Acoustic guitar build

[Cary Falk]

Just out of curiosity, where did you find the information for spec'ing out the measurements, etc? As a player, I know that this type of work has to be extremely precise as far as locating the frets and bridge, length and pitch of neck, etc. Otherwise, the guitar won't intonate correctly and you end up with a beautiful instrument that is unplayable.

It looks like you've certainly done your homework, so I'm curious as to where you found this information. I may be interested in this type of venture myself someday, although I may take a stab at an electric instead.

"Build your own Acoustic Guitar" by Jonathan Kinkade

[Cary Falk]

Well I finally put the pick plate on this morning to officially call this project done. I expected to have this post last week but I messed the lacquer during the buff stage and had to sand it all off and start again. The owner says it sounds outstanding. We put an iBEAM pickup in it under the bridge plate. Thanks for following along and all of the kind words. This has been an all time high for views on any of my posts. All in all it turned out well for the first shot. So......................Drum roll please................(I'm not a photographer )

[Justin Leiwig]

Beautiful peice of work there. I wish I had the time to attempt something like that.

[Jim Becker]

That's a really sweet project result and it sounds like (pun intended...) it gets to the business of making music well in capable hands, too, Cary! Congratulations!

[Brent Ring]

Congrats on getting it finished

[Tim Thomas]

Cary this has been a great thread to follow. Thanks for taking the time to post up all of the pictures and walk us through the build. The end result is excellent and I'm sure your friend will get many years of enjoyment out of that guitar.

A couple of questions: Where did you purchase your guitar hardware (tuners, fret wire, nut, etc.) and do you have any recommendations for hardware brands? It looks like you made almost all of the wooden parts yourself, even the bridge, but were there any parts that you bought, like the purfling, kerfing, rosette etc.? And finally, I've read a lot of online advice on "building your first guitar" that recommends starting with a kit to help learn the basics. Have you ever used a kit and would you recommend that route for a beginner?

[Cary Falk]

Cary this has been a great thread to follow. Thanks for taking the time to post up all of the pictures and walk us through the build. The end result is excellent and I'm sure your friend will get many years of enjoyment out of that guitar.

A couple of questions: Where did you purchase your guitar hardware (tuners, fret wire, nut, etc.) and do you have any recommendations for hardware brands? It looks like you made almost all of the wooden parts yourself, even the bridge, but were there any parts that you bought, like the purfling, kerfing, rosette etc.? And finally, I've read a lot of online advice on "building your first guitar" that recommends starting with a kit to help learn the basics. Have you ever used a kit and would you recommend that route for a beginner?

The nut and saddle blank (cut and shape your own)came from Stewart Mac along with the mother of pearl and fret wire. The lockable tuners came from a local store(he purchased) and I forget the name but can check on that if you want. The purling, bindings, and rosette(yeah, thats thin strips of wood also) are all maple and walnut wood made by me and my drum sander. The kerfing and bracing I made also. We debated about a kit. The neck and bending the sides were the only parts that worried me. In the end we decided that we wanted to go big or go home. We wanted to to be able to say it was all me good or bad. If it turned out bad we would blame it on inexperience on guitar building. So to make a long story short excep for the hardware, I made everything else from a block of wood. A kit would have sped things up. I have about 250 hours into this. IF you don't have a lot of tools then a kit is definitely the way to go.

I have another request to make another one so I will probably start this process all over again in about a year. After that I will probably call it quits. It would be a shame to waste all of the jigs of one guitar. It was a love hate project. It taught me patience and took me to a whole nother level that I have never been.

Edited to add:

I will probably buy the bulk of the supplies(wood, tuners,fretwire, etc.) from Grizzly. My neighbor bought all of the supplies and he is not a huge bargin shopper. Jigs take up a huge chunk of the overall time(for me anyways) in making an acoustic guitar.

[Doug Shepard]

...
I have another request to make another one so I will probably start this process all over again in about a year. After that I will probably call it quits. It would be a shame to waste all of the jigs of one guitar. It was a love hate project. It taught me patience and took me to a whole nother level that I have never been.
...

It would be a shame to waste your skill on only 2 guitars. They're bound to get easier the more you do.

[Cary Falk]

It would be a shame to waste your skill on only 2 guitars. They're bound to get easier the more you do.

How many guitars would it take to end the madness and justify the jigs? I'm not sure there is an answer. The less you make the more they are worth. Quite honestly, I felt I got lucky on this one. There are flaws(aren't there always?) There are first attempts on the guitar forums that would put mine to shame. My neighbor tells me I can't base my experience off of one guitar. I don't play but maybe I should. This was a love hate project. Sometimes more hate than love. Part of it was an ego thing. My wife's friend was hating on the project pretty bad and now says I can make him one for Christmas. I can now say that I built one.

My 2nd one will be a simpler build if there is such a thing. I think that is where my madness ends unless I learn to play. I don't claim to be an expert now. There is at least one pro guitar builder on this forum and probably more. I by no means want to trivialize what they do. That is not why I started this thread. I, like a lot of other people wanted to know what is was like to make one. I have enjoyed answering questions and giving my perspective for the same reasons. So all of you that are still on the fence I would encourage you to try. I am always happy to answer questions here or through PMs. I would also encourage the pros to chime in with the good or the bad. We're all here to learn, right?

[Tim Thomas]

Thanks for answering my questions Cary. Currently I've got a lot of other woodworking projects on my "to-do" list, but I am definitely going to have to make at least one guitar someday. It appears to be incredibly challenging, but equally rewarding.

[Jim Becker]

Cary, the words in your last paragraph speak much wisdom. The fact of the matter is that if we each individually do not challenge ourselves, we can never learn or develop new skills. I admire how you jumped into this project that carries with it a lot of risk that the end result might not sound as it should, but moved forward and generated a great result. That's an outstanding looking instrument and once again, it's great to hear that the sound is "right up there", too.

And yes, you should learn to play. Even if that's just the basics, it will help you understand the instrument even more from a design and sound perspective. By example I'm a keyboard player, but have taken the time to faddle with and even learn, to a certain degree, other instruments. I didn't do that to master the other instruments (or fulfil some other need for "someone" to play them in a group), but to better understand how they work and how physically playing them affects the sound. In that manner, when I use a sample on the keyboard, I can better represent the original instrument through "how" I play and modify the sound via the keyboard and at least present to a certain degree sound that hints at a musician playing that instrument.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

oohh I like~!!

[Jason Tuinstra]

What a great project. Thanks for letting us in on it while you were building it. It turned out just great. It must be very rewarding to have a project like that done.

[Cary Falk]

Sooo. My neighbor took it to a professional guitar shop to have it set up correctly. I don't claim to know anything about that and he didn't want to do it himself. I didn't want to go. The only complaint the guy had was that the top was made from cedar. I am told that he changed his tune once he heard the sound come out of it. That was my final exam.

[Jacob Mac]

Wow, great work.