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The Greatest Guitar Build Ever Taught

by Seanspqr
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I Made it!

About This Instructable

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Seanspqr
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Bio: Luthier, woodworker, builder. If you

can dream it you can build it.
Tags: Guitar Woodworking lutherie
handtools

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Have you ever wanted to build your own guitar? Maybe you thought its
impossible or too difficult or even too expensive, I'm here to teach you how to
build your own super awesome, super custom electric guitar regardless of skill
level. Even better you will do it without purchasing expensive machinery or
hardware!
Because of some issues during the build i lost a lot of photos in this project so
i'll do my best to explain the steps. The guitar i built and reference the most is
a Carve top Guitar with a set neck. If you want to build a fender style guitar
you can follow this tutorial along as it has a lot of information on guitar building.

How to build a Cigar

Box Guitar
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You may also want to wait as I'm working on a Fender style guitar build tutorial
and hope to finish it soon.
This build was constructed almost entirely with hand tools, the only power tools
i used were a handheld router and an impact driver, so you don't need a bunch
of fancy and expensive machinery to build a top notch guitar!

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Step 1: Materials

Show All 16 Items

When it comes to Hardware on a guitar there are a variety of retailers and

websites available. Wood can and in my opinion should be purchased from
local lumber yards but you can make a great guitar from Home Depot or Lowes
Lumber
- Lumber, quantity depends on the shape of guitar you want the measurements
below are for my guitar and they are estimated. Refer to your plans for to
estimate the amount of wood needed for your own guitar.
- Body blank was approximately 28" x 18" x 1-1/2" Honduran Mahogany piece.
- The neck blank was 2 2"x 30" x 1" pieces of Honduran Mahogany that I used
for a 2 piece neck with a scarf joint.
- My Carved top was a Bocot Cap measured at 28" x 18" x 5/8"
- For the Headstock cap (not all guitars need one, just ones with a tilt back
headstock.) I used a piece of my Kingwood slab.
- 1 nut for the strings, i prefer a vintage Ivory nut but since one wasn't available
i used a bone one, Alternatively you can use the Tusq ones or if you prefer not
to shape your own nut buy one that is shaped and slotted already.
- 1 Truss Rod buy a 2 way truss rod (you'll thank me later) i prefer the Hot Rod
Truss rods from Stew Mac.
- Strings, of course you need strings i like the D'Addario NYXL .9 Strings best.
- Fretboard blank, I milled my own fretboard out of Mexican Kingwood, but you
can purchase a blank or a slotted Fretboard from Stew Mac or LMI. I will be
talking more about the different types of fretboards in the first step.
- 1 set of tuners. This will depend on the guitar type you want weather its a 3+3
Combination or a 6 in line tuner set. I really the Schaller Locking tuners and
that is what i used for the project.
- 1 bridge. Your design will determine they type of bridge needed for your
guitar. I used a Tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece, specifically from Gotoh.
- Fret Wire a guitar will use approximately 3 feet of fret wire which can be
purchased from Stew Mac. I recommend the Medium type Wire.
- Knobs and additional Hardware you may need will include tone and volume
knobs (or you can make your own) output jack plate and strap buttons.
- Pick guard or pickup rings. if you purchase a set of pickups they may come
with all the hardware and rings needed if not you can buy the pieces from Stew
Mac, AllParts or make them yourself.
- Guitar Pickups. I went with 2 PAF humbucker pickups from Throwbak, and
while very expensive i have to say they sound amazing. Your pickups will
probably be the most expensive component so shop around and search for a
type that you like.
- 1 Wiring Kit. you can purchase a guitar Wiring kit from Stew mac which
comes unsoldered or from other websites. Additionally you can piece together
the components from different suppliers but to make it easier i prefer the Stew
Mac kit. Below I've listed the specifics in the Wiring Kits should you wish to
source your own parts.

- A set of Capacitors, the number needed depends on the type of guitar. As

mine is influenced by Gibson Guitars i need 2 Capacitors and i chose 2 Mylar
Caps, .022 uF for the Neck Humbucker and a .047uF for the Bridge
Humbucker.
- Potentiometers I need 4 Pots and i bought 500k Alpha Pots. The lower the
Value (250K) the brighter the pots will sound and alternatively a Higher Value
pot will sound a bit darker.
If you decide to purchase a Wiring Kit unsoldered or soldered it will come with
the Wire, Pots, Caps and the output jack.

Step 2: Tools

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Here is a basic list of tools you'll need. Since i am a hand tool woodworker i
prefer using just hand tools but power tools maybe faster or more efficient for
you. The only power tools I used in this tutorial are a Makita Router, Makita
Impact Driver and a Soldering gun from Harbor Freight.
- Templates. I'll go over the different templates you may need but they are
necessary and will help you avoid mistakes.

