BUILDING a DIY Electric Guitar From a 2x4!!!
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- In this video I show you how I built an Explorer-style electric guitar out of 2x6, 1x6, and a little bit of walnut from Home Depot (I know I lied a little with the title, but it's the same wood, just a different dimension). The guitar isn't the best guitar, as it's the first guitar I've ever made, and it's made out of wood that isn't the best for guitars. This is more meant to be a practice guitar for me, so I can figure out how to make them, and I want to make more in the future. That being said, it's still a fully playable guitar, with a 25.5" scale length, and 24 frets. It's got the cheapest electronics money can buy, but it still sounds okay.
I don't have a lot of tools, so I just kind of had to make what I had work, so sorry if I used some stuff in the "wrong" way.
If you'd like to build any of my projects (the ones that actually have templates), check out my Etsy store: aeropointindustries.etsy.com
Chapters:
Intro : 0:00 - 0:35
Initial Shaping and Gluing : 0:35 - 5:36
Refining the Shape and Adding a Fretboard: 5:36 - 7:19
Fretboard Shaping and Fretwork: 7:19 - 9:17
Carving for and Mounting the Hardware: 9:17 - 12:10
Adding the Side Fret Markers And Filling Fret Slot Imperfections: 12:10 - 12:46
Shaping the Neck and Final Sanding: 12:46 - 13:28
Staining, Polyurethane, and Oil: 13:28 - 14:36
Hardware, Stringing, and Soldering Electronics: 14:36 - 16:13
EPIC REVEAL!!!: 16:13 - 16:44
A Brief Debrief From Me: 16:44 - 17:56
Guitar Demonstration: 17:56 - 19:14
Outro: 19:14 - 19:26
Thanks for Watching!!! - Hudba
This might be the most encouraging guitar build video on CZcams. No table saw, no jointer, no planer-thicknesser, no drill press, not even a router! Just a jigsaw, a hand drill and a few basic hand tools. Absolutely brilliant job.
Gotta love all the comments that basically boil down to “You could do this easier if you had $7000 worth of tools. Try that next time.” Like, yeah no shit lol
Still sounds pretty cool for a HD Explorer.
You might as well just buy an actual Gibson X-Plorer at that point being it’s around the same price maybe even cheaper.
@@Midnight_Wave_1989 defies the point of a hobby.
The joy is in the actual doing of something.
Would you hire a better looking man to impregnate your wife??
No... The joy is in the doing.
Something you need to learn just like my neighbour always saying "you're always working on that car"... Like yeah.. it's called a hobby incase you didn't go to preschool
@@Midnight_Wave_1989 but then it will have been made by chinese children and break in 1 month
I wish more young people would just try. This is proof all you need is a desire to do something. Fine effort young man.
You, my friend, are my hero. Not only are you not intimidated to put your first build online, but bold enough to make your first build with the tools that you basically already had. I have to learn not to be so precious with doing this stuff - just do it and learn from it. And by saying that, I'm really impressed with what you did with this guitar. I will say adding in a harbor freight palm router (when it's on sale it's 40 bucks) plus a flush trim bit and your life is much easier.
Thanks so much! I might just do that!
Considering you built this with just a few handheld powertools and manual carpentry tools, your build is a success!!!
Most casual scarf joint I've ever seen. Impressive.
The fact you put a guitar together with basic garage tools is impressive. Mistakes are learning opportunities! Nobody should expect a perfect result the first attempt. If it's functional, it's a win. I assembled my first guitar from parts and it's full of learning opportunities. 🤣 Keep it up!
Thanks!!!
This is the ultimate "I just felt like building a guitar" video.
@@StevieBGoode Honestly kind of exactly what happened
I love these kinds of "No Excuses" build! Keep it up my man!
Thanks!!!
I really admire the enthusiasm here. It's good to see young people with determination! You'll definitely improve your skills as time goes on. Give it a few years and you'll make a name for yourself as a Luthier and people will be coming to you for custom guitars. No it's not perfect, but for the minimal tools used and the fact that it's your 1st ever build, I'll give it a 9.5 out of 10 anyway. I see all the comments that say "well you could have done this and this with $10k worth of tools and a CnC machine" etc etc, but don't listen to those people. I'd like to see any of them do a better job with a hammer and a chisel! Practice make perfect, patience is a virtue and experience come with time. You have the patience, you'll definitely be building custom label guitars one day. Keep at it. I want to see more!
Best guitar DIY vid out there! No worries about messing up or need for every tool in existence. JUST DO IT! Respect, my dude.
You're literally insane. That was awesome.
I was already interested from the first few seconds seeing the finished guitar but once I noticed that it’s a single piece from neck to body, I was immediately impressed. What a great build and a fun watch.
I think you did a great job! Not many people actually get off the couch and DO something. Learning as you go is one of the best ways to learn.Keep going!
