How to Build Your Own Electric Guitar From Scratch With Basic Tools

Building your own electric guitar from scratch is an incredibly rewarding project that allows you to fully customize your instrument. While it requires some woodworking skills and specialized tools, with enough time, patience, and passion, I was able to build my own dream guitar without breaking the bank. In this article, I will walk through the complete process of building an electric guitar body and neck from raw wood, installing the electronics, applying finishes, and final assembly.

Selecting the Wood

The first step is choosing what type of wood to build the guitar body and neck out of. The three most common woods used are:

• Alder - Lightweight and resonant tonewood that produces a balanced sound. Relatively soft and easy to work with.
• Ash - Slightly brighter tone than alder. More pronounced midrange and low-end. Harder wood that can be tougher for beginners to work with.
• Mahogany - Darker, warmer tone that emphasizes the lows and mids. A very popular choice, but more expensive than alder and ash.

For my first build, I went with alder to make the construction process a bit easier. The wood type you choose will have a significant impact on the guitar's tone and playability.

Shaping the Guitar Body

With my wood selected, it was time to start shaping the actual guitar body. This requires a few essential tools:

• Bandsaw - Cuts the rough body shape from a rectangular piece of wood
• Belt sander - Smooths and sculpts the body contours
• Orbital sander - Fine tunes the curves and softens edges
• Router - Carves out cavities for pickups and electronics

I carefully drew the final body shape on the wood blank and used a bandsaw to cut out the profile. I then used a belt sander to refine the shape, being cautious not to remove too much material. Once it was close to the lines, I used an orbital sander with progressively finer grit sandpaper to smooth everything out.

The most challenging part was routing out the pickup and electronic cavities. This requires a steady hand and quality router guide template. Taking it slow ensured clean and accurate results.

Crafting the Neck

The neck required even more precision woodworking. I used a thicker, harder piece of maple for this component. The key steps were:

• Bandsawing the rough neck blank
• Shaping the neck profile with a rasp and sandpaper
• Cutting the headstock shape on the bandsaw
• Drilling holes for the tuners using a drill press
• Cutting the truss rod cavity with a router
• Installing the fretboard and cutting fret slots with a fret saw

Getting the proper neck relief and action was critical for good playability. I had to be very careful when cutting the truss rod cavity and placing the fretboard that the right geometry was achieved.

Adding the Electronics

Now it was time for the fun part - installing the pickups and wiring harness! The main steps were:

• Soldering the pickups, pots, switch, jack, etc. based on the wiring diagram
• Mounting the pickups and electronic components in the body cavities
• Soldering short jumper wires to connect all the components
• Coiling up excess wire and packing it neatly into the control cavity

Using quality electronic components ensured that I got the classic Stratocaster tones I was aiming for. A soldering iron, wire cutters, and electrical tape were all that was needed to complete the wiring.

Applying Finishes

With the physical construction complete, I now had to make the guitar look as good as it will sound. I applied a few coats of thin polyurethane for a clear gloss finish. Key steps included:

• Sanding the body and neck with fine grit sandpaper to prepare the surface
• Brushing on 2-3 thin coats of polyurethane, letting it fully dry between coats
• Wet sanding with ultra fine grit sandpaper once cured to smooth everything out
• Buffing and polishing to a high gloss finish

The finishes really made the underlying wood grain pop and gave my guitar that slick, professional look.

Final Assembly

Lastly, I assembled all the individual components together into the final instrumental whole:

• Attaching the neck to the guitar body using 4 wood screws
• Installing the tuners and stringing up the guitar
• Bolting on the bridge and setting it to the proper string height
• Plugging in to an amp and dialing in my tone!

Once tuned up, I had a fully functional and great sounding custom electric guitar that I could proudly call my own creation.

Building a guitar from scratch isn't easy, but with the right tools and techniques, anyone can channel their inner luthier. The sense of satisfaction when you first strum those hand-crafted chords makes all those hours in the woodshop worthwhile. Whether you're a beginner woodworker or seasoned guitar builder, I hope my experience gives you the inspiration to undertake your own electric guitar project. Let me know if you have any other questions!