GUITAR BUILD DIY Danelectro DC59 Plywood w/ basic tools for about $100
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 09. 2022
- I built this electric guitar from plywood and masonite(hardboard) with just basic tools. It's a DIY Semi-Hollow Danelectro DC59 clone, with lipstick pickups. The rest of the parts come from a donor guitar.
At one point I did use a CNC to create the outline for the pick guard, but I cut it out and drilled it by hand. It was an experiment, and it would have been much faster to simply trace and cut it out by hand.
Some Amazon affiliate commission links:
Lipstick Pickups that I used: amzn.to/3TAk4eE
"Danelectro/Allparts brand pickup": amzn.to/3LIaT67
Strings: amzn.to/3DZOMGe
Tuning pegs: amzn.to/3BBsyYk
"Leather(vinyl)" upholstery tape: amzn.to/3rdgiZm This is what I used
Better upholstery tape: amzn.to/3ReHS2Z This is probably like what Danelectro uses, deeper texture.
You can download the body plan here:
vintagemusictech.blogspot.com...
This is a heavily modded guitar, which starts life as a 2010 era economy import model. I've wanted a Danelectro guitar after playing one in a music store in the 1990s. The original models are from the 50's and 60's. But, like most guitars, they are creeping up in price. The easiest(and cheapest) way to achieve a current model was to build it with parts from this cheap "donor" guitar.
The build is made mostly with hand held tools. Traditionally, a router and jig are used to carve the neck pocket, but I thought with some clever cutting I could do the task by hand. I was right!
The coolest part of making this guitar was it felt like stepping back in time, when Nathan Daniel created Danelectro guitars. In a way they were revolutionary, because they were made of such cheap materials. The originals used wood cutoffs that were pieced together to make the frame. Hardboard(Masonite) was cheap then too. The famous "lipstick" pickups literally used surplus lipstick cases to house the absolute cheapest guitar pickup Daniels could create- a single magnetic bar wrapped in wire- no bobbin. The necks of the 60's were made to high quality, using Brazilian Rosewood fastened with 3 screws(vs the industry standard of 4). The later models of the original guitars used only 2 screws! They were a marvel of engineering and manufacturing that has created an instrument with a lasting impression that is coveted by many.
The 90's saw the guitars reissued, with plywood used for the frame(what I opted for).
The guitar could be made even more cheaply if one is not a stickler for tradition. I could have definitely found wood scraps to make the frame and reused the original pickups for the new guitar. Maybe on the next one... - Věda a technologie
I'm adding 4 pre formatted files to vintagemusictech.blogspot.com/2022/09/dc59-body-plan-for-scale-purposes-width.html
I can't promise they'll download in the proper format, since it looks like they get converted, but each file should be 1275 x 1650 pixels, at 150 dpi for printing. Depending on how your printer treats border(for example if it reduces the size of your photo to add a border) you may have to edit the files(remove borders?) to end up with the 2.11 neck pocket.
Good luck!
If you've seen the old danelectro's, they were made very similar to that. They look rougher, especially the bridge, which was just a bit of steel sheet 3 bends and a few holes in it. They sounded amazing. I nearly bought one for a 2000 a while back.
I've recently played a few vintage 60's ones. They are a marvel of construction- just good enough to pass for a "real" instrument. But they definitely have their own feel...the necks are comfortable and the guitars are just fun to play!
This is a great build! It's very much in keeping with the budget-minded vibe of the original Danelectros to build it with readily available materials and tools. A guitar-playing friend of mine had the 1457 Amp-in-Case model with a case that was in shambles and he wanted me to re-build it. However it was so beyond saving that I decided to build a whole new case to house the amp and guitar, which I documented on Instructables (you can search "Amp in Case Reproduction" to find it). It would be a great follow-on project to this one.
Thanks for commenting! I saw your case rebuild, nicely done! I always wanted one of those too, and I still love those silvertone danelectros! Maybe that'll be my next build!
You never cease to amaze me… Great job!
Thanks! This one was a lot of fun to make, but more fun to play!
Amazing patience and absolute craftsmanship. ! Mucho respect to you, sir !
Thank you! It's a fun guitar to play!
You make building guitars look easy!🎸🎸
You should make one, I bet it would turn out great!
