Must Have Tools For Building A Guitar
Are you a guitar builder looking to take your craft to the next level? Look no further! Precision is everything when it comes to creating an instrument that truly sings. In this post, we’ll be delving into the essential measuring and marking tools every guitar builder needs in their arsenal. Get ready to up your game with tape measures, squares, contour gauges, calipers – and more! Let’s dive in. The following are tools that will help you begin to construct your dream guitar. The right tools are essential for a perfect finish, excellent action and intonation, and accurate spacing of the neck on the body.
1. A Jig Saw
A jigsaw is an essential tool for cutting out the shape of the body. The best jigsaws have blade speeds of around 3800 rpm and are variable speed up to 4200 rpm. The slower speeds allow you to make smoother cuts and less vibrations. Depending on the brand mostly all will come with a dust blower, which may be a necessity depending on where you work. It is also highly recommended to wear goggles when using a jigsaw. The blades are extremely thin and if your not careful it’s easy for them to go flying off and end up in your eye.
2. Drill Bits
You’ll need to drill 4 holes in the body, these will be where your pickup will sit, and you’ll use it to drill a hole into the neck pocket. You have a few options here. First is an electric drill. The advantage is that they are very powerful and you don’t need to buy multiple bits. But they can be inconvenient, as they aren’t portable and make noise when in use. The next option is a cordless drill/driver that uses 18 volt batteries or a charger dock. You will most likely want to buy additional batteries for extended builds as battery life does drain quickly.
3. A drill
You’ll also need to drill a hole in the neck pocket. This will allow you to plug in your pickup. The drill bit size that you choose depends on the type of guitar you are building, and whether your going to have a tremolo or not. For those without, then I’d suggest buying the smallest bit you can find. For those with a floating tremolo system, then I’d suggest using the largest bit that is capable of putting a hole through a piece of wood without splitting it into two pieces. When drilling for a bridge, use an appropriate sized drill bit for your bridge post hole.
4. A Planer
Using a planer will help you get your guitar body even in thickness. Planes remove the excess grain of the wood, which helps the body to dry evenly. If you want a perfect finish, and to avoid any warps or twists in your guitar’s body, then this is an essential tool that you need to have.
5. Clamps
There are multiple types of clamps and sizes, ranging from small ones to large ones. The type that you choose should depend on how much room you have. A large clamp is good for holding something heavy in place for a long time, like a wood plank or an arm. A smaller clamp is good for putting pressure and holding something light in place for a short period of time, like an arm or fingerboard.
6. An Orbital Sander
An orbital sander is a power tool that will help you smooth out the wood body of your guitar. It has a pad with holes and an electric motor attached to it. The pad spins very fast and sanding disks attached to it sand down the wood evenly as you move it back and forth along the piece of wood that your working on. When using one, make sure that your first couple passes are in straight lines, otherwise you risk creating small ridges in the wood.
7. A Tape Measure
A tape measure is an essential tool for measuring your guitar body and neck accurately so that you can ensure that your neck fits correctly on to your body. Also it’s handy for checking the exact length of whatever part you may need to order off the internet. The only downside to having a tape measure is that it can’t fold up, so you’ll want to be careful not to puncture it with any of your tools.
8. A Square
A square is essential for ensuring accurate cuts and marking, especially when using a jigsaw. If you’re going to be cutting large pieces of wood out, having one of these will help reduce the amount of sanding you’ll have to do later on. If you’re cutting small pieces and aren’t sure if they’re straight or not, then measuring from corner to corner with this tool will tell you if your lines are straight or if they are not perfectly square with each other.
9. A Router
A router is a power tool that will allow you to rout out an area that you wish to narrow. A router bit is used in conjunction with a wrist brace, which allows the user to make cuts along the grain. The benefit of this tool is that it makes the process much easier and faster than trying to work with a hand held router. It also leaves slightly less of a mess and you don’t have to listen to your router motor revving up as it handles each cut.
10. Router Bits
Router bits come in various shapes and sizes, depending on what you may need them to do. You’ll need a few smaller bits for making truss rod access holes, and a larger one for making your neck pocket. If you want to be able to rout out the area under where your pickups will be then you’ll also need one of these.
11. A Spirit Level
A spirit level is essential when it comes to leveling off the neck so that it is completely straight with the body of the guitar. It’s also great for checking if two flat surfaces are flush with each other before gluing something down or screwing it in place. Trust me, this tool can save you a lot of headache later on.
