I'm going to post up some of the builds I've done, and am looking for a project to work on for future endeavors.

It all starts with a design.

This started with inspiration drawn from a Fender Jag, with a bit of changing dimensions, some tonal wood changes, and a nicer pot placement.



Next step would be rough cuts. Get as many of these done as possible, and allow for them to set, to find the imperfections. Beware, there will be ALOT of fire-wood as pending which wood and weather you have, you may find that splits, cracks, and knots appear beneath once sanding.



Begin with your routing for pickups and neck placement. If your not using a jig, this will be a one shot-only cut. There's no fixing poor placement unless your covering the pickups.

The next would be working what will then be the necks. This is a tedious process of constant plaining the wood, then working it as slowly as possible for contour



Head stock design is entirely on you to decide based on preference. When I do runs, I like to experiment with three to four different stock designs, and different inlays

Once the binding is complete, and you're ready to test fit, I like to make lefties and righty guitars. I find instead if reversing a design its fun to play with both as one


Try both designs out for the hell of it.

HOW to route new pickups

I prefer to use plexiglass, as a jig, as it's easy to get precise form, and can be reused over and over again.
Based on your pickup size and dimensions, ensure you've got good placement before. You only get one shot with this, so a guided router is perfect for noob-friendly users.



very carefully, ensure you take your time on a finished guitar, as they tend to be a bit "slick" from finish, and it can chip easily if your not careful. Note my lovely burn inside my pocket, as I was to fast and caught the paint on fire inside with the wood chips. Finish was saved, but some character chared wood was remaining. There is no compensation on depth so it just is what it is.



So that was fairly quick and simple right?

Clear cavity of any wires, as we're going to want a volume control on this badboy. Drill where you'd like it to be.



After threading wires through, try to leave two to three inches of sllack, incase you're going to pull them out in the future


There are a million ways to wire them into the pods themselves, and there are a tonne of books on different tonal advantages to each set-up.

I chose to make this one a fading relay instead of using toggle switches. Volume up one one or the other, both, or subtle mix of both for numerous options.

After plugging it in, just tap the pickup with a nail, to test it's volume. If you can audibly hear the *pop* you probably did it right haha!



Set up, string up, and Voila!

ETA for project completion:

Teardown, fabrication, assembly 90 minutes.

Planning and preparation, 40 minutes, to assemble jig, trace, and draw out

Absolutely fantastic thread!! Thanks so much for this! The only insight into guitar building i've had is from Total Guitar, but they don't do it any order - only on what readers have asked for help on!

You have made a superb instrument there - bet it plays like a beast

Requesting open sticky

Using exotic woods can be expensive, and hard to source. But the beauty of the grain, makes them impossible to paint over (in my opinion)

This BC Rich Bich build, had ancient Kauri wood for the body. It has a sheen to it naturally, and with a semi matte gloss finish, it just makes for amazing display.
Tonaly, the guitar was mute unfortunately, but with a bit of loving, she makes a great blues guitar.







This post was edited by MoinkAlThor on May 8 2012 04:27pm

Inspired by GT themed guitars, I loved the asthetic look of the stripe centered on the body. So why not use two different tonal woods and make a natural hybrid "GT" guitar.
This is what came from that ideology

Once again, no paint, just a light gloss and seal to lock in a more natural look.

The first cut takes a lot of planing, as instead of cutting and shaping three pieces, you bind three individual pieces together.
Once properly adhered, it's a very slow and meticulous process of cutting it as one piece. If carefull (very carefull) no splits form, and the hardest part is done







This post was edited by MoinkAlThor on May 8 2012 04:32pm

Paints and stains are a personal preference, always prime horizontaly, and stain with it in the air. Much like airbrushing or aerosol spraying, it's best to dry like this, as if it decides to bead, it's much simpler to buff out on the base, rather than on the bodys face.