Tech: Building a guitar

Subject: RE: Tech: Building a guitar
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Apr 04 - 06:04 AM

Guest gangte -

It shouldn't make a lot of difference whether your instructions are in "English" units or SI, since much of the basic stuff in making an instrument from someone else's plans is a matter of tracing patterns that have no dimensions. If you have an instrument similar to what you want to build, you make the measurements using whatever "units" you want, and make your new one to the same, or similar dimensions.

For most of the things that are "critical," and actually require something to be to specific dimensions, you seldom "measure" the dimensions, you use the part it has to fit, and "match" the mating part(s) to it.

I have a little difficulty visualising how one would follow a video to make something as complex as a guitar, although with a few printed patterns for the big parts I suppose it could be done. If you really want to "study up" and have instructions you can lay out to follow in more or less step-by-step manner, there are several fairly good "textbooks" on guitar making.

Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology, by Cumpiano and Natelson, Chronicle Books, © 1993, ISBN 0-8118-0640-5, is a paperback that's fairly common in book stores for about the last 10 years that gives pretty complete instructions for Steel-String Folk Guitar and Classical Guitar construction. The $30 (US) I paid for it a few years back makes it a fairly "pricey" book, but you'll likely break enough $50 pieces of fine wood if you don't have good instructions to make it worthwhile having it, or something like it.

For the more ambitious, Making an Archtop Guitar by Robert Benedetto © 1994, Centerstream Publishing, ISBN 1-57424-000-5, has pretty good instructions. It was about $40 (US) a few years back, but probably worth it if it saves even a few mistakes with that first set of materials.

If you're serious about building something that looks and sounds like a convential good quality instrument, it's critically important that you locate a supplier you can deal with for all the bits and pieces of luthiery materials and tools you're going to need. If you find one that's more or less local, they'll probably speak "your kind of units" for everything you need. The instructions are more for the pictures, so that you understand the principles than for getting specific dimensions of stuff. You build to fit the materials at hand, and/or "trace a pattern," at least for a beginning effort.

If you're going to build an "unconventional" instrument, it's your plan - and you supply the units. You may still want a book for the examples of tools you need (and may have to build), how to make a glue-jig, how to set purfling, how to bend sides, etc, that you can get from the instructions.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Building a guitar
From:
Date: 27 Apr 04 - 09:19 AM

My son is a guitar/mando player and we watched Lynn Dudenpostal's DIY show together this week and are very curious how much one of his custom guitars costs. I've searched all kinds of sites with no mention of $. Got any idea what they are worth? Thanks. Pete

Subject: RE: Tech: Building a guitar
From:
Date: 13 Apr 04 - 09:40 AM

i want to build my own guitar,infact i made it myself but i want the international measurement standard , so wold you kindly intimate for the above mention i shall ever reman thankful to you
sincerely
momo gangte
......................

Subject: RE: Tech: Building a guitar
From: Dharmabum
Date: 31 Mar 04 - 07:44 AM

I checked out the DIY website.
It looks like a pretty interesting series,though,according to their info it doesn't appear to be as much of an instructional series,as it's going to be about the process of building an instrument.

I wish our dish company offered the option of suscribing to single channels,as opposed to the "packages".


I hope I can find someone to record the shows for me.

Subject: RE: Tech: Building a guitar
From: Flash Company
Date: 31 Mar 04 - 04:46 AM

I did make a guitar once, from articles in the Woodworker Magazine (UK) in the 1960's. It wasn't bad, eiither, but it took a bit longer than eight hours.

FC

Subject: RE: Tech: Building a guitar
From: Mark Clark
Date: 30 Mar 04 - 11:08 PM

Many thanks, Dharmabum. I'll check it out and try to watch.

      - Mark

Subject: Tech: Building a guitar on TV ?
From: Dharmabum
Date: 30 Mar 04 - 09:10 PM

I ran across this article,Thought it might be of interest to some.
Although,I have serious doubts about learning how to construct a D-28
in 8 hours.

Unfortunately,I don't get the DIY channel.

D.B.




Fans of vintage guitars and bluegrass music are getting their dream construction shows on cable channel DIY: Do It Yourself, a sister network of Home & Garden TV.

DIY's "Handmade Music" and "Handmade Guitars" will look at how to build vintage-style guitars step by step.

"Handmade Music" is an eight-part series that premieres at 10 p.m. ET April 2. Ted Davis and John Arnold, known for making guitars from sought-after red spruce wood, are featured in the series.

The show also spotlights Lynn Dudenbostel demonstrating how to build guitars from scratch, including a look at the "gold standard" for bluegrass pickers, the D-28 from Martin Guitars. Dudenbostel is the exclusive crafter for Nickel Creek guitarist Chris Thile. Bluegrass group Kentucky Thunder also appears for a jam session.

"Handmade Guitars" is a one-hour special that focuses more on constructing a D-28 guitar. That show premieres at 6 p.m. ET May 23.

For more information, visit diynetwork.com.