I've never built a guitar before, but I do have a shop full of woodworking tools and experience building things. So I decided to build a tribute guitar to one of my musical icons, James Hetfield of @metallica
Modeled after his Ken Lawrence Explorers, I built this out of mahogany with a rosewood fretboard. Check out my first attempt at building a guitar, and let me know what I can do better for my next guitar build!
Thanks for the inspiration to the following people:
Rob Schweitzer ( / freewheelwoodworking )
Crimson Guitars
- www.crimsonguitars.com/
- / @crimsoncustomguitars
Tchiks Guitars: / @tchiksguitars
Here's some of the tools I used in this build from our Amazon Storefront (commissions earned on sales):
bit.ly/GDGuitarTools
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00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Making the scarf joint
02:12 - Routing the truss rod channel
05:25 - Tool hero #1 - The bandsaw
06:43 - Template routing
08:26 - Making the fretboard
10:05 - Shaping the neck/Tool hero #2 - Oscillating spindle sander
12:55 - Installing the side dots
15:05 - Installing the frets
16:29 - Tool hero #3 - the drill press/Making the body cavities
18:34 - Gluing up the neck
19:35 - The electronics cavity
20:29 - Hetfield's guitars/the finishing details
22:41 - The electronics cavity cover and controls
24:06 - Finish and hardware installation
26:31 - How does it sound?
Guitarists and wood worker have something in common. For guitarist that quesiton of "how may guitars do you need", the answer is always 1 more. For woodworker that quesiton of how many clamps do you need that too is always, 1 more.
Being both, I can confirm how correct your statement is 😂
I love this comment.
Same@@garagedwellersww
thats always my answer i have 30 guitars now😅
@@acdclexu6296 Same, and it is getting hard to store them.
I'm sure James Hetfield would love this video. Totally his kind of thing.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't James Hetfield have a couple of custom explorer shaped guitars that were made of wood from a garage they used to practice in?
@@billdavis6900That is correct. However, it’s only the top laminate that is made from the garage wood. The base of the guitar is still mahogany.
@@rcc_96 I got ya. I remember seeing some video of Metallica going to that house and the current owners having a party for them. The house in question was the first place they lived when they moved up there from LA. The garage was their practice space. When the current owners tore down the old garage, they salvaged some of the wood for it.
Yeayyyeaaahhhhhhh!!!!
I'm not a luthier or woodworker of any kind, but i've watched a ton of guitar making videos. A guitar this complex being your first is impressive, and you did a great job on this.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!
I'm going to echo RubyRoks' post here. ABSOLUTELY, you should do more guitar builds in the NEAR future! Awesome, awesome job you've done with this one! God Bless!
Congratz for your build! Hope to see more guitars here!
This is definitely the coolest guitar making video I've seen, and I've watched A LOT of them. Please do more in the future.
Thanks! Will do!
As a fellow garage woodworker, whose first foray into guitar building was diving headfirst, making my own body from mahogany/maple/walnut (telecaster shape), I know better than most how hard it is, and just how many times, you thought, "i hope this is the right thing to do!!" Brother, you did the right thing a lot more times than I did...... bravo.
Thank so much - love to see other garage woodworkers out there!
Also I’m so happy that you tackled this project. Kudos on a fine first build!
Simply amazing! Awesome job!
Real nice build my man! You inspire me to build a guitar myself! BTW, my favorite Metallica song is "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
You should absolutely try - it was a ton of fun.
Holy MOLY, that's a beautiful guitar! Hugely impressed that this is your actual first guitar build. I hope you make many more in the future.
You did it, buddy! Came out wonderful. Great job!
Great job! Amazing build
That looks absolutely beautiful my man, terrific work 👏
Beautiful build man, it turned out great! Harvester of Sorrow
That is a beautiful guitar. Great job for your first attempt. 👏
Very good job! Love the way it turned out!!
