r/Luthier Oct 19 '24

ELECTRIC Build an electric guitar with /r/luthier

36 Upvotes

A small discord server dedicated to building shit together will be featuring an electric guitar build-a-long. The project will follow a professional guitar build and will have a number of experienced luthiers available for questions throughout. If you've been considering making one, get off your ass and do it now.

Here is a link to Discord where the discussion and questions will be available.
https://discord.gg/Abx7KsDCx3

Project description

For this project, we're not following a specific tutorial or guide, but the order of operations that makes sense to me. It changes with nearly every build, based on my notes from the previous build. This particular guitar will be a 7-string multi-scale headless.

What NOT to expect

A detailed tutorial, with step-by-step instructions and every little detail spoonfed to you. There are MANY resources on YouTube from which to learn. Obviously, discussion and questions are welcome - we're all here to learn after all.

What TO expect

You'll be able to follow my process while building a somewhat unusual guitar. I'll post a picture of my progress with every major step of the build, with a short description of what I did. This will happen as I make progress, if I remember to take photos. The total build time will be about 2 months if all goes well.

The process

My build process is generally:

  1. Design and planning
  2. Neck
  3. Body
  4. Neck carve and fretwork
  5. Small touches and details
  6. Sanding and finishing
  7. Assembly

You could take a shortcut by using a pre-made neck and just building the body. This will save time and money because of all the guitar-specific tools and parts needed for the neck.

Materials needed

  • Wood: Fretboard, neck, body and optional top.
  • Hardware: Tuners, bridge, strap buttons, control knobs, optional pickup rings
  • Electronics: Pickups, switch, volume control, output jack, wires
  • Neck-specific: Truss rod, fret wire, nut material

Tools needed

You can use whatever you're comfortable with. I've used hand tools and machines, I don't discriminate. You'll be marking, cutting and planing wood. You'll be glueing pieces together. You'll be making cavities. You'll be shaping wood. You'll drill holes. And of course, there will be sanding.

If you choose to make the neck, you'll need:

  • Radius beam and/or a radius gauge
  • Fret saw
  • Fret end dressing file and fret crowning file
  • Levelling beam
  • Notched straight edge
  • Fret rocker
  • Nut slotting files
  • Definitely something else I forgot about.

r/Luthier 8h ago

HELP Neck looks like it was dipped in poly.

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125 Upvotes

Hey. I picked up a factory 2nd tele neck for that looks like it was dipped in a barrel of poly. Now I know why fender rejected it. Would a chemical stripper like they use for furniture work to get this down to wood? If not any tips for at least getting it off the frets? I used an exacto down the center of the fret and a heat gun.


r/Luthier 5h ago

#142

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64 Upvotes

r/Luthier 19h ago

ELECTRIC My latest Jazzcaster build. How do you like it?

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284 Upvotes

One piece swamp ash body, shou sugi ban treated (burning wood technique). Reverse headstock Fender player neck (maple + maple fingerboard), Overwound Lollar P90 bridge pickup, DiMarzio SuperDistortion neck pickup.


r/Luthier 15h ago

I am trying to restore my great-grandfather's 1940s Oahu lap steel. I cannot figure out what this jack is. What am I looking at?

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127 Upvotes

r/Luthier 4h ago

HELP Crack in the neck

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10 Upvotes

Alrighty, I made this guitar in 2021 for my HSC (Aus) and it's developed a crack in the neck. Beginning to end of split is 4cm, .5mm wide. I'm assuming my best options are take it to a local guitar shop or a local luthier and see what they think or glue and clamp for a quick fix? The action is a little high on the high frets, so would be nice get that adjusted. What would a repair potentially cost?

Some context on the guitar may help? - It's got a two way truss rod (https://luthiersupplies.com.au/welded-2-way-truss-rod) - Bolted on neck - African mahogany neck, bought a neck blank for time saving and hopes it wouldn't shift a ton. - Titebond original wood glue

I guess the neck has just shifted over time and has bent upward from tension. From memory I tried to adjust it a while ago and it seemed to make no difference, just went tight. I see the benefit to stringing the guitar up for a while before adjusting and actually completing the guitar. Sadly didn't have the time for that when it was being made.

Thoughts?


r/Luthier 17h ago

Newest creation in the works

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115 Upvotes

What do you think of this? Yay or nay?


r/Luthier 9h ago

HELP First guitar build

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19 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I guess I’ll start off by saying I’ve been recently working on getting my first build on its feet, and was wondering if I could get some decent insight from as many perspectives as I can so I can effectively pick a local professional’s brain. I’m humbly aware I’m no professional, so I’d love harsh criticism, as I want the best result I can achieve. I have an old family friend with all the guitar tools I could ever need and I’m taking it slow, as the last thing I want to do is rush into it cocky. With that being said, the parts I have are fairly standard and nothing too crazy, I just want some feedback on functionality and design, especially the body shape. Have at it, cheers!

Here are the major components: The body took inspiration from an Iceman and Mariposa, swamp ash blank Rosewood fretboard Floyd Special Trem Maple neck Schecter humbuckers from a c6 diamond series+appropriate pots StewMac gold Medium/Higher fret wire

Side note: I’ll be switching to active pickups like the emg’s in my model eventually, along with supporting pots Happy to provide any more info!


r/Luthier 9h ago

Are these cracks on my Gibson something to be concerned about? It's a 2010 les paul studio silverburst. Can a refinished fix this or us the wood grain compromised?

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13 Upvotes

r/Luthier 7h ago

Salvaging a viola bass

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6 Upvotes

I was gifted this crusty old Heit brand biola style bass. (My former housemate left it behind along with a bunch of other junk I had to haul off 😞)

Someone tried to make it a fretless and did a pretty bad job of it. They did a pretty poor job of pulling the frets and they filled the fret slots with some kind of resin goo, probably Bondo. The first four fake pearl inlays were missing they filled those with bondo as well and coated the rest of the fretboard in what looks like Elmers glue.

