Guitar Building CNC Newbie

[BeeceUK]

Hi all,

As the title says I am a hobbyist guitar builder based in the North East looking to expand my woodworking into the world of CNC.

I am yet to buy a machine and have been searching the web for a suitable machine but there either doesn't seem to be a lot of smallish yet sturdy machines out there or maybes I aren't looking in the right place?? I don't think Id have either the time nor the electrical savvy to build a machine from scratch but am very open to having a machine built here in the UK as opposed to rolling the dice with something from China.

No doubt I will be posting up various ( probably often asked ) questions in the coming future and hope to get to know you all better through my participation on the forum.

cheers for now

Ben

[Clive S]

Hi all,

As the title says I am a hobbyist guitar builder based in the North East looking to expand my woodworking into the world of CNC.

I am yet to buy a machine and have been searching the web for a suitable machine but there either doesn't seem to be a lot of smallish yet sturdy machines out there or maybes I aren't looking in the right place?? I don't think Id have either the time nor the electrical savvy to build a machine from scratch but am very open to having a machine built here in the UK as opposed to rolling the dice with something from China.

No doubt I will be posting up various ( probably often asked ) questions in the coming future and hope to get to know you all better through my participation on the forum.

cheers for now

Ben

Welcome to the forum Ben.

There are people on this forum that will build bespoke machines.

[BeeceUK]

Hi Clive,

Thanks for you reply welcoming me to the forum.

Are you able to advise on the forum members who also build machines?

kind regards

Ben

[JAZZCNC]

There are people on this forum that will build bespoke machines.

Like ME.!!

I'm just in the process of building some routers which I'll be offering for sale in the next few months that may suit your needs.? If not then I can easily build something to suit your exact needs.
I've built machines for several Luthiers and one of my first designs was done purposely fully for making guitars and Violins so I'm 100% sure I can build what you need if you have the right budget.

I'll PM my numbers.

[routercnc]

If washout joins this thread he may also have some experience to share as he has built his own guitar from a diy CNC machine.

[Zorbit]

Removed.

[Kitwn]

Zorbit,
Do you have a link that let's us see some the instruments you've already made?

[johnsattuk]

One I made earlier

[Zorbit]

Removed.

[JAZZCNC]

Not to be a spoil sport but it's not fair to turn this lads post into a Show n Tell, nice as they are he didn't ask to see your stuff.! . . . He asked about machines used for cutting guitars and none of you have shown him any you use or suggested any which would be more useful and in context to his post.:indecisiveness:

[BeeceUK]

Hi Ben,

Might I ask how many guitars you plan on building ? If you see yourself turning your hobby into a business in future then a proper machine from the likes of Jazz makes sense, but quality costs money. On the positive side, you'll always be able to sell a quality machine.

Hi,

As to how many I intend to make , I cant really say as such. Ive only made a couple so far but this has mostly been down to lack of space workshop wise. This has all changed dramatically the last couple of months and I now have a space that I am in the process of turning into a workshop. As to turning this from a hobby to a business,I have no great expectations that it would / could happen. Id be just as happy keeping it as a hobby as from past experience once you turn a hobby into a business it can soon lose its fun and initial appeal and you end up cursing something you once loved due to the stress of it becoming a business.

Even doing this as a hobby, Id want a "proper" machine as from past experience mucking about with not fit for purpose or sub-par equipment is a sure fire way of sucking all the pleasure and fun out of doing something in the first place.

cheers

Ben

[Kitwn]

Not to be a spoil sport but it's not fair to turn this lads post into a Show n Tell, nice as they are he didn't ask to see your stuff.! . . . He asked about machines used for cutting guitars and none of you have shown him any you use or suggested any which would be more useful and in context to his post.:indecisiveness:

My fault, I meant to aim that question at Ben, the OP. I have made a guitar with a CNC router but it's not really in the same class as I think we're discussing here.

Kit

[johnsattuk]

Not to be a spoil sport but it's not fair to turn this lads post into a Show n Tell, nice as they are he didn't ask to see your stuff.! . . . He asked about machines used for cutting guitars and none of you have shown him any you use or suggested any which would be more useful and in context to his post.:indecisiveness:

OK, he did say he was a hobbyist, I was just showing what another hobbyist could do on a CNC M/C.

I was not trying to sell him anything, nor was I touting for business

[Zorbit]

Removed.

