When making a guitar whether you are making a standard guitar or a custom guitar, there are many considerations to make. Generally, you have to stick to the shapes that are always used. The ways you can deviate from the norm with a handmade guitar is by using more exotic woods and a different range of color not usually seen on guitars you find in a store.

The size and shapes of the guitars will affect their sound. Larger, gloomier sounds will come from a bigger guitar. Smaller-bodies produce sounds that are not as loud. Besides the shape of the guitars, one of the biggest tasks involved in guitar-making is researching and learning the qualities of different woods. I personally use spruce wood for the sound boards. Other popular choices for the sound board are the western red cedar and the red wood from America. Australian wood called hoop pine and the King William pine that comes from Tasmania. Obtaining the wood for your guitar making project can be fairly expensive. Depending on the quality and type of wood used, you can spend around $15 to $100 buying a top.

The tools required to make a guitar are few. Basically, you could make one on your own kitchen table. But a list of general tools needed is as follows: good hand saws, good hand planes, a couple of good, sharpened chisels, little saws to cut fret slots, a miter box to hold your saw and saw the frets, and a band saw. An electric band saw helps to cut the larger pieces of wood and should run a continuous blade saw around two wheels. A router is also essential for cutting the little ledge around the edge of the instrument where you fit the plastic or wood binding.

In addition to the physical supplies needed to make guitars, you also need to have a commitment to doing the work. The process is not week-long. It takes time to do the steps correctly and in the appropriate order. You need to be comfortable and able to work with your hands. Patience is also necessary when making a guitar if you plan to see the project through to the end.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Supplies for Making a Guitar, making a guitar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.