good place to get guitar body blanks?

spongerobinson · 06-02-2012 8:31pm #1

Hey folks,

Just wondering does anybody here know a good place to get guitar body blanks.

Can find them online but shipping is usually very high due to the weight.

Thinking of starting my second build, but haven't got quite as much as money this time round, so was hoping to save a bit here and there on shipping!!

any info would be much appreciated.

The Master · 07-02-2012 2:28pm

Guitar Warehouse have a few DIY kits and few bodies in the parts section.

Not sure of the quality but they're cheap and shipping is low as they're Dublin based

spongerobinson · 07-02-2012 3:39pm

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately though, they don't seem to have blanks that i can cut and shape my own body from! seems like great value kits for a first build, but i'm looking to do something a bit more advanced. Think I'll try doing my own neck this time too.

Jambo221 · 07-02-2012 4:04pm

I suppose try a timber supplier, ideally a local one. I read about a guy who makes guitars from IKEA table tops, second-hand furnishings are cheap and readily available :P

goblin59 · 07-02-2012 4:50pm

im currently in the process of making my own les paul,
Mcquillens on caple street have provided me with, sapele (can be used instead of mahogany, very similar in all aspects) maple and wenge.

I got my top wood from
http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/vmchk/Timber-Parts-and-Tonewood/Bookmatched-Sets/65-Flame-Maple-book-matched-top/Detailed-product-flyer.html

goblin59 · 07-02-2012 4:51pm

what way are you planning to cut the wood into shape btw?

spongerobinson · 07-02-2012 4:58pm

thanks for that goblin59...can i ask roughly how much did the blank end up costing you from mcquillans? and was it planed down etc?

i'm gonna do the shaping with a template and jigsaw to cut the rough shape, then a router to clean it up. have a template bit for the router where a ball bearing rides along the edge of the template. made a telecaster a couple of years ago and it worked perfect for that. thinking of a les paul jr this time.

goblin59 · 07-02-2012 5:26pm

spongerobinson wrote: »

thanks for that goblin59...can i ask roughly how much did the blank end up costing you from mcquillans? and was it planed down etc?

i'm gonna do the shaping with a template and jigsaw to cut the rough shape, then a router to clean it up. have a template bit for the router where a ball bearing rides along the edge of the template. made a telecaster a couple of years ago and it worked perfect for that. thinking of a les paul jr this time.

cool, sounds exactly how im making mine.

It cost me about €30 for the sapele & wenge and €40 for the maple.
My lespaul is a neck through so the wenge and maple were 1100mm long.

The wood is very high quality with no knots in it at all, you might be able to get it planed down in the shop by the staff but it comes in at 1.5inches thick.

spongerobinson · 07-02-2012 5:33pm

Sweet...thanks for that! One other thing...was your body piece one solid piece, or made from a few bits glued together?

I'll have to head into them and suss it out.

goblin59 · 07-02-2012 6:18pm

it arrived as one solid piece but i had to cut it in two so that i could put the neck piece straight through the middle.

The top wood comes in as two pieces that need to have their edges cleaned and glued together.

I'm using gorilla glue to do this, but i had it recommended by a friend that PVA wood glue might be better.

Gibson use franklin titebond 50

good place to get guitar body blanks?

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