[HaMMerHeD]

Hello Everyone.

I’ve been making solid-body electric guitars for a few years now. While I’ve used power tools on everything so far, I’ve been slowly transitioning some processes to hand tools. I’d like to build some acoustic instruments soon, but so far everything has been solid and electric. Anyway, here are some pictures of a couple of the instruments I’ve built:

This one is a hollow-body fretless bass guitar with an undersaddle transducer pickup instead of the more common electromagnetic coil pickups.  The body is Tropical walnut on top and African sapele on the back. The neck is Quartersawn honduran mahogany with a Mexican katalox fingerboard.

 

This one is a baritone guitar, tuned somewhere between a standard (tenor) guitar and a Bass guitar. It has a 27″ scale and 26 frets. The Body is African padauk and American white ash with a Purpleheart and Maple veneer detail in the center. The neck is Wenge, Purpleheart and Bloodwood with Maple veneers, a Gabon ebony scarf joint chinstrap, and an Ash headplate. The fretboard is Gabon ebony as well.

My processes for guitars is, I think, about 25% power tools and 75% hand tools. I use a thickness planer, bandsaw, and routers for a lot of the milling and machining of blank stock. Then I used a series of handplanes, rasps, files, and scrapers for shaping and surfacing (for finishing). Both of the above guitars are finished with boiled linseed oil and wipe-on satin polyurethane. The baritone also has some Timbermate ebony pore filler in the ash grain for contrast.

 

I have lately become interested in building a lot more than just guitars. For example, I also made this Dungeons & Dragons dice roll tower:

I made that entirely with hand tools, including a Rabbeting plane I made out of maple and an old 1/2″ chisel. I got a lot more tear-out than I expected, so the surface finish isn’t as nice as I would have preferred. Still, it looks nice and it works, so I call it a success. Future versions will be better.

 

Thanks for looking, and thanks for all the hand-tool videos.

Topic

[Mike in TN]

#2031419

Nice, and thanks for sharing.

[don67]

#2032584

those guitars look absolutely fantastic. Did you ever get round to the accoustics?

[paul.m642]

#2079386

HaMMerHeD wrote:

Hello Everyone.

I’ve been making solid-body electric guitars for a few years now. While I’ve used power tools on everything so far, I’ve been slowly transitioning some processes to hand tools. I’d like to build some acoustic instruments soon, but so far everything has been solid and electric. Anyway, here are some pictures of a couple of the instruments I’ve built:

This one is a hollow-body fretless bass guitar with an undersaddle transducer pickup instead of the more common electromagnetic coil pickups.  The body is Tropical walnut on top and African sapele on the back. The neck is Quartersawn honduran mahogany with a Mexican katalox fingerboard.

 

This one is a baritone guitar, tuned somewhere between a standard (tenor) guitar and a Bass guitar. It has a 27″ scale and 26 frets. The Body is African padauk and American white ash with a Purpleheart and Maple veneer detail in the center. The neck is Wenge, Purpleheart and Bloodwood with Maple veneers, a Gabon ebony scarf joint chinstrap, and an Ash headplate. The fretboard is Gabon ebony as well.

My processes for guitars is, I think, about 25% power tools and 75% hand tools. I use a thickness planer, bandsaw, and routers for a lot of the milling and machining of blank stock. Then I used a series of handplanes, rasps, files, and scrapers for shaping and surfacing (for finishing). Both of the above guitars are finished with boiled linseed oil and wipe-on satin polyurethane. The baritone also has some Timbermate ebony pore filler in the ash grain for contrast.

 

I have lately become interested in building a lot more than just guitars. For example, I also made this Dungeons & Dragons dice roll tower:

I made that entirely with hand tools, including a Rabbeting plane I made out of maple and an old 1/2″ chisel. I got a lot more tear-out than I expected, so the surface finish isn’t as nice as I would have preferred. Still, it looks nice and it works, so I call it a success. Future versions will be better.

 

Thanks for looking, and thanks for all the hand-tool videos.

Wow, amazing work on those guitars. They look really professional. Would consider the woods used to be exotic for the type of guitars you were working on?

[leepalmer]

#2079796

Those guitars are well crafted. They have an air of absolute professionalism. For guitars of this style, would you call the woods used exotic?

fireboy and watergirl

[Lilysmith1097]

#2079998

Great guitar

 

5 letter words

[frog321]

#2080241

I have learned to play guitar since I was a kid. Every time I am sad nyt sudoku, I play it to heal my emotion.

nyt sudoku

[andree23]

#2080242

You have amazing musical instrument ideas, i can’t believe you can make unique instruments like this.

slope ovo

[helendam]

#2080438

this guitar is great and i wish i could own one too, can someone tell  me where to buy it please

backrooms game sinister squidward

[Author]

Replies