There seems to be growing interest among guitarists and bassists in how to build a guitar, so the editor of this magazine has asked me to prepare this article. First, I will try to help you decide whether it is really worth venturing into this undertaking, because depending on factors such as patience, manual skills and resources, what may be the discovery of a new hobby or trade for some, and a way to finally own the guitar they always dreamed of, can turn into a genuine “via crucis” and a waste of money for others.
Next I will explain why and offer alternatives for those who don't want to dive completely into this exciting but complicated world, yet still want some degree of involvement in customizing their guitar.
First, the question we must ask ourselves is this: Do I want to build a guitar to save money, or to enjoy the process and the experience of playing an instrument built with my own hands? If the answer is to build a replica of a guitar to save money, we should think twice, or maybe three times, since it will require a notable investment in materials and tools, some of which are specific to this work and, because of their cost, only pay off if we plan to build more instruments in the future, which will surely happen if we get an acceptable result with the first one.
The main factor we need to count on to complete our project successfully is patience, in this case a great deal of it. Rushing doesn't help here, because we will have to measure and check countless times before machining the wood. If we suspect that our manual skills and our patience are not our strong suit, and we aren't up for devoting a large number of hours to the project, it's best to drop the idea and consider one of the options I'll discuss later. Shaping the wood and giving it the correct dimensions is something anyone with a minimum of experience in this kind of work and some interest can achieve, but it is neither the last nor the most complicated of the steps before finishing our guitar, since processes such as fretwork, electronics or the final setup are, besides being complicated, decisive in how much use we can ultimately get out of our guitar. If we make a mistake that affects the cosmetics but the guitar sounds as we expected and we can play it comfortably, we will have a result that, although not perfect, will be very satisfying to us. If, on the contrary, the guitar is cosmetically perfect but we don't like its sound, it buzzes in most positions, doesn't intonate correctly and is uncomfortable to play, we will have a resounding failure on our hands.
Next I will list the steps to follow if we want to embark on this adventure, along with options or a “plan B” for those who prefer, for now, to take it more slowly. I recommend taking a look at earlier articles published in this magazine for further information.
Choosing the Woods
This would be the first step to take, because even if we buy wood that is practically dry, it is not advisable to use it right away, and we should let it dry for a while, which will be longer or shorter depending on the wood's moisture content and the local climate. During this waiting period we can put the time to good use by gathering information and making decisions about the design, templates, electronics, etc.
Those who want more information on how to choose woods, as well as on construction types, can consult issue number 97 of this magazine.
Wood can be bought from suppliers specializing in musical instruments, with the advantage that, in many cases, it has been kiln-dried and stored for six months or a year before being put up for sale, and we can buy just the wood needed for the project. Another option is to turn to lumberyards that sell planks, which may interest us if we plan to build more than one instrument or to share the planks with a friend, but we will need machinery to mill the wood and give it the appropriate dimensions; so if we don't have such machinery, we will have to go to a cabinetmaking shop to have it done. This option is usually cheaper than the previous one.
Design
This is the moment when we must decide what we want: a classic shape or a custom design?
For a first project it may be best to go with a classic design, since we can take an existing guitar as a reference and can even find templates on the market for the most popular models, which simplifies the process considerably.
For a first project, the most advisable type of construction is a bolt-on neck, which, besides being less risky, will let us use pre-manufactured necks or bodies if we want to simplify the whole process. If we decide to make the templates ourselves, we will have to take meticulous, repeated measurements of the model being copied: neck pocket to bridge distance, bridge to pickups, etc. Once the most critical measurements have been taken, the design of the body and headstock outline can be varied slightly, as long as it doesn't mean changing the position of any part of the guitar. Making templates is very laborious and must be done calmly, since the precision of the wood machining will depend on how we make them.
The Body
With the corresponding template, we proceed to machine the body.
(Plan B) Another option for those who don't want to complicate things so much is to buy the body already made and even finished. At the end of the article I'll give a list of places to get these bodies, as well as other components.
The body can be built with hand tools, that is, chisels, gouges, mortise chisels, files, etc., but to get satisfactory results you would need extensive experience using and sharpening these tools, so it is advisable to use a router and templates. With the router we should use a pattern or flush-trim bit, which has a bearing to ride along the templates. Most of the excess material should be removed beforehand, so we cut the rough outline of the body with a jigsaw or band saw and hog out the cavities with a drill bit; the kind used to install the typical hinges on kitchen cabinets will do us a great service, leaving as little waste material as possible for the router.
(Plan B) Ready-made bodies are sold with a universal pickup cavity, valid only for guitars where the pickups are mounted on the pickguard.
Before drilling or routing, it's a good idea to test on a scrap piece of wood to confirm that we have set the depth properly and avoid surprises. On the Internet there are several sites where we can see photos and videos of this process, as well as forums where these topics are discussed and information is exchanged; at the end of the article I'll point to one of the most prominent. The most important thing is to measure as many times as necessary before removing wood anywhere, and to think twice about what we're about to do; it's worth spending a little more of our time so we don't have to regret it later.
The Neck and Fretboard
This is the part of the guitar where it is most important to be extremely precise, because otherwise we will run into problems like the following:
- Discomfort when playing.
- Inability to adjust the neck relief, due to a poor truss rod installation.
- Intonation problems from imprecise cuts for seating the frets in the fretboard.
- Lack of sustain or string alignment problems, due to incorrect neck measurements in relation to the body pocket where it sits.
