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dexter0606

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
525
Location
Cambridge, ON
Just looking at that Rockler kit it seems like all you do is put a finish on it and assemble. You don't really make anything. This project has been on my list for a long time but haven't gotten around to starting it. You can buy a quality neck from a guitar supply store. Check online. You can also download templates of guitar bodies and make your own from there. Lots of good online resources for the electronics end of it as well.
That's how I'd start. Purchase the neck and electronics and make the body to suit
 

paintspill

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2011
Messages
891
Location
toronto, ontario, canada.
+1 on stewmac.
another option would be to buy used electric guitar, pull the neck off (4 screws and the hardest part to build) and build a new body using the donor guitar as a template for the routing out and for parts. kind of custom.
 

rtyler8140

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
98
Location
Lynchburg, Virginia
+1 on stewmac.
another option would be to buy used electric guitar, pull the neck off (4 screws and the hardest part to build) and build a new body using the donor guitar as a template for the routing out and for parts. kind of custom.

This is exactly how I built my electric guitar. It was a Behringer guitar. The neck and frets were decent, the body was plywood. I kept the neck and scrapped everything else after using the body and pick guard to make a template. Used a spokeshave to shape the body (can use a belt sander if you want). Was able to get some fender strat pick-ups on craigslist for $10. The biggest thing I would be concerned with in terms of a kit you buy is the components may not be all that great. Anywho good luck with the build, it is a lot of fun to finally get it all together and plugged into an amp.







 

toddlajoie

Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
1,728
Location
Feeding Hills MA
A few other options are (tho these are not necessarily cheap, that's been covered by those already mentioned...):

Warmoth, Not necessarily "cheap" but very good and reasonably priced for what you get. They sell body blanks already routed for different parts if you want (completely un-routed of course also...). One of the most critical points of a bold on guitar is the neck pocket (where the neck connects and is bolted in) so getting a squarish body blank with this pocked already routed to perfection will go a long way to a sucessful project. They sell a full line of necks and you can customize one if you want something specific, including blank, unshapted headstocks if you want to shape your own. You can also purchase the bodys in various standard shapes, and various hardware routing, and any combination of them, depending on what you want to try yourself. They also sell a great range of hardware and electronics... Plus, just about everything they sell, can be worked to whatever degree you want, from a wood block, to a shaped, routed, and painted body, and they have a HUGE array of options and customizations from body woods to custom exotic tops, bindings, fret markers, etc...

Carvin sells guitar kits that are also top notch (and probably a good bit pricier than those mentioned by others here), and they sell "Neck-Through" necks, which eliminate the need to route a neck pocket and bolt the neck to the body. Instead, you glue "wings" onto the side of the neck blank, which extends the entire length of the body. Then you can shape the body and route out for the hardware and electronics to meet your needs.
 
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