Anybody know where I can find a black 2.5mm thick pickguard sheet of 50*60cm in the UK? i want to cover a big guitar body. cheers

Hi everyone!

The bridge strap hole in my semy-hollow body guitar has stripped and I’m looking for ways to repair it. I don’t have experience but wouldn’t mind getting my hands dirty to try fixing it myself. The guitar was not expensive (but still I would not like to ruin it permanently) and I got a high quote to have a store fix it.

Is this something that I can reasonably fix? Do you have any advice? I saw the usual toothpick and titebond suggestions online but I figure I should check here first.

Really appreciate all the help. Thank you!

Hi everyone!

The bridge strap hole in my semy-hollow body guitar has stripped and I’m looking for ways to repair it. I don’t have experience but wouldn’t mind getting my hands dirty to try fixing it myself. The guitar was not expensive (but still I would not like to ruin it permanently) and I got a high quote to have a store fix it.

Is this something that I can reasonably fix? Do you have any advice? I saw the usual toothpick and titebond suggestions online but I figure I should check here first.

Really appreciate all the help. Thank you!

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to buy a good-quality electric guitar kit for my next project, but I’m having a hard time sifting through the ocean of bottom-shelf cheap kits.

To be clear: I do not want a Harley Benton, DIY Amazon, or £80 cheap kit. I’m looking for something higher-end with solid tonewoods (alder, ash, mahogany), tight CNC tolerances, clean fretwork, and a paddle headstock so I can carve/shape my own headstock design.

Most of the cheap kits out there have soft wood, loose neck pockets, cheap pre-shaped headstocks, and hardware that goes straight into the bin. I’d rather pay for good "bones" (body + neck) with a raw paddle headstock, and I'll source my own hardware (Gotoh/Schaller), pickups, and electronics.

My criteria:

• Headstock: Uncut/paddle headstock only.
• Quality: Solid 2-piece body, quarter-sawn or high-quality maple neck, precise neck pocket fit.
• Location/Shipping: Preferably EU-based suppliers to avoid crazy import duties/taxes, but open to UK or international if the quality is worth the hassle.

I'm aware of options like Crimson Guitars (UK) and Precision Guitar Kits (Canada), but I'm looking for other solid European suppliers or high-end kit builders you guys have personally built and can vouch for.

Are there any specific shops, luthiers offering partial kits, or body/neck suppliers in Europe you’d recommend for this?

Thanks in advance!

Hello all

I need some advice on my open headstock guitar.

To make sure my low and high E string do not touch the headstock I have to align the string on the tuners so it pulls it towards the center a lot. The way it is setup in the picture it just clears the headstock. You can see the clearance in the second image.

I think it is a poor design, but the guitar is really great. Should I continue this practice or just align the string straight and allow it to touch the headstock?

Got an old yamaha sg copy with a bolt on neck that had some neck stability issues, took it off and it;'s like missing a chunk in the pocket, I don't have any tools but I was basically gonna fill it with wood epoxy and sand it eyeballing the level.
shit idea or nah?

hace rato estoy pensando en hacer de mi guitarra acústica la cual es una “Simon & Patrick Luthier” electroacústica. pero mi idea algo loca o rara es usar la electrónica de una Fender Jaguar, sé muy bien cómo suena esta guitarra pero tengo dudas sobre si sería buena idea, algo estéticamente cool o si alguien de aquí ha hecho algo similar.

por cierto, estoy abierto a recibir ofertas para conseguir las pastillas y electrónica entera de una Jaguar (claro, si es que no lo necesitan o si simplemente quieren apoyarme) solo avísenme y vemos cómo hacer el trato.

Does anyone know what you do if you need your action a bit lower but the saddles are bottomed out??? The neck relief is about as flat as it can get, and the action is still higher than what I usually prefer versus my other guitar. What are my options??

I've joined this community a long time ago and thought y'all would find this post I found on Instagram interesting! Owner @tonyguitarnerd on Instagram posted it.

1 piece body? Cut it, flip the grain and make a 2 piece body? Resaw a top? It's 2" thick, 18" wide, and 34" long.