If we had to be cautious with the body, we must be even more so with the neck. The use of a template to mark and make the fret slot cuts is especially important. To shape the neck outline we will once again turn to templates and the router, but to carve the curve our hand slides along we will need hand tools, such as the spokeshave, files and sandpaper. It will be useful to make templates with the profile the neck should have at the first fret and at the twelfth fret, so we can check as we progress with the roughing out and, once we're close to the final profile, finish it with sandpaper; the best for this is cloth-backed 120-grit, since we can hold it with both hands and it will conform to the shape of the neck without tearing. The thickness and back profile of the neck will depend on each person's taste; the most convenient approach is to measure one we like, using a caliper and a contour gauge. To cut the channel that will house the truss rod, we will use the router once again. There are several types of truss rods on the market, and we can even make one ourselves by threading a steel rod.
In building the fretboard, the hardest part, apart from the fret slot cuts, is giving it the chosen radius precisely from start to finish. Doing it with a plane and sandpaper is very laborious as well as difficult, so it is best to use sanding blocks, which already come with that radius. And the longer they are, the better; they will also serve us for leveling the frets. We can also buy the fretboard ready-made, saving resources and time.
The frets must be installed by pressing them in or using a nylon-headed hammer; they shouldn't go in with excessive force, but they shouldn't be pushed in with a finger either. The ideal is to find a saw that makes a cut of the right size for the fret to be used. We must control the cutting depth so that the fret crown sits on the fretboard as snugly as possible, without leaving too much empty space under the part inserted into the wood and, of course, without cutting all the way into the neck wood. Fret leveling is a delicate operation and too extensive to explain here.
Joining the Neck to the Body
Whether the neck is bolted on or glued in, perfect alignment with the body is essential, because otherwise we will find that the sixth or first string sits very close to the edge of the fretboard, or that the strings do not line up with the pickup pole pieces. The best approach is to align it with the bridge installed on the body and, using a clamp, hold the neck with the nut installed. Then we install the sixth and first strings, and, giving them minimal tension, they will serve as a reference for aligning the neck with the body. A very important detail is to clean the neck pocket of any finish residue, so that contact between the body wood and the neck wood is as direct as possible, for good transmission of vibrations, which will improve tone and sustain.
Hardware
It's a good idea to have the tuners, bridge and other accessories on hand before designing the guitar, so we can check their dimensions and make sure they fit our design correctly. For our first guitar, the easiest bridge to install would be a fixed one, since installing a tremolo means routing a cavity and its setup is more complicated. The holes for the screws that secure all the hardware can be drilled before or after finishing; whether we do it before or after, we must be careful when installing them, or we risk chipping the finish. A good trick to avoid this is to start the holes first with a drill bit, turning it counterclockwise.
Finish
There are various options for finishing our guitar; the simplest, without a doubt, is oil and, of all of them, perhaps the most durable is so-called Danish oil, a blend of oil and water-resistant varnish that gives better protection than other available oils. It is commonly used in woodturning and is increasingly popular among instrument makers. Besides being easy to apply, it can be put on with a brush or a cloth. It leaves a very pleasant feel on the neck and a thin, flexible finish that lets the guitar vibrate more freely than the more common spray finishes. It requires no spraying or ventilation equipment and is relatively inexpensive, so I can do nothing but recommend it. Other options would be water-based polyurethane lacquers, which are nonflammable and less toxic than solvent-based ones, and nitrocellulose lacquer, the most popular and widely used for electric and acoustic guitars. We can also turn to aerosol finishes, so we can apply this type of finish without the necessary equipment.
Describing all the preparation and application processes would take several pages, so at the end of the article I'll refer to a very useful book for getting into this field.
Electronics
The easiest way to install the electronics is on a pickguard. After choosing the pickups, it's a good idea for the rest of the components to be good quality, especially the pots. On pickup manufacturers' websites we'll find diagrams for wiring them with different switch configurations and numbers of pots. We won't need many tools; with a soldering iron, solder, wire strippers and pliers, we can do all the work. It's a good idea to shield the electronics cavity with self-adhesive copper foil and/or conductive paint, especially if we use passive pickups; with active EMG pickups, for example, this isn't necessary, nor is grounding them.
When doing the electronics work the key is neatness, that is, avoid using too much solder on the joints, avoid wires longer than necessary, avoid burning the wire insulation and make sure all components are grounded.
Final Setup
Assuming everything is in place and the frets are leveled, we now need to make the following adjustments:
-String height at the nut, the space between the first fret and the string. If it's too low, the string will buzz when playing open strings and, if it's too high, the guitar will be uncomfortable to play and will have intonation problems on the first frets.
-Neck relief: the straighter the better, but we'll need a minimum of relief to avoid fret buzz without having to raise the string height at the bridge too much.
-String height at the bridge.
-Intonation, which means making the guitar play as in tune as possible across the whole fretboard.
-Pickup height.
Setup and maintenance guides are available on various manufacturers' websites, explaining these procedures in detail.
Plan B
In this article we have barely scratched the surface of what building a guitar involves, since the goal is to help you decide whether or not to take the plunge, and to be a starting point for those who want to get started. I must say the best option, at least from my point of view, is to start with a guitar kit. Some are available for just over €100; we can shape the headstock, level the frets or pull them and try putting in new ones, give it whatever finish we want and, if we see that we've gotten a good result, we can swap the tuners and bridge for better ones. Today inexpensive guitars of acceptable quality in terms of woods are being made, but they come very poorly set up, with low-quality electronics and hardware. We probably even have one at home. We can try improving it.
This kind of project is valid both for someone who wants to get involved in customizing a guitar without running too many risks or making a large outlay, and for someone who wants to gain confidence and experience before moving on to a more ambitious project. I think even for someone who doesn't want to pick up so much as a screwdriver, it's worthwhile to have this kind of information, as it will be useful when buying a guitar, taking one in for repair or commissioning one from a luthier.
Good luck, and be careful: once you start down this road, you run the risk of being hooked forever.