Lovely, great tone!
Thanks! And thanks for checking out the vid!
This is a very interesting video, particularly the construction of the original guitar and how they were built, seen through your reconstruction.
Thanks for checking out the vid! The original guitars were a brilliant in their simplicity and overall "cheapness." To be fair, they are not world class instruments. However, they are unique and for a beginner they offered a great value and opportunity to learn on a very functional instrument.
Great build, inspiring. Got to do this before I die. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, I love these old dano guitars. I've got another video in the works!
I think I found my next project - absolutely love it. And what a great tutorial. Thanks so much for sharing. Subscribed!
Thanks! They make great guitars.. one year on mine and it's still going strong!
Cool build, reminds me of my first build, only mine was a tele shaped body with a single HUM, and I used a first act guitar as the doner.
Thanks! I think a pine tele will be my next build!
Nice job
Thank you!
Nice job! You could carve that strat headstock into a "dolphin" style danelectro headstock to give it more dano vibes.
That's a good idea, I've been considering some type of headstock shape change, i don't care for the current one
Very nice achievement, I am impressed. I don't know if you've learned woodworking or violin making, but it's promising. Can't wait to hear it ring.
Thanks! I've been doing random woodworking projects for a long time, though I'm far from an expert. Btw, the song at the end has all of the parts recorded with the guitar. Thanks for checking it out!
@@FrankOlsonTwins Ok. I Have hear it again, very good sound. 🙂
Really enjoyed this build, it was part inspiration for my build of a Danelectro style electric baritone ukulele ( on my channel). Thanks for a great video.
Cool build! Your neck turned out great, and I'm jealous of the Wilkinson bridge! Easy to cut the neck pocket this way, right?
@@FrankOlsonTwins Thanks. Yes, the neck pocket worked out nicely that way.
Nice Frank I think it's superb. I'm left handed, i have my own collection of Guitars but i also have my late fathers collection. In that collection is a DC59. There's also a Dano 12 string, amongst some fine Guitars, pre CBS Fenders, Gibson's, you name it. Luckily the DC59 is one i can play upside down but i am considering your plans and using the Template in reverse. Thanks for sharing mate. Props from the UK.
Grab a decent lefty neck and put one of these together, you'll be glad you did! One year later and i still grab mine on a weekly basis and it's rock solid. People love the aluminum nut and wood Bridge of the originals (me too!) But this thing is great with the plastic nut and adjustable saddle. Looking at more pics since i made mine, the only things i might do differently on the next one is: to use a router to finish the edges, and: maybe make the outer skelton a little thinner. But i have another one in the planning stages... All the best with your build!
You are almost there with the tone. I had silvertone U1 from 1960 somethings, and the sound was a little bit chimier. The usual suspect I believe, the aluminum nut. Still it's an amazing build that I'm planning to attempt; I like the clever way you re-used the strat bridge and turned it into a fixed one, genius¡
Thanks! I didn't show it, but I did sand the bottom of the bridge against a flat sharpening stone, then 600 grit sandpaper to make it nice and flat.
Regarding the chime- another thing that helped was getting the pickups closer to the strings. The current setup recommendation on the Danelectro site is 5/64" (about 2mm) from the pickup to the string. When I did this recording, the pickups were much further away than that. I have no doubt an aluminum nut would get me closer to the original tone... If I ever decide to swap the neck, I'll consider making or buying one!
@@FrankOlsonTwins thanks for the info! Yes, the lipstick pickups are somewhat sensible to the distance to the strings. Do you have a recording with the adjusted distance?? Thanks Frank, really appreciate it!
I'm going to get a cheap neck with a paddle headstock from Ali and build me a Flying V in Danelectro style from all recycled and second hand parts. I've always wanted something weird and fun like that and you've just shown me it really isn't that hard. I don't even need that many tools to get started. Thanks!
I also want to make a Flying V, that sounds like a good way to do it!
@@FrankOlsonTwins Yeah they're just regular ST/TL necks with dot inlays while a flying V neck with V headstock costs way more. These are only around $40 so if I mess up it's not a disaster
I had a 90s u1 reissue that sounded really sexy with some overdrive, always wanted a dc though
The first one I played was a 98 or 99 u1 reissue- should have bought it for $199 new!
