Things You'll Need:
- Tape measure
- Digital calipers
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Step 1
Visit a local guitar shop and try out different guitars until you find one that feels comfortable. Make sure all of the frets can be reached easily. Also examine the frets to make sure you like how wide and tall they are. You can select one guitar for its comfortable layout and another for its fret size.
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Step 2
Use the tape measure to record the dimension between the two strap buttons. Call this the strap button width. At the same time, draw an imaginary line from your chin to your belly button and make a note of where it crosses the tape measure. Call that the vertical centerline. Be sure you are writing these numbers down!
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Step 3
Hope this helpsMeasure from your imaginary line to the front of the guitar's bridge. Call this the bridge position measurement.
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Step 4
Use the digital calipers to measure the width and thickness of the neck at the first, sixth and twelfth fret. Next measure the distance from the front of the nut to where the strings touch the bridge. This is the guitar's scale length. Then measure the width and height of the frets you liked the best. Use these measurements when carving your guitar neck and purchase fret wire.
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Step 5
On a large sheet of paper, draw a vertical line. This will represent your imaginary line and the guitar's centerline. Now, mark the position of the strap buttons using the first measurement in step 2 and placing it relative to the vertical centerline according to the second measurement in step 2. The add the bridge position using the measurement in step 3. Presto, you'll have the basic layout for your guitar. Now you can draw the body' s shape according to what you like. Add the neck outline by referring to the width measurements in step 4.
