Introduction of myself

[blfrd]

I've spent the last 15 years playing guitar and the last 5 or 6 years programming (C#, ASP.NET, databases) and thought I'd look into building guitars.

Looked at outsourcing bodies and necks to China but the initial orders are almost as much as a CNC router, which is what brings me here.....

Looked at some of the K2 stuff and have alot more research to do.

between this and the metroamp forums I should be around here alot!

Any and all advice on CNC's would be great. Currently looking at building strats and tele's.

Bill

[wizardrule]

Welcome to the forum, Well there is alot of choices for building a CNC thats for sure. Whats your spend limit? Do you plan to upgrade later? Those are some questions you have to ask yourself. Some answers are 2x3 foot cutting area would more then enought ot handle any guitar. The joes 4x4 model would be ideal and realatively cheap on the pocket book, you can go here to get that.


Joes site.

[blfrd]

My budget right now is under $1000, I'd say.

Looks like there are two different models?

Which one is the absolute best?

How does the ShopBot stuff compare?

[dishawcues]

Hi Bill,
Are you doing any 3D programming?

[ger21]

Originally Posted by blfrd My budget right now is under $1000, I'd say. Looks like there are two different models? Which one is the absolute best? How does the ShopBot stuff compare?

$1000 might get you Joes 2006 machine, if you can scrounge for some cheap parts and cut everything yourself. $1000 doesn't go far in the CNC world.

Joes 4x4 is a bigger, and probably stronger machine, but will probably cost around $2500.

Comparing a $15000 machine to a homebuilt machine is a bit hard to do. A well built home built machine should be able to do anything a shopbot can do. The shopbot can probably do it faster, though. But it's possible to build a homebuilt machine every bit as fast as a shopbot (or even faster). But speed costs money. But also keep in mind that as you increase speeds, you may also need to increase the machine's rigidity. Also, keep in mind that you'll need software. The shopbot comes with a version of V-Carve Pro, which will set you back another $600. It's the best bang for the buck in you'll find, though, for what it does.

If you want something comparable to a shopbot, look at the Mechmate. You can probably build one for $4000-$5000. www.mechmate.com

[LiquidGuitars]

you could check out the Carvewright it's a good light duty CNC that seems like it was designed to build guitars.

Some 3D experience is needed to get the most out of it..


LG

[rlrhett]

Two quick thoughts for you:

1) For building a couple of guitars, you certainly don't need a cnc machine. In fact, a CNC machine would be overkill. I would suggest building a couple of guitars by hand first to see if it is really something you want to do. The book by Marvyn Hiscock is a good guide.

2) The market for hand crafted and boutique guitars is very small and seriously overcrowded. It is not impossible to begin making guitars to sell, but I would suggest you make a few with the smallest initial cost you can before you gear up to make them commercially. If you can find a market for the first five or six, then you can decide if you should invest in CNC. Go to projectguitar.com or mimf.com to see what others are doing. I think you would be amazed to see how many people are making truly exceptional guitars (and how few make any money at it.)