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Freekmagnet
Commercial User
Thanks for all the great replies everyone. I've been super busy since I originally posted this thread (buying a first house and moving in!) but I appreciate the contributions. It appears my question is a lot less straightforward than I'd thought, since there a lot of potential paths you can go down depending on budget, style, space, and taste.
Looks like for sure I'll be getting at least these power tools:
Hand tools is another matter entirely. Initially I will probably purchase:
Looks like for sure I'll be getting at least these power tools:
- 1.5hp router. It will likely be pulling triple duty as a jointer & planer, with some jigs. I will initially not have a whole lot of space available to me - basically just one room in my house - so it'll work for now. I'll also be purchasing a router table for it. I may also pick up a small palm router for pickup routing, etc.
- Bench-top drill press. Will be used for normal drill-press duties, but also will double as a sander with a rotary sanding attachment.
- 14" bandsaw. I'm figuring here that if I get a good quality one with a decent fence, I can cut out body blanks, do some resawing, and small-scale straight cuts. I won't have room or budget for a tablesaw so this'll pick up most of that work.
Hand tools is another matter entirely. Initially I will probably purchase:
- A good japanese pull saw for fret slotting. I'm sure there's a bunch of specialist fretting tools I'll need also.
- A rasp, probably Invalid Link Removed #50 pattern one and a stewmac dragon rasp
- A spokeshave or two, though I'm not sure what size.
- Sanding blocks, radiused and flat.
Is there a community college or something similar nearby where you could take a basic woodworking class or two? A little basic instruction before firing up the router and bandsaw for the first time isn't a terrible idea. I just suggest this because you say you're unfamiliar with hand tools.
I would suggest buying a pre slotted board from LMI or similar for early builds, maybe all your builds. A lot of pro builders use them too, its one thing that has to be perfect for the bass to play right, and requires a fair amount of jig building or buying to do right. I have a decent fret saw, but use it only to re-cut fret slots deeper after radiusing
Drill, a couple of screwdrivers, straight edge/ruler, files/sandpaper, saw and some clamps...
... and your imagination.
... and a patient significant other.
... and that lamp, over there.
... and your imagination.
... and a patient significant other.
... and that lamp, over there.
I have a little bit of experience doing general woodworking with power tools actually. My dad is a contractor and carpenter, and builds cabinets and furniture as well which I've done with him. So I've been around power tools a decent amount, and actually feel okay with saws and routers. He hasn't built a guitar or anything though, and never really carved anything by hand so hand tools are pretty much off his radar.
I actually just found last night that Nashville has a maker space with a full woodshop, I may investigate that rather than buying a bandsaw straight away. If they had the power tools I'd need, I might focus solely on purchasing hand tools for neck shaping and the like initially. Plus, they would offer some basic power tool training which I would like, even though I've done some before.
Yeah I think this might be more realistic for the moment, and the prices are really not too bad. I could do a few builds like this, get used to installing frets and then take on more of the work later on when I'm more confident.
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Cool. I didn't know where you are at, experience wise, and it's tough to play without a full compliment of fingers.
NP, it's a very valid point you bring up. I've got a little bit of experience but it has been a few years. I'm definitely not gonna be cocky about that stuff, power tools (any sharp tool really) can mess you up bad before you even realize what's happened.
The Part 2 of that one, related to hand tools, is
A hand tool can never ever be too sharp
You want to aim for what's now called "scary sharp". You haven't mentioned
chisels in your list, but you're going to need some (1/2" and 1/4" bench chisels
will be a good start), and they will be some of the most dangerous tools in
your shop. To be safer, they need to be scary sharp. Kind of odd, but true
the one time I cut myself with a chisel is when I almost dropped it and caught it awkwardly. If it wasn't as sharp as it was (I had just sharpened and it was scary sharp) it probably wouldn't have hurt as much :-D I guess I saved the chisel from getting chipped on the floor, but it took a good hunk out of my finger.