Nicely done!
My Home Depot doesn't have walnut, so I built my first guitar out of oak and poplar boards. It's four years old now and I still play it live from time to time.
Awesome! My next guitar is going to have poplar on it too.
I build Guitars and CBG's. Nicely done. You seem to have some knowledge/Luther skills. You earned a new Sub
You have my respect, given only the simple tools and jigs you used to build this....! You made the truss rod cavity with just a chisel!!!
Pretty amazing guitar. I liked the presentation on the rocks, really badass!
Congratulations for your first (very successful) guitar built!!!!👏👏👏👏
that mans chisel work is on point
Thanks! I had basically zero idea what I was doing with a chisel, so thanks a lot!!!
Your comment is incredibly racist! If he hired people to help him, you dont have to call them "jigs," as you said. That's a demeaning and derogatory term. You even referred to them as "simple." You should apologize and then remove your comment.
Is this dude for real?! I wanna think he's just trolling but nowadays ya can never really tell... 🤔
I'd say it turned out quite well considering the basic tools you worked with. With each project, there's always something you should have done different or better... let that be a compass, and not a regret.
First guitar build? Not too shabby. I'd say ending up with a playable guitar counts as a success.
A couple things to consider for your second build (if you do another one):
1. For the frets, switch from CA glue to wood glue. As the CA glue cures, it crystalizes, which hardens the wood, and can effect the behavior as temps and humidity change.
2. If you want to up your game, get a small trim router, and a top bearing bit. Then you can make templates for your electronics cavities, and get some cleaner holes.
I think this video is a good show of how you can produce a decent instrument without a lot of fancy tools. Well done.
kid... you just did more with your spare time than most the tide pod eating kids of your generation.... i respect that you even attempted this on your own.... keep building and improving your skills... one day you might end up very well known for your craft
Love that you went with a set neck, love that you eschewed the use of a router. Most of all, mad props for building an explorer. I built one myself, but I used a kit from precision guitar kits.
I really like your honest intro and I appreciate how hard it is to get views without clickbait!
That's a decent lumbercaster .
Especially for a first build using very basic tools.
Very nice! You definitely have to start somewhere... The sky is the limit now!
Your jig saw skills are incredibly good. Really nice job
Thank you very much!
Stood out to me as well. One of the steadiest saw hands I’ve ever seen
@@KannabisAnalyst Really? Thanks! I never thought that. I just kinda do it.
@@AeroPointIndustries you’d be surprised buddy. I’ve seen some really shoddy work on job sites. It’s not usually a finesse tool, but you made it look like one. If CZcams doesn’t work out I’ll hire you any day 😂
Pretty good man. As someone who's done some builds myself, I'd say you're probably better off with a satin or matte finish rather than going for a mirror gloss. Gloss finishes tend to show every imperfection and so require a lot of work to get factory quality. I see a fair bit of orange peel and trapped dust on your build for example. Lower sheen finishes, those imperfection are much less obvious and kind of just fit with the aesthetic.
Fretwork is another thing ... kind of painstaking to get a nice fret level. That action / setup stuff isn't hard per se, just requires a lot of patience and care.
The quality of the shaping looked pretty damn good though. Very impressive work.
Dope. Sick af. 100 my guy.
Quick tip from a fellow jank-town builder, when drilling the wire access holes for the pickups, you can cut a wire hanger with those side cutters. That will pinch a sharp end on it, then you can put that in your drill for a long and flexible drill bit to get in the tight spaces a bit better.
As christmas present I would suggest just a router (you know… the two pickup holes, the body edge, truss rod, ..) can be very helpful. Anyway you're doing a great job! Keep it up!
that was the only tool he was missing, it would've helped him a lot
The Aeropoint Desk-troyer, eat your heart out Ibanez
The fact you went with a set-neck design for your first build is really impressive. Congrats on the build.
Really more of a set through isn't it?
Respect my man. And honestly even with the imperfections, this is probably a much better guitar than what the inexpensive practice guitars back in the 90's and early 2000's were like (which is basically the hell I lived through as a budding guitar player in the mid 90's)
Although I don't make guitars, I've watched a lot of build videos and I would say if you plan to do another build, invest in a router. They're not terribly expensive and make the truss rod cavity, pickup and electronics cavities and body shaping a lot easier if you have templates and the know how.
Love the rustic look of the wood you used.
Thanks!!!
Good job young man!
im doing the same thing right now, if i had to start over i would have gotten a hand plane, a proper router, and a band saw alot sooner than i did. those three things alone make this entire process sooo much easier.
Yeah I wish I had the money to get those things. It probably would have been way faster and came out cleaner.
Good job kid..you should be proud of yourself 🎉. Keep it up 👆
Can you please make a jackson v next, that would be soooooo cool 🤘🤘🤘
Love this. Motivates me to get out to the shop more and just get to building.