- Pencils and Pens, you will use them for everything and apart from my No. 7
hand plane my pencil is my favorite tool.
- Compass or angle protractor. you will need at least one and i only used my
angle protractor a few times but it will become necessary to mark out
headstock angle and the neck angle on the guitar.
- 2 Rulers at least 18 inches in length. i use a combination metric and imperial
steel ruler that doubles as a straight edge, and a small ruler that measures in
64th of an inch.
- 1 Marking tool, i use a Marking Gauge which makes accurate and square
marks, you can use a knife, razor blade or just a regular pencil as a substitute.
- 1 engineers square or framing square can be used. make sure that it is at a
perfect 90 degree angle!
- 1 Caliper tool. Electric or Dial it doesn't matter you can find a cheap one at
harbor freight
- 1 set of Files, at least 1 large bastard file and the rest can be needle files
used for finish work
- 1 Rasp, a file can be substituted for it but i like the Shinto Rasp
- 1 Hand Plane, I actually use a big No. 7 Jointer Plane and it is my favorite
tool but you can use a Jack Plane. my no. 7 is used as a joiner, planer and
Thicknessing machine so it is invaluable!
- 1 Chisel Set, you actually only need 2 or maybe 3 chisels. I prefer a 1/2 inch
and a 1 inch Chisel. I also use a small set of carving chisels but it is optional
as you'll only need them if you want to inlay a logo on your headstock.
- 1 Hand held router, I use a Makita Plunge router and i highly recommend
using a plunge router as they are safer and you will need to do cuts at various
depths. ( I also used my Dremel with a Plunge router attachment but i only
used it for inlay work so it is completely optional.)
- Router Bits i use 3. 1 3/4 Round over bit, 1 1-1/2" depth template bit and 1
3/4" template bit.
- 1 card scraper will substitute for sandpaper if set up properly
- A set of saws. I use a Ryoba Hand Saw, a Coping saw and a little .23 kerf
pull saw from Harbor freight. If you own a table saw or circular saw rip cuts will
be much easier and faster.
- 1 Drill, i used a Makita impact driver and my little eggbeater drill for this
project. If you own a drill press drilling holes accurately will become much
easier and faster, but with enough practice you can be just as accurate with a
hand drill.
- 1 drill bit set, so long as it has 3/64" minimum you should be fine although i
like having 1 or 2 forstner bits as well
- 1 set of clamps , you can never own too many clamps but i suggest 2-3 small
F style clamps and 3 Bar clamps should be fine for your start.
- Glue, I prefer hot hyde glue but i used Titebond original for this project and i
recommend it. you may also need some CA glue for binding, inlay work and
small repairs.
The tools below are finishing work tools and electronics.
- Screwdrivers both flat head and phillips may be needed. I have a small
jewelers set of screwdrivers that are perfect for the screws used in the guitar.
- Electronics Pliers i use them to trim the electronics wire and for fretwork

- Cutting pliers i use these to cut the fret wire as i don't have have a fret cutter
although you can make your own by grinding a flat edge on end nippers.
- Wire strippers for wiring.
- 1 Soldering Gun, i bought a cheap one from Harbor Freight and it works
wonderfully. Additionally you'll want some Soldering wire i use 60/40.
- Sandpaper grits 120,220,300,400 should suffice. Use a piece of scrap wood
as a Sanding block as sanding with your fingers will not leave a flat surface.
- Steel wool grit 0000 for fine polishing.
- Tape at least 1 roll of masking tape and 1 roll of double stick tape of
templates.
- Wood Finish. I recommend Oil finish because of ease of application and it
requires no specialized equipment.
- Brasso, for Fret polishing!
- Microfiber cloths, useful for finishing work, making sure your instrument
doesn't get scratched and for cleaning.

Step 3: Template and plan layout

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Here is where you'll want to either design your very own shape or purchase a
set of established blueprints. I recommend starting from an established shape if
you are a beginner woodworker, but if you like a challenge feel free to create
your own design. You will also need to think about what scale length you
choose. The scale length is measured from the beginning of the fretboard or
first fret to the location of the Bridge. The two most common for electric guitars
are the Fender Scale length (25-1/2") and the Gibson length (24-3/4) keep in
mind the Gibson scale length has changed throughout the years I used 24.625
or 24 5/8. http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator.html This website is an
excellent resource and will not only give you the correct fret placement if you
are cutting your own fretboard but will also give you the correct bridge
placement ( I will be explaining this website later on in the tutorial, but for now
it is important for you to decide what scale length to use.)
If you are Purchasing a slotted fretboard from Stew Mac or LMI they will come
in a specific scale length and this is will be the easiest step. If you are
purchasing an unslotted fretboard or are milling your own blank refer to the
Stew Mac website to calculate your fret positions and cut the frets either by
hand or with a table saw.
After establishing your scale Length its important to cut out and make your
templates, these will make the guitar construction easier and give you a better
way to use your router rather than freehand. The more accurate the templates
the better. I mark all of my templates with the necessary measurements so i
don't have to keep checking my plans. In the pictures above i show the
templates I made including a neck pocket template, body shape template
(arguably the most important as this is your guitar shape!), neck template with
the correct neck taper (measurements are off the width of the Nut and the 22nd
fret for the correct taper) , pickup template (to rout out the humbucker cavities),
and a Control Cavity template.

