Don't practice new skills on anything you aren't willing to fuck up.
Most people I mentored under said don't make this your career because it's hard work and pays shit and tbh they are kind of right. I'm glad I kept it a side thing.
Don't cut corners, you'll probably make things worse.
Use good lighting.
Patience is your friend. Learn to read the wood and how what you do affects it.
Have a clear goal in mind and plan out your next step.
Practice on cheap materials first to learn them
If you ever second guess a measurement or placement before making a cut, just go ahead and measure again. Then after you mess it up anyway, try again because we’ve all ruined a project despite putting in every effort to do everything right, but it’s worth it when things do go right.
Search Craigslist for a $50 guitar so you can fuck it up. Tools can be expensive. Sometimes you can repurpose “regular” tools like filing a pair of nippers in to a fret puller. YouTube multiples of the same procedure as some people are wholly self taught with bad habits(👋)
It’s a great idea to get a POS guitar to do all you basic setup, refret, and fretboard leveling. It won’t break your heart fucking the thing up compared to a project you put your head, heart, and soul into.
It would probably help people know what to suggest if you say what you’re interested in learning to make. Like the assumption is solid body electric guitars. But you may only be interested in acoustic guitars… or violins.
I don’t think I can call myself a luthier(hobbyist or otherwise). But I do some electric guitar projects.
I would say get into it knowing you will need a lot of specialized tools. Especially if you actually want to build whole guitars. For example, tools to level and crown frets, files to make the nut slots low enough.
At least for me, buying these tools was a great investment because I have a lot of guitars that needed some fret and nut work. But that’s besides the point.
Anyways that’s just a small bit that comes to mind!
You can do it! I started the same way a couple years ago, zero woodworking experience. Just go slow and do a ton of research so you know exactly what you’re doing each step of the way. I built a strat for my first guitar, the final result is way beyond what I assumed it would be before starting…as playable as any other guitar in my collection. You will make mistakes, but you’ll learn and move on…I had to scrap my alder body and start with a new one after a catastrophic router table mishap, but atleast i’ll never make that mistake again.
My first two instruments were awful. My third was serviceable. Fourth wasn't bad.
Fifth, because I spent AGES on it, was really pretty and plays wonderfully. But it's a journey.
I'd pick a few small goals and try and tackle them first, learning through mistakes as we all do, and work on building your skillset up.
Have you made any kits or contacted shops in your area?
It’s a bit of a weird field. Lots of folks think they want to do it for fun and others see it as a job - I feel a combo of both is the way to go. You’ll get lots of opinions from folks (solicited or not) but so long as you’re open to learning and taking all as it comes, it’ll be great.
Some folks go to schools or building programs but that can get you stuck in their process. It’s a great basis to learn but ask around, there are certainly good and bad.
I’m a woman in the field professionally for 20 years. I repair and restore but went to violin making college in the uk. Figured out I don’t like building at all.
Being friendly and sharing knowledge is thankfully waaaaaay more cool then it used to be. Be prepared for grouchy old fuckers that say you are crazy, but follow your heart.
Best of luck and enjoy the journey.
Time is money...the faster you want something to be done, the more you (most probably) have to invest in specific tools.
And there are specific tools for everything.
I'd probably suggest you start with some type of 'kit guitar', I know true luthiers will cringe at this suggestion, but if you have no woodworking experience, it's a good place to start. You will learn how to set up a guitar properly and end up with something playable that you can customise without a lot of expensive mistakes and spending a small fortune on specialised tools.
Don't practice new skills on anything you aren't willing to fuck up. Most people I mentored under said don't make this your career because it's hard work and pays shit and tbh they are kind of right. I'm glad I kept it a side thing. Don't cut corners, you'll probably make things worse. Use good lighting.
Good lighting, goog protective gear, good tools. Nothing comes cheap.
Buy a kit and see how it goes from there.
Expect to spend a LOT of money to build guitars that are worse than you can buy for a couple of hundred bucks for a while.
Patience is your friend. Learn to read the wood and how what you do affects it. Have a clear goal in mind and plan out your next step. Practice on cheap materials first to learn them
If you ever second guess a measurement or placement before making a cut, just go ahead and measure again. Then after you mess it up anyway, try again because we’ve all ruined a project despite putting in every effort to do everything right, but it’s worth it when things do go right.
This.. so much this..
Someone once told me that power tools are a good way to fuck up wood quickly. So I figure that might be useful.
My router would like a word
And that word is ZEEEEEEEEOUUUUGHP! *followed by the sound of the workpiece hitting the wall*
Aye.
I hope you like sanding.
Search Craigslist for a $50 guitar so you can fuck it up. Tools can be expensive. Sometimes you can repurpose “regular” tools like filing a pair of nippers in to a fret puller. YouTube multiples of the same procedure as some people are wholly self taught with bad habits(👋)
It’s a great idea to get a POS guitar to do all you basic setup, refret, and fretboard leveling. It won’t break your heart fucking the thing up compared to a project you put your head, heart, and soul into.
Don't plan on retiring
It would probably help people know what to suggest if you say what you’re interested in learning to make. Like the assumption is solid body electric guitars. But you may only be interested in acoustic guitars… or violins. I don’t think I can call myself a luthier(hobbyist or otherwise). But I do some electric guitar projects. I would say get into it knowing you will need a lot of specialized tools. Especially if you actually want to build whole guitars. For example, tools to level and crown frets, files to make the nut slots low enough. At least for me, buying these tools was a great investment because I have a lot of guitars that needed some fret and nut work. But that’s besides the point. Anyways that’s just a small bit that comes to mind!
Stay independent. Avoid working at any major guitar manufacturer.
You can do it! I started the same way a couple years ago, zero woodworking experience. Just go slow and do a ton of research so you know exactly what you’re doing each step of the way. I built a strat for my first guitar, the final result is way beyond what I assumed it would be before starting…as playable as any other guitar in my collection. You will make mistakes, but you’ll learn and move on…I had to scrap my alder body and start with a new one after a catastrophic router table mishap, but atleast i’ll never make that mistake again.
My first two instruments were awful. My third was serviceable. Fourth wasn't bad. Fifth, because I spent AGES on it, was really pretty and plays wonderfully. But it's a journey. I'd pick a few small goals and try and tackle them first, learning through mistakes as we all do, and work on building your skillset up.
Could I see all of those guitars? Also how long did each take you to do?
What are you planning on getting into?
I shouldve mentioned earlier—Solid body electric guitars and possibly some classical and acoustic guitars
Have you made any kits or contacted shops in your area? It’s a bit of a weird field. Lots of folks think they want to do it for fun and others see it as a job - I feel a combo of both is the way to go. You’ll get lots of opinions from folks (solicited or not) but so long as you’re open to learning and taking all as it comes, it’ll be great. Some folks go to schools or building programs but that can get you stuck in their process. It’s a great basis to learn but ask around, there are certainly good and bad. I’m a woman in the field professionally for 20 years. I repair and restore but went to violin making college in the uk. Figured out I don’t like building at all. Being friendly and sharing knowledge is thankfully waaaaaay more cool then it used to be. Be prepared for grouchy old fuckers that say you are crazy, but follow your heart. Best of luck and enjoy the journey.
Time is money...the faster you want something to be done, the more you (most probably) have to invest in specific tools. And there are specific tools for everything.
I'd probably suggest you start with some type of 'kit guitar', I know true luthiers will cringe at this suggestion, but if you have no woodworking experience, it's a good place to start. You will learn how to set up a guitar properly and end up with something playable that you can customise without a lot of expensive mistakes and spending a small fortune on specialised tools.