[JAZZCNC]

OK, he did say he was a hobbyist, I was just showing what another hobbyist could do on a CNC M/C.

I was not trying to sell him anything, nor was I touting for business

I wasn't having a go at you John or anyone in particular, just pointing out the guy is trying to establish which router to purchase or find a builder to help him and sending the thread off on a Show-n-tell direction wasn't correct.

Also, Your cheap dig was uncalled for John, the lad asked for builders and I replied, no touting was done, and neither do I ever try to sell anything to anyone, I just offer my services and advice, if they decide to take me up on any offer made or advice given is totally their decision.

[johnsattuk]

Not to be a spoil sport but it's not fair to turn this lads post into a Show n Tell, nice as they are he didn't ask to see your stuff.! . . . He asked about machines used for cutting guitars and none of you have shown him any you use or suggested any which would be more useful and in context to his post.:indecisiveness:

Just to clear things in my head, are you a forum moderator :playful:

[JAZZCNC]

Just to clear things in my head, are you a forum moderator :playful:

As you well know I'm not but I don't see any rules that say I can't object or say my piece about Post's going off at a wrong tangent. (and exactly why I won't moderate). This happens far too often IMO and it's wrong when new users are trying to find out info as it's hard enough for them to grasp all that's involved in CNC.:encouragement:

[johnsattuk]

:playful:

[the great waldo]

Hello Ben
As a guitar maker repairer about to retire after 45 years I can hopefully give you a few tips.
1. Learn to make guitars the old way by hand and with routers chisels hammers etc first , It's no use getting a cnc machine to do everything if you don't know how the final guitar should be.
2. Figure out how big a guitar you are going to make. This is vital so that you can size your machine properly. Obviously if your making Les pauls or strats your going to need a smaller machine than if your making big Jazz guitars.
I'm using an early version of one of these
https://www.ebay.de/itm/CNC-Frasmaschine-Frase-Portalfrase-CNC-router-Verfahrwege-800x520x120mm-NEU/112262457481?hash=item1a235d2889:g:6f0AAOSwUKxYckY X

with acme threads it works just about and is reasonably accurate cutting but a bit slow and resonates a bit at some. (I would imagine the newer versions with ball screws would work better)

It's important that any machine you get has a high enough z axis as if your using cutters with a 50mm cutting edge to be able to do a finishing pass around a lespaul body which is about 50 mm at the edges. any cutter with that length of cut is going to have to be quite long so the retraction height is going to have to be reasonably high (my machine is about 125 mm which is a bit short) the problem is, is that some of the manufacturers give the z axis dimension without a spoil board and you'll lose some of your z height with the spoil board.

I would recommend a machine with a 2.2kw spindle motor if possible (I use a Kress FM1500 router which is accurate but noisy and only takes up to a 10mm cutter shank)

I am in the process of putting together one of these https://www.sorotec.de/shop/Portalfraese-Compact-Line-0805.html
They are a bit pricey but the parts that I got seem to be ok only time will tell when I get around to putting the thing together.

Jazz can probably put you right as to whats available in the uk.

A very important part of getting into cnc machining is that you are going to have to learn the software for the cad design which is quite a steep learning curve (or at least it is for an oldie like me) I bought some guitar plans form various internet dealers in 3d guitar cnc plans which can be adapted to your own requirements to save time.
Don't expect your cnc machine to do everything there's still a lot of handwork involved in making guitars. It is quite satisfying to see a pearl logo being cut out without rough edges and filing to clean, although I could cut it with piercing saw much quicker by hand but wouldn't want to do 5 at a time.

Buying a cnc machine is quite an investment so don't rush it and try and make a list of your requirements. When I bought my machine I had a mad urge to buy one had some spare cash to write off against tax. I bought the thing and had it sitting for about 10 years in the corner of my small workshop because the noises it made when I started it up frightened the life out of me the motor would ride of merrily into the end stops which didn't, the software supplied with the machine was in French/German /English all at the same time. I gave up with it. Only when I bought a UC100 adapter did the machine seem to do what I told it to and so I slowly got into using the machine. I think it's a lot easier these days with you tube and the internet with plenty of instuctional videos. One thing having a cnc machine is that it's not shake and bake but once you have it up and running it can do a lot of difficult tasks without having to make up jigs and can also get you out of trouble doing guitar repairs to. I hope some of this helps. If you have got any other questions feel free to ask.

Cheers
Andrew