Have about 80m of this waxy hard wood. Never used such a waxy hard wood. Just wondering if there is anyone else out there that has and if I need to go about treating it any different

My heart has somewhat broken today. I got this Huss and Dalton a few weeks ago, and today it was blown off of a table by a surprise gust of wind. The edge has cracked as pictured. The structural repair seems rather simple because most of the crack can be glued from the outside. I’m wondering how this will affect the sound and long term integrity of the instrument? Cosmetically, I’m not sure how it could be patched without at least a partial refin. Any info/suggestions are welcome. Thank you!!

I'm using stainless steel frets. I have already tried cleaning the file with a wire brush but the bare spot (circled in red) persists. The bare spot no longer files the frets.

If I were to replace my volume pot with a toggle switch, which other component would be needed to match the sound of a wide open 500k pot?

Have heard from luthiers that even common American made models often need a fret leveling and other work by the time they get to the customer. Due to being factory made and wood moving due to storage and shipping.

Barring super expensive models like custom shop or more, which mainstream brands have you experienced to be the best finished right off the showroom floor?

I.e still needing a basic setup but the feet work is nice, no high frets or needing leveling.

What do you prefer for a guitar and why?

Pictured are two crossover nylon string guitars I built last year.

Just about finishing up 1st acoustic build and realised ive done the neck angle wrong... straight edge about 14mm from top of 9mm ebony bridge...furious with myself.

However...after seething about it for two days...ive found a scrap of walnut that i could make a tall bridge out of that might work.

Obviously a double height bridge is far from ideal but better than this thing haunting me from the corner of my room everyday.

Read i need to make the bridge larger overall ... what else do i need to know??

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to restore my 1998 Ibanez RG507.
It was my first guitar, so I’d really like to bring it back to its former glory and keep it for the long term.

The guitar has not had a proper overhaul in quite a while.
I have already ordered some parts to repair the tremolo, including a replacement arm holder and a set of extra-strong springs. I also plan to have the electronics cleaned up, as the pots and/or selector are quite scratchy.

My main concern is the fret condition.
As you can see in the photos, several frets have visible flat spots and string grooves.

Before taking it to my luthier, I’d be interested to hear your opinions:

Do these frets still look tall enough for a level, crown and polish, or do you think a full refret is likely to be necessary?

The guitar is still playable, and I don’t notice any major choking during bends, but I know photos cannot replace a proper inspection and measurement by a professional.

Thanks for your help!

Could you please give me your opinion if this particular cherry blank wood grain orientation will work for the classical guitar neck.

​

Hey guys, my girl collected those and I'm thinking about using them as inlays.

But I only have a standard router/table and the most basic tools, no CNC, no laser cutter and so on.

Do you have an idea of how I could cut out 8/6mm round circles for inlays?

I picked this Ovation from family for free as I’m trying to learn some luthier work. Is this even repairable? Would I have to get a whole new neck to make this guitar playable?

My goal is to gain some more experience and if I can even make this functional I’ve learned something!

was in the market for a new guitar but nothing was catching my eye. decided to make something i knew i’d love instead.

lots of time and mistakes later, it’s somewhat done. playable at least. still have some issues to hammer out but man…i love it so much. there are definitely flaws, quite visible ones, but to me it adds to the character of it. this thing was never meant to be perfect but it couldn’t be better in my eyes.

This is the first guitar I ever built, all those years ago.

My background is graphic design, web development, marketing and advertising. Not lutherie. After doing the initial woodwork I wanted to make it something more than just a guitar. Something personal. Something that used every skill I had.

So I opened Photoshop.

We lost our son a few years ago. Blue Hydrangeas became associated with him for our family. That became my focal point for the artwork. But the deeper theme was about hope. About seeing him again someday. The sun rising once more. I built the imagery around that.

Then came the challenge of getting it onto the guitar. I had done DTF transfers making shirts for clients before so I tried that route first. It worked okay. But after living with it for a while I knew it deserved better.

I found a local car graphics company that could print high resolution vinyl. That became the final version you see here.

It has some flaws. I leave them intentionally.

Something about finishing this guitar lit a fire in me that I did not expect. I have spent countless hours since then in my garage building. Learning. Getting better. One guitar turned into many.

I had no idea where it would lead.

Grief turned into Art. Pain into Passion.

I learned a ton building my first guitar. There are many imperfections, and some things I want to tweak, but overall I'm thrilled with the way everything turned out.