Luthierschool - One workweek

[Bolwede]

Hello starving luthiers

Like the title says, I'm going to a 5 day 09.00-17.00 luthiershool this summer.
And as an educated furniture maker (highschool) I find it as a big challenge.
Well it has been 7 years with no woodworking at all so I need to refresh
my memory a bit to do a calculation if it's possible to do it.
I already got the templates for body, neck, headstock, pickup cavities etc.
I'm going to buy the woods in a week or so.

So on with the questions:
1. In which order should i build the guitar? body or neck first?
2. What is the glueing time for body+top, 5piece neck
3. What takes most time? neck-thru or bolt-on?
4. If you would do a 5 days guitar build how would u plan it out?

The build:
Model: Blackmachine copy
Strings: 6
Scale: 25.5"
Frets: 24 Jumbo Sainless Steel
Neck: 5-piece wenge/bubinga
Fretboard: Ebony
Body: African Mahogany
Top: Figured wood or ebony veneer
Binding: Black or white (havn't decided)
Pickups: BKP Juggernauts (gold tyger)
Bridge: Hipshot hardtail bridge
Tuners: Hipshot locking tuners

All answers is welcome!

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Here's my thoughts:

1 - Build both at the same time, that's how I like to work personally. Especially if you have templates - this is the way to go.
2 - Leaving the wood glued & clamped up overnight is usually enough.
3 - Neck-thru would definitely be more time consuming especially for a first-timer. Bolt-on's are definitely easier and there's less gluing involved which means less waiting.
4 - I like to plan out each build before I start. Just think through the process and write down somewhere the order that makes the most sense for your tools, skills, etc. You'll probably change some things and it's better to figure out what won't work before starting. Then just keep your list handy while working. There's definitely not one way to build a guitar, and it really comes down to what works for your set-up.

I'm certainly no professional, as I've only built 3 instruments to date. But I think many would agree with my answers. Good luck!

 

[mwcarl]

My advice would be to simplify and reduce expense where possible at your discretion (hardware, pickups etc...). Generally your first guitar will not end up being one you feel like playing for a long time, especially if you continue to build. Your choice whether you want to spend a ton of money on those things, but I'm of the opinion that it's not such a good idea. The chance that you build your absolute dream guitar the first time around is essentially zero, make your choices with that possibility in mind.

As for your build questions:
1) If you're building in 5 consecutive days, you'll have to build them concurrently, you basically have no choice.
2) Depends on the glue. TiteBond original which is fairly standard is best kept clamped at a minimum overnight. Epoxy for example could be less. Remember that you may be gluing multiple times (two piece back together, two piece top together, top to back, neck laminates, neck scarf joint, fretboard, neck to body, binding). With a 5 day time constraint you'll have to have that part planned out pretty carefully.
3) In order of increasing build time: bolt-on, set neck, neck through
4) It would take too long to describe unfortunately.

Other suggestions:
- Stainless steel frets are not as good for a starting point, and will be more time intensive to install.
- Take into account the additional time for a two-piece top, two-piece back, laminate neck, and/or binding.

Good luck with your build.

 

[Renkenstein]

1. In which order should i build the guitar? body or neck first?
Both at the same time. While glue is curing on one, you can work on the other.

2. What is the glueing time for body+top, 5piece neck
I always wait 18-24 hours.

3. What takes most time? neck-thru or bolt-on?
NT, definitely. Haven't built one yet, but when I do, I expect to write up a completely different order of operations.

4. If you would do a 5 days guitar build how would u plan it out?
Never had that kind of deadline, so I couldn't tell ya.

Since it's a 5 day program, I'm fairly certain there will be a schedule to work from. I wouldn't expect them to throw greenhorns in a shop and say "see ya in 5 days".

 

[immortalx]

As Renk said, I'm sure the school has a build schedule for every guitar style.

I don't really know how I could do that in such a tight timescale! Waiting for glue to dry is the real bottleneck, so gluing the body/top halves and the neck laminates is a must for day 1 and there should be plenty of time to prepare the fretboard and cut slots into it.
Regarding which is easier to build (NT vs bolt-on) : I found that a neck through with no top is actually easier to build when there's no neck angle involved. It's a different story when adding a top and a TOM style bridge though.

