perfectly 5 frets longer - bass standard scale length of 34".
If you know what you like on a Gibson or Fender standard as far as tensions and gauges these numbers might help in exploring alternative scale lengths and have a good idea what you'll end up with when you're done. The lists start with the baseline scale length and then gives the measurement of each successive fret adding one at a time;
24.5"
25.95"
27.5"
29.13"
30.86"
32.7"
34.65"
25.5"
27"
28.61"
30.32"
32.12"
34.03"
EDIT; Another interesting nugget; to take a standard Fender 25.5" to octave down E and maintain the 15/16 pounds of tension expected you'd want roughly a .106 to do it. The same gauge is roughly standard for the same note frequency and tension on a scale length that is almost perfectly 5 frets longer - bass standard scale length of 34".
Solodini
MORE RESTS!
I'm not sure if this is the best thread to post this in but how many clamps should I use in gluing a laminate neck i.e. 1 every 5 inches, 1 every foot?
Cheers, folks.
Cheers, folks.
knuckle_head
Well-Known Member
Wood on wood contact is ideal in a glue joint. More clamps invite fewer gaps - more is better.
endo
Well-Known Member
But too much pressure might push out too much of the glue.
I think this is a key concept to understanding the effect of scale length on extended range designs
There's a handy website for this: Reverse Fret Calculator
Toxic Dover
Well-Known Member
I really didn't feel as if this question warranted its own thread, so I'll try here first... Does anybody have any tips for cutting hard maple without a band saw? I have the beginnings of a neck glued together, and I really can't do much of anything else without some way to cut the neck. I'm trying to do this as cost-less as possible, plus I don't have the room for a bandsaw even if I bought one. Any tips as to how to cut this stuff with hand tools? Jigsaws are an option as well, although the one I have currently would barely cut it before either burning it or locking up. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Eric Christian
Banned
Quite some time ago I thought there was a thread in this section that had a link to a site where you could design your own custom fretboard including fanned frets and it would map it all out and give you all the exact measurements. Anyone bookmark this?
Google Fret Find 2D.
Eric Christian
Banned
Cool... I found it.
http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/
I swear there was one that calculated fanned frets though.
Eric Christian
Banned
Under "Scale Length" click the "multiple" option.
Duh...
So yeah, what would be a good all around multi-scale length? I'm thinking 25.5 - 27 would be nice to balance out the string tension for standard 8 string tuning F#, B, E, A, D, G, B, E. Gonna go down to the wood shop and see what they got.
Tigard Woodworking Supplies at Woodcraft