Step 4: The Neck

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The first thing i like to build on a guitar is the neck and here preparation is key
for a successful build. Since my guitar is using a Tune-o-matic bridge ands
stop bar i have to angle my neck and the headstock for proper intonation. This
website http://www.tundraman.com/Guitars/NeckAngle/ is a fantastic resource
to find the proper neck angle on your guitar and i highly recommend it. After
planning i figured out that my guitar will use a 3 degree neck angle and the
headstock will be at a 13 degree angle, once you have the neck figured out its
time to make wood dust!
Step 1- Mark out and measure your guitar neck to make sure you don't build a
shorter neck. Measure twice and cut once as the proverb says. The dimensions
on my neck are 4" x 30" x 1", but to save wood and build a stronger neck i
made mine a two piece neck.
Step 2- If you are building a 2 or more piece neck orient the wood grain so it
runs vertical to the wood surface of the neck. Then plane the neck pieces dead
flat using your hand plane or planer and an engineers square. the flatter the
two jointed surfaces are the more invisible the seam and stronger it'll be.
Step 3 - Glue your neck up if you made a two piece or 3 piece neck, it is
important to lay your neck with the grain running vertically ( this is known as
Quartersawn) as this will create a dimensionally stable guitar neck. Leave your
neck blank to dry for at least 3 hours although i like to wait 24 hours just to be
sure.
Step 4 - After the glue up mark out and cut you scarf joint to the appropriate
angle. Personally i believe that a neck with a scarf joint is stronger and less
wasteful than its single piece brother, but if you decide to have a one piece
neck cut out the angle for the headstock as well.
Step 5 - If you cut out your scarf joint using your engineers square and a flat
edge on the neck mark a straight perpendicular line to the flat edge as close as
possible to the scarf ramp. This will be the location of your guitar nut and allow
you to visualize the flattening of the joint.
Step 6 - Clamp the neck and headstock together so you can plane the scarf
joint flat, taking care that you leave the joint as square as possible.
Step 7 - Once you have achieved a flat joint glue it up and let it dry for at least
24 hours as this is a very critical joint. To avoid the headstock slipping from the
glue you can drill two little holes in parts of the joint that won't be used and
insert a staple to keep the joints centered.
Step 8 - Time to rout the Truss rod channel! Measure the thickness, width and
height of the truss rod and mark it on your neck using the centerline to keep
everything centered. There are many ways to rout out the truss rod, personally
I have a template that I use with my router, but you can use a flat straight edge
to keep your router bit parallel to it or you can cut it by hand using chisels and
your marking tools. Use your truss rod for depth and make sure that it fits snug
into the channel.
Step 9 - Turn your attention to the fretboard while the Scarf joint dries, if you
have an unslotted fretboard or are milling your own you will need to join and
plane the board to the correct dimensions. Since i am using a Gibson scale
length of 24.625 my fretboard will measure approximately 2-3/8" x 18-1/2" x
15/64"
Step 10 - skip this step if you bought a slotted fretboard. If you haven't slotted
your fretboard now would be a good time to do so, and remember to be 100%
accurate as a fretboard that has been slotted incorrectly will never intonate
properly and your instrument won't sound to good. To slot your fretboard you
can use a miter box or an engineers square. What i do is first mark the position
of all the frets, then clamp my engineers square close to the line and use my

fret saw directly on the line to cut as accurately as possible.

Step 11(optional) - Once slotted you may desire to bind the fretboard if thats
the case measure your binding and calculate the true dimensions of your
fretboard with your plans, then cut your fretboard so that with the binding it has
the correct dimensions.
Step 12 - Once your fretboard has been correctly slotted and the neck has
dried you will need to make the tendon for the neck ( if you are doing a set
neck guitar). Make sure that you have a centerline established on the neck as
this will be very important to keep everything centered. I make templates for the
neck tenon and it measures at 1-1/2" x 4 1/2"x 1-1/2" with a 3 degree angle on
the sides of the tenon to mirror the 3 degree mortise on the body.
Step 13 - Now would be a great time to glue on your headstock if your guitar
will have one, align the grain of the headstock cap to the centerline of the
headstock to give a pleasing vertical grain orientation to your headstock.
Step 14 - Measure your tuning machine necks to drill the tuner holes on the
headstock. I recommend making a template for your headstock shape and
drilling your tuning holes into the template to check for accuracy and to make
sure that everything is centered. Once you are satisfied with the tuner layout
and shape of your headstock, clamp your template to the headstock and rout
out the shape and drill the tuner holes. Also be sure to cut out the truss rod
slot!
Step 15 (Optional) - If you are going to have a logo on your guitar now would
be a good time to cut it out and inlay your logo on your headstock.
By now you should have a roughed neck with a tenon milled out and
headstock shaped. A fretboard that has been cut to dimension and slotted and
if desired bound.
You may choose to glue your fretboard to the neck and taper the neck to your
fretboards dimensions now if you wish. Personally I like to finish my neck once
its been glued onto the guitar, I recommend doing it this way so that you can
place your fretboard correctly centered to your guitar once your neck has been
glued up.

