I think it could be a fun group project to have a bunch of folks build guitars together. I would like to have a meetup with people who are interested and we could invite some of the people around the space who have already done one to talk about it.
Who is interested?
What are good days for you? (Monday and Wednesday evenings are mostly out for me.)
It sounds interesting. Would everyone generally build the same style? I don’t play one but have half-heartedly tried learning bass guitar.
I am gonna say they would likely be different… I would probably need to make a smaller one than most of the guys, for example…
On Sun, Jul 14, 2024 at 4:42 PM Dave Miller via MakeICT Forum <noreply@talk.makeict.org> wrote:
| xrunner MakeICT Member
July 14 |
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It sounds interesting. Would everyone generally build the same style? I don’t play one but have half-heartedly tried learning bass guitar.
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I was wondering more like, will they all be acoustic/electric/parlor/bass/ukulele?
I thought I would see who we get that is interested… I think I might try an electric… but a bass might be interesting too. I kinda-sorta built a uke… it was made mostly on a laser cutter (kiwi co kit)…
This sounds interesting. I would be very interested in seeing the previous ones you have made.
Years ago i was collecting wood and tools to try to build an acoustic guitar.
In college, I had been a Teacher Assistant Tech in a WSU Industrial Ed shop that also had a woodworking side. I was on the Machinist side. I sometimes got permission to use those saws, planers, jointers , etc.. and sometimes my woodworking tech friends would come over to the machine shop side. We also did spot welding and foundry, and ceramics slip casting too. Oh, and explosive forming, with shotgun shell blanks.
Among us TAs, we often spoke of making a [guitar] and I had purchased a book showing step by step and all the tools used. Back then, I wanted to make a bentwood top like some old Spanish Acoustics. My Dad had owned one, ages ago. (Me yammo Chavez.) I also went to a couple wood auctions and collected wood for this.
Then, decade or more later, i met and talked to an actual luthier. He didnt try to talk me out of it. He just made it crystal clear, that the first guitar you make, should probly go right in the trash. Then you can build one that wont be an embarrassment. And your 2nd one might even work well. Yes, that discouraged me because I presumed he was better than 50% chance of being correct.
Not sure when i lost my wood collection with tiger striped back wood and ebony for frettboard. [Old growth] Spaulted cedar top. I had more than one book that walked me thru guitar building step by step.
Btw, I had asked the luthier which tools of his were the most expensive, that it would just be better to hire him for that part and he said it was the tapered drills for the tuner pegs. We talked off and on for years. Then he left town. And i realized I would probly never do it.
Right now im trying to reduce my project list.
I do wish to be encouraging. To any of my maker peers. On any project.
If a group showed up to build, I m sure i would show up to help build tools and forms.
Coz ive done that before, and i very much enjoyed it. I would like it if our place helped form some ameteur luthier types. I am not much of a resource on the topic. Just a tad experienced and know how to choose soundboards using tap tones. Easy to teach it.
Im encouraged at the thought of laser cutting out a kit. So much quicker.
I do like shopping for decent old electric guitars. I doubt if I would build one. Ok maybe. If i got ten other projects off my list first…
Peace.
To be clear, I have never built a guitar in my life. I just thought if I wanted to give it a go, it would be good to have others around me with the same goal. I would attempt to round up resources (like other folks who have previously built guitars).
(My goal is to keep me from buying a bunch of stuff to build a guitar and never actually getting around to doing it. 
)
For me, I expect to get a kit that might include minimal work… start small as they say.
@AaronN and I were talking about this last Wednesday. I know a number of luthiers and feel confident that I could get some out to dpeak on the topic.
Awesome!
I’m excited to see some interest from folks!
To be clear, I’ve never made a guitar from scratch, either. Over the years, I’ve only ever done basic maintenance on my guitars, along with some basic modifications. Simple things, like switching out tuning pegs. This project would basically be all-new for me.
The cool thing about this project, though, is how customizable it is. Not only can you make different styles of guitar (six-string electric, electric bass, six-string electric hollow-body, twelve-string acoustic), but you can make different models within those styles (Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, Jaguar, Precision Bass, and so on). Each style has its own unique body-shape, its own neck lengths, its own hardware needs, and its own pick-up combinations.
So, you can basically design any guitar you like, and there are resources available to make it.
But, I think that’s going to be the big question for this project: How to accommodate everyone’s individual needs. Considering that we are a community of makers, I imagine some people will want to make their own bodies, shape their own necks, route their own pick-guards, and maybe even wind their own pick-ups. Which is awesome. I also imagine some people will want to buy individual parts from different vendors and fit them together. Which is awesome. I imagine some people will want to buy ready-made kits that provide all of the essential guitar parts, and fit them together, sort of like musical Legos. Which is awesome. Basically, scale will be a variable for this project. There are some things we would all need, and it’ll be fun figuring it all out.
For a starting point, I’ve collected a few links to various vendors, so people can get an idea of what parts are out there and how to start thinking about obtaining them. Of course, there are other trusted sources, but these are some of the bigger names in the game:
Warmoth Guitar Parts: https://warmoth.com/
Mastery Bridges and Trem Arms: https://masterybridge.com/
Stewmac Luthier Tools and Guitar Parts: https://www.stewmac.com/
Lollar Pick-Ups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/
I’m looking forward to further discussions!!!
Ok. So looks like maybe a meetup would be good. We have enough folks that seem interested.
I will schedule one for this Saturday. (No harm or foul if you can’t make it, it is short notice… but if you can’t make sure and tell me what days you would be able to come.)
So I put a meeting on the schedule for Saturday from 4pm-5pm. (Just before game night.)
I would be interested in doing this. I prefer during a week day morning. Monday and Tuesday afternoons are usually really bad.
Hmmm… weekday mornings would be ok for me… but I suspect we have a lot of folks who work during the day.
Added a new resources page for the group on the Wiki:
https://wiki.makeict.org/wiki/Guitar_Builders_Group
I am interested and will certainly stay up on the group. I have several guitars and have always toyed with the idea of making one. I know several people who make them for fun and professionally.
Thank you for creating the resource page!!
Super stoked on this. If it could wait just a little bit, i would love to do this. I even have a design in my sketchbook for one. A little 3-4 string 1/2 size bugger good to sling around.
I get back from Japan on the 31st. Could we get together on the week of the 4th to the 10th of August?
We don’t start up in earnest until the 30th… so you should be behind.
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On Monday, July 22, 2024, 9:07 PM, Kristopher Paxton via MakeICT Forum noreply@talk.makeict.org wrote:
| ladymondegreen Committee Lead
July 23 |
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Super stoked on this. If it could wait just a little bit, i would love to do this. I even have a design in my sketchbook for one. A little 3-4 string 1/2 size bugger good to sling around.
I get back from Japan on the 31st. Could we get together on the week of the 4th to the 10th of August?
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I’m gonna guess you meant “shouldn’t be (that far) behind.” Cool.
yep…darn correcting phone got me
A friend, Drew, has agreed to join us on the 30th to talk tools and field general questions. He won’t be able to make it until 8, though. I hope many of us will be able to stick around to pick his brain. I figure the first hour could center on defining our goals for this group, then those aspirations could drive our Q&A with Drew.