It’s a little ironic that this plywood guitar is probably of higher quality than the original Danelectro.
Nicely done, I like it. Bondo (the car body filler) is great for filling plywood edge grain and more durable than wood putty.
Thanks! I'll take that under advisement for the next build...which will likely be soon!
@@FrankOlsonTwins If you're going to use Bondo or similar filler, get a flat and a convex Surform, AKA cheesegrater files. A square of Plexiglas works well for mixing the filler on. It'll wipe clean with acetone if you don't let the filler fully cure on it. After applying the filler, let it cure until you can just dent it with a fingernail, then shape with the cheesegrater files to get down close to the shape you want. My father most often used the surforms (Surform is a Stanley trademark) bare handed, without any of the fancy handles and holders. I haven't done anywhere near as much auto body work as he did in his life, but I learned how to do it (and much more) from him.
Good tips, I didn't know that about the bondo/acetone cleanup but I did some body work on several cars in my teen years. One of them was my beloved(now gone) 74 Pontiac Ventura. I remember the Surform all too well! The car was in great shape overall- just a hole in the fender behind each front wheel. What I always thought I needed was a sandblaster, but a friend pointed out a good sanding disc works pretty well too. You just have to put in the work, and you can't leave any rust behind!
That orange on that Donner is beautiful. Would make for a great partscaster if someone had parts lying around. Personally I found a 30$ Ibanez Gax as a donor and I also have a loaded strat pickgaurd I could use.
$30 is a great price for a GAX. I'm a fan of Ibanez necks. I would have used an Ibanez donor for this guitar if I could have found one cheap enough. The orange strat copy I used was a decent sounding and playing guitar. The paint was definitely faded, although the basswood body is pretty nice. Overall, I'd say the whole guitar was worth about what I paid for it, about $40. I did keep the body for spare basswood. I may be able to use small blanks for other projects, such as converting stratocasters to "hardtail" strats. Good luck!
With that Stratocaster neck, it almost is a temptation to say this is a combination Danelectro and Silvertone. Sears brands shake hands.
True, it does look like the Silvertone Dolphin neck!
Wow great skills and planning and video.thank you for sharing.Excellent precise amazingly clean work with a mere handful of tools.You also did a great job with your song...production melody and audio.
I say thanks to Jesus for your gift to us
..
Thanks! I hope the song turned out as good as the guitar! It's basically the first thing that came out as I started jamming on it, so I made sure to record as soon as the idea struck me. Each instrument has its own voice and this one has a few things I like: A nice warm neck pickup position and a bright bridge position that can cut through for melodies and arpeggios.
Dan electro should do a kit guitar range! Where you build it yourself!
That's a good idea, I'd buy it!
A lot of people think that the bridge should be exactly the same distance from the 12th fret as from the nut, but that's not the case. You need to add 1/4 inch to allow for compensation. Also your guitar neck is a few millimeters too deep into the body.
That's a good point about the bridge. Though I still have a bit of travel left on my intonation screws, it could benefit from another 1/8" to 1/4" of play. Regarding the neck height, the saddles(and set screws) are pretty much the perfect height for a nice low action. Even the pickups are at a good height. It plays well and sounds good so I don't plan to change anything on it soon. Perhaps on the next one, I'll rout the neck pocket allowing for a few mm of extra height depending on the hardware... Good eyes, thanks!
I’m discovering that the price point on building an economy guitar is ironically, comparable to using quality hardwood when you consider the work involved in piecing together the frame and construction time it takes to build one of these.
Absolutely correct. I think that's why most people only make one or two before moving on to more professional quality materials. There would be pretty much zero profit margin to make and sell guitars like this by hand. It can only really be profitable for a larger company. As you said, for a similar amount of work, you could make a solid wood guitar and charge a reasonable rate!
This was amazingly awesome! I wish I had tools for projects like this, unfortunately, I live in a place that I have no location to use as a workshop of any kind, not to mention how much all the tools cost to begin with.
Fantastic Job Sir!!!! I do have one question, did the neck you chose have the danelectro-type bar internal support, or is it a standard one with a truss rod? That being said, if it is one with a truss rod, is there still a way to adjust it> I just didn't see that part of the build mentioned at all (I don't think so anyway).
