New to all this

[Ben]

Hey everyone,

Im Ben and im 26 from Brisbane. I am a carpenter by trade but since I was in school wanted to make guitars. I am just starting out and havent really made guitars before.
I was wondering if I could get some good advice.

Thanks

Ben

[Cam]

Some good advice on what?

You can't really explain how to build a full guitar in one post, so you'll need to be more specific.

Welcome to the forum though!

[woodrat]

Hi Ben, Welcome to the forum. The best advice for someone starting is to get some of the good reference books on the subject. I (and many others ) would recommend Guitarmaking Tradition and Technology by Wm Cumpiano and Jonathan Natleson as well as Jonathan Kinkaids "Make an Acoustic Guitar" Both are good books and point you in the right direction but you will move on from them when you have built your first couple of instruments but as a starting point they would have to be the best. The Cumpiano/Natleson book is 380 pages so there is some serious reading there. Try to read it and digest it paying particular attention to the bits about setting the neck angle as this is one of the most critical aspects to understand and execute.


Cheers

John

[liam_fnq]

welcome aboard ben.

my advice is go for it, if a gumby like me can do it anyone can.

also, the brisbane city council librarys have a number of books on guitar building and they let you borrow them. for free!

being a chippie means you probably have most of the basic tools too.

[J.F. Custom]

Hi Ben and welcome to the forum.

Have a scratch around in the archives and using the 'search' function for any topics that particularly interest you.

You'll find herein plenty of advice; some even guitar related

My advice... Don't do it.

You'll end up an addict; flat broke; isolated; you'll find it difficult to connect with anyone that isn't discussing wood and strings; you may even suffer from WAS amongst other things...

If this doesn't deter you, welcome aboard

Jeremy.

[Allen]

Welcome to the forum Ben.

My advice is to borrow the books mentioned from your local library. Read them back to front several times, and you'll get a pretty good idea of the process of construction. Lot's of different ways to accomplish the same thing and everyone will have their preferred method.

Keep in mind that the books mentioned were written some time ago now, and building styles have evolved and improved in many respects. The neck joint is just one aspect.

Look through the tutorial section on this site to give you tips on how we accomplish some tricky thing.

Get one of Robbie O'Brien's DVD's on building a guitar. He walks you through the steps like in a classroom. Gives you measurements etc. For a rank beginner or even someone that has built a few, these are a great reference.

And finally, ask questions. There aren't any dumb ones.

[Lillian]

Welcome to the madness Ben.

Robbie also has a bunch of short tutorials up on youtube that are worth watching. I think he has pretty much covered the entire building process.

[Nick]

And finally, ask questions. There aren't any dumb ones.

I've got a few

Welcome to the best Forum on the net Ben :serg As others have already said, read as much as you can. For your first get one of the cheaper B&S set (maybe a 'lesser grade' Indian rosewood or Mahogany they are more 'user friendly' to bend), use Sitka for the top, it's a good cheaper wood but will give excellent tone and is a fairly forgiving wood to work. Or maybe even consider a kit that has everything in it? There's nothing wrong with a first one being a kit guitar, it's a good way to learn the components that go into a build without having to worry to much about working the woods into their respective shapes.Then feel free to ask questions, as Allen pointed out, there aren't any dumb ones we all have to start somewhere!

[xray]

hey ben, firstly welcome and i am also quite young at 27 and am still very green but i have some very good advice for you. Start off by getting a good book which i have found to be kinkeads version on steel string building. Set aside about 500 bucks for all of the things in the hardware department and of course being a chippy most of the tools you should have. Go with qld species because they are cheaper where you live and have fun doing it. This forum is a bible and dont be afraid to ask questions on anything! hope this helps. my suggestion first off is bunya pine top and qld maple for back and sides to get the ball rolling, both available and cheap.

[seeaxe]

Hi Ben and welcome

I am going to put a vote in for guitar kits, mainly because that's the way I started. (assuming you are wanting to build an acoustic - electric ones can be fun too!)

Kits got me past some of the really tricky bits like bending sides and cutting accurate fretboards, that I found pretty daunting to begin with

I got the Stewart Macdonald dreadnought kit, there were plenty of challenges in that, I can assure you and while you will have "most" of the tools, there will still be some more you need. This all adds to the cost, but tools are investments, so they don't count.

Most likely when you have built your first one, you will be really happy with how it sounds and probably pretty happy with the way it looks, but a little voice inside will be saying I can do better than that - you can see the results of that all over this forum.

So if you decide to have a go at building from scratch, then this forum is the place to be. I have never come across such a nice, knowledgable and downright helpful bunch of people.

Whatever you do, get going and good luck.

Cheers

[Ben]

Thanks for the help everyone, greatly appreciated.

[Taffy Evans]

Welcome Ben, you know I asked this question about @#%$& years ago back in the UK. Whilst drafting this reply I thought it might make an interesting new post so this is what I have done. Good luck.