Great video and an amazing build!! You should be incredibly proud of the job you did, I can’t imagine the amount of work you put in to end up with that super dope explorer!!
Great job man! Came out looking perfect! 👏
badass build for your first!!! sounds great!
Labor of Love. That turned out absolutely beautiful!
Great job for your first build. That sounds awesome
That’s amazing dude. Nice work!
I’m a drummer and custom drum builder, so I can definitely appreciate the intricacy of instrument crafting, but wow bro, you are on a whole other level! Even by professional standards, that was an outstanding build, and with your attention to detail, patience and dedication, I’d say you’re well on your way to becoming a competent luthier.
Thanks, very much appreciate it especially from a pro!
Masterfully done, epic, absolutely beautiful….with such a successful first build I cannot wait to see what you will produce with build number 25…….🎸🤘🎶
Dude! Love the craftsmanship, the guitar turned out beautiful!!! Cheers!
Great work. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Phil
Outlaw torn.. one of my all time favorite songs in general! Beautiful build!
This is a great video and it turned out awesome for a first try. I made an explorer shaped ukulele a few years ago...that project spawned from the same inspiration as this build. Great work man!
Beautifully done👌🏼
That is a beautiful guitar sir! Video and the guitar are so well done. I hope James sees your work; I think it would make him happy
Pretty damn good for a first guitar build 👌 Must of taken a lot of patience with all the cuts and drilling!
A tip for next time: EMG active pick ups actually already are shielded so you dont need shielding paint, however its always good practice :)
What an absolutely fantastic job!!! That is no easy task! Well done my man, elite! 💪🎸
Incredible build, very inspiring!!!!!
INCREDIBLE BUILD! I thoroughly enjoyed this video. You have some mad skills! The guitar is beautiful and sounds great!
There is no way you have never built a guitar before! Outstanding job. You're a true artist for sure.
*you had never built
Love it mate, well done. Unforgiven II or Welcome Home would be 2 of my favourites. I actually have a Gibson Explorer so it was great to see how this was made!
This is great, i love watching stuff like this, great job :)
I enjoy watching from start to finish!
" Harvester of Sorrow " is my favorite song and the first album I purchased with my paper route. I bought the vinyl in 1988 and found it recently at my parents' house as we were cleaning stuff out. Great job, man!
Phenomenal…..I’m proud for you…🙏🏻❤️🎸💪🏻🇺🇸
Amazing work! Sounded great and looked better than most guitars i've seen on YT!
Machinist here (also a wood worker). When you drilled your tuner holes, I noticed the drill bit wobbling. That will most likely be shaking whatever you are drilling and I’ve experienced the same thing myself. You need a new chuck. Most woodworking tools come with very low quality chucks. Replacing them is pretty easy but I would get something like an Albrecht the run-out is almost none. That will improve your experience ten fold. A new “hero” 😊. I also had a an idea for you, provided you’re going to build another guitar. I would make a stand that is the height of your workbench and slightly thinner then the fretboard, so it will support the entire neck while shaping and sanding. I saw that flexing and bending, and I know it probably slowed you down a bit. In any case this was a great video and I enjoyed it Totally. I love Hatfield and have been a big Metallica fan since the 80s and I also play guitar as well. Now you need to build Kirks guitar 😎
I noticed that while editing too. I actually bought a new floor model drill press - some of my bigger furniture pieces needed more capacity and power. New one is wobble free!
Thats a lot of words to say runout 😂. I'm curious as to what tolerances are acceptable in guitar making. Not quite as demanding as aerospace but more than so than framing/roofing 😂.
Absolutely amazing
You did a badass job!!! I’d love to have to tools to be able to build an E-type guitar myself! The only upgrade I recommend for the next build is to have the strings pull straight through the nut to the machine heads. Headstock design and layout are huge on how well the guitar stays in tune!
This is super cool !Hetfield got me inspired to play guitar too. Blackened is my favorite track from them , although there are so many great ones Orion could be My favorite too , especially the interlude where Cliffs bass is upfront .