Step 5: Neck types in relation to the body

By this point you have a Scale length determined and you should have a body
type chosen. There are three types of neck types and its important to choose
which one you'll go with as they all have advantages and disadvantages. Some
of the biggest differences are the types of bridges that can be used on the
guitar and how the neck is joined to the guitar.
The first is a Set Neck guitar, this is a gibson type guitar and is seen as the
most traditional type of construction and my personal favorite. Some
disadvantages to these necks are that they have to be angled at the headstock
and where the neck joins the body which can intimidate beginner luthiers due
to the potential complexity of the joint. and should the neck become broken or
heavily damaged it is much more difficult to repair or replace. The advantages
to this type of neck are better sustain to the guitar due to the fact that the wood
is joined together and a stronger guitar. The angles vary from as low as 2.5
degrees to about 5 degrees as seen on some Les Paul guitars, like i stated
earlier my neck angle is at 3 degrees due to the fact that i took much
inspiration from the SG guitars. The higher the neck angle the lower the action
will be on the guitar but you can have too low of an action so be wary. The
bridges used on this type of system are known as Hard Tail Bridges (Tune-oMatic, ABR-1 etc..)
The next type of neck joint is the Bolt on neck which is most commonly seen in
Fender guitars, these necks are much easier to construct as they do not need
a tilt back headstock although they will need string trees in the headstock to
give the adequate angle for the strings. Advantages to this type of neck are
ease of construction, and ease of repair should the neck or guitar be damaged.
The type of bridge most commonly used is called a Floating Bridge.
The last type of construction is a little bit more unique and it is called a Neckthrough type, this type of construction is more common on Bass guitars than
on regular axe's. The advantages to this system includes easier access to the
upper frets since there is no need for a heel on the neck, easier intonation
because theoretically the fretboard and bridge are even, and some musicians
may say the guitar has greater sustain. Disadvantages include difficulty in
repairing the instrument since it is a single piece from neck to body you may
have to replace the entire instrument if it's damaged enough. Construction of
the instrument will also be much more expensive and difficult as you will need
to find lumber long enough for both bridge and body and you will need to glue
wings to the instrument, because of this i consider this method to be more
wasteful so i never build instruments in this manner.

Step 6: The Body

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Unfortunately i lost a lot of photos of the process so i'll do my best to explain

the process as i go along.
Step 1 - Rough out and square the body blank. If you are using hand tools cut
the body blank to rough size and then using your hand planes, scrapers and
square up the body, using your hand plane (the bigger the better as it'll leave a
flatter surface) you can thickness the body to dimensions.
Quick Tip - Use a straight edge and winding sticks so you can be sure that
your body blank remains perfectly flat. Remember slow and steady wins the
race, so be patient!
If you have machines well first you can cut to basic dimensions and square it
up on the joiner then planer and then thickness the body to the correct

dimension.
Step 2 - repeat the process for your top cap if your guitar is going to have a
carve top, if not ignore this.
Step 3 - rout out and shape your body (if you have a body template get a
template router bit and rout the body to its shape.)
Step 4 - rout out the control cavities and wire channels ( If you have a carve
top guitar Do Not rout out pickup channels and neck pocket yet!!)
Step 5 ( Optional) - If you have a carve top guitar glue the cap to the body and
allow 24 hours clamping and drying time.
Step 6 - Now that you have a guitar shape it would be a good time to begin the
Carve top. I do a carve using my router and i make steps about 1/16th around
the body, that insures a good step carve.
Step 7 - After you have a rough carve it is a good idea to carve out the neck
angle if you have a set neck instrument. I did this by building a router sled, but
you can also use a hand plane (much easier than you may think) If you have a
bolt on (fender style guitar) you can rout out the neck pocket at this time.
Step 8 (Carve top only) - Once I have the neck angle i secure my neck mortise
template and rout out the neck mortise, this will give me a pocket that is
perfectly parallel to the neck angle thats been established. For an easier rout i
suggest using a forstner bit to hog out excess material. This will give you a
cleaner rout and save your router bit
Step 9 - Rout out your pickup pockets keeping them aligned to the center line
and neck pocket (This is key!!!)
Step 10 - Drill the holes for your output jack (I use a 3/8" Forstner bit) ,volume,
and tone knobs.
Step 11 - (Carve top only) - At this point i usually like to finish my carve top
now that i no longer need flat surfaces for the templates. I carve out the top
using chisels, and scrapers, Some people like to use an angle grinder with a
Kutzall Sanding disc but i don't for fear of carving too much.
Step 12 - After you get an acceptable carve wet the surface lightly and inspect
it under a light, this will show any imperfections, dips or areas that weren't
sanded properly. Repeat as necessary.
Step 13 - For non carve top guitars I would begin leveling the guitar body and
carving out an reliefs or chamfers on the body.
Step 14 - Round over the back part of the body and sand out any harsh
corners on it, remember you want your guitar to be as comfortable as possible.
Inspect the Body for any imperfections and sand them out.
Step 15 - If your guitar is going to have binding you may cut the channel out,
there are different ways to do so with a router bit or by hand. Before you begin
measure your binding and cut the binding channel close to the line.I did the
channel by hand using a tool called a gramil (think of a knife that can cut
perfectly vertical) and chisels to clean up the channel.
Step 16 - After you have your binding channel cut out glue in your binding
using CA glue and automotive tape to hold the binding in place while the glue
dries, work in sections of a couple inches.