Thank you for sharing this awesome project!!!
Hey, thanks for checking it out! Yes, this neck has a regular modern trussrod. It's adjustable at the top with a hex key.
nice build. routers are cheap used on craigslist. thumbs up.
Thanks! I ended up getting a router for the next build😉
screw a handheld router to a piece of flat thick board with a hole to fit the router bit through then turn it upside down and screw it to a work mate to create a bench router tool ..!
Hello! Your guitar building is so creative work, without professional tools. The wiring work is not a Dano, because you did a parallel pickup connecting, similar to a tele. This is reason of different sound like Dano. The other key factor of Dano wiring is tone pot 1 MOhm, volumen pot 100 KOhm, and three way switch ON-OFF-ON. I tried this with lipstick and get same tone as Dano, no matter the tone wood. My best sound I have tried is P90s with Dano wiring in a Lespaul. This is the new world of the guitars sounds...
Thanks for checking out the vid! In the future I may rewire the guitar. At the time of making the video, I could only find an SPST swich, so parallel wiring for the second pickup was the easiest way to add a neck pickup. Also, I'm more interested in using this guitar as a songwriting tool, so I often only play it unplugged. I find that its just the right volume for playing chords and simple melodies without the need to plugin or be tethered to an amp or interface. I really considered not even putting pickups in, since I knew that was my goal. I guess that means I need to make a Dano Convertible next! ;)
HI. Thanks for this video, ive been inspired. My only issue was/is when you cut the neck pocket outta the top peice of ply, the depth of neck pocket is about 18mm or 3/4inch approx. Once you add the 3-4mm masonite on, you hardly have any clearance. I got over this but adding a section of wood to the neck pocket to raise it up a bit, which was a pain in the ass :)
I didn't have that exact issue, perhaps my neck was just a bit taller? But, the pick guard was a little too thick. I had to shave down the back side with a plane. After that, it played much more naturally. What kind of bridge did you use?
@@FrankOlsonTwins Im doing two - a 56U2 copy, and a shape of my own design thats offset inspired. Cheap as possible components - one will have a dano clone bridge made from 3mm aluminium, the other a cheap strat-like hardtail adjustable.
I rechecked the the measurements on my DIY Dano and came up with 28mm from the bottom of the neck pocket to the top of the 15th fret. The top of the low E saddle sits at 10mm.
The 21st fret sits about 8mm above the masonite top. The masonite top I used was 3mm thick.
Let me know how the Dano Bridge turns out.
@@FrankOlsonTwins ive made dano bridge before for my "reissue" which sank. There is a nice video from Stewmac that I copied the idea from. Works great, as good as you can with the design. czcams.com/video/sB9sBBpif4o/video.html
That's clever! If I make an aluminum bridge, I'll def keep this in mind. I do like the sound of the rosewood bridge!
really enjoyed your video - own a couple DC -59's and always thought "geez, these could be easy to build" ! Now I have the perfect DIY instruction. Just one question - did you get that jigsaw in a box of ceareal? 😁
Lol, have to admit, that jigsaw is hard to watch...and even harder to use! I've been playing this guitar weekly. It keeps it's tuning surprisingly well, despite the inexpensive neck. Good luck with your build!
Hello! Great job! Won`t you tell what material did you use for binding? What is it like and where one can buy it? Is it some furniture material?
Thanks, it's called "Leather(vinyl)" upholstery tape. I put a link in the description. Pretty much any sticky backed leather/vinyl will work, you can get it from any upholstery store. I had to cut it down to 1.5" to get it to fit. Originally it was 3 inches wide.
If you can make a video of how this guitar actually sounds plugged in, it would be great.
I think I have some samples, It will likely be Shorts format, however
@@FrankOlsonTwins Either way it would be interesting to hear how it sounds and appreciate your work.
Nice build! What size paper did you use to print the guitar body plan on? I'm having a little trouble with the scale, it's my first build
I printed it onto 4 separate pages of regular office printer paper(8.5")
x 11")
Then I taped it together.
Maybe I missed it but did you say what the tape was? Like what kind or brand?
Wonderful build. I want to build a single cutaway bass in this style like the Danelectro 56 Single Cut bass.
