Making an Acoustic Guitar

[bfrikken]

I'm planning out my most ambitious project to date. Right now I'm researching as much as I can, so I figured I'll start here to see if anyone has done this type of project. I just became a member of the mimf.org website and I know I will pull a great deal of resources there. I wanted to start here because of how helpful I feel you all have been from the first day I found this site.

I found a site that lists a basic Bill of Materials for the guitar I want to build. I went to my local lumber place and found some Sitka Spruce that I'm considering as well as some Soft Maple. The problem I have right now is that I'm not sure how I can go about resawing it. The lumber yard is an extension of another lumber yard over 1.5 hours away. so, the local one doesn't resaw, but they have the boards I want. I'm not sure how else to get creative to get the resawing done. I am considering just ordering the boards on the web, but the cost adds up fast. The alternative is to use the soft maple they have, as I won't necessarily have to resaw, it just won't be perfectly bookmatched. This is true with a couple other species of wood that I am considering as they had the right sizes for the back and top.

So, anyone with some experience with an acoustic guitar build that wouldn't mind being a sounding board?

[Knottscott]

I've only built one electric guitar, and no acoustics yet, but I will offer a helpful website of luthiers and musical instrument makers....it's called MIMF.com. Good luck and please keep us updated with your progress!

[bmyers]

Grizzly (yes the machine manufacturer) makes ALL kinds of stuff for making guitars. Check out http://grizzly.com/products/searchresults.aspx?q=guitar
The sell kits and parts. Maybe you could try a kit first to get your feet wet and make another from scratch later. Acoustics are tough I think, much harder than an electric because of the stress and lightness of the body. Either way post your progress here, I've been thinking of building one myself..

Bill

[sparkeyjames]

You can also get guitar kits both acoustic and electric from Luthiers Mercantile Exchange. They also sell many guitar building tools, quality guitar woods, wood finishing supplies and guitar parts.

http://www.lmii.com/Default.asp

[bfrikken]

Thanks guys. No interest in Kits.

The links are still helpful though MIMF.com is helpful, but man, it gives me a headache just trying to find things.

[luteman]

Acoustic Guitar Making

I would highly recommend GAL.com They publish excellent journals, books, plans and sponsor an annual convention.

[bfrikken]

I would highly recommend GAL.com They publish excellent journals, books, plans and sponsor an annual convention.

I'm confused, they look like an electric components site? I did a search on Google just now for GAL guitar, and found luth.org, which is the Guild of American Luthiers? is that what you meant?

I'm checking them out now if so ...

[BadeMillsap]

Actually my main hobby and intro to woodworking ...

I've been building guitars and mandolins since the late 1980's as a hobby ... that being said I should also admit to being only a "mechanic" as far as skill and ability because there are literally hundreds if not thousands of true artists out there now doing amazing work ...

As far as resources let me recommend the following:

For tools, materials, videos, books, and everything else luthiery associated try Stewart McDonald ... Stewmac ... I have used them for all of the 20+ years I have been involved.

The GAL is indeed the perfect place to learn about the craft from both professionals and amateurs ... it is indeed at luth.org => GAL

The Music Instrument Makers Forum you mention is another good source of helpful advice.

The Luthiers Merchantile site is similar to StewMac with materials, tools and instruction info available ... I actually visited them on a road trip once ... very nice and knowledgeable folks.

I strongly suggest that you consider buying material (wood, binding, neck wood ...) from one of the aforementioned suppliers vs your local lumber yard ... you will save yourself MUCH heartache in dimension considerations and be able to better concentrate on the craft of luthiery vs the craft of woodworking and believe me having dipped a toe in both waters they are not the "same thing" ... very much like carpentry is not like cabinet building ... both important skills but ... "not the same thing".

Get books, videos ... there are actually schools and online instruction as well ... but DO get some basic instruction through one of these venues before just buying wood and starting construction ... StewMac has an excellent series of DVD'S ... they are kinda pricey so you might consider RENTING "how to DVD's" from somewhere like SMARTFLIX at Smartflix Luthiery DVDs ...

