ksdaddy Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 My overactive brain has wrestled with some semantic issues. Consider the following: 1. A person buys a modular home and assembles the two halves on their slab. Did they build it? 2. A person assembles a 'kit' home. Did they build it? 3. A person builds a house from lumber and plywood from Lowes. Did they build it? 4. A person makes their own 2x4s, 2x10s and sheathing with their own mill and puts the pieces together to make a house. Did they build it? 5. A person cuts down trees, hews them, and assembles a log cabin. Did they build it? I guess where I'm going with this is that building a house can be compared to "building" a guitar. If a person buys a pre-finished Strat body, neck, pickups, etc and "builds" a guitar, is that the same as someone carving an archtop from a slab of spruce and hand shaping a neck? Probably not. The first guitar I built was made using (as a starting point) a top and back set that was left over from when Gretsch was in Arkansas. 3 ply top and back, oversized, roughly guitar shaped, with an arch in the middle. Same thing as the starting point for a 175, 335, etc. In addition, the neck was an unfinished Gretsch 6120 replica neck that was unfinished because the luthier passed away. I ended up replacing "his" fingerboard and truss rod but I can't take credit for shaping the neck. That irked me. So the next guitar I built, I did it all. Or at least as much as I felt humanly capable of doing. I carved the top and back, made the neck, fingerboard, bridge, tailpiece, everything from scratch. The only things I did NOT make on that guitar was the tuners, fret wire, and cello tailpiece gut. Oh, and the binding, I suppose... I felt better about that. I built two mandolins the next year in the same fashion. I guess I proved something to myself and I'm good with that. I haven't built anything since 2009 and I'm thinking about it. Not sure what yet. Not going to re-invent the wheel. Maybe a classical. So I was thinking about it this morning, very early. I have a twisted brain that has racing thoughts when I first wake up. Sometimes it results in a moment of clarity, sometimes I scare myself. I wondered to myself, could a guitar be built from scratch....? I mean could you make everything? Is it even possible? Could you carve tuning pegs like a violin? Could you chop down a maple tree and slice it thin enough to make the sides/back? Could you make your own fret wire? Or possibly fashion your own bar frets from stock? And what about strings? That just opened up a whole 'nother set of questions... I guess it would be nearly impossible to truly "build" a guitar without SOME form of help from an outside source, i.e. fretwire, strings, tuners, other hardware.... I think too much. Or I need to burn those Foxfire books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I would say your answer already lies in your question. The difference being, "build" and "assemble". 2 different things entirely in my mind. Back in high school, I knew a guy who built a guitar. He used a spoke shave to form the neck. That was impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 1. A person buys a modular home and assembles the two halves on their slab. Did they build it? 2. A person assembles a 'kit' home. Did they build it? 3. A person builds a house from lumber and plywood from Lowes. Did they build it? 4. A person makes their own 2x4s, 2x10s and sheathing with their own mill and puts the pieces together to make a house. Did they build it? 5. A person cuts down trees, hews them, and assembles a log cabin. Did they build it? 1. no they assemble it 2. no, same as #1 3. Yes. It requires skill and knowledge of building code to pull that off. 4. Yes,, But that's why there is a Lowes. 5. Hell yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Buy a model of a car, put it together... Yes you built a model of a car. Di you make the model, no... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I actually endeavored to make strings. Just the equipment needed to actually have production ruled out the effort to expand beyond a "twisted hobby". 'Sides, while in the midst of the effort those two brothers from Bowling Green put their name and money behind just such an enterprise. I went back to saloon gigs, As far as crafting an instrument, heck ksd, you know where the line falls as to assembly next to a true craft and / or build. I hope you start a project and keep us all posted. Nylon strings sounds like a nice direction to go! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Yep, I've been pondering a standard-issue classical. None of this "I know what Torres did wrong" mindset, just "here's my best shot at making one that will compare with a $100 Paracho guitar". My only twist would be cypress sides and back. Only because it's kinda pretty in a plain jane way. And there are plenty of flamencos made with cypress so I'm not thinking too far outside the box. Maybe I'll shop for a mold this time. I made my own mold for the archtop(s) and that sucked. My bandsaw is puny and weak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Cypress is good. It doesn't rot so if your guitar gets lost in a swamp it'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Yes I think its possible to make most of it.. Im building a guitar at the moment.. im making the body, neck and fretboard from an old door.. But I just dont think I have the skill to make the hardware... Ive seen some great builds on youtube.. This one is one of the most impressive ive seen.. He makes his own pickups, puckup covers, rings and volume/tone knobs, pearl inllays, nut.. well check it out.. its impressive stuff.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buxom Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 5. A person cuts down trees, hews them, and assembles a log cabin. Did they build it? Well, I guess my dad and I built a house. I just have to say it was the manliest thing I've ever done, and probably ever will do. Both my dad and I were put in the hospital. debris from cutting down the trees hit me in the forehead, giving me a 2 inch gash, and the head of my dad's axe broke off and hit him in the shin. We both had to be glued shut and x ray'd. Sad thing is, that winter, he had to cut it up and use it for firewood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 In thoery, you COULD tool up to build everything, but impractical, right? Another thought: if you worked at a large guitar factory that had all the tooling and made all thier parts, you COULD say, "I'm gonna build myself one" and stay late after everyone has gone, and visit all the stations and build every part yourself. But here's more stuff to ponder, maybe for TOMARROW morning: Say you worked at the fretwire station one day, but happened to use fretwire made by Hank a day later for your guitar. Does that count? What if you did cut your own maple tree, made blanks for tops, and sold it to someone else but got a different top from someone else? Meanwhile, your oak tree falls down, Breedlove comes and buys it and removes it, and sells some of it to Larrevee, Larrevee sells spruce to Gibson, who in turn buys wood from the