I've never built a guitar before, but I do have a shop full of woodworking tools and experience building things. So I decided to build a tribute guitar to one of my musical icons, James Hetfield of @metallica
Modeled after his Ken Lawrence Explorers, I built this out of mahogany with a rosewood fretboard. Check out my first attempt at building a guitar, and let me know what I can do better for my next guitar build!
Thanks for the inspiration to the following people:
Rob Schweitzer (https://www.instagram.com/freewheelwoodworking/)
Crimson Guitars
- https://www.crimsonguitars.com/
- https://www.youtube.com/@UCdD1Cqxr8aINzWs1agg3tEQ
Tchiks Guitars: https://www.youtube.com/@UCcCfJiovwYlhA_GmPTf4s_w
Here's some of the tools I used in this build from our Amazon Storefront (commissions earned on sales):
https://bit.ly/GDGuitarTools
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Affiliate Links:
- Check out our Amazon Storefront for any of the tools you see in the video, including the guitar building tools (we earn commissions on sales): https://www.amazon.com/shop/garagedwellersww
- For 10% off your purchase on Magswitch Products, click on the link below and use coupon code DWELLERS10.
https://magswitch.com/?ref=ziS6BeH7ZRto7C
- Interested in growing your woodworking business? Check out Craft To Career!
https://crafttocareer.com/accelerator-academy-landing-page?am_id=bob428
Custom Furniture:
https://gdcustomfurniture.com/custom-furniture-request
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00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Making the scarf joint
02:12 - Routing the truss rod channel
05:25 - Tool hero #1 - The bandsaw
06:43 - Template routing
08:26 - Making the fretboard
10:05 - Shaping the neck/Tool hero #2 - Oscillating spindle sander
12:55 - Installing the side dots
15:05 - Installing the frets
16:29 - Tool hero #3 - the drill press/Making the body cavities
18:34 - Gluing up the neck
19:35 - The electronics cavity
20:29 - Hetfield's guitars/the finishing details
22:41 - The electronics cavity cover and controls
24:06 - Finish and hardware installation
26:31 - How does it sound?