Step 7: Joining the Body an Neck

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By now you have a guitar.. well close but you are almost there. We Begin by
making sure that the body has been sanded to at least 220 or 320 if you prefer
and you have a neck that is roughed out. We will be focusing on joining the
neck to the body and making sure everything is squared up, Honestly this is
the step i hate the most as this will reveal if you have a guitar or something
that looks like a guitar!
Step 1 - Insert your neck on your guitar and do a dry test of the neck strength if
this is a set neck, the more snug the joint is the better. You may need to do a
bit of sanding or even chiseling to make sure you have a good neck joint but
be very very careful.
Step 2 - With the neck in the guitar make sure your centerlines add up if not
you may have to shim your neck to make sure you have a straight neck in
reference to the guitar.
Step 3 - Once you are satisfied with your neck and body glue and clamp them
for at least 24 hours, as this is arguably the most critical joint i leave it clamped
for 36 hours or more.
Step 4 - Install your E string tuners ( Bass and treble) and install the nut.
Step 5 - With the tuners and Nut installed clamp or tape your fretboard to your
neck following your centerlines. string up both E strings and make sure that the
stings follow the fretboard and don't fall off, this will insure that your fretboard
is perfectly placed and will also give you a reference for the bridge location.
Step 6 - With the Fretboard placed in its proper location its time to glue it up,
Install the Trussrod on the neck and tape up the truss rod channel.
Step 7 - If you are using an exotic fretboard it is a good idea to wipe it down
with acetone to get rid off some of the oils in the wood. Spread glue on the
fretboard and neck then clamp them together (Make sure that both surfaces
are well clamped) let dry for 24 hours.
Step 8 - Using a ruler or measuring tape from the nut end measure out your
scale length (mine is 24.625) and mark it.
Step 9 - Use a square and place it on the scale length mark on your body and
draw a line perpendicular to your centerline on your scale length location.
Step 10 - Install your E tuners, nut and place your bridge on your theoretical
scale length( as centered as possible). Then place your strings on your tuners
and bridge ( i use the stop bar and i tape or lock the strings in place) This will
allow you to place your bridge in a centered position.
- If you have a floating bridge your templates will probably have the bridge
location to rout so you may do so, just make sure that your bridge is placed in
the correct location
Step 11. Remember this website? http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator.html
Use it to correctly place the compensated bridge location to give your guitar
proper intonation and action. Once you have the proper location marked out,
drill the bridge holes as close to 90 degrees as possible.
Step 12- Install the bridge and string up the guitar to find the location of your

tailpiece, I placed the tail piece 2" from the bridge center. Once you have your
tail piece location drill out the holes and you can install the tailpiece to make
sure everything lines up perfectly.

Step 8: Carve out the neck

With the Neck and fretboard installed to the guitar my next step is to carve the
neck profile. This is the part of the build I enjoy the most as I usually blast
some music and go to town on my neck!!!
Step 1 - Mark a centerline on your neck if you haven't already also mark out
the heel profile.
Step 2 - Taper the
ding the fretboard.
taper template or i
then i use my files

neck as close to the fretboard as possible. Be careful not to

I taper my necks with either my router and the fretboard
cut the neck as close to the taper with my Ryoba saw and
and rasps to sneak up to the fretboard.

Step 3 - With your neck tapered mark 2 lines on either side of the neck 3/16"
from the edge of the neck.
Step 4 - file the neck at the first fret position and at the 16th fret or right before
the heel to your desired neck thicknesses.
Step 5 - using a chisel or raps angled down, cut the neck so it has a hexagonal
shape (like a house).
Step 6 - Use your rasps, files and chisels to round over your neck to your
desired shape, I personally like my guitar shape to be a D shape.
Step 7 - Once you are satisfied with your neck shape begin shaping your heel,
using chisels and files, the better you blend the heel to the neck the more
comfortable your neck will feel in higher frets.
Step 8 - Sand your neck and heel smooth up to 320, this will also help with
shaping your neck but be careful not to sand a bump into your neck.

Step 9: Finishing work

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You now have a working guitar! well not quite you still have to install
electronics, set up and oh yeah apply the finish!! I use Oil finishes because in
my opinion they are safer, more forgiving and more beautiful than your different
lacquers. The specific type of finish i use is a sanded in antique oil finish and
that is the one I will be teaching you.
Step 1 - Using a damp rag wet the body and neck to raise the grain and let it
dry.
Step 2 - Sand down the fibers that have been raised using 320 on your entire
guitar and then wipe off all sawdust!!
Step 3 - Mask off the fretboard and any places that you don't want the finish to
get into.
Step 4 - Apply a generous coat of Oil finish on a face of the guitar and spread
it around with a brush or cloth, take note of the areas where the wood soaks
up the finish and apply more.
Step 5 - After about 3 minutes of letting the oil soak into the wood grab some
320 sandpaper and a sanding block and begin sanding the body following the
grain direction, you will build up a slurry and this will act as a grain filler. If the
oil starts to get tacky add more oil.
Step 6 - After a few applications grab a lint free cloth and wipe away all excess
finish and continue to monitor the body for a few more minutes and keep
wiping off any excess you see. Let dry for 24 hours
Step 7 - Once the 24 hours are up apply the 2nd coat of oil using your sanding
block and 400 grit sandpaper, you don't need too much pressure and
remember to sand with the grain. Wipe off any excess oil and let dry for 24
hours.
Step 8 - Repeat the process listed above but use 600 grit sandpaper. Let dry
for 24 hours
Step 9 - At this point you have 4 coats and i apply the last one using 0000
steel wool following the same steps listed above but you can continue to put
more coats on. The more coats you have the shinier the guitar will get. Let dry
for 24 hours
Step 10 - Using steel wool and a little bit of water buff out the finish to whatever
sheen you want, I went with a Semi Gloss.
Repeat the same steps for the back, neck and headstock. Just make sure you
have all areas you don't want finished ( fretboard, binding or cavities) masked

