Welcome

I’ve played various guitars for 20 years or so. A few years ago, my mother wanted to pass me on a small sum of money left to me in my grandmother’s inheritance. I wanted to spend this money on something that would bring me joy and then something I could hand on to my children one day – a guitar, perfect.

Around the same time I saw a guitar made by Australian luthier, Dan Dubowski. I couldn’t take my eyes of it and I wanted every guitar to sound like it.


Dan in his workshop

I emailed Dan back and forth a couple of times and then I realised I had no idea about woods, sound boards, fret radius’ etc. What would I ask Dan, or any other luthier to make for me? As we are on either sides of the continent I thought I would put the idea on hold until I could knew what I was talking about.

I spasmodically hit the internet, researching all I could on guitar making.

This resulted in me discovering that, according to at least 100 people on the internet, I can make my very own guitar. Not content with that statement, these people also believe that I can make an instrument in which I will be extremely proud.

A few weeks ago I questioned their sanity, now I question my own. At 1:30am this morning, I purchased my first kit for making an acoustic guitar.

Now let’s make this perfectly clear. I know absolutely nothing about wood working let alone making a musical instrument. The most challenging task I have ever taken on with my hands was installing a car stereo and now, each time I drive my car, I notice that the stereo surround is loose – always has been.

The last time that I worked with wood was about 17 years ago, in high school. I think it was a spice rack. It really isn’t a significant event in my memories. The thing is that I have recently read over and over, stories of people with similar levels of my experience turning out fine instruments.

I thought I would never be able to quit smoking and then after years of trying, I found Allen Carr. I quit and as a result I have saved all that cash, which I invest in myself or those close to me. Regardless of the final product, I can’t lose.

Further to that, my workshop is at my father's house. Although I will be doing all the work, we’ll be doing this together. I can not put a price on that.

So, before I even touch a piece of wood, I want to record the things that have been going around my head. I wonder if I will look back with hindsight and still be able to establish the same thought processes that I have at the moment.

Which Kit is right for me? : I changed the provider and the actual order I was intending to place about 20 times. For my very first kit, I settled on a Stewart-MacDonald mahogany triple-O with a bolt on neck, costing me $AUD $487.79 plus postage.

Simply it came down to the fact that I already own a factory rosewood back and sides dreadnought. I want a guitar that physically appears different from what I already own and anyway, I rarely get past the twelfth when I am playing.

My reading leads me to believe that at today, StewMac provide the most detailed instructions and that a number of first time builders use StewMac products. With access to the Kit Guitar Forum I will have contact with others that have tackled a StewMac kit. I feel comfort in knowing that someone else has or is tackling my problem.

I have no great reasons as to why I did not go ahead with any of the other suppliers. Maybe one day I will have a go at them all. Well, maybe not all of them.

I am still to order a settle on tuning machines, thinking that there are providers of tuners in Australia and that I can consider my options once I have spent some time with the wood. Does that make sense?

One thing I have always wanted, since I first came up with the idea of making a guitar, is that I want some sort of inlay in the head, something that makes it even more “mine”. I will have to sit down to some more reading and start penciling out my ideas.

Humidity : I’d say I have a fairly competent understanding in relation to how unsealed wood (even sealed to a lesser degree) is effected by the level of humidity in the environment. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology record that the average relative humidity (RH) in Perth varies between around 30% and 80%. Now these level are not extreme to the suggested RH for which is considered to be ideal for making a kit guitar.



My “workshop” also doubles as a family two car garage. It is enclosed (when the roller door is down) and dry although there is a permanent opening to the elements in one corner, the large entrance to the rear yard. I do not think that a domestic dehumidifying machine would be able to keep up with the demand for this sized area.

Today, I am of the mind set that I shall not overly concern myself with the humidity issue. I thought long and hard as to how I could overcome the situation however there does not seem to be a (financially viable) solution. To that end, it came down to taking the risk of building in an environment that changed 20% during the day or not taking on the challenge of building a kit in the first place.

Time will tell.

Time taken : A couple of hours, including the web template
Tools used : computer
AU$'s spent : Purchase price of $487.79 and postage of $73.44 = $561.23