How To Construct a Solid Body Guitar

Solid body instruments are instruments, such as guitars or violins, which are built without the traditional sound box. These types of instruments rely on what is known as an electric pickup system in order to directly receive the vibrations made by the strings, and to amplify their sound. A solid body guitar is made up of two basic elements: the body and the neck, or bar body. It can also contain hardware, or metal parts, which largely consist of the pickups, the tuning machines, the tone and volume control knobs, a tremolo unit or a stud tailpiece and bridge. A solid body guitar is generally preferable to other types of guitars in acoustic situations, where feedback may present a problem; solid body guitars are also generally less expensive and hardier than acoustic electric guitars.
Just like constructing a solid body with a Lat machine, or making your own solid shampoo, constructing a solid body guitar is no mean feat; however, someone with a moderate level of woodworking skills could certainly try to construct the guitar body. Here are the basic steps that you will be undergoing if you want to build your own solid body guitar:

1. Your Tools. For this project, some basic woodworking tools should do the trick. Some amount of hand-eye coordination wouldn’t hurt either. You will also need a band saw, and a small router for gouging out the cavities necessary for the pickups and the electronics. If you do not have experience in woodworking, you can order a pre-made guitar neck and body from warmoth.com.
2. Necessary Hardware. Aside from the necessary screws and other connective devices, you will need pickups, the tuning machines, the tone and volume control knobs, a tremolo unit or a stud tailpiece and bridge to build your guitar.
3. Picking Your Wood. There are several different types of wood that you can choose from when making a solid body guitar; some of the most commonly used types of wood are oak, maple, mahogany, poplar, walnut, and ebony. Different types of wood have different properties and characteristics. It is best to have even a rudimentary knowledge of woods before you select the wood type that you will be using for the body. A good website to get solid body guitar blanks from is guitarwoods.com.au.
4. Making the Guitar. If you are going to use guitar blanks, draw the shape of the body and the neck of the guitar on two separate blanks and cut them out using a wood saw. Attach the neck to the body of the guitar.
5. Painting the Guitar. The first thing you have to do is to spray primer on the body and the neck. Let the primer dry completely before spraying a coat of paint on it. You can apply more coats if you want to achieve a deeper color.
6. Make the Neck. Pre-made guitar necks already come with holes for the tuning keys. If you are making your neck from scratch, use a drill to put holes on the neck for the tuning keys.
7. Attach the Guitar Strings. Next, attach the guitar strings. You can consult an online guitar diagram to see which guitar string should be attached to each specific knob. This part may be a bit hard if you do not know how to tie guitar strings properly. You may need help from a more experienced guitar user.
8. Attach the Pick Guard. The last thing you have to attach is the pick guard. The pick guard is the piece of protection that placed around the whole of the guitar. The purpose of this is to prevent the wood of the guitar from being scratched when a pick is used when playing the guitar.

These are the basic steps for building your own solid-body guitar.