12. Side Cutters
Side cutters are used for cutting metal and some plastic. They come in a variety of sizes and styles, with most being able to accept a variety of different blades as well. They are great for removing excess wire from your pickup leads as well as soldering on cable connections and needlenose pliers can do the same thing. You may want to buy a set of these and keep them in your guitar making toolkit.
13. A Saw Rasp
A saw rasp is a very impressive tool that allows you to cut metal with only the burn of a match. It has a blade that is attached to the end of a handle and when pulled down, it allows you to cut metal without the risk of any sparks flying around your work area. They are great for cutting wooden neck materials without destroying them. A saw rasp is a must have when cutting fret slots in your neck.
14. A Needlenose Pliers
A pair of needlenose pliers are one of those tools that you will use every day, whether it be for adjusting the height of your guitar strings or connecting a ground wire to an amp, or even working on guitar parts out of your case. They will come in handy for many different things, and are one tool that you should invest in for your personal guitar making toolkit.
15. A Radius Sanding Block
A radius sanding block is used for sanding the radius of your guitar’s body. It can be made with a variety of materials, but wood is what most people use. Most people will also buy a block that has a different radius on each side. For example, one side will be 8″ and the other side will be 12″, giving you two different radii to work with. They are usually round or square, but they can also be cylindrical in shape if you want to make an acoustic or classical guitar (which typically have this type of fretboard).
16. Fret Bending Jig
A fret bender is a very simple and cheap tool that you can make yourself out of wood if you don’t have access to one. It’s basically a box with a 2″x2″ hole in the center and a steel rod held into the hole. This is where you will insert your fretwire, then bend it around an iron rod that sticks out of the top of the container. This allows you to bend your frets at whatever angle you want, giving you more control over your fretwork as well as making it easier to do.
17. Fret Slotting Saw
A fret slotting saw will make it easier to cut your fret slots and is much safer than using a hand held jigsaw. It is usually made out of steel and has an adjustable blade length that is held in place by a wood handle, which makes it more comfortable to use for the user. They are great for more accurate cuts since you can adjust the blade size and the amount of space between each cut is also adjustable.
18. Fret Hammer
A fret hammer is used to remove loose frets or ones that are damaged. It is a small mallet that you can use to hit the frets in order to bend them over or around. This will help prevent you from having to take the fretboard off of your guitar, which can be a time consuming process if you have multiple frets damaged at one time.
19. Fret Cutter
A fret cutter is used for cutting the fret slots in your fretboard. You will usually have to remove the fretboard from your guitar, which can be a time consuming process if you have multiple frets damaged at one time.
20. Spacer Gauge
Spacing gauges are used for measuring the spacing between frets on a fretboard and are very useful in determining if you need to make new cuts on your board or not. You’ll want to check out our article on How To Buy An Acoustic Guitar Fretboard if you’re interested in spacer gauges, as they are not essential tools when building guitars, but they can be very helpful when doing so.
21. Fret Angle file
A fret angle file is used to polish the surface of your fretwire. This file has a small round handle that is attached to a set of jagged wires. You will use this in order to smooth out any rough edges on the fretwire, so that it will function more efficiently and make it easier to bend.
22. Re-crowning File
A re-crowning file is used to raise the crown of a fret. This file has a small round handle that is attached to a set of jagged wires. You will use this in order to raise the crown of any frets that have been filed down too much, and to smooth out any rough edges on the fretboard if you have ever filed your fretboard down too far with a file.
23. Nut slotting
A nut slotting file is used to space the slots of a nut. This file has a small round handle that is attached to a set of jagged wires. You will use this in order to space the slots of your nuts, so that they are as close together as possible, and to smooth out any rough edges on the nut and fretboard.
24. Solder Iron
A solder iron is used to heat up the solder on your wires to within the melting temperature of the solder. You’ll need one of these in order to attach your wires to your pickups and controls, and for soldering guitar parts together.
25. Sandpaper
Sandpaper is used to smooth out the surface of your guitar’s neck as well as to allow you to file down any rough edges you may have on it. You want to buy a variety of different types of sandpaper in order to be able to do the perfect job for your particular project.
Conclusion
Every good guitar builder or guitar enthusiast should have a decent stash of tools when it comes to having the ability to build their own guitar. These tools range from soldering irons to fret files, fret slots and more. You should try to get a variety of the different kinds of tools that you don’t already have, and make sure you experiment with them so that you can decide which ones are the best for your needs. If they are not as useful as you had hoped, then simply trash them and find new ones at your local hardware store or online if possible.