same supplier that does business with the supplier you sold the maple tops too? Meanwhile, a Gibby comes in for repair and you make a new bridge for it, but a few years later, you decide you want a J-200, and you get a Gibby made from the same wood you sold. So, you decide to build a guitar out of oak, out of your own tree, but you cant get that wood anymore, and have to use different oak if you want it. The you say, "Screw it...I'm going to make a perfect copy of a '78 Strat" because you have the perfect tree for it, and you shape craft a body for it and put it together while the wood is still green. Then, someone comes across THAT one and says. "Dang, this is the PERFECT body, just like the origonals" and takes it apart and puts a new neck on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 It's like you're reading my mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 If I can type on a computer that has no types, Dial a phone that has no dial Drive a car that has no horses Store my spare tire in a trunk that isn't a trunk, Then I guess you can "build" (whatever that means) a guitar without using a forge, and Bessemer converter to make the steel to make your tuners. Okay, I admit it, I'm an antisemantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 soooo....i'll refrain from claiming I "built" my Strat & Tele, because the bodies & necks were finished when I got them. had to trim/shim them to get that "perfect" fit. had to do the proper layout of the hardware & pgs to get the screwholes and string alignment right. had to assemble & solder the wiring harnesses etc. to me, "assembling" something means using existing screwholes & no work beyond what a screwdriver & ratchet set can accomplish. so, what i've done is something between manufacturing and assembling. since everything is hyphenated these days, how's "Custom-Assembled" sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 You can get pretty close I didn't chop down the tree to build the Cocobolo acoustic I built about five years ago but that's about all I didn't do. I didn't build the tuners per say but I rebuilt a pair of old wavily Tuners that had been on a guitar that was dropped so four of the tuners were bent. I made new buttons from Ebony and even made new brass shafts for the tuners and rebuilt them including doing single line engraving on two of the end screws to match the undamaged screws. I didn't cast and draw the fret fire but I bought 16 feet of Martin Pre-War fret material of E-bay and had to cut bend and shorten the blade for insert. Other than that I made everything else including bone nut and pegs and well as cutting abalone and Mother of pearl shell for the rosette and the fret markers. So other that string fret wire and half the tuners everything was made from just raw lumber with nothing even cut into blanks. I even used hide glue and between that and filing and sanding the bone my nose was under major assault for weeks. I'm glad I did it and proved to myself I could do it but once was enough since then I at least buy dimension cut lumber and basic hardware. Like I said I'm glad I did it and I learn a lot the two main lessons were never do it again because it's a crazy amount of extra work to do it all from scratch at that level. and the other lesson was never build anything from Cocobolo again it's beautiful but damn it's hard kind of like sanding old concrete plus the fumes are toxic and stain everything a weird orange color. But it's a beautiful guitar and man it sounds good too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I built my hunting cabin in the middle of the woods with a hand saw and a chain saw and hammers and cordless drills, without electricity. I DID buy the 2x4's and plywood and windows and roof metal. If a small drone flys up and looks at me, I'm gonna shoot it, but I can't see the ones way up in the sky. Who's nuts now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I built my shop. Does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 @ bad So you assembled it? OMG, I am so confused now. It looks nice, pro made/assembled. Heck the area looks nice. I wish I lived out the the sticks sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 Here's what I am wondering past couple days: Starts like this- Gwennie want to make a garden in the yard. Wants to make it at the back of the house. So...we need to 'design', need a plan. I also have a deck that comes out from the second floor, and I want to expand this deck bigger. Not now, but in the future. So, the deck is also great as a patio, always are. But, I notice this deck as a patio is about the MINIMUM height...any shorter, and it's too short. No pouring a slab over the slab, no riased decking at ground level, and in fact, in making the garden area, I am looking at removing dirt, as opposed to adding. No problem, except for the usual problem: what DO you do with the dirt? As anyone knows, who has ever dug for a foundation, or done landscaping, digging isn't a problem, it's what to do with and where to put the dirt. It's usually not a big deal, but in my case, my yard and property is generally too high now. Here's the thing: Lawns always get taller. You mow, the mulch lays there, gets into the grass, more grows, etc. In fact, it makes more dirt. Suddenly, I am aware the sinse I have been here in this house, the ground is a good inch or two taller. I spot a large tree, and I contemplate. If you cut it down, even if you remove it, the stump has still added mass and height to the ground. That doesn't include the mass of the brush that you have to do something with. So, even with cultivation and brush removal, the ground gets taller. Left unattended or growing wild, it surely adds more. Therefore, the earth itself MUST be getting bigger. When was the last time anyone measured the earth? Or how about made a reference for comparism? If then, how about a projection on how much bigger the earth will be, say, 10 years? 100 years? What effect might this have on global warming? does, say, 4 inches closer to the sun raise temperature any? 12 inches? What about the atmosphere? If the earth gets bigger, and the atmosphere is a set mass, how much is displaced by having to distribute around a larger sphere? And, who the hells wants "free dirt"? Ever see those signs on a mound of dirt and wonder who the heck would want that? Doesn't that vast majority of earth being made into piles come from those digging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 The universe is expanding, or so the scientists tell us. If so, it makes sense the earth is expanding. Or... your house, side-walks, driveway are sinking (the most likely scenario). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I built my hunting cabin in the middle of the woods with a hand saw and a chain saw and hammers and cordless drills, without electricity. I DID buy the 2x4's and plywood and windows and roof metal. If a small drone flys up and looks at me, I'm gonna shoot it, but I can't see the ones way up in the sky. Who's nuts now? You're not nuts yet, Murph. You'll need a beard first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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