Best DIY guide to build guitar bodies and necks?

[Devastator]

This is true but on the other hand you can do things with a CNC that would take forever with more conventional tools..

But it will only get you so close to a finished instrument. There are those that believe that once you have a CNC machine you are instantly a master guitar builder. Like it is some sort of magic device. It is just one tool that can do a few processes faster and better, but in the end it is the hand work that makes the difference.

[bhurts]

Cnc can be a blessing or a curse for building guitars. If you're going to sell them you need to decide if you want to make cheap guitars or good guitars. You can cnc a cheap guitar or a good guitar to improve on throughput but the hand work will decide if it's cheap or good. The body I'm working on now has not been quick at all doing on cnc. It doesn't help that I'm making all the hardware on the machine to. I will have another 2weeks of sanding and prep work before I can even think about spraying a finish. Anyway here are some pics. It's a carved top Tele that will also have a pickguard. The bridge, jackplate, switchplate and knobs are Patagonian rosewood. The body is curly maple and mahogany.



Ben

[Devastator]

Anyway here are some pics. It's a carved top Tele that will also have a pickguard.

Beautiful work. Threaded inserts for the pickguard screws are awesome. I do the same with mine. My neck gets inserts too. Never understood why guitars that sell for multiple thousands of dollars have screws directly into the exotic wood.

[bhurts]

Thank you Devastator. I'm doing similar. All holes in the guitar have either ss or brass inserts threaded and glued in. Not cheap but I'm not making cheap guitars. I'm working on six total right now.

Ben

[muttstang]

I think it depends a bit on what the wood is. Maple will hold a screw for many many years. Unless the screws are removed and replaced often then you likely won't have any issues. How many fenders do you hear about where the neck comes off due to loose hardware?

[wizard]

But it will only get you so close to a finished instrument.

That was what I was trying to get across in my post. Maybe I didn't express it well but CNC with a simple home built machine will at best get you a rough cut out. I don't expect to see finished product from a home built low end machine.

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There are those that believe that once you have a CNC machine you are instantly a master guitar builder.

Actually that is a problem with automation in general. In metal working some think that CNC can replace the skills of a tool maker. What CNC can do for an instrument maker is to take out some of the extensive manual labor and up productivity for a series of guitars.

Like it is some sort of magic device. It is just one tool that can do a few processes faster and better, but in the end it is the hand work that makes the difference.

I have to agree with this to an extent though I can see a CNC replacing more than a few processes. It really depends upon how far you want to take it and if you have the volume to justify it.

I'm not sure if my posts seem to imply something but they seemed to have generated a bit of negativity here.

[BuckNaked31]

Here's where I am on CNC guitar making, I use it where it's either cheaper, faster or more precise. The right tool for the job is my motto! A lot of the time, I use the CNC to make jigs to do stuff by hand with

[Devastator]

I'm not sure if my posts seem to imply something but they seemed to have generated a bit of negativity here.

Not at all, just addressing something I see a lot of, not your post in particular. The old, "If I only had a CNC I could be a master luthier" mindset. The importance of talent and experience cannot be overstated.

You are right, CNC can replace more than a few processes. Like most new Gibsons, but they are using a ton of specialized CNC's. I should have specified CNC's bought or built by the average income luthier.

[Devastator]

Here's where I am on CNC guitar making, I use it where it's either cheaper, faster or more precise. The right tool for the job is my motto! A lot of the time, I use the CNC to make jigs to do stuff by hand with

That's a smart way to go. If it takes half a day to do the file for a one off part you could make by hand in five minutes....probably not an effective use of time. I find myself juggling this quite frequently where I underestimate how long it takes to create a file and realize I could have already made a dozen of them by hand, lol.

[BuckNaked31]

Absolutely! As an example, drilling side jacks for telecaster ... I wanted them to be more accurately placed. I toiled with making a modification to my machine to be able to hold the body at a right angle (which meant cutting a hole in the Spoilboard and all that garbage), spent so much time on planning it, got way off track, til I realized that making a jig out of plywood and using a drill bushing would be so much easier and
way faster... now I have 3 of them in different sizes, and when one wears out, I still have my files and can make new ones... Here's another example, when I'm shaping a guitar neck, I do an extreme number of passes and very low step over. Now this means that the neck shaping takes 3 times longer than it used to, but it cuts way back on sanding. Doing it this way saves no time at all, both the old way and the new way take the same amount of time, but instead of all that time sanding, that time is spent drinking coffee and watching the machine do the work

[Devastator]

Now this means that the neck shaping takes 3 times longer than it used to, but it cuts way back on sanding. Doing it this way saves no time at all, both the old way and the new way take the same amount of time, but instead of all that time sanding, that time is spent drinking coffee and watching the machine do the work

Found out the same thing when machining aluminum parts. I could use a two or three flute bit and get it done faster if I stood there and sprayed the bit with coolant, or I could use a single flute bit and no coolant and leave the machine unattended to do other tasks. Guess which one I picked? More machine time, less human time.

Now if I didn't have a wooden machine, I'd use a three flute and automated flood............

[wizard]

Not at all, just addressing something I see a lot of, not your post in particular. The old, "If I only had a CNC I could be a master luthier" mindset. The importance of talent and experience cannot be overstated.

Yep I see a lot of that too. I suspect though that somebody that has built a few Guitars already has a feel for how close to a finished product.

You are right, CNC can replace more than a few processes. Like most new Gibsons, but they are using a ton of specialized CNC's. I should have specified CNC's bought or built by the average income luthier.

That is the other end of the spectrum, highly specialized machinery and is what I work on at work. I can't imagine anybody doing a highly specialized machine for their first CNC build. A general purpose router makes sense for machine one. After that it might make sense to build a machine focused on one part.