Kinda scared about a first build...

[JosephAOI]

Hey all, I've been thinking about building my own custom guitar for a while now but I'm afraid that I'll mess up a bit (or a lot) of the guitar (Specifically the neck, frets). Here are the specs for those who want to know-Ibanez RGD style 7 stringBody: MahoganyNeck: Maple, Bolt onFretboard: EbonyScale: 26.5" (24 frets of course) 400mm radiusInlays: None (Just side inlays)Bridge: Hipshot 7Pickups: Seymour Duncan JB, Jazz.Controls: 1 volume, Nothing elseFinish: Blackburst/transparent black (Not completely sure about this yet)Tuners: GroverWhat I'm really afraid of is the fretjob mostly. I'm really unsure of how well I could dress and level frets and make the radius correct and getting the truss rod in the neck. I'd really like to be able to do all this under about 400-500 dollars cause thats the reason i'm going to build it (Savin money ftw!) and without buying a neck or anything from Warmoth, etc.Any tips, ideas?? Anything would be appreciated.

 

[littlephil]

The most important thing I learnt from my first build;
Make sure the neck is flat before gluing the fretboard down, and also make sure the fretboard is flat before fretting.

 

[sk3ks1s]

I think your budget of $400-500 is a little unrealistic (especially if you don't have a lot of the tools). Not trying to be a Debbie-Downer or anything. But don't be fooled in thinking you are going to save a ton of money in making it yourself. I'm not trying to discourage you or anything. In fact, I love seeing people get their hands dirty. While you may not save any money (or very little if you do), you'll be able to play an instrument that you made with your own two hands.
It is a pretty intimidating process. Read up as much as you can. If you feel a little uneasy about something. Practice on scrap wood.
Reading and researching is one thing, but you need to physically do a lot of the stuff required to really learn it and grasp it.
Measure 9 times, cut once.
And post questions here as you go.

A little materials list to kind of put it in perspective (tools excluded):
Wood (neck and body)
Glue
Epoxy/CA
Truss rod
Tuning pegs
Pickups
Bridge
Nut
Electronics (selector/pots/wires/solder)
Cavity cover
Fret wire
Neck screws
Ferrules
Strap pins
Inlay material
Finishing materials (oil/stain/clear coat)
+ shipping for most of this stuff

Tools:
Router
Router bits
Jigsaw
Drill/Drill press
Forstner bits
Plane
Spokeshave
Files
Sanding block
Sandpaper (lots)
Calipers
Set square
Fret gear (saw, files, level check)

 

[SD83]

I think your budget of $400-500 is a little unrealistic (especially if you don't have a lot of the tools). Not trying to be a Debbie-Downer or anything. But don't be fooled in thinking you are going to save a ton of money in making it yourself.

I kinda agree with the not saving money aspect. You'll have a hard time making a decent guitar for under 300$. Unless you get a ton of stuff for free. But I tend to disagree with a $500 budget being unrealistic (unless the prices in the USA are a good bit higher than those in Germany). Here's why:

A little materials list to kind of put it in perspective (tools excluded):
Wood (neck and body) If you don't need some fancy flamed maple or premium walnut, you can get an OK body blank for under $50. Fretboards are not that expensive, and I got my last neckblank (wenge/walnut) from a local carpenter for 20.
Glue I never had any problems with normal woodglue... and you don't need tons of it
Epoxy/CA Am I doing something wrong? Never needed this. Never did inlays also...
Truss rod 15$
Tuning pegs 50$ for a six-string, I'm too lazy to look it up for 7s
Pickups Depends on what you want. You can spend 100$ or 300$
Bridge Another 50$, unless going for a trem or anything high quality
Nut If you take your time, no need to buy anything but the raw material. Unless you want a locking nut.
Electronics (selector/pots/wires/solder) 2 potis, switch & jack... 20$, mamybe?
Cavity cover Again, I see no reason why one would want to buy a cavity cover instead of DIY. Unless you want to copy another guitar.
Fret wire 20$
Neck screws Never bought special neck screws, so I have no idea what they might cost
Ferrules Same here
Strap pins Too lazy to look it up, but from what I remember, 20$ should do it
Inlay material No idea, never did any inlays
Finishing materials (oil/stain/clear coat) It will not look like a 700$ guitar, but I'd say you can get away with 20$ here as well
+ shipping for most of this stuff Don't know how expensive this is in the USA. Had to pay approximatly 10$ for the wood shipping and nothing for the parts... 335$ so far. It won't get any cheaper than this I guess. However, you can easily go up to 500, 600 or even 800+...

