Using CNC for building your own custom guitar parts

[Andrew W]

Having dipped my toes into the exciting world of designing my own stuff with the laser cut guitar rack and a couple of Telemaster type projects I got to thinking about what else might be feasible for the home enthusiast with no access to a workshop.

I did some reading up online and there seem to be quite a few resources concerning CNC manufacturing techniques pertaining to guitar building and these set me thinking if it was something I could do? Above is the current design I'm playing with (dubbed the Red Lightning Deluxe until a better name presents itself) and I think I can make this design work in a piece of proper CAD software. At present it's modelled in quite clumsy fashion just to see if I like the shape and to spot any obvious problems. So I was wondering if anyone here has ever dabbled in CNC or uses it for work and if so whether there are any gotchas I should be aware of? I'll keep doing research until I have a proper working CAD model and then it might get serious... Thanks for any input, it's all welcome!

[HTH AMPS]

I like it, its very Gretsch Billy-Bo'esque.

Put a Bigsby on it though   :D

[Philly Q]

At present it's modelled in quite clumsy fashion just to see if I like the shape and to spot any obvious problems.

Doesn't look clumsy to me, it looks bloody excellent!  :D

Having dipped my toes into the exciting world of designing my own stuff with the laser cut guitar rack and a couple of Telemaster type projects I got to thinking about what else might be feasible for the home enthusiast with no access to a workshop.

I'm a bit confused.... you say no access to a workshop, but I know the rack and telemasters actually exist!  So are you just thinking of designing this thing, or designing it then getting some third party facility to actually make it for you?

(Forgive my ignorance!)

[Andrew W]

At present it's modelled in quite clumsy fashion just to see if I like the shape and to spot any obvious problems.

Doesn't look clumsy to me, it looks bloody excellent!  :D

Having dipped my toes into the exciting world of designing my own stuff with the laser cut guitar rack and a couple of Telemaster type projects I got to thinking about what else might be feasible for the home enthusiast with no access to a workshop.

I'm a bit confused.... you say no access to a workshop, but I know the rack and telemasters actually exist!  So are you just thinking of designing this thing, or designing it then getting some third party facility to actually make it for you?

(Forgive my ignorance!)

I can design things, draw up the blueprints and then send those to a CNC company to hack out of a piece of timber of my choosing. I can then sand and finish the piece. A buddy has a garage that I can use as a spray shop too which may come in very handy. From there I can do the electrics and screw on the hardware myself with my limited kit at home. That's the plan as best as I can figure it. For frets and such I may be phoning Jonathan at Feline, we'll see how brave/reckless I'm feeling if I decide to try and do it myself. :)

Like the Bigsby idea too HTH. Hmmm will experiment along those lines too.

[Philly Q]

Now I understand better, thanks!  :)

For frets and such I may be phoning Jonathan at Feline, we'll see how brave/reckless I'm feeling if I decide to try and do it myself. :)

I can relate to that.  I just bought an Allparts neck (from MJT) and the frets are nowhere near as well finished as the Warmoth and/or Fender necks I've bought in the past.  Way beyond my skills (and toolkit), I think I'll have to take it to Jonathan to dress the frets and fit a nut.*



(* with the usual proviso that I may never actually get round to putting the guitar together!)

[WezV]

that is normal with allparts necks.  usually well fretted but they do little more than put the bevel on the ends, no levelling or dressing

Andrew W - might be best finding a luthier that uses CNC to do it and ask them what they would need from you.  generally for one offs its easier and cheaper to hand build them - maybe with cnc made templates.  if you get a paddle headstock bolt on neck things become easier still

[richardjmorgan]

I like it, its very Gretsch Billy-Bo'esque.

Put a Bigsby on it though   :D

But then you'd lose the TOTALLY AWESOME tailpiece!

[shobet]

Out of interest Andrew what software are you using for the design in the image?

[gordiji]

don't want to be the contrarian here but that's hideous beyond belief, even more so than the 'billy bo'.i'll stick to nice
shapes(ones before 1980) :lol:
good look with your project though.

[Andrew W]

Out of interest Andrew what software are you using for the design in the image?

I used Autodesk's Maya for the modelling, all the shading and rendering is done with Pixar's Photorealistic RenderMan because these are what I use for work so I'm much faster than I'd be trying to use something else. You could do it in any decent piece of 3D software though.

[Andrew W]

don't want to be the contrarian here but that's hideous beyond belief, even more so than the 'billy bo'.i'll stick to nice
shapes(ones before 1980) :lol:
good look with your project though.

Thanks for the good luck!

The Billy Bo is the same shape as the Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird which was designed in 1959 by the way. If you want to stick to "nice" shaped guitars I think you'll have to shift your cut-off date twenty or so years earlier.:P