Oh I almost forgot about the tape. It's a faux-leather heavy upholstery vinyl tape. I updated the links in the descriptions. There are 2 types: one that I used which has little texture, and a slightly more expensive one with deeper texture. All the Dano's I've played have had the more expensive tape. I did have to cut it down to about 1.4", which is why the first shot of application shows a bad cut mark.
If you do build one, I'd just make sure you have your bass neck at hand before you begin, so you can cut your neck pocket close before finishing it up. That said, if you have a router, it's a non-issue.
Good luck!
I mean... you could be my best friend, hehe. Great project!
If I can also use your awesome studio! 😉🎙
@@FrankOlsonTwins man, please!
There is hardly any info, diagrams, specs on the danelectro out there, how did you find the neck pocket depth?
Well, I knew the thickness of my neck, and approximately how much clearance I needed to the top of the fretboard. I added the thickness of the plywood and hardboard and it happened to be perfect if building it in symmetrical layers of harboard/ply/ply/hardboard. If the pocket would have been too deep, I would have shimmed it.
Hey Frank, awesome video! You inspired me to build a DC59 clone and a Silvertone 1448. How did your binding hold up over time? I imagine you had to trim it to the correct width? Thanks!
Cool, check back when they are finished and let me know how they turned out! The binding is surprisingly good. I play this guitar every week, and it sits on a little stand in a busy corner. It has been bumped, jostled and it even fell over once. The binding looks pretty much like it did in the video. My only advice is to give it plenty of "slack" when applying the binding around the curves in the cutout. I still have 1 little bubble in the lower cutout(maybe you can see it occur in the origninal vid?). That bubble, no matter how much or how often I push, always returns. I think there's just a little tension in that spot. I did trim the binding when I got it by wrapping it around a drill bit and cutting it with an Xacto knife while it spins. I could have made it 1/8" narrower but it's fine as is. It's surprisingly well stuck on. I'll have to do an update video since it's about 1 year old now. The other thing I might do on the next one is to put the output jack on the body of the instrument, like the telecaster does. The pickguard mounted one just doesn't feel right when removing the cable, it's a little too flimsy. Good luck!
Loved the video
What did the guitar end up weighing ?
Thanks
Thanks, the final weight is 6.2 lbs.
My ex brother in law has a couple of original Danelectro guitars, and one original case. The cases, like the guitars, were pretty cheaply made. The cheapness is what makes them rare today because many of them didn't survive.
Yep, cheaply made guitars just don't get treated with the same respect expensive ones do. So many cheap guitars of that era were thrown away because once the original purchaser was done with it they were passed on and treated as toys. I can't imagine how many Danelectros were sold in the 50's and 60's vs how many made it through to today. Maybe like 50 to 1?
@@FrankOlsonTwins The newer one he has is in excellent condition but compared to a Fender it looks like a toy with the nearly sharp corners and extra glossy, plastic looking surface. Sounds pretty good, which is what's important.
Yeah, compared to my fender strat(or any of my other guitars, really) this also feels like a toy when switching between them. The thing I really like about these guitars is their moderate acoustic volume. You can pick it up and play guitar or write songs without plugging into an amp. For that reason, I almost didn't put pickups in this one but I decided that I may make a couple more- one of them being the "acoustic" model called the convertible. I think the next one will have a nicer neck too. This neck is fine, but a decent Squier neck with slightly bigger frets would be just a little nicer to play.
I wonder how it'd sound using OSB instead of plywood. Would be cheaper as well.
Also curious about fiber and particleboard.
Some of the old Silvertones (1457 I believe)that were made by Danelectro used particle board for the body "skeleton." They play and sound just fine and some have lasted 60+ years!
This would be my first guitar 🎸
These options make me confused
1. Acoustic guitar
2. Electro acoustic guitar
3. Electric guitar
4. You tell if I am missing something
Please help.
I can add a few to your list:
Hollow body electric (such as Ibanez AF75)
Semi-Hollow body (Gibson ES-335)
Acoustic-Electric(Danelectro DC59, Danelectro Convertible, Fender acoustasonic)
There are many options in guitars. There's lots to read and understand about the history of guitars but if you're looking to make an informed decision, you'll have to either read about guitars or watch some videos about their history. Or, do what many people do: buy the kind of guitar their favorite artist plays. You learn alot about a guitar by playing one every day!
