The Dirty Details!

Here are some details, since my "UnkyTom" asked:

The Glue: Titebond 3




The Wood: Pine (I believe). I used pine because it was cheap (about 8 bucks) and I knew the owner of the local lumber store. I would really like/prefer to use tone woods next time around; like Alder, Ash, Mahogany but it is expensive and I dont know anyone who can get it to me cheap. Online sites sell guitar body blanks of these desired woods from around $75-$300.

The Body Blank: Its dimensions are 2 inches thick, 16 inches wide, and 25 inches long. Planing the wood makes for a clean joint between the two pieces I glued together. Also it makes for a flatter and a nice even plain to work with when installing the hardware (bridge, pickups, etc)


Any other questions, ask away! and I will fill you in!

Body cutting

Today was an exciting day, cutting out the body of the guitar. This part is most exciting because you actually get to see, feel, and hold what your guitar is going to be!

here is my finished blank:




Sanding it down to make it feel better, not so rough and make the wood grain pop!





Now drawing out the body, I didnt decided what I wanted until just right before I cut it out. Just started drawing and let my hands decide what it was going to look like.


First on paper:


Then straight to wood:


Then the fun bit! Using a band saw to cut out the body. Was tricking getting into the curves and tight spots, but just went slow and concentrated:





And there it is, the body design crafted in a second all on a whim. I am very proud and happy with how it came out, although it does look and feel a little small:

Plane the wood. Glue the wood. Set the wood!

Today I went over to my buddy's house because he has pretty much all tools necessary to do anything constructive and destructive. This is Thomas helping me plane the sides of the planks! We used a hand planer. Thanks again Tom.





Then we proceeded to glue and clamp the two planks together to form one big piece about 15 inches across and 20 inches high.

Hello all, come see me try and make a guitar!

I play guitar. I don't want to buy a guitar. So i will make one. This is my epic, and I will chronicle all of it! join me in creative freedom, or watch in epic fail-dom!


pictures to come.