New Member Introduction

[Snail]

Hi All,

I am a new member and would like to introduce myself. My name is Daniel and I live in the central west of NSW (Orange).

I am realising a long held desire to start building guitars. I have played steel string and classical guitar for a quite a while and really like the artistry involved in building a guitar. It seems like a logical next step for me.

Being isolated due to the COVID situation and not knowing anyone that builds guitars I could learn from, I thought i would start easy, and have purchased a prebuilt body kit from Stewmac. It is a dred kit with the body already together. This allows me to focus on shaping the neck, fretting, glutting the neck in (getting the angle right, etc) and finishing before I move on to the next one. It also allows me to figure out what tools I need and develop comfort with them before moving on.

I have my fret press, radius blocks, straight edges, files, luthiers vice, fret hammer, clamps, fret nippers, etc. from Stewmac already here or due to arrive on Monday.

I am also building the kit with my son, who is only 5, so seeing progress is also important. That is also the reason for the fret press. He got a little too excited wth the fretting hammer, so the press and kit was a quick order after. He can be more involved. It also allowed me to justify it to myself (and my wife;))

The truss rod channel on the first kit that arrived from Stewmac was slightly crooked. I let them know and they sent out another, no issues and told me to keep the first one to practice on. Great customer service.

I used to lurk on the forum about 10 years ago, maybe a little less, and it seems like it isn’t as active as it used to be. Or maybe I just remember it that way?

But I do remember users like Taffy, Bob, Kiwi and others being quite active and Tim offering wood for sale often.

Anyway, looking forward to learning a lot.

Daniel

[ozziebluesman]

Morning Daniel,

Welcome to the forum.
Yep I have noticed not as much interaction on the forum. There is heaps of very good information in the archives I use them often.

I have built four Torres Classicals over the past two years an OM and a Tenor Ukulele and I haven't posted any pics. Slack, I will do something about that soon as the OM and the last classical are finished which should be by Xmas or that's the plan.

Nothing wrong with starting on a kit mate you still have to measure once and then measure four more times if you want to learn and do a good job. Some of the critical cuts are made for you but not all of them. If you have your 5 year old building with you you must have good patience levels.

You can't go wrong with Stewmac for service and good products.

I buy my Blackwood from Tim in WA and he is a gentleman with the finest wood available to purchase. The difference is he is also a builder so he has made all the mistakes you will make. All you have to do is phone him and have a chat about what you want and it will be done. Much of his stock is not on the website.

I'm still making mistakes even when measuring six times and still manage to cause myself grief. Still, guitar building is about getting yourself out of trouble, fixing an issue without anybody knowing about it.

Welcome again.

Cheers

Alan

[kiwigeo]

I used to lurk on the forum about 10 years ago, maybe a little less, and it seems like it isn’t as active as it used to be. Or maybe I just remember it that way?

But I do remember users like Taffy, Bob, Kiwi and others being quite active and Tim offering wood for sale often.

Daniel

Welcome back to the forum Daniel. Yes the forum is a bit quieter then it used to be but there are a few reasons for that. Bob who used to run the show had to back away from his building and is pursuing other passions these days. He handed over running of the forum to myself and Jeremy D. Right now Jeremy and I are running the show and at times we are a bit busy with our lives outside the forum. Ive just finished a new house build which had me out of building for 2 years and Jeremy has been through at least two house moves of late.

I often give thought to future directions for this forum and when time allows there'll be discussion on same with Jeremy and Bob will always be asked for input. Stay posted.....

[Snail]

Thanks for the welcome Gents.

I used to have access to a well equipped workshop but that is no longer the case, so I am now just stocking up on tools that can be used in my home garage. I am focussing a lot more on hand tools now, rather than machinery. It is also much safer for the little guy. I don't really want him playing with a thicknesser or planer. I am also taking full advantage of the free shipping (StewMax) offer. It is complete genius by Stewmac. I bundled it in the first order as it was cheaper than shipping, but now every time I compare to other sellers, Stewmac is more competitive as the shipping is free, or is just easier - i.e. I will buy one or two pieces as I don't need to worry about setting up a larger order to spread the shipping.

I completely agree and am very appreciative, lots of great information in the archives, and lots of wisdom and experience readily shared. Be prepared for some (most likely) silly questions.

I am glad to hear that Tim is still active. I didn't know if that was the case. His website doesn't seem to be as updated as regularly as it used to be.

If I can suggest it Kiwi, (bold, I know, sorry), it would be great to have a section for those new to lutherie. Almost, like a 'beginners start here'. Of course, there is the Tutorials section, but as the sub title says, that seems to be more about 'Got a new way of doing something?' - rather than I 'no way of doing something'. If you think there would be value, I am more than happy to document my kit build with hand tools as a introduction for someone completely new. Just a thought.

Thanks again for you replies,

Warmest regards,

Daniel

[seeaxe]

Hi Daniel, welcome back.

Yep things are noticeably quieter than they used to be but theres still people doing stuff so they will poke their noses in from time to time.

Good to hear you have your kit and are ready to rock and roll. Making it with a 5 yo will be challenging as their attention span is way less than is required for almost all of the work. But their will be some nice moments. Watch out for the dust though, with the little one.

Agree Stewmac are great. I queried the thickness of the soundboard in this kit and unasked, they offered to send another one if i wasnt happy! I never minded paying for freight as they were so efficient. I could order stuff from them and stuff from Oz at the same time, the stewmac stuff would be here weeks begore the Oz stuff. Freight free even better.

If you are up for it, it would be great to see some pics of your build. One reason the forum is quieter is that people have stopped doing that. It does involve some effort but the forum is like most things in life, you get out what you put in.

My Dready is progressing slowly, Ive been trying to dry out the soundboard a bit, its wet and humid here so ive had it in a room with the aircon in dry mode. Ive got the room down to 60% which is as low as it can get it so ill be bracing the sound board tomorrow. Sides are done. Should have the box closed up in a week or so. Ill post some pics tomorrow.

Ive already made a few cock ups, mostly minor but it seems i am incapable of building a perfect guitar. Such is (my) life:)

[alexmclean]

Hi Daniel,
I love that you are building with your son. My Dad was my inspiration for woodworking, and I hope that my granddaughter will build with me when she is old enough !
Enjoy your build, cheers, Alex.

[lamanoditrento]

Welcome Daniel! Look forward to seeing your builds. I also must admit, that I have been slack with contributed to the forum lately. Thanks for the prompt