Hello all, I am brand new to this commmunity and to the idea of building my own guitar. This is a bucket list thing for me. I have zero woodworking skills so it still feels pretty out of reach but I figure getting involved in a community like this with the training videos is my best chance. It doesn't seem like there are a lot of resources out there that try to take you from no experience to a finished guitar so I am excited to try this out.
I signed up for the free membership and will likely do the paid one soon but was wondering about the "free ebook" as I haven't seen anything about how to access that.
Excited to start this journey, if there is anyone else out there in Oregon hit me up I would love to chat with some local builders.
-Rich
Welcome Rich @pdxguitar!
I have zero woodworking skills so it still feels pretty out of reach
That was where I was, 13 years ago. @markbailey won't remember after all this time, but before I stepped inside his workshop, I couldn't saw a piece of wood in half without something going wrong.
Getting to the workshop is a bit of a challenge now, especially from where you are!, but the online courses are excellent, and really are a bite-sized, virtually-foolproof, step-by-step series of instructions. Follow them, and you'll build a guitar.
The community here is growing rapidly, and there are always people here to help out with any questions you encounter along the way.
🙂
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
Hi and welcome @pdxguitar
I see you took the red pill....welcome to the real world...enjoy.
I have too many guitars...said no one in the world..ever!
@pdxguitar
Aloha
The course is awesome! It takes the doubt and guess work out. Welcome to the community and Mark’s long time students have guided me along the way within the past 6 months. Since then I’ve attained 6 guitar builds and be prepared because you’ll catch the guitar building bug. Truly is an awesome journey.
Clinton
That was where I was, 13 years ago. @markbailey won't remember after all this time, but before I stepped inside his workshop, I couldn't saw a piece of wood in half without something going wrong.
I can testify to that. I was there to witness it.......
Measure once, cut straight away and maybe you're lucky......
Cheers @pdxguitar - glad you found us - great to have you here! You should have received an email with this link - I'll look into it...
Hope you enjoy the site - let us know if you need anything!
Free ebook and plans: https://guitarmaking.co.uk/guitar-plans-ebook/
Measure twice, cut once...
Hi Rich,
We (most) might be physically distant from you but we are right there by your side in spirit, especially when things go wrong. We love it when that happens, it makes us all feel so much better about our own 'accidental opportunities to learn'!!
Only joking, you'll find us quite an encouraging bunch and Mark's teaching video are just fantastic. By breaking the process down into small manageable steps he really has made it possible for pretty much anyone to make their own guitar. If you are ever concerned about any aspect of machining or using powered wood working tools then please just give a shout out in the forum. You need all of those wiggly bits on the end of your hands to play the very things that you are going to be making!
Cheers
Darren
@pdxguitar Hey Rich, welcome to the forum, it’s good to have you here.
You have joined at a really good time because some of us here are going through the Build Your Own Electric Guitar Online course again, building Mark’s Bailey Bandsman guitar. If this interests you, I (and others) will be uploading pictures and videos of my progress, step by step as I (we) do it, following Mark’s videos. This not only allows Mark to monitor my (our) progress and discipline but it also leaves a record for others to reference and see all the mistakes we make. I am going to be open and document all the mistakes, but more importantly, how I recovered from and fixed them. Mistakes are many, perfection is a myth but you will build a guitar that works and you may catch the not so mythical guitar building bug, it’s highly addictive!
Sign up when you are ready and start with the Design Your Own Electric Guitar course and you will get all the information you will need to get started. If you have any questions, just ask any of us, we are here most days. I am in the UK so our communication may be asynchronous as we are in different time zones but I’ll (we’ll) look out for your questions. Of course @markbailey has the last word on anything and keeps an eye on our conversations and “advice” to each other to make sure it’s sound advice. Anytime you want Mark to answer, just tag him into your question using his handle, like this. @markbailey
Come and join us soon and prepare to amaze yourself!
Boo
Make guitars, not war 🌍✌️🎸
@pdxguitar Hey Rich, here is the link to my online build (for the second time for me) https://guitarmaking.co.uk/community/showcase-electric/byoeg-online-bandsman-2/
Others may do the same.
And, one of my online guitar teachers lives in Portland, Paul Gilbert.
Make guitars, not war 🌍✌️🎸
Wondering if anyone has bought the electric kit and shipped to the US. How long did it take? Also anyone else have any luck just buying all the parts on their own? I feel like my best chance at success is using the exact same parts that are used in the how to videos.
I bought a kit for my first home build for that reason, to make my build a close fit to the course build but that was shipped to the UK. I did add a cap to the kit and had the body blank thickness reduced before it was shipped.
Measure once........
Measure again.........
Sod it - make tea!
Also anyone else have any luck just buying all the parts on their own?
@pdxguitar Hey Rich, I sourced all my parts myself for the online build course but that was years ago before Mark had put the kits together. I didn’t have any problems finding everything I needed, we have several guitar builders supply stores in the UK. As I live in the UK, I can’t comment on length of time for delivery to the US. I’m sure you could get everything you need from StewMac.
BUT....... I think, for what it’s worth, that if you order your kit from @markbailey now, it will give you time to work you way through the Design course. It will give you time to draw, check, check and check again that your drawing is right and really get to know the design before you start cutting any wood. It also gives you time to source all the tools you need, whether it buying, borrowing or friends and family giving you tools when you tell them what you are doing. For your first build, I think this is the best option as you don’t need to worry about sourcing parts, you just have to think about the design and the building process. It will take you a while to get all your tools together and draw your design, it took me a while too.
We are all only too happy to help you out Rich, go for it.
Make guitars, not war 🌍✌️🎸
@pdxguitar Also Rich, when I’ve ordered stuff from StewMac or other vendors in the US, the general rule is it’s about 2 weeks for delivery to my door. Sometimes it was quicker, it depends on the courier options, the time the items are in customs etc.
It will be fine though, it will give you time to get everything else ready for when your kit arrives.
Have you got a work bench sorted out?
Have you got enough power and lighting where you will be working?
Is your working environment warm and dry enough as you will be spending a lot of time in it (as well as your guitar)?
The general rule is, your end product is only as good as your prep work!
Buy the best quality tools to suit your budget but don’t break the bank. Only buy the exact tools you need, don't buy sets of things like router bits, you won’t need most of them.
Any more questions, just ask.
Buy the Kit.
Source your tools.
Draw your design.
Sort out you work environment.
Prepare to build your first guitar and get excited!
Make guitars, not war 🌍✌️🎸