Step 10: Fretting

Show All 9 Items

Fretting is in my opinion the most important part of a guitar. It doesn't matter

how beautiful your guitar looks if it feels uncomfortable to play it won't be a
good guitar
Step 1 - Grab a straightedge and make sure that your neck is straight if not
adjust your truss rod to straighten your neck out.
Step 2 - Put a radius in your fret wire by softly bending it with your hands, be
careful not to twist it. This will make the installing of the fret wire much easier.
Step 3 - Grabbing your end nibblers cut out all of your fret pieces to length and
if you have a bound footboard you will need to trim the fret tangs on the edges
( use a cutting plier and file).
Step 4 - using a soft hammer or wood caul to protect the frets hammer the
frets into your fretboard.
Step 5 - Grab your end nibbler and trim your fret wire as close to the fretboard
as possible. Then tape up the fretboard leaving only the frets exposed to
protect the board.
Step 6 - Using a File, file down the fret ends at an approximate 35 degree
angle parallel to the fretboard to remove excess fret wire.
Step 7 - With a marker mark out the fret tops and then grab a sanding block
and some 320 sandpaper to sand the frets flat. Use a straight edge for
accuracy and flatness.
Step 8 - To recrown the frets grab a small block of wood and a rounded needle
file to sand a round shape on the block. Grab some 400 sandpaper and using
the block as a sanding block, sand the frets individually until they are shaped
again and you remove most of the scratches.
Step 9 - With some Brasso and some 0000 steel wool polish the frets up.

Step 11: Electronics

Show All 8 Items

Its time to install your pickups, and while this may seem like a nerve raking
experience its actually very easy even if you've never soldered before. Make
sure you don't over heat the Potentiometers or burn yourself, take it slow and
have fun. This tutorial is for a twin Humbucker Les Paul style wiring, more
specifically its how to do a vintage wiring system. The difference between
Vintage and modern wiring is that in a modern wiring, the tone control is before
the volume control. On a Vintage wiring the tone control comes after the
volume control. I will not be going over Fender style wiring as you can buy the
pick guard already wired, so its much easier.
Step 1 - The first thing I do is install all of my Pots in their holes ( 4 of them),
Toggle switch and push the pickup wire through to the contra cavity.
Step 2 - Ground all 4 pots to themselves, since this is a vintage wiring setup i
grounded the left Terminal ( the little nubs with a hole in the center) to the
volume pots and the center terminal on the tone pots. I did this by first pushing
the terminal as close to the Pot body as possible and then holding the
soldering gun to the terminal to heat it up I applied solder until I got a good
joint.
Step 2 - Grabbing your Coaxial wire ( you should have at least a 2' piece) push
a bit up to the bridge to ground the bridge(through a hole connecting the bridge
to the control cavity) and once you see the Coax wire coming out of one of the
bridge holes tape it.
Step 3 - Begin by grounding all 4 Pots using the same Coax Wire. Solder one
Pot at a time by putting the soldering wire on the gun and letting some melt on
the gun tip, then let the solder harden on the uncovered wire. Once you have a
good soldering joint use a screwdriver to hold the joint in place until it hardens.
Use the screwdriver to make sure you have a good joint by putting tension on
the wire and seeing if the joint breaks loose (it shouldn't)
Step 4 - With all 4 Pots grounded to themselves and the bridge wire (ill explain
later) ground the output jack by soldering the ground wire to the negative
terminal of the output jack.
Step 5 - I have my neck pickup with the two pots closest to the body and the
bridge pickup soldered to the two pots closest to the edge of the guitar.
Ground the Neck pickup to the Pot first( it'll be a little unshielded wire) you can
ground it directly to the solder thats on your pot.
Step 6 - Solder the Pickup wire to the right terminal of your pot, leaving the
middle termini free.... for now.
Step 7 - Repeat the last two steps for the bridge pickup
By now you should have 4 grounded pots and output jack, as well as both
pickups grounded and attached to their pots.
Step 8 - Using a piece of Coax wire Solder the Positive terminal of the Output
Jack to two Center terminals in your toggle switch ( grab the two middle
terminals of your toggle switch and squeeze them together).
Step 9 - Solder the center terminal of the toggle switch to the terminal at the
top of the switch together, this will connect the positive output of the jack to the
center terminals and the top terminal (confusing i know) Check my photos to
reference the solder.
This is known as the standard component wiring and will be the same for both
vintage and modern wiring kits.
Step 10 - Time to solder your capacitors ( i use .022 uF on the neck and .
047uF on the bridge) Solder the capacitor to the middle terminal of the volume
pot and to the left terminal of the tone pot.