 

[Bolwede]

Thank you for the answers, I will consider what you all said and I will use a 1p body+2p top and a 5p neck that is glued and everything before i enter the school, then i will have more time to do this guitar justice.

I don't want this guitar to be rushed, and if I'm not finished when I leave the school, then I will finish the rest on my own.

 

[noob_pwn]

as a word of advice, if you haven't done any fretwork you might want to start with nickel fretwire instead of stainless steel, It's a lot easier to work with.

 

[Bolwede]

as a word of advice, if you haven't done any fretwork you might want to start with nickel fretwire instead of stainless steel, It's a lot easier to work with.

Yeah I've been told But what is it that make it easier with nickel?
Also why I want stainless is bcus im nickel alergic but i havn't felt it on my Ibanez 7321 so I don't think it would be a huge problem either.

 

[SilentCartographer]

oohh coolbeans, I want to do one of these aswell!, good luck and keep us posted

 

[Prophetable]

Yeah I've been told But what is it that make it easier with nickel?
Also why I want stainless is bcus im nickel alergic but i havn't felt it on my Ibanez 7321 so I don't think it would be a huge problem either.

Stainless steel is much harder so you need tougher tools and more effort to cut and shape it.

 

[Hywel]

I want stainless is bcus im nickel alergic but i havn't felt it on my Ibanez 7321 so I don't think it would be a huge problem either.

Jescar EVO-Gold and Sintoms NA249119 are both nickel free and easier to work than stainless as far as I know. Might be worth looking into if you get issues with normal nickel frets

 

[Renkenstein]

EVO is awesome. I didn't have much trouble with it at all, and it's harder than NS, which will mean longer life before refret(if ever needed at all, really). Looks fkn sharp too!

 

[Bolwede]

Just dumping some pics of my first project i did 7 years ago
Its a modded RG7321 .







I'm not a single humbucker guy anymore tho
At the second pic u can clearly se a routermistake i did.

 

[Bolwede]

I was just looking at hipshots and was about to buy the hardtail bridge and the lockingtuners. But before I'm buying i think i need some help

The Hardtail bridge is in both .125 and .175 what is most suitable for a non angled guitar with a scarfjoint.

What locking tuners should i buy for a reversed headstock with all 6 tuners on the same side. ans what is the diffrence between staggered and standard?

 

[immortalx]

The most common is the .125 one for non angled necks. The .175 can work too if the fretboard is unusually fat, or if you route the neck pocket a bit shallow.
On the hipshot site there's a dropdown box where you can choose bass or treble side for the tuners. Since you have a reversed headstock you need to choose treble side for all of them. If you shop from somewhere else you will probably see them listed as left and right. You need the right ones.
You mentioned the neck has a scarf joint so you need non staggered tuners. The staggered ones have different shaft lengths on each tuner and are meant to be installed on fender style straight headstocks, so that each string has enough of an angle after going from the nut to the tuner.

 

[Bolwede]

The most common is the .125 one for non angled necks. The .175 can work too if the fretboard is unusually fat, or if you route the neck pocket a bit shallow.
On the hipshot site there's a dropdown box where you can choose bass or treble side for the tuners. Since you have a reversed headstock you need to choose treble side for all of them. If you shop from somewhere else you will probably see them listed as left and right. You need the right ones.
You mentioned the neck has a scarf joint so you need non staggered tuners. The staggered ones have different shaft lengths on each tuner and are meant to be installed on fender style straight headstocks, so that each string has enough of an angle after going from the nut to the tuner.

You made it very clear for me, thank you Immortalx

 

[Bolwede]

Some modifications have been made, the neck will be a 5p Wenge/Ovangkol and the top will be a 2p wenge.

 

[Bolwede]

Look what came to work today

 

[Bolwede]

Only the mahogany 1p and the ebony fretboard im waiting for now love the figure on the wenge