@@FrankOlsonTwins very helpful, thank you.
great build mate.Makes me, a DIY DUMMY, want to give it a go! How thick is the ply you used? cheers
This was 3/4" plywood sheathing, though I think technically it's 23/32" thick. It's commonly referred to as 3/4" sheathing. With the hardboard(masonite) glued up, it ends up being about 1.7" thick, which is about as thick as many electric guitars.
Is this an asbestos pickguard? Cool build!
No, it's the same material as the rest of the body. "hardboard" or "Masonite"
It's a manufactured pressboard material, easy to finish/paint on the smooth side, but really tough on tools and sandpaper!
WAIT! YOU HAD A CNC MACHINE THIS WHOLE TIME? you are a masochist for not using the cnc until the very end lol
My cnc is just a little too small to carve a full DC59 guitar body in one pass 😰😅 I miiight be able to squeeze a telecaster build into it, but it's right up to the mm of the body length. I have to give it a shot, though!
Big fan from India. I m a beginner and learning watching your shorts. Gift me one guitar 😂❤
🎸🎸
Hello! I'm German and would like to recreate this simple guitar. But unfortunately you can only see the shape on the link in your building instructions How do I get a plan with measurements I need. Unfortunately the link to your plan doesn't work.Best regards
Good questions! The plan I posted is the one I used. The width of the neck pocket near the very top of the body should be 2.11 inches(or 54.7 mm) across. That's the width of a Strat/Tele neck, by the way. Once you get that critical measurment sorted and formatted to 150 dpi in your favorite photo editing software, you should and print it out to scale size. I used photoshop and separated it into 4 quadrants(upperbouts left, right, and lower bouts left and right.) Then I taped the 4 peices into one body plan, lining up the printing that had overlapped. It took some effort to do so, but I didn't want to spend money on plans. I believe there are several ready made plans for sale for the DC59, but I've never used one so I can't recommend one in particular.
I checked this link, and it works fine here in the U.S. vintagemusictech.blogspot.com/2022/09/dc59-body-plan-for-scale-purposes-width.html
I'm adding 4 pre formatted files to vintagemusictech.blogspot.com/2022/09/dc59-body-plan-for-scale-purposes-width.html
if you want to try to use those. I can't promise they'll download in the proper format, since it looks like they get converted, but each file should be 1275 x 1650 pixels, at 150 dpi for printing. Depending on how your printer treats border(for example if it reduces the size of your photo to add a border) you may have to edit the files to end up with the 2.11 neck pocket.
Good luck!
@@FrankOlsonTwins Thanks for the detailed answer. The second link works perfectly, but unfortunately the sections of the overall plan are also without dimensions. And without dimensions it is not possible to recreate the original guitar because I don't have any photo editing software either. Thanks a lot you for the effort I have given you
The neck pocket, which is 2.11" wide x 2.27" long is the important dimension. Once you have it printing out with that specification, you can measure all the dimensions on the plan, and they should be accurate. Then, the only other truly important measurements will be the bridge, but you'll figure that out by the length of whatever neck you use.
Though I can't give detailed dimensions, The total length of my DC59 body is 16 7/8" and the width of the lower bout is 13 13/16. However, those dimensions are somewhat irrelevant because of final sanding, etc.
Figure out how to print the plan so the neck pocket is 2.11" and 2.27" long and all the rest will fall into place.
What material did you used for the back and front plate ?
Hardboard, also known as Masonite.
Sorry for being annoying but what is the thickness of the plywood ?
No worries. The plywood is 3/4" AC grade, but actual measurement is 23/32. That's just how they sell 3/4" plywood.
If you're going the plywood method to make the body, I would use the thinner Masonite board we chatted about. Since the neck pocket will be exactly half the thickness of the body, you'll get a little more room near the neck to sit above the top layer of masonite. The masonite board i used in this video is about .12" thick, or almost 1/8." If you use anything thicker, you might need to shim the neck pocket(if you use my method in the video here).
@@FrankOlsonTwins ok man, thanks for replying !
No problem!
Why not buy one? it would prob have saved you some
That doesn't sound like a very interesting video!