Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Well as a lot of you know I have done some refinish, kit build and body reshaping/refinish threads... But I want more... I wanna build my own bodies and eventually the necks too.. So, I have started acquiring the necessary power tools to help me achieve my goals... Today's purchase: A compound miter saw and a drill press.... Now i know your asking what? a miter saw ???? Well you are correct, that's not for guitar building. That's for helping me rebuild part of the deck in my back yard but the drill press, which can also double as a drum sander is for guitar building... in the next several weeks i will also be purchasing a router and a bandsaw. i could live without the band saw and use my portable jigsaw, but the bandsaw will make things so much nicer... So with that said I still have a kit build upcoming and a refinish project that I've already either ordered parts for or stripped down a guitar. However, when those projects are done in the next couple months I fully intend on building my first guitar body from a blank... Then in the future, the whole enchilada.... body and neck from blanks... been watching some youtube DIY video clips tonight on doing just those two things... it's making me excited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pak066 Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 just a word of caution on the bandsaw. make sure u get a good one. a bad bandsaw is like the devil in tool form. u will never know what its doin. But god luck in your search for tools. luckly my dad is a carpenter. he has all the tools you can imagine. a whole shop full. sounds like a good hunt though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members headless Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Now i know your asking what? a miter saw ???? You did indeed know what I was thinking. Spooky. But (and I'm no expert), if you're going to be making bodies and necks from raw lumber, won't you need a planer of some sort? (too bad you're not out my way because my brother just happens to be selling one). Good luck with your venture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 just a word of caution on the bandsaw. make sure u get a good one. a bad bandsaw is like the devil in tool form. u will never know what its doin. But god luck in your search for tools. luckly my dad is a carpenter. he has all the tools you can imagine. a whole shop full. sounds like a good hunt though. thanks for the bandsaw tip... A friends Dad (who is retired now) built himself a bad ass shop. all the power tools you could ever imagine. built in vacuum to collect saw dust from each machine, etc... really top notch... maybe someday that can be me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 You did indeed know what I was thinking. Spooky. But (and I'm no expert), if you're going to be making bodies and necks from raw lumber, won't you need a planer of some sort? (too bad you're not out my way because my brother just happens to be selling one). Good luck with your venture! well i am not looking to build from raw lumber, but body blanks you can get from warmoth, stewmac, etc... however a planer is definitely going on my list as a want... maybe down the road a little further. it would open up more possibilities for sure... with the body blanks a decent sander should get me by for now !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MahaloVision Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 My drill press gets all kinds of use, however I prefer the floor type as it has more room between the post and the chuck. Some things you might want to acquire for the press: 1) Saf-T-Planer: great for tapering necks, rough hogging thickness of headstocks, etc. In the absence of a good jointer and planer, it can do a reasonable job on thicknessing, although tedious. Which brings me to: 2) Extended drill press table. If you get a Saf-T-Planer or use a drum, you'll want to have a larger, flat surface for feeding stock in and to form a base for a fence. Consider building a vacuum table for the drill press to suck away the dust. Even on a small bench press like you have, you'll come to appreciate it. 3) Flush Trim sanders (aka "Robosander"). These are great for pattern sanding. If you don't want to invest in those, at least get a firm sanding drum for doing thickness sanding. Soft ones don't give very good results when thicknessing thin strips like binding. 4) Cross Slide Vise - I got mine from a woodworking show, but you can get cheap ones from Harbor Freight. They'll take some tuning up, but once it's done they're really useful for anything that requires precision drilling in a small piece of wood. Mine's mounted on a piece of plywood that I can plop on the drill press table and clamp securely. Currently it's getting used to mill out headblocks for my small acoustics I'm doing - mount the block in the vise, center it up on the centerline, then feed the work in and out with either drill bits or router bits in the chuck. A mill would be better, but this works fine for most woods although I wouldn't suggest anything metallic. Bandsaws - look for Jet and Delta 14" models on Craigslist. It doesn't matter if they're open or closed stand. The 14" size is important as you can find all kinds of blades in that size as well as the ones that fit a 14" with a riser block installed. Resawing anything thicker than 6 inches is a pain, but can be done. I have a 16" Laguna that can resaw a 12" board, but there are times it would be nice to have a 14" as well. Consider an upgraded set of guides for the blade. Other than that, I highly recommend hearing and eye protection at a minimum. Also consider the effects of dust - it's not healthy. If you can find a dust collector on Craigslist, seriously consider getting it. Also get a set of finer bags for it, as the standard ones probably kill you faster than no dust collector at all. The tool that gets the most use in my shop is a simple Sandvik cabinet scraper, kept sharp and burnished. Some good long-bladed Paring Chisels are good to have, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bvr775 Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 hell that miter saw will be your best friend when make jigs. im using a wilton tradesman, but i got a really good deal on it. one of the industrial supply store went out of businesses down here and i got that, a 12" jointer and a 20" planer for 3g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 hell that miter saw will be your best friend when make jigs. im using a wilton tradesman, but i got a really good deal on it. one of the industrial supply store went out of businesses down here went out of business down here and i got that, a 12" jointer and a 20" planer for 3g. never thought of making jigs, you're correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 ok MahaloVision i've had a little time to look into the items you recommended and i am in total agreement... the robo-sander and extended table are a must... the Saf-T-Planer and Cross Slide Vise would be nice to have and would make things even easier on me... thanks again for the information... