Key Facts
- Starting
19 Sep 2023- Location
- Merton
- Start Time
- 09:30
- End Time
- 16:00
- Duration
- 30 Weeks
- Study Mode
- Part Time Day
- Days
- Tuesday
- Start Date
- 19 Sep 2023
- Level
- Short Course
- Code
- MABX012CP
Fees
- 19+ Fee
- £ 0 - 1,155
- Starting
20 Sep 2023- Location
- Merton
- Start Time
- 09:30
- End Time
- 16:00
- Duration
- 30 Weeks
- Study Mode
- Part Time Day
- Days
- Wednesday
- Start Date
- 20 Sep 2023
- Level
- Short Course
- Code
- MABX013CP
Fees
- 19+ Fee
- £ 0 - 1,155
Guitar Making And Design - Beginner
This course will start again in Sept 2024. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions for future courses or this course.
This course is aimed at anyone who wishes to learn how to make acoustic or electric guitars, or other musical instruments using hand tools.
It is not necessary to have previous musical instrument making or wood working experience. This course welcomes both the more experienced wood worker and the complete beginner. Ultimately what is essential is the desire to learn the skills to be able to build your own guitar by hand.
This 30 week course runs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and can be enrolled as 1 or 2 days a week (2 days preferable).
This course is usually studied as an introductory course, with a view to completing your guitar in subsequent sessions in our intermediate and advanced level courses.
-
Course Content
The course aims to teach a wide variety of skills including hand tool sharpening and maintenance, use of power tools and safe operation, wood identification and selection, working with inlays, wood cutting, shaping and carving. Understanding the anatomy of a guitar and how to read and create technical drawings. -
Progression Next Steps
Progress onto our Guitar Intermediate course with us, or if you're interested in setting up your own business have a look at our self-employment and business courses. -
Additional Information
All courses run subject to demand and the content listed here should be used as a guide only. Course content may vary according to a range of factors such as course duration, campus, teaching staff and requirements from awarding bodies. Check our course and fee guidelines for further details.Due to the many different options of woods that can be used and the different types of guitars that can be constructed on the course, students will need to buy most of their instruments main materials.
This allows students a greater selection of choice of materials for their projects.
Your tutor will help guide you through different options of materials, what to purchase and where to source tonewoods.
Steel String Acoustic / Classical:
- Soundboard
- Back and side set
- Fingerboard
- Neck blank
Electric guitars:
- Body blank
- Neck blank
- Top cap (optional
- Fingerboard
- Electronics
The Materials fee
The Instrument Making courses are quite expensive to run compared with most courses. The fee is a contribution towards these costs. The money is used for a whole range of items- some of which are listed below. The materials fee for students covers the cost of :
- Mould materials (acoustic) or template material (electric )
- Abrasives, adhesives, blades for bandsaws, scroll saws, coping saws, jewellers saws, scalpels, brushes, cleaning chemicals, drill bits, sharpening equipment
- Routers, bits and accessories, screws & other fixings (nails, nuts and bolts) solder & flux, specialist tools
- Varnishes, stains and solvents.
- Various common Instrument parts: Fret wire, rosettes, purfling and binding, neck and tail blocks, bracing material, nut and saddle blanks,
- Lubricants and cutting fluids, machine maintenance,
- Reference books kept in workshop,
- Replacement of broken or missing tools