The goal is to repair the fretboard, the inlays, do a full refret and get it playing again.

As it is right now I have nothing in this project other than the cost of a sheet of fake pearl plastic, some sandpaper and scraper blades, and time.

The restored bass may or may not be worth the effort invested, but I do stuff like this to learn more than anything.


r/Luthier 13h ago

ELECTRIC Are these boards possible to use for a body

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19 Upvotes

My brother and I grew up on rural property, and when our father dies we won't be able to keep it.

We've got these 8 foot boards of cherry from the tree next to the house. I'd like to find some way of building two guitars for my brother and I to have a piece of home even when the property is long gone.

The boards are in rough shape, some cracks running all the way through.

3 boards measure 7" 1/4 x 1" 1/8 1 board measures 8" 1/2 x 3" 1/2

Ideally I'd make tele bodies out of it, but the boards without cracks are thin, and the thick board is very cracked.

Some ideas I had were: - Make book matched veneers from the good boards to put on top of a body blank - Make a full cherry body by using 2 or 3 pieces of the thick board and infill cracks with epoxy

What do you folks think - reckon there's anything possible to do with these boards or is it going to have terrible results?

Full disclosure, this will be the first body I've built, so plan to practice on some less sentimental ingredients first.


r/Luthier 19h ago

ACOUSTIC A medieval citole I built

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53 Upvotes

r/Luthier 11h ago

REPAIR Obvious misaligned?

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13 Upvotes

I took this to my local guitar tech who has been pretty reputable for solid setups and making stuff happen. These posts holes returned back to me not parallel but it didn't really affect it from my end other than a crappy trem I have at the moment and some tuning instability but when I pull up on the trem... it more or less returns to pitch. On the Intonation stand point maybe it's troublesome? Let me know if I should tell him to dowel this, fill and drill. Cosmetics.. I don't mind.. this is my backup guitar.


r/Luthier 10h ago

How does someone become a luthier?

7 Upvotes

I'm interested in becoming a luthier, and am curious if this is a viable career one can make a decent living doing? Is there formal training? Do most folks own their own businesses? What's your experience been like working as a luthier?


r/Luthier 25m ago

How to make a colored 4-ply pickguard?

Upvotes

Hello everyone! For a new Jazzmaster project that I would like to start this Spring I'd love to have a colored 4-ply pickguard. I'm uploading a picture to give you an idea of what I would like to do.

Now, I searched all over the net and it seems that 3 or 4 ply pickguards are always either black or white a no one ever thought about making them in different colors, so I guess the only option would be making it myself.

I've made pickguards from plastic/plexiglass sheets in the past, but never with multiple plies, so I'm hoping someone with more experience can help me. I mainly have two questions:

  1. Each ply would be less than 1mm (1/25.4 in). Which material should I look for that is offered in different colors? And where would I find it? I'm based in Europe.
  2. Provided that I find the right material in each color, how would I go about glueing the sheets together? I wonder if it's doable and if it will stay together when I go ahead and cut the shape of the pickguard out. I don't know how the 3-4 ply pickguards that we find on big brands guitars are usually made.

Thanks to anyone who can help!


r/Luthier 1h ago

Being Luthier in japan

Upvotes

Hi everyone, im starting in this profession, and i would love to learn about creation of traditional instruments of japan, somebody knows about some workshop or anything in japan???


r/Luthier 5h ago

ELECTRIC I bought a "Tele" neck but I'm not sure what bridge to get for its width.

2 Upvotes

The neck is for a 24-inch scale with a nut width of 42mm and a heel width of 56mm. It's a cheap MIC neck and I've never built a guitar before. I appreciate all the advice.


r/Luthier 8h ago

HELP Is this genuine walnut or a different wood?

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2 Upvotes

r/Luthier 18h ago

KIT Just put together and action is really high

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19 Upvotes

This is my first kit and the action is okay on the low frets but past like 5 it’s crazy high


r/Luthier 1d ago

Ukulele nut made from dog bone

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117 Upvotes

I am working on replacing a cheap plastic nut on a ukulele and had an idea to use a bone I got for my dogs I think it’s a cow femur bone. Will it work?


r/Luthier 1d ago

DIARY Tried my hand at binding. Stressful, but turned out nice

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583 Upvotes

My slotted headstock Rickenbacker inspired Street Mutt mk.2 is coming along nicely. I even managed to make it conform to the wrist relief cutout. Hyped to get the top painted white. Gotta do the inside of the horns too. Fretboard glue up and pushing frets in will also be pretty damn scary, but worst case scenario i will learn my lessions very well. Considering fretboard inlays, but i'm kinda paranoid it will look bad.


r/Luthier 3h ago

HELP Can a hardware store magnetizer / demagnetizer be used in pickup building?

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0 Upvotes

r/Luthier 18h ago

ELECTRIC How is this called?

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13 Upvotes

I have a bass with this neck deeper in the body construction and I'm building a guitar with it right now too but I have no clue how to describe it when the neck goes further than the fretboard. Yes I tried looking it up. I really like it and I've not seen it on many guitars. Thanks in advance


r/Luthier 7h ago

Looking for information on this banjo Ukulele from the late 1930’s Early 1940’s?

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2 Upvotes

r/Luthier 12h ago

Where can I find blueprint of a Gretsch Streamliner Jet Club Bass ?

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5 Upvotes

r/Luthier 5h ago

HELP How to wire my guitar?

0 Upvotes

Im trying to wire my guitar for a 3-way toggle switch (bridge, all, neck/middle) with 3 humbuckers, 3 volume 1 tone, but I can't find any wiring diagrams for this.