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 I lost my drill press in a divorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 I'm a router short of having all the power tools..... Having looked into the price of woods, I thin I can make a guitar for under Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ihavenofish Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 as mahalovision said, good cabinet scrapers are the most useful tool lever. make sure they are good hardened ones. i bought some cheap ones thinking "they all look the same" but they wouldnt hold and edge through a single scrape. as for band saws, if you dont have room for a nice big one, the ryobi 9" at home depot for $99 actually works very well. its light and small and cant be pushed too hard, but resaws 3" in hard woods straight and cuts bodies easily. ive even resawn 3" lignum vitae - hardest wood on earth. one thing to note, dont by blades from home depot, they suck ass. ive had good luch with delta blades. also, the ridgid spindle sander alot of people on here have is way worth saving up to get. much better for working body edges than the little drill presses (i have an 8") you can save alot of money buying rough lumber from a lumber yard too. more than enough to justify a nice hand or power plane to flatten them after just a few bodies. one thing i got recently thats not a power tool but possibly the best thing ive bought yet for building is my work bench. its not so much the bench itself thats cool, but the accessories the drop into 3/4" holes. pegs, clamps, movable vises. makes gluing up blanks, necks, and general holding of the pieces easy without obscuring the top.http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=51104&cat=1,41637 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Look around for deals on tools. Here are the basic power tools I use for a build: 1- Delta Industrial Table Saw with Extension Table - special sale for $450.00 2- Jet Spindle Sander - $500.00 after $50.00 rebate 3- Sears Planer - on sale for $200.00 (they go for $270) 4- Delta 6 Inch Jointer - New in Box at Lowes for $99.99 (sell for about $600) 5- Sears Router Table with Router - You can get these for about $120 on sale which is a deal, the router and table are pretty good. Mine was $60.00 on clearance 6- Bosch D Handle Router and Sears Plunge - $25.00 each @ Pawn Shop. 7 - Craftsman Bandsaw (forgot price) 8- Craftsman Drill Press - $80.00 9- Delta Bench Mounted Band Sander - $20.00 flea market 10 - shop vac for dust collection - $30 @ Home Depot Christmas sale 11 - Grinder - $20 @ home depot christmas sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 I'm a router short of having all the power tools..... Having looked into the price of woods, I thin I can make a guitar for under Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Look around for deals on tools. Here are the basic power tools I use for a build: 1- Delta Industrial Table Saw with Extension Table - special sale for $450.00 2- Jet Spindle Sander - $500.00 after $50.00 rebate 3- Sears Planer - on sale for $200.00 (they go for $270) 4- Delta 6 Inch Jointer - New in Box at Lowes for $99.99 (sell for about $600) 5- Sears Router Table with Router - You can get these for about $120 on sale which is a deal, the router and table are pretty good. Mine was $60.00 on clearance 6- Bosch D Handle Router and Sears Plunge - $25.00 each @ Pawn Shop. 7 - Craftsman Bandsaw (forgot price) 8- Craftsman Drill Press - $80.00 9- Delta Bench Mounted Band Sander - $20.00 flea market 10 - shop vac for dust collection - $30 @ Home Depot Christmas sale 11 - Grinder - $20 @ home depot christmas sale thanks man, i have a few of those things already and see some others i would love to have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Definitely keep your eye on Craigs list, there are some good deals go through there. I recently scored this Ridgid oscillating spindle / belt sander for $40, gota be quick ... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Power tools & nice woods are what i GAS for now, rather than guitars.Every time I get a new addition to my shop for a process I use to do by hand, I wonder how I ever got along without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Power tools & nice woods are what i GAS for now, rather than guitars. Every time I get a new addition to my shop for a process I use to do by hand, I wonder how I ever got along without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 My Dremel has been my best friend on my project/build guitar. That and an angle grinder. Congrats on the tools! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 My Dremel has been my best friend on my project/build guitar. That and an angle grinder. Congrats on the tools! i do own a dremel... handy little tool for sure... i want a grinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members linusâ„¢ Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 subscribed, this mirrors similar plans of my own. please let us know how that harbor frieght drill press works out (accuracy/stability wise) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Just my 2 cents but I would avoid Harbor Freight's power tools. I like HF for some things, but a power tool is something I'm willing to spend a little more on. A drill press is a pretty inexpensive tool to begin with. IMHO you would be better off going with a Delta or even a Craftsman. IIRC Home Depot's 'Rigid' brand of tools are made in the same place as Craftsman. If you can afford it go with JET or Grizley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 Just my 2 cents but I would avoid Harbor Freight's power tools. I like HF for some things, but a power tool is something I'm willing to spend a little more on.A drill press is a pretty inexpensive tool to begin with. IMHO you would be better off going with a Delta or even a Craftsman. IIRC Home Depot's 'Rigid' brand of tools are made in the same place as Craftsman.If you can afford it go with JET or Grizley. i do realize HF sells some inexpensive power tools. I also realize I am not buying top of the line. With that said, I don't plan on using these things that often. Guitar refinishing, building, etc... if just a hobby for me. i will never make money building guitars, nor do i desire to do so. I think what I have purchased will be more than sufficient to help me build decent guitars. if i find out otherwise you guys will be the first to know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bvr775 Posted July 28, 2009 Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 well you walk the line with harbor freight, but their warranty is great and really makes up for it. ive got 7.5 80 gallon compressor from them and it threw a rod after a week. it took a whole 3 hours for someone to come and fix it on the spot. good thing too because it weighs a freakn ton. i dont see myself just throwing that in the bed of the truck and taking it in for service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2009 i have a compressor i bought from harbor freight several years ago... it's going strong... btw, i picked up an extension table and robo-sander for my drill press at lunch today !!! WOOHOO !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.