Tools:
Router VERY handy. Without it, it is hard work. But possible.
Router bits See above
Jigsaw Unless you're planning to cut a 2'' piece of ebony, any jigsaw with sharp blades should do it. Don't cut anywhere near the final shape of your guitar.
Drill/Drill press With good bits, any drill will do the job. Drill press is very handy for drilling straight
Forstner bits Get them. 15$?
Plane You will need one. Or you'll have to visit a friendly local carpenter a couple of times
Spokeshave Depends on what you plan to do.
Files Necessary (imo) but not necessarily expensive
Sanding block same as above
Sandpaper (lots) same as above. You will need TONS of it
Calipers Useful
Set square Maybe one of the most important tools
Fret gear (saw, files, level check) You might be able to get along without it. It makes the work a lot easier though

You forgot the clamps! The more the better.

 

[Customisbetter]

My first guitar which came out really shitty and had a materials cost under 100 dollars cost me about 800 dollars to build.

 

[sk3ks1s]

@SD83

I both agree and disagree with you.
First off, I can't believe I forgot the clamps!!! There's your $300 budget there! Haha.
But I agree that you can do a lot of these parts and pieces for nice and cheap. But Why would you pour your blood, sweat, and tears into this thing and cheap out on some of the most crucial parts.
I'm not saying you can't get quality for a good price. But lets be realistic. You more often than not get what you pay for.
Personally I think if you are taking on the daunting task of literally building your own guitar... Go big or go home.
Don't spend 3 weeks carving the perfect body out of a beautiful piece of wood and then slap a $30 bridge on there that won't intonate. Or design a bad ass, one of a kind headstock and slap half a dozen $6 tuners on there that can't hold a tune.
That being said, you can cheap out on everything and have yourself a fully functional guitar. No question. We've all seen the resourcefulness and ingenuity of some people building a guitar for $20. But I personally don't what to play a shovel with strings.
Bottom line, shop around and buy things that are within your budget. Plan everything out. Although, unexpected costs may arise.

 

[Ruins]

pay attention to what the guys said so far because they are right.
my 2 cents:
do it. simply do it. start the project and don't give up, finish it.
even though you will give your best to this build most likely your first guitar will turn out, well, not so good BUT! you will gain knowledge. you will gain the "know how" that is just impossible to gain just from reading about it and watching others do it.
the mistakes that will happen (and there will be many) in this build are important because they will be the one that will push your next build to much higher level.
with your next build you will have much clear perspective about the process and project it self, you will know what you are doing and why you are going to do it that way and not another.

you can check my Baritone build thread (in my sig) i can say, yes it turned out not bad and more time passed i discovered more issues and mistakes that i am not happy with if it's design flaws or if its build it self.
i learned a lot from this build and my next one will be far more superior than this one.
i hope it helps and don't get scared away, just do it!

 

[sk3ks1s]

^ Church!

 

[JosephAOI]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm a fair bit more confident after reading and seeing a lot of other builds now. I've decided that I'm gonna practice on less expensive wood for my first and/or second build but what wood should I use? Would Pine be okay for a body? Also, what kind of nut should I use? I think i'm just gonna buy a pre slotted nut from here - http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?SubCategoryID=8 But I don't know which one I want. I need to be able to fit at least a 68 for the 7th string.

 

[sk3ks1s]

That sounds fine. It's more of a matter of getting a feel for the tools and how to work with the wood. Just design a couple of bodies with measurements in mind. Get a few pine blanks, like you mentioned and start there. As for the neck... Do the same thing. Get some inexpensive pine/oak and just do a mock neck. This will give you practice in preping and glueing laminates. Then you can get a handle on shaping and carving. Shouldn't cost you more than $25 for the materials to do that.

 

[Purelojik]

+ for the cheap wood idea. and definetly practice out your neck. AND the way it joins the body.

but most importantly. Read and RE read everything about what your going to do.

like If your gonna carve out a neck. what are the things to do and not do. And what to keep in mind.

it becomes easier if you know it first in theory.

im an amature myself but i've read a looot about this stuff and this forum offered a ton of help in ways of learning from peoples mistakes or simply gaining a building tip or two.

lastly. once you've studied, just jump right in. start carving, if you have a budget then make sure you learn on scrap first otherwise that gorgeous piece of wood you just bought's gonna look real nice...in the trash.

