I think in the brief span of time we've had the pleasure of using this section of the forum, we've had quite a few threads pop up with people wondering where they should get started with building guitars. I'm proposing (if there is a Mod willing and able) that we make a sticky thread dedicated to introductory educational material and general resources dealing with guitar building. This way we don't have to sift through loads of "learning how to build" threads if we want to find the name of that particular book or link to "that one" website we can't seem to remember.
I will start things out. Here are 3 books that I have found particularly useful that have also have been recommended by several other forum members:
Melvyn Hiscock - Make your own electric guitar
Martin Koch - Building Electric guitars
Jim Donahue - Guitars. Design, Production, and Repair.
Here is an amazing site for finding sources of lumber in your local area (if you are in the US or Canada).
Woodfinder :: Find Sources for Hardwood Lumber, Exotic Wood, Veneer, Sawmill Services and Other Woods such as Tonewoods, Recycled Lumber& Salvaged Wood, Carving Stock and Turning Blanks.
Some sites dedicated to selling tools and materials specific to instrument building:
Luthiers Mercantile International, Inc. Guitar Builder Wood and Supplies
STEWMAC.COM : Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Parts, Tools, Supplies, Free Information
Guitar Parts Depot by GPDUSA.COM
A site filled with tutorials and all sorts of reference materials:
Project Guitar.com :: Guitar Project.com
A great site that has helped me learn loads about woodworking, tools, projects, etc. It's not necessarily guitar related, but it has a wealth of information and loads of podcasts explaining things in plain english.
The Wood Whisperer Woodworking Video Podcast and Blog
This is all I have right now, but I will update when more things come to mind. I'm sure there are several other forum members who could contribute to where they began and what resources helped them along the way, so lets build a list to help each other out.
Here's the article LMI put together to try and answer the question "What tools do I need to build a guitar?"
http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/Basictools.asp
I will start things out. Here are 3 books that I have found particularly useful that have also have been recommended by several other forum members:
Melvyn Hiscock - Make your own electric guitar
Martin Koch - Building Electric guitars
Jim Donahue - Guitars. Design, Production, and Repair.
Here is an amazing site for finding sources of lumber in your local area (if you are in the US or Canada).
Woodfinder :: Find Sources for Hardwood Lumber, Exotic Wood, Veneer, Sawmill Services and Other Woods such as Tonewoods, Recycled Lumber& Salvaged Wood, Carving Stock and Turning Blanks.
Some sites dedicated to selling tools and materials specific to instrument building:
Luthiers Mercantile International, Inc. Guitar Builder Wood and Supplies
STEWMAC.COM : Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Parts, Tools, Supplies, Free Information
Guitar Parts Depot by GPDUSA.COM
A site filled with tutorials and all sorts of reference materials:
Project Guitar.com :: Guitar Project.com
A great site that has helped me learn loads about woodworking, tools, projects, etc. It's not necessarily guitar related, but it has a wealth of information and loads of podcasts explaining things in plain english.
The Wood Whisperer Woodworking Video Podcast and Blog
This is all I have right now, but I will update when more things come to mind. I'm sure there are several other forum members who could contribute to where they began and what resources helped them along the way, so lets build a list to help each other out.
Here's the article LMI put together to try and answer the question "What tools do I need to build a guitar?"
http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/Basictools.asp