Step 11 - At this point you are done!!! You have a vintage wiring on your
guitar.... but wait!!! what about that little wire sticking out of the bridge hole,
how do we ground that!? Easy just put the bridge post into the hole with the
wire inside.... thats it! Just make sure you tug on the ground wire from the
control cavity to ensure it stays in place.

Step 12: Final Steps... about time.

Your done! Or are you... time to install all the hardware on your guitar and
string it up. Before you tune the guitar to plug and play you have to set up the
action. I like very low action on my guitar, some people like higher so its up to
you. Action refers to the height of the guitar strings is correlation to the
fretboard.
To lower the action I file the nut down so the Bass E string to .015" on the first
fret and 3/64" on the 12th fret. A string .014", D string .013", G string .012", B
String .010" and the Treble E at .009" with a 3/64" height on the 12th fret.
Raise or lower the Neck pickup to 3/32" on the treble side ( measure from the
bottom part of the string to the top of the pickup) and 3/32" on the Bass side.
On the Bridge Pickup I use 1/16" on the treble and on the Bass.
Now you should have a guitar that plays well, looks spectacular and is
handmade... By you!!! Congratulations and remember to enjoy the guitar, soon
you'll have all your friends begging you to build them an Axe! If you have any
questions or comments on this tutorial please feel free to contact me, and i'll
try to update this tutorial as time goes on. Cheers!!!
-Sean

Step 13: References

Heres a list of valuable information and Luthier supply websites that you
should check out.
-http://www.stewmac.com A ton of information, tools and supplies for the
aspiring luthier
-http://www.tundraman.com/Guitars/NeckAngle/index.p... - Neck Angle
Calculator
-https://www.lmii.com - Luthier tools, Wood, fretboards and supplies
-http://www.guitarfetish.com - great selection of hardware and parts for your
guitar
The Guitar Player Repair Guide By Dan Erlewine - A fantastic book I highly
recommend it. It has information on set up, repairs, wiring and electronics.
Guitarmaking, tradition and technology By William Cumpiano- While this is a

book on building acoustic guitars i consider this the Bible on guitar building and
lutherie, most skills you will learn as a luthier can be learned by this book.
Also be sure to check out the many forums out there, the web is a gem of
information and inspiration for guitar making.

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1-40 of 43

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dlindstrom

7 hours ago

Reply

yesterday

Reply

7 hours ago

Reply

Incredible!

TheNotoriousHoppington

Oh my god that is a beautiful guitar. I wanna make one just like it

Seanspqr (author)

TheNotoriousHoppington

Since I am a luthier I already have a big stash of wood. You can go

to a lumbershop and buy some mahogany. The price is around $8 a
board foot where I live. Board feet is calculated by 12" x 12" x 1"

Seanspqr (author)

TheNotoriousHoppington

20 hours ago

Reply

Total cost for me was close to $800 just because I bought very
expensive hardware the throwbak pickups are 530 by themselves.
Do you want higher gauge strings? While making the neck thicker
will result in it being more stable it might not be too comfortable for
you so you can always reinforce your neck with a double action
trussrod and a carbon fibre rod on either side of it to give it extra
stiffness.

TheNotoriousHoppington Seanspqr

10 hours ago

Reply

True,but I'm not terribly advanced in the luthaeic arts. Also, I'd prefer
if I could do this for cheap, as I'm rather broke and still in school.
The tools aren't a problem, but the materials are. How much was the
Honduran Mahogany blank?

Seanspqr (author)

TheNotoriousHoppington

yesterday

Reply

Hahaha thanks I just realized I should have put this response in with
the other one. Let me make a few tweaks to the design and I'll make
blueprints and templates available.

TheNotoriousHoppington Seanspqr

20 hours ago

Reply

19 hours ago

Reply

20 hours ago

Reply

oh, and what was the cost?

TheStudio7

WOW. This is fabulous. Always wanted a guitar.

rybitski

This is an awesome build and an excellent write up.

I don't want to be negative, but just to comment on something others may or
may not know.. You have a picture with a pull saw halfway through a cross
cut. Pull saws have different types of teeth on each side of the blade; cross
cut teeth, and rip teeth. In your picture in appears that you are using the rip
teeth to preform a cross cut. Each side is designed with a specific tooth
geometry that has been to designed to do one type of cut well. When using
the appropriate side you will notice the ease at which the saw preforms its
designed function.

Seanspqr (author)

rybitski

20 hours ago

Yes thank you these are the types of comments I enjoy reading.
Unfortunately my Ryoba has several of the crosscut teeth broken
while the ripping teeth are still good. So while the cut is a bit harder
I'd rather use the rip side of the saw for that action until I replace the
blade( which I've done.) However thank you for clearing that mistake
up as Japanese hand tools are a bit different to use, so I'm sure
many people appreciate any knowledge on them.

Reply

TheNotoriousHoppington

yesterday

Reply

yesterday

Reply

How would you describe the tone and the sound of it?

