G'day from Tannum Sands, Central Capricornia, Qld

G'day all,
Had an old acoustic for about 38 years now and have played it off and on but decided it was time to up the anti to an electric.
So how should I go about acquiring said guitar. I could buy one at the shop. Expensive.. I could buy a kit off evilbay. Probably cheap Chinese and crappy sound when assembled. Or I could do what I enjoy and build my own. Cheaper and more interesting i reckon.
I have played around with wood and steel all my life so I think this is do-able and would be a great project with my son who I have taught some basic stuff on his donated acoustic.
So here we go... I will be buying an upgrade kit soon as I want to have a go at a total build as in my own body and neck and as some famous people have said.. What's the worst that can happen.. $50 bucks spent and a lot learned.
I have some tools needed, router, cordless drill, clamps etc but as I have transferred recently, we are renting ATM and the house we are in has no workshop.

I do however have a 3d printer that I have built so if anyone in the Tannum Sands area wants to swap some hours use of his or her workshop for anything built in 3d, I would like to deal.. I might even be willing to buy you an upgrade kit for your time so we can build one together.

Anyway enough rambling on. Any constructive advice welcome for a first timer.

Greg

Welcome Greg.
A scratch built guitar is not for the feint hearted. If you haven't built one, I'd highly recommend a kit to get your head around it.
Whichever way you go, have fun and post up a thread, all the best

Welcome Greg!

cheers,
Gav.

Hi Greg,
Well this is a bit of good luck, I'm in Tannum as well!
I've been playing for years but have just recently started building, currently on my second build ( swamp ash strat ) and have a completed TL-1 Tele I am very happy with. Building from scratch is pretty hardcore, I'm only at the kit level myself, but I know a guy out at pacific ranch who scratch builds, could put you in touch with him if you want.
As far as workshop space goes i'm afraid I can't help you, my workshop is a small table in the garage and I have to back the car out to work in it, but you make do with what you have.
I am happy to get together sometime and talk guitars, you can see what i've built and I have a new FC-1 kit I haven't started yet so you can see how the pit bull kits look in the raw. Send me a message if you want to chat, we can arrange a time.

Cheers,

Richard.

Thanks for the welcomes everyone. As much as I like working with timber ( and saving some money, but not time) I think the advice of others in regard to starting with a kit is well received. Will be putting in an order for a strat kit soon. Pm sent to Richard.

welcome Greg, a ST kit will be a good one to start building. Will give you a good idea how they are put together so maybe down the track you can attempt a scratch build. You can always have a crack at a scratch body and buy a PBG neck is how I started. You will need to make some routing templates but sounds like that won't be a problem.
Start a build diary when the kit arrives and ask any questions you have. Have a think about what stain/paint colours you may apply.
Best of luck, and do a mock build when the kit arrives and start sanding !

Just wondering, if I decide to have a go at my own scratch build, what types of wood should I look for. I will probably start with pine to get the idea ( and if I get it right, it will make a great wall hanging. If not, it will light a fire next camping trip.)
Found a great source of full size templates of many styles. Wondering about spotted gum for the neck and or body, maybe. Nice and hard but heavy as. If anyone wants a paper template and I can work out how to attach let me know.

I would go the pine, not too expensive if it stuffs up for any reason!


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Welcome Greg!

Thanks for the welcomes and advice all. And thanks to Richard for showing me his completed Tele and soon to be completed kits. Now I just need some overtime to pay for a kit for my son and me.

Hey, Greg! Welcome.

This is a bit late in the piece but I've only just jumped on the forums after a long absence.
I've just moved to Calliope in the last 9 months - great to meet someone in the area!

Would love to have a meetup with you and Ricardo later on for a jam and to swap stories.