Building a guitar! It's my first attempt at building an instrument. It's going well so far, mostly using threads from TDPRI as guidance and a body template from there as well. I opted to buy a neck from Warmoth since building a neck seemed especially intimidating and requires more special tools. Today I finished soldering the electronics, bolted the neck on, strung it up and it actually works! Now to take it apart and work on the finish... lots of sanding ahead.
(I'm pretty sure it's uncommon to put the whole thing together before finishing, and then take it all apart again, including the electronics... but I wanted to know nothing would be terribly wrong before I spend hours more on finishing!)
Having put together, and modded a lot of guitars in my life, just make sure that the nut is cut properly, that the neck and body fit is nice'n tight, and that the neck is properly leveled.
That should fix most errors. Learning how to level frets is a truly valuable skill for any guitarist. If a guitar is fundamentally sound (quality wood, straight neck with functioning truss-rod, good fit between neck and body), then a good fret-level and properly cut nut will clear most problems.
That’s awesome! I did the same a couple of years ago (took about 1 year to complete) and it’s one of the things I’m most proud of, so I hope it feels as fulfilling for you too!
Cool! Thanks! I'm most worried about the finishing part, honestly. What did you end up doing for it?
I keep debating between whether to leave the wood visible (with Tru Oil or wipe-on polyurethane), or paint it (lacquer, super labor intensive, slow, expensive), or dye/stain it and use a clear finish on top of that.
I ended up filling the grain with wood filler dyed black and make it pop and then layered a few coats of trans-red from a spray can so you can still see the grain. It’s not a glassy finish but that’s what I was going for and the colour is amazing! I always wanted a red strat with a black pickguard and gold hardware so I thought why not!
I’m personally a fan of leaving the wood visible but the best thing is you can do whatever you want and it’ll be awesome because you made it.
Pick one up! There’s no time like the present :) It’s a long-term learning thing anyway, definitely one of those “best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago” things.
(I'm pretty sure it's uncommon to put the whole thing together before finishing, and then take it all apart again, including the electronics... but I wanted to know nothing would be terribly wrong before I spend hours more on finishing!)
TDPRI's Tele Home Depot is a great source of info- https://www.tdpri.com/forums/tele-home-depot.46/
My own build thread: https://www.tdpri.com/threads/first-build.1011061/