Very nice work all things considered. Limited tools and very good first build! The nut is easily fixed if you want to take that down a bit. You can absolutely thin down the neck and make it work. Fret work takes practice, but you’ll absolutely get it right the more you do it. I’m very impressed. Great job dude!
Man you do a miracle with those tools. Kudos!!
Thanks!!!
ur on to something here, keep going
Nice! Great looking guitar and truly hand made!
Thanks!
Great work mate. I recently built a Les Paul with a plywood body and reclaimed pallet wood neck, some decent pickups and hardware, and it plays and sounds like an LP. I build quite a few guitars so have some of the more specialised tools but as you show, you don’t really need them, only one I’d suggest is a trim router (full size ones are too big for guitar building). The Katsu one’s are pretty good and cheap 👍🏻
Thanks! I'll check that out!
Great video! I loved every second! You did a fine job and I look forward to seeing more of your builds!
Thank you so much!
Kudos, I made a V in school. The difference is I used the fret board off an old Les Paul (The school wasn't going to shill out any money on fret wire).
Also, don't take heed to anyone mentioning tools. You gained more experience doing this than most people.
Can't wait to see your next build.
Thanks a lot!
I love that you do with with very basic affordable tools. You have a talent and glad to see you post it
Thanks so much!
This is so awesome!! Way to go! Sooooo impressed! ❤️
Good job man! Looks great 🤘🏻
This video is very inspiring! I want to make one as well one day. Great work!
Thanks!!!
DUDE THATS AWESOME! The fact that thats even your first! Like i've wanted to do this and i'd hope mine would turn out half as good. I sorta figured the neck would be thick but like for what it is i'm super impressed! I love how you do all own music, in audacity none the less? Hey keep at it man, with all things you just upgrade as you go, and the fact you recorded and video edited all this too like mad props brother!
Thanks so much!!! And I'm sure you could do it too!
Brilliant, keep building, keep learning but most of all, keep doing what you enjoy and don't let anyone tell you it's "wrong".
hell yeah! i think the subtle body shape really compliments this janky build. this rules.
Honestly, gorgeous. Outstanding work. There are tons of builds showing how difficult it is to build stuff with all the tools in the world. You show that it is possible to this with the tools you had on hand. Amazing. You have a neck through guitar. Try a bolt on for your next build, allowing you to mix woods. And send this video to the guys of Seymour Duncan (or your favorite pick up manufacturer). They will you pickups for free for your next build
Thanks!!!
Hello. For the first guitar you've ever made, it's not bad. I try to learn by restoring mine pro because of my age and lack of time, it seems that I am not advancing. One like your explorer model is one of those I have in mind. I still lack tools, I don't know how to use them and worst of all. I set up the workshop in the basement that due to humidity, is not suitable for wood. But I am still determined to achieve it and I will do it. While watching videos like yours. You learn tricks and things from everyone... Best regards!
Thanks so much! And good luck in doing that!!!
I am absolutely impressed!!!
Thanks!!!
I think you can do anything you put your mind to. Impressive!
Thanks!!!
Looks really good
Incredibly inspiring. Nice job
Thanks so much!
Respect! If you can achieve this with basic tools, and determination, just think what you'll do with more accurate tools!
My dude, use a paint brush to apply the glue. Even coats. Minimizes over spill. Decent cuts, though. I agree you do need a router. It makes out so much easier.
Awesome work mate! Congrats. Keep going
Thanks!!!
Very good
Amazing my friend, I'm from Cuba and here is so difficult to have tools and i did mine a few days ago by hand also ,good job
Cool!
I recommend a 'shooting board', the best way to sort joint faces cheaply.
Cool! I'll look into it.
Thanks for this video!
i love how few tools you use.. makes me wanna build something again
Thanks! And you should!!!
Very impressive! Beautiful guitar!
Thanks a lot!
Awesome!
Thanks!
Great first attempt... looks amazing!
Thank you!
Really nice work, especially since you built it with hand tools!!
Next up get yourself a router, it’ll make a lot of the built so much easier. Rock on
Thanks!!!
Great build dude, love the fact you used a lot of hand tools.
good work !
Thanks!
Really beautiful piece of work using minimal power tools. Nice work Sir!
Thanks!
i did a similar thing .. used shitty and very unsuitable reclaim wood for my first neck attempt. :) it still works :)
still looks sick .
AND you chose the Explorer 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Heck yeah!
Badass!!🤘🤘
Well done!
Thanks!!!
Nice job.
Thanks!
This would make such a good Metallica inspired guitar
If the headstock was inverted it would kinda be like a HetHam mashup lol.
@@F3PIZZA Even cooler
totally insane, you've built a great guitar first up.....well done!
Thanks a lot!
great initiative. you can improve with experience... and time can make you master the building process! well done, mate!
