Adventures in Home Lutherie Butcherie

[drezdin]

So a few years ago I started building my own guitars.
There were a few reason why I chose to do that, but that is another topic. I just wanted to share some of my experiences and a couple of guitars that I have finished.
I will start off by saying that I had no previous woodworking experience, I'm not very patient, I'm a little clumsy and tend to injure myself relatively easily. (Maybe I should have taken those things into account before I started.)
But, I was able to come into some tools through the work I was doing at the time and thought I would give it a shot.
Things I learned on my first build.
1. Safety planers are not that safe.
2. I should not use the chisels until I know how to use them.
3. Hand planes are cool.
4. Dan Erlewine videos are incredible.
5. I can actually make a playable, useful guitar that sounds ok.
6. Installing binding sucks.


I was not very happy with the way my first build sounded, but it was very playable and felt good. I was also not at all pleased with the way it looked as my lack of patience and being clumsy left the guitar with tons of nicks, scratches and dents.

So on to my second build.
For this build I was looking for a super playable, thin necked fixed bridge machine that could handle being tuned down a full step. I decided to go with a 26" scale length, alder body, with a maple burl top, maple/rosewood laminated neck with a macassar ebony FB.
The switches are a kill switch and a control switch used for controlling fx processors.
I chose the hardware because it is basically what I had around. The headstock was inspired by the sound hole on the Parker archtops. The color was inspired by baby poo. I burnished the hardware a little.





The result??
It came out good, very playable, good sounding, but the finish is still crap. I used true oil for this. I will use it again. It feels really nice and was very easy to use, but it is full of my usual bumps, nicks and scratches.
I play classical and have nails and I seem to scratch the wood constantly.

What I learned on build #2?
1. I can actually make things semi straight.
2. I got better at working things down to about where I wanted them.
3. I don't have to cut myself. (no bloodshed on this one)
4. I really don't think I should use chisels.
5. Thanks to a great conversation with Terry McInturff, FB glue ups are easy.

On to #3. I just finished this one this week.
The body was actually made before #2 and was intended on being a fretless with a metal FB. It is very chambered with a carved top. I was hoping that the chambering would help even out the brightness of the metal FB.
But, when I finally got around to building the neck I decided to try building an 8 string. This build was more than a little frustrating. Though I can tell that I'm much much better with tools now, I made lots of stupid mistakes, and ruined a whole neck. I'm glad it is over and think I will take a break from building for a while and just play.
It is hog body with redwood top, hog/wenge laminate neck. It is really a beast. The body is very thick. The neck is big on the bass side, but gets very thin. Scale length is 27". I made the bridge plate and back string holder from some brass. The pickups are angled like that to try to align the pole pieces. The saddles I picked for this are pretty narrow.
The black strip is a ribbon controller.
some pics
The Back


Headstock with mismatched tuner. (I was using what I had around)






This result??
This guitar sounds awesome and feels great. It handles the lows really well. I'm going to be playing this guy a lot.
The bad. It is not my best fretjob. I have a low fret and I'm not sure how I'm going to fix it. It is not really bad, but it bugs me. The finish is also terrible. I tried danish oil for this and it just did not come out well. It came out really blotchy on the redwood I'm sure it is my fault. Finishing is the worst for me. I'm so desperate to play the damn thing that I don't put time into the finishing like I should. I also dinged and scratch the crap out of the soft redwood.
The guitars are just for me, so it really doesn't bother me too much.

What did I learn on this build?
1. How to drill tuner holes
2. Some body please take the chisel out of my thumb and lock the set away.

So to some all of this up I will say....
I would never want to build guitars for a living. I have so much respect for builders. It is very much an art and takes skill, careful thought, patience, dedication and work.
I will also say that it has been very rewarding and improved my patience and concentration.
I love playing the guitars I built. I've sold most of my guitars except for my builds and my Koll (that is not going anywhere).
If you are thinking about trying to build something yourself I would say go for it!
I'm not qualified to give advice on building, so take these with a grain of salt. Plan your build out well before you start.
Read lots of building forums. Get the stewmac videos if you can. Dan Erlewine is the man!

[MartinPiana]

I put together a basic partscaster with a couple minor variations on the telecaster theme, but your ambition and imagination and general go-for-it attitude are inspiring. I think the guitars look pretty cool. What's the tuning on the 8-string?

P.S. Sympathize with your chisel trauma. I used a chisel and then a dremel to make a mini-humbucker hole accept a CC blade - thank god I planned a pickup, which hides the damage....

What comes next?

[Pfeister]

I love the designs, especially the headstock on the first one.

Do you mind if I use the term "lutherie butcherie" sometime? It's just too perfect for me.

[Guitarpentry]

I enjoyed that! I'm in the same 'camp' as you man....all the way up to the chisel! Having no prior woodworking experience, you find out quickly how important the RIGHT tools can be, and the right techniques. OR, when to put a tool down

Finishing is it's own separate skill for sure.
I noticed on your builds that you're using pretty 'soft' woods for the tops: maple burl and redwood. I would suggest using a 'hard' finish on these instead of oil (even if it's from a rattle can), and although I love Danish oil, using it alone on redwood with grain like that looks difficult. I love the way danish oil 'warms up' the nature of the wood. I'm sure once you give it a while to truly dry out, you might be able to 'heat up' and fix all the little dents and scratches and cover the thing in a harder finish?

It's a test in patience for sure, but that process either makes or breaks the instrument. I was fortunate enough to have access to a quality spray booth for one build, and that instrument came out my best so far. I learned how cool spraying nitro is...just wish I would have had a little more time to experiment in tinting the nitro with colors and applying more of a burst effect.

[drezdin]

Originally Posted by MartinPiana

What's the tuning on the 8-string?

Just F# standard. F# B EADGBE

Originally Posted by MartinPiana

What comes next?

I will probably rebuild my first. Using the same parts, but in limba with a different scale length.

Originally Posted by Pfeister

I love the designs, especially the headstock on the first one.

Thanks. For some reason I like to design headstocks more than bodies

Originally Posted by Pfeister

Do you mind if I use the term "lutherie butcherie" sometime? It's just too perfect for me.

No problem. Go right ahead.

[Guitarpentry]

That headstock is waay cool (first). any picture of the back of it?
Looks like you drilled the Truss access hole perfectly too!

[Ed Alvarado]

Cool stuff and you are obviously not afraid of anything!

[drezdin]

Originally Posted by Guitarpentry

That headstock is waay cool (first). any picture of the back of it?

I don't have a pic. It has a thin veneer on the whole back that hides where the rosewood piece is glued on.

[Saul Koll]

Looking good, keep it up!

[sahhas]

guitar #2 is PRETTY F***in COOL. love the body shape.
could never play a 7 string, but love the look.
for a supposed "butcherie" it looks pretty good to me....

[drezdin]

Originally Posted by Saul Koll

Looking good, keep it up!

Thank you Sir!

[burningyen]

Wild stuff, I admire your vision and ambition!

[Terry McInturff]

Woo HOO! Great job!