 

[Purelojik]

oh and be careful...this hobby WILL become an addiction....

 

[JosephAOI]

oh and be careful...this hobby WILL become an addiction....

Haha, thanks for the advice. I'd already planned on this being more than a hobby anyway though. I'm still in high school so I've had plenty of time to think about career options and Guitar Luthier has always been #1 (Except for, of course, Musician ) so hopefully i'll end up pretty good at this and be able to join a great company like Ibanez or Bernie Rico Jr. or Blackmachine (Do those last two even hire other guys? ). Either way, I can't wait to build my first 7! Thanks a lot for the help guys, I'll post my progress on here (Or another thread??) Once I get started.

 

[jymellis]

be careful not scared

keep some scrap laying around for practice. if there is a tool or a bit you havent tried yet. use it on some scap first. dont practice to much though, a dull tool is worthless.

also try to cut on the outside of lines. leave yourself too much. you can work with too much. you cant work with too little

 

[JosephAOI]

Here's the Body and Headstock designs. I'm basing the body on my Ibanez GRGA32T and the Ibanez RGD. The headstock is (obviously) based off the Blackmachine headstock (Thanks for the amazing design, Doug!).
http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee409/JosephAOI/?action=view&current=IMG_1550.jpg
http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee409/JosephAOI/?action=view&current=IMG_1549.jpg
Also, is there such thing as a clear satin finish i can use on the body? I want it to be clear to show off the spalted maple top i'm gonna put on but I like the feel of satin finishes WAY more than gloss finishes.

 

[JosephAOI]

So one of my friend told me that I need to pre-treat the wood for my neck and body?? I thought wood was treated before you bought it? And does anyone know about a clear satin finish?? (Also I'll be posting some pics up in a new thread later today, just got my practice wood yesterday.)

 

[SD83]

So one of my friend told me that I need to pre-treat the wood for my neck and body?? I thought wood was treated before you bought it? And does anyone know about a clear satin finish??

No idea about the clear satin finish, sry.
As for treated wood: it totally depends on what your friend meant. If by "pre-treating" he means "drying/seasoning", he is kinda right. If the wood was still a living tree four weeks before you start building your guitar, it won't work, because it will shrink, bend, move, maybe even crack etc. If you're just trying stuff out & experimenting with your tools, that doesn't matter. How to make sure the wood is dry?
a) there are tools to measure the moisture in the wood. Expensive (I guess) and rather useless if you ask me
b) Buy from those http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...tomizations/133391-online-wood-suppliers.html stores.
c) Find a trustworthy carpenter. The wood they use for furniture should be dry enough I guess, at least I had no problems so far
(d: wait for a couple of years)
Make sure once you got the wood to wait a couple of weeks before you start working (un-treated wood tends to move a bit even if it's really dry when conditions change)
If by "pre-treating" he means anything different... I'd say he is wrong. And if he means waterproofing the wood or some chemicals to protect it from insects etc... can't really imagine, because that would be rather stupid.
EDIT: He might also mean sealer and grain filler... but putting that on your guitar before shaping it would make no sense.

 

[sk3ks1s]

Yeah. It's not like building a deck. You don't need pressure treated lumber. It just means that you're wood has to have a certain moisture content. I don't know if there's a magical number or anything. But if you buy wood from a dealer (luthier supplies) you should be kiln dried or old enough to have been naturally dried. If you buy from a hardware store, I'd do what SD83 recommended and wait a couple of weeks for the wood to acclimate to the humidity of your work space.
As for your practice wood, don't worry about all that stuff. I'm guessing it's most likely pine or oak or something of the sorts. Have at her.

 

[JosephAOI]

Okay, and I think the last thing I was wondering was how long and wide does my fretboard need to be? (It's gonna be a 7-string and 26.5 scale)

 

[sk3ks1s]

Your fretboard dimensions will be dictated by your nut, bridge, and scale choice.
Since you've opted for a 26 1/2" scale, your 24th fret will be 19 7/8" from the nut. So if you place your nut on the f/b then you want about 1/4" for the nut and about 1/4" after your 24th fret. So roughly 20 3/8". The taper depends on your nut and bridge. You can do a bit of simple trigonometry to figure that out. But I recommend doing a 1:1 drawing from nut to bridge and getting your measurements that way.
You can also decide how close you want your strings to be to the edge of the f/b. This will also have an effect on your f/b size.
A set of calipers will be your best friend with this stuff (not so much with length).