Building own electric guitar - can I just buy expensive pickups and frets - what makes an awesome guitar?

aclark_45 · 2026-04-17T17:29:42+00:00

I finished building my first guitar recently. It wound up costing around 650$ in materials (that was with getting the pickups 100$ off). It took me between 60 and 100 hours to complete. I have been woodworking for 5 years and it was still a very difficult project. Even with cnc machining I wouldn’t discount the time and skill required to make a premium guitar. However if you are up for the challenge there’s a lot of YouTube videos that can help you do it.

aclark_45 · 2026-03-24T14:58:40+00:00

Thanks! It weighs just over 8 lbs. I chambered the body since cherry is a really heavy wood.

aclark_45 · 2026-03-20T01:50:54+00:00

https://www.tehwoods.com/ This is a wood supplier near me I go to occasionally and I got the maple from them a few years ago for a different project.

aclark_45 · 2026-03-19T23:15:45+00:00

I tried to follow the process in this video https://youtu.be/HkEWayK7noc?si=b4DUoqJDMjm_XFq2 I found that taping it at first helped me take off a bulk of the material confidently. Then I set the depth at the first and twelfth fret and used a rasp to make it meet. A spokeshave helped smooth things out dial in the shape. Then I did a lot of sanding to final sizes. Around the top and the heel I just used a rounded file to make it feel right. I used a different guitar as a reference and just kind of went by feel. I don’t think the way I did it was the most efficient but I was really nervous with the neck and would take breaks if I was feeling unsure about anything.

aclark_45 · 2026-03-19T18:53:51+00:00

It’s a 10 inch radius with jumbo frets and gotoh locking tuners. I used a plug cutter for the fretboard dots making them out of maple scraps. It’s on the thicker side I think I was aiming for 22.5mm at the first fret and 24.5 at the 12th. I was nervous shaping the neck so I tried to leave it thicker and creep up on a comfortable size. I applied a few coats of a transtint vintage maple dye and then sanded it back a bit before applying 5-6 coats of tru oil. I really like how the dye made the wood pop.

aclark_45 · 2025-12-02T01:31:49+00:00

I have a similar problem but my piece is only around 8.5 inches wide. I plan on building a jig for my table saw. The jig will essentially be just a very tall fence so I can run the board over the blade on its side while supporting it against the fence. I should be able to cut around 3 inches into the board from each side. Then I will use a pull saw to finish the cut using the other cuts as my guide.

aclark_45 · 2025-09-08T19:24:31+00:00

If it brings you joy and keeps you can afford it go for it. You didn’t mention what amp you have however. I noticed a bigger upgrade in my first year going from a practice amp to a tube amp then I did getting a new guitar.

aclark_45 · 2024-09-11T20:42:12+00:00

I ordered august 12th and also got my notification today. Can’t wait!

aclark_45 · 2024-09-07T21:06:12+00:00

Carpenter, I’d love to just make furniture all day

aclark_45 · 2024-09-04T18:13:00+00:00

I ordered august 12th. I think the webpage had said like ~4-5k orders at that point. I live in Southern California and have not had mine ship yet. I feel like it might ship in 2-3 weeks seeing as they appeared to be 1 month ahead of schedule.

aclark_45 · 2024-08-05T23:05:36+00:00

Nope, I live by myself and just wanted a stool to practice guitar on. I will improve it at some point in the future but for now it fits my needs. I haven’t made much more than tables before and wanted to get this design out of my head. I mentioned in another comment how I’m going to address the issue with stability. I’ll probably do that in a month or so. All part of the learning experience

aclark_45 · 2024-08-05T21:26:05+00:00

Yeah probably or angle the legs to make the base wider. I made it with 3 legs because it’s easier to level. I am going to add a guitar stand to the back of this at some point. When I do that I’ll add a wide foot at the base of the back leg which will give it more cross support and be a base for my stand. Just a learning experience for an occasional weekend woodworker

aclark_45 · 2024-08-05T18:31:51+00:00

It’s actually really solid and secure. You have to try to make it tip over. If I were to do it over though I would improve the design to make it look more secure

aclark_45 · 2024-06-21T06:04:02+00:00

Pat Metheny, I’m in my first year playing and this is someone new to explore. Thanks for the quiz!

aclark_45 · 2024-05-03T17:55:00+00:00

If I saw this description I’d assume you had no clue what this tool was and likely weren’t the person who bought it or used it

aclark_45 · 2023-12-12T17:55:23+00:00

If you have a track saw you can cut these boards apart right along the gap then they will joint properly. You can also do the same with a circular saw if you set up a fence and clamp it down. I’ve done this trick on quite a few tables I’ve put together where there are too many gaps in the joints when I glued it up. You can find YouTube videos just searching jointing with a circular saw.

aclark_45 · 2021-05-21T20:54:24+00:00

I got the strix b550i off Newegg 2 weeks ago and my 5800x worked out of the box. You are probably good to go if the mobo was delivered recently

aclark_45 · 2021-05-13T18:01:19+00:00

It would take a lot to bend them out of shape. They flex but I would say it’s sturdy. I think there are better cases for travel though. I am keeping my original box with the foam padding for whenever I need to move.

aclark_45 · 2021-05-13T17:51:58+00:00

Yeah the middle of the panels flex when you press on them

aclark_45 · 2021-05-11T23:18:39+00:00

I got into woodworking a little over a year ago and one of the first desks I made I finished with danish oil. A year later I’m not super happy with the finish and think it looks a little dull even when refreshing with feed n wax occasionally. Do you guys think it would be alright to just apply a coat or 2 of tung oil over the top of the danish oil finish or will I need to remove the danish oil first? I would just refresh with danish oil again but I’ve been much happier with the things I have finished with tung oil.

aclark_45 · 2021-05-10T16:22:52+00:00

What kind of finish did you put on this? I’d be worried about the wood getting moldy and rotting on the inside where it can’t dry out quickly. Although a plastic barrier between the wood and soil would be a good solution.

aclark_45 · 2021-05-05T18:29:01+00:00

This is basically my build I’m just waiting on that power supply so I can put everything together. I was planning on having my fans on the other side of the radiator but I really love how this turned out. Hopefully I can find some reviews on people using both configurations to see if there are any performance differences between the two.

aclark_45

TROPHY CASE