Great job! Be proud man, thats awesome!
Super cool man !! Must be a pretty neat feeling playing a guitar that you built yourself ! Great job 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Uff my word that looks and sounds great! For your first build that is phenomenal!
Thank you - it turned out better than I had hoped!
Excellent video and excellent guitar! Thank you so much for the job you have done!
Thank you so much for watching!
you killed it brotha, great job and amazing craftsmanship.
Woow great work man!!!😮👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
Congrats. Very inspiring ! Enjoy
Thank you for checking it out 🤘🏻
Congratulations on your new build. It looks amazing and seems to play just great. 😎
Thank you so much - I’m really happy with it 😃. Thank you for checking the video out!
Wow that is incredible!!
Very nice! Really enjoyed watching you make it:)
Hi there, Nice first build, it turned out well ! Some comments however : - The tune-o-matic bridge should have a slight angle (longer on the low E string), I think something like 1.5 or 2 degrees ; check your Les Paul for that - James doesn't have any tone pot on his guitars, he's using 2 volumes (especially on his Ken Lawrence's) - Also, James is usually using Sperzel locking tuners on his Explorers Now you've tasted the joy of making your own guitar, I'm pretty sure you'll make a second one !
For the bridge, do you mean the break angle of the neck? Because I did do that. Otherwise I'll compare. Thanks for the extra info! And yes, I'm already working on a bass, and then eventually a longer scale metal machine with a trem bar.
If I’m not mistaken, he’s referring to tilting the bridge slightly off left or right. So the distance between the low e saddle and the stop tail is slightly longer than the distance from the high e saddle to the stop tail piece.
Ahhh, looked at my Les Paul and Just noticed that. I've owned that guitar for 20 years and never really noticed before 😬. Thanks for the tip!
Amazing work mate. One of the best videos on guitar building I've seen, especially for a non Luthier. Fave Metallica song is, Leper Messiah
Thank you, much appreciated! Great song choice 👍🏻
great built man!!
one is my favorite song, very cool being able to see how the process works!!!
Muy buen trabajo! Hermosa guitarra, muchas gracias por compartir tu arte. My favorite Metallica song is Diposables Heroes.
Amazing! I think it came out great for your first try building a guitar!
Thanks - I think so too!
Beautiful job ! Incredible !
Absolutely gorgeous! Love the Explorer
For a first guitar, that is amazing! It was interesting to see some of the cross-overs between guitar-lutheiring and woodworking
Yes, lots of crossover for sure
Tip for your next guitar if ever, I've been building for the last decade & learnt a lot too. One thing about your break angle for the neck - it's always good to have the bridge you're using to really calculate what pitch angle the neck needs for proper string height at those higher frets. Not all bridges are the same in height, & for Gibson style bridges, you want the bridge to be a few millimeters raised above its lowest point. For anything Tremolo style (floyd rose, traditional strat) those usually don't need much of an angle (if any at all) because they sit rather flat over the body itself.
Wow! Great work.
Incredible work
It looks and sounds great!
Thank you - Really happy with it.
Beautiful😮 I love that it is not overdone, minimalistic in a good way on a guitar😮
Glad you like it!
Holy shit thats awesome! Awesome job dude!!
Great video! Love the work and skill necessary to build a guitar. Nothing else matters.
Outstanding job! Even for a first build! You are a very skilled handcraftman!
Thank you!
This video found me at the perfect time! I'm also a woodworker who recently decided to dive into building a guitar...I'm sure I'll mess up a lot on my first try but hopefully watching this video helps me avoid some things I was going to miss
Glad it found you - good luck with your build, its a ton of fun!