Seanspqr (author)

TheNotoriousHoppington

I am very pleased with the tone I like to play blues and classic rock
and the neck pickup just sounds clear and bright, the bridge is a little
darker and muddy which is perfect for a blues sound !! I'm using
Throwbak SLE- 101's along with Mylar Caps and Alpha 500k Pots,
but I am considering switching to PIO caps. Another thing that could
influence my tone is that I'm not very good at setting up my amp so
the guitar sounds darker and more raw than it probably should but I
enjoy the sound!

TheNotoriousHoppington Seanspqr

21 hours ago

Reply

Hahaha, very nice. Same general areas I play, but I'm also into
more progressive metal stuff. Since it's a set bridge, I can use
whatever gauge string I want, just have to make the neck a bit
thicker, right?

TheNotoriousHoppington Seanspqr

21 hours ago

Reply

Hahaha, very nice. Same general areas I play, but I'm also into
more progressive metal stuff. Since it's a set bridge, I can use
whatever gauge string I want, just have to make the neck a bit
thicker, right?

dnguyen45

21 hours ago

Reply

21 hours ago

Reply

Hi buddy! How to buy your guitar. I want to buy it :D

dgateley

Simply stunning. Were I to see one for sale I am not sure I could pass it by.

BassFace

22 hours ago

Reply

not as easy as it looks. requires the woodworking machinery. a lot of work

Seanspqr (author)

BassFace

21 hours ago

Reply

While yes you are correct it's not as easy as it looks, with dedication
and patience you can build a guitar. And requiring woodworking
machinery is simply not true, I did this project with mostly hand tools
a cheap router and a drill. While they may make the job faster hand
tools can do the same and in some cases a better job.

nitesurfer

22 hours ago

Reply

Awesome project and well documented. I've always wanted to make my

own guitar and you make it look sooo achievable... even at times easy ;)
Thanks for the instructable.. hand built guitars rock.
Btw i also like your kitchen cabinets.. did you make them as well??

Seanspqr (author)

nitesurfer

21 hours ago

Reply

22 hours ago

Reply

I did not that was actually my father.

uranus_b_hurtin

You gave your lesson a most apt title. It increased my appreciation for the
craft.

avayan

23 hours ago

Reply

I am trying to think of words here but the only thing that comes to mind is:
WOW!!!!
I have always wanted to build my own guitar and will study this instructable
for pearls of wisdom. But allow me to say it still looks as hard as it did
before I started looking at the pictures. I imagine after I build like 10 of them
I should end up with a playable one ;-)
Nonetheless, a fantastic job!

Seanspqr (author)

avayan

22 hours ago

Reply

Thank you very much. If at any point you come across a problem
just let me know. There are also many forums like mylespaul, TDPri,
Talkbass, Everythinng SG that are wonderful resources, check them
out!

Luny

yesterday

This has got to be one of the most beautiful pieces of working art I have
ever seen! I've always thought making instruments - guitars, violins - would
be a labor of love, and this just proves it.

Reply

Seanspqr (author)

Luny

yesterday

Reply

Thank you it really is an incredible process. Not to get philosophical

but I believe that not only working with hand tools makes you a
better luthier but it gives you a greater love, respect and
understanding for the instrument and the wood. You should really
build an instrument it's not as difficult as it's made to be and you will
have a blast doing so!

dnguyen45

yesterday

Reply

yesterday

Reply

Very nice guitar. Do u sell it?

Seanspqr (author)

dnguyen45

I do actually sell instruments but I like to do it more as a hobby than

as a ill time job.

pangel3

yesterday

Reply

3 days ago

Reply

you are a fantastic Luthier. A beautiful instrument.

Seanspqr (author)

Haha I'm not much of a player but sure I'll upload a video as soon as
possible!

bricabracwizard Seanspqr

2 days ago

Reply

Hi Sean, For people to receive your answers you need to click on

the reply button otherwise they won't know you have commented on
their praises. :)

Jboat77

2 days ago

Reply

That is fine craftsmanship sir. You did an amazing job!! It looks great

Seanspqr (author)

2 days ago

I would have either not bound the guitar or used wooden binding. Another
thing is I'd probably do is drill holes for weight relief.

Reply

pfred2

3 days ago

Reply

It looks like you went all out to me. if I'd have done it I'd be pleased with the
results, so I'm sure you are too. Now if you could change any one thing
what would it be? There's almost always something with projects this big
that someone would want to have done differently.

Housedog

3 days ago

Reply

3 days ago

Reply

3 days ago

Reply

Only one thing missing from this ible!

A vid of you playing your piece of art!

emilkaram

big efforts great job

Seanspqr (author)

Cost I spent close to 800 but I did buy very expensive materials the pickups
alone were $530. You can make this build much cheaper but it all depends
on the materials you want. As far as the length it took me about 3 months, if
I worked everyday on it and had everything I could have finished it in under
a month.

anders625

3 days ago

Reply

3 days ago

Reply

3 days ago

Reply

How long did long did it take to build?

Hangmansjoke45

how much does something like this cost to build

diyaddict

That is the most BEAUTIFUL guitar I have ever seen!!!!!!! Amazing- really!

Seanspqr (author)

3 days ago

Thank you all, it really was a pleasure sharing this and I'm glad people liked
the tutorial!

1-40 of 43

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