Finally I will suggest one other site on the web that while more focused on the Mandolin vs Guitar ... has a section for builders and there you will find some of the finest craftsmen on the planet very willing to offer advice and council simply for the asking ... => mandolincafe

Enjoy ...

[Wood_workur]

another vote for stew mac. When They shipped my parts, one of the pickups appeared to be on of the wrong type. An ohm meter partially confirmed this (ohms between the two pickups), and I called them and they shipped me a new one, which on the packing slip it said to pick a certain one because they tested it, and it was the right one.

GREAT customer service.

[n2go]

re: acoustic guitar

The guitar is a complex project requiring previous woodworking skills. In Lieu of some skill you can purchase some of the components pre machined. In the absence of those skills you will have a learning curve and the need for a variety of tools. Your success or failure will depend on your abilities to work with your hands and the quality of the tools available.
To ask reasonable questions will require homework. Start with Cumpiano's book then Bogdanovich book. Decide on the type of guitar you want or need. Before you purchase any wood or specialized tools or supplies decide what you would need to make the style of guitar you want. Start with the neck and headpiece. If successful, try the sound hole /sitka spruce top. If successful, then ask away.

[killin5]

I'm not an experienced guitar builder, but I have been doing a lot of research and planning over the past couple of years.

A good site is the Official Luthiers Forum. They are a very friendly group with lost of good knowledge (and the forum has a decent search engine).
http://www.luthiersforum.com/

I would suggest getting "Guitar making: Tradition and Technology" by Cumpiano and Natelson
http://www.amazon.com/Guitarmaking-T...7174318&sr=8-1
It is full of information using mostly traditional hand tool techniques. As you have questions do some research on the OLF and ask questions.

Generally it is suggested to buy your wood from a tone wood supplier. It is a difficult project to keep cost down, but doing it by starting with non luthier grade wood may not be the best move. The Tradition and Technology book talks about selecting wood and will give you some idea of what to think about when you are looking.

The GAL is a good group as well. They have a quarterly magazine they publish.

Also, find a good set of plans and stick to them. I did a scratch built uke and followed instructions from several sources. In the end I needed to fix work I had done to get everything to work properly.

Stew Mac is a great supplier. They are a bit spendy, but very helpful. They have a decent reputation for their kit. The kit might save you in some tooling cost. Order their catalogue. It is free and will give you an idea of the specialized tooling involved. LMI gives you the option to customize a kit. You have as much or as little done to the kit. The big thing there is that you get to pick the wood you want. I would stay away from the Grizzly kits.

If you can find a class near by or find an experience luthier that would be willing to give you some pointers, that would be a really good way to start.

Good Luck,

John

[bfrikken]

Thanks for the extra info. I feel like I've gone through the MIMF forums rather thoroughly. I'm debating on doing a dry run with some material I have on hand. Yesterday I was preparing some boards for pen blanks, so I used the opportunity to practice some of my resawing skills

I'm not opposed to ordering the materials online at all. I probably won't order things done for me though. Some of the fun I'm looking forward to is bending the wood myself. I did consider just buying some of the bracing done for me, or at least the linings. It surprised me how cheap those were and would be a time saver. But I'll have all summer to work on this, so who knows.

The resawing went fairly well, I'll be posting a couple questions in the general areas that came up.

[bfrikken]

Over Easter weekend, I bought some Cherry that I am going to use for this build. I have two options with the wood I bought, I can join two boards for the top and bottom, or I can use a solid piece for the top, thanks to my open sided drum sander. I'm still debating on whether to use all cherry, or buy a single piece for the sound board. I also have enough scrap mahogany for the neck. I figured that may be a nice contrast to the cherry body.

The wood sits in my Father-in-law's workshop almost 2 hours away. I'm anxious to get over there and get started, but I figured there are things I can do to get started in my own shop as well. I'm probably going to start a blog on this if anyone is interested. Very excited to get started.