Sir, thank you so much for sharing
I've been wanting to do woodworking for a long time, and perhaps full time on my own for a living. My dream would be to build custom guitars for people since ive been playing guitars since i was 15. I also love Tchicks KZhead page, his guitars are amazing and his videos are extremely helpful. I definitely loved this video as well, most just show off but you actually show how to do it, even if it's a first time for you. I'd love my first custom built guitar to be a replica of Kirk Hammett's KH2 Mummy from ESP, but I'd do Boris Karloff's Frankenstein Monster instead, and name the guitar "The Monster". My favorite MetallicA song is The Unforgiven btw, Ive seen them live 3 times including driving across Pennsylvania to see them on my birthday last year. I also just subscribed to your channel. Thanks for posting!
That would be such a cool build - I would love to see it! I want to make one with a trem bar at some point too. I just saw them live on tour in August - still amazing! Thank you so much for watching and subscribing!
That’s a great guitar - the 12th frets gonna give me nightmares lol, first build though it’s awesome!
Haha, yeah that one went wonky. I laugh about it every time I play it.
Wonderful!!!!! Congrats! I would buy one definitively!
I've watched a few guitar builds here on KZhead and of all the ones I've watched you actually explain everything a lot better than anybody else has that I've seen
For radiusing the fretboard, I used a block plane mostly and only sanded the last tiny bit. That sped up things considerably.
I’m going to do that for my next fretboard.
Superb craftsmanship with the utmost highest respect. The action, sound and tone is unbelievable. Congratulations on one of the most well built guitars that you used a lot of care in building. All The Best !
Awesome dude for your first! I love it also seek and destroy!!
very cool, beautiful guitar upvoting for all that work!
You did very very well and all the other people (guitar builders) that you've mentioned are top notch... also Metallica .. i saw them a bunch of times .. my favourite song i think it is Sanitarium .. and To live is to die .. with Orion .. too .. take care man
Wow man that guitar you made is a masterpiece! I made a guitar too (it’s a SG replica, as a fan of Angus Young) and it was the best feeling on earth when I could hold it in my hands! You made an amazing job! P.S.: my favorite Metallica song is Sad But True
Great song choice! And I love the SG, fun one to play.
Man this was cool to watch! Beauty!
Beautiful guitar! Well done!
Wow, That was a ton of work, and attention to detail. I'm thrilled that you created/ fabricated your own functional electric guitar from the ground up.What an accomplishment!
Thank you! It was a really fun project!
Great effort for your first go and I can tell you from experience it is very addictive I think some people get hung up on the correct way to build guitars To me it’s rock and roll, no rules as long as you be as safe as you can If it works it works, you’ll pick up things the along the way
I’m working on a bass, and have plans for a couple more guitars. It is addicting for sure!
Amazing work !
That turned out amazing! Really good video, enjoyed every second of it :)
Absolutely incredible video and result! Quick tip for next time- when using your fret mallet (15:47) it is recommended to use the orange plastic side of the head instead of the metal counterweight. The metal could possibly dent or flatten your frets whereas the plastic is a bit softer on the material. Sounds like it didn’t matter though, turned out great!!!
Thanks for the tip - learning a lot in the comments!
For whom the bell tolls, great build 👍
Thanks 👍
beautiful guitar sounds amazing james would be impressed
Man, you must be so dang proud. Brilliant work, what a gift and skillset dude!
I’ve always been amazed with Brian Mays red special. I wouldn’t dream of making a guitar but to make one out of stuff that’s lying around and make everything work is another level.
These are my METALLICA's favorite songs of all time. 1.Enter sandman 2.Nothing else matters 3.Unforgiven I 4 Unforgiven II 5.Unforgiven III 6.Hero of the day 7.Mama Said 8.Fade to black 9.Lowman's lyric 10.Whisky in the jar 11.Turn the page 12.One 13.The day that never comes
Very basic list
@@cobaingrohlnovobooooo elitist boooooo
A pleasure to watch you work this. Excellent. Thank you.
Thank you for watching!
looks and sounds fantastic!
Tremendous video. Really enjoyed it and appreciate the effort you put in. Going for Creeping Death
Thank you!