Kudos bud. I agree with your philosophy... don't worry about getting everything perfect, it could stop you from finishing at all. Just build it. Get it done. Worry about making a better one next time. Finishing your first - anything - is the best motivation to do it again!
Until you're able to get a router, I'd suggest using a straight edge and a marking knife (xacto knife, razor blade, etc. or even your chisel at an angle) to score lines for the truss rod cavity. Not that it needs to be perfectly clean since you don't see it, but it might allow you to work faster as you will already have a clean line to match up to.
Awesome! Thanks for the tips! I'll try that!
I enjoyed your building process, seems like you have the fundamentals down and know what you'd like to improve upon later. I ain't no master luthier myself but I'd invest in a router and keep your chisels sharp, a bandsaw is nice to have for building guitars but a jigsaw or circular saw will do the job just fine.
Cool! Thanks!
bruh thats sick!
Try to put the strap wheel a little bit down. At the middle. It should feel more balanced. Great work btw brother
Great job with minimal tools. What did you use for the gold colored semicircle on the neck heel area? I didn't see any laminate being added there that I recall. I even went back in the video to search for it but still don't see it. It's a very cool feature.
Thanks!!! That's actually some exposed wood glue I couldn't sand out, but glad you think it looks cool!
great job amigo
Thanks!!!
how did you get those perfectly straight cuts for the parts of the body with just a jigsaw? impressive!
Thanks! But I still hand to do a lot of flattening with a hand plane and sandpaper to get them straight. It wasn't perfect straight out of the cuts
1000x better than i expected. Learn from your mistakes here and the next one will be exponentially better i promise. Will check back in the future. ✌️
Thanks! And I definitely will.
wow i want that 'thang!'
Haha!
HOME DEPOT CUSTOM-SHOP
Great job especially for a first build I love the DIY! As far as the song at the end, it doesn't have to be perfect just turn down the drums a bit and its good enough for a youtube demo.
One of the most beautiful DIYs on CZcams. Congratulations!
Thanks!
I see alot of guitar build videos that don't really contain dialogue, and i may be the odd one out but i love dialogue with build videos, i'm super curious how the truss rod actually works because i haven't seen the inside of a neck or anything like that. And if you like making music check out LMMS it's free and its honestly pretty rad, and then for recording a DAW like ableton or such is quite convenient (but 60$ is alot to ask), for me i'd say DAW's are moreso about the sheer convenience more than anything
Great job, I might have to try it! How long did it take you?
I think it took around a month total time, but I was working off and on, waiting for parts, glue drying time, and other things going on, but I would guess like 25-35 hours of actual work. Maybe less though.
And thanks!!!
Hey, I just saw this video. For your first time, and you used handheld power tools, I say you did good. That said. I I have a few questions. Next time around, would you consider in using a ghost fret? Also in the relations of the electronics. Have you consider in using three Danelectro style of posts and set it up so one each would be use as the tone and vol of the pickups while the third to be used as a blend between the two pickups and a master volume? Just a random thought, and keep it up.
Thanks! I haven't really thought about doing the volume, tone, master volume, and blending that way, but I'll look into that! And I'm also not super sure of what a ghost fret is. Does it just mean fretless but with lines on the fretboard (now a fingerboard) showing where the frets are?
@@AeroPointIndustries All good, I have added Danelectro stile knobs to one of my guitar's and enjoyed what I did. Also ghost fret is also known as a zero fret. Here is a Wikipedia page that explain the idea behind it better then what I could.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_fret
can i buy it from you even if it doesnt play the best i want it for my collection i think it would look cool on my wall and would def be a great conversation piece
i have an explorer home made myself but my buddy made it for me I love it but don't know how to play it lol
How did you calculate your fret slot placement?
I just got a template from Amazon for a 25.5 scale length guitar fret placement.
I gave you a big thumbs up. Hope that helps! Great video. Now do another one. Thanks!
Thanks, will do!
Hey man just a few questions: 1. where did you get the measurements for the guitar or did you just guess? 2. How do you how far to cut into the wood for the pickups, wiring, etc. 3. Where did you find the parts like the pick ups, tuners and bridge. 4. How hard was it to wire. If you respond i’ll probably have more questions lol, but thank you!
Hey! So I designed the whole guitar on a computer,so I'd know exactly where everything goes, and then printed it out for a template. For cutting into the wood for pickups and stuff, I just measured to get an estimate, and then took out less than than estimate, and slowly took put more and more, testing the fit in between taking more off to check if they fit in, and for the electronics cavity. I just went as far as I coul without getting thinner than like 1/4" at the top. And I just got all my parts from Amazon. They were pretty much the cheapest ones I could find.
And wiring isn't very hard if you know how to solder, you just follow a diagram, and there's a lot of those online.
U GOTTA DO A COVER OF 2X4