# musical instrument construction tools



## CAE (Jun 30, 2021)

I am wondering what dimensions of any musical instruments are and what tools are used to make them


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## Axis39 (Jul 3, 2019)

You may have to narrow that down some to get a good answer…

If you're talking pianos, you'll need a different set of tools than a guitar, and way different for a fife or a tuba.


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

welcome to the forum, Chad.
your profile says you are interested in "building" musical instruments.
as indicated - you really need to expand a lot on your questions.
do you have any background or experience in building instruments ?
woodwind, string, percussion, keyboard, etc ?
do you have a workshop of some kind ?
what part of the world are you in ?


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## Phil32 (Aug 31, 2018)

I have a nephew who builds French Horns - and plays them in a major symphony - but that hardly seems related to woodworking.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

> I have a nephew who builds French Horns - and plays them in a major symphony - but that hardly seems related to woodworking.
> 
> - Phil32


That's the coolest thing I heard today!


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

Spend some time browsing StewMac they cater to instrument builders, I have an assortment of tools from them. https://www.stewmac.com/


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Grizzly has guitar kits. Building a musical instrument (any kind) requires a great amount of skill and musical ability all of which takes enormous amounts of time to acquire. You just don't decide one day to build an instrument and do it without the skill, patience and knowledge needed, unless it's something as simple as a "cigar box guitar". Not trying to discourage you, but your question sounds to me like you have no idea what is required in building an instrument.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

thats a can of worms. if you go to stewmac.com and look at tools there you can see its like a Rockler just for musical instrument tools. they also sell kits for many instruments there and on those pages they list the tools required/recommended. i helped my daughter build one of their Ukelele kits and it was a great kit for her to learn on.


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## 987Ron (Apr 9, 2020)

Father, now past away, was an accomplished violin and viola luthier. Made over 120 violins. 
His tools were a combination of ones purchased from specialty shops, both US and Germany, ones he made for a specific purpose and the obvious regular woodworking tools, like a band saw, drill press etc.
As you progress you will find the tool needed will set the list of what to get. Then search for it. 
I am not a luthier. Just a woodworker.


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## CAE (Jun 30, 2021)

right now i am trying to make a mountain dulcimer


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## drsurfrat (Aug 17, 2020)

good projects to look at:
DMiller
MJon
MJon
Patrick Jaromin


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## CAE (Jun 30, 2021)

I have a multigeneration background of playing accordion,guitar,dulcimer,banjo,etc.I am from PA.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Catalogs with a lot of special tools notwithstanding, you don't need a whole lot for building acoustic guitars and mountain dulcimers. You'll need a saw with the right kerf with for making fret slots, a chisel for the bottom of the nut slot. You'll need a drum sander or hand plane for thicknessing instrument woods. You'll need an accurate rule for marking out the fret locations as accurately as possible.

Plans are available form a variety or sources but for a mountain dulcimer I think a book on their construction would provide all the information you would need.


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## bobnann (Apr 19, 2019)

Check out the Woodcraft magazine issue Dec/Jan 2018. Excellent article on how to make a mountain dulcimer. Not sure i can show any of the actual article because of copyright. I made mine from walnut I had in the shop but purchased the spruce top, tuners, fret wire, etc. Might have been Stew Mac. I can't recall.



























You will need some basic woodworking tools and skills, but its a cool project that makes a very playable pretty sounding instrument.


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## bobnann (Apr 19, 2019)

And I believe Folkcraft Instruments makes kits that are complete and ready for assembly, finishing, etc. Might be easier to try first build that way.


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## DMiller (Feb 7, 2017)

> I have a multigeneration background of playing accordion,guitar,dulcimer,banjo,etc.I am from PA.
> 
> - CAE


Hi Chad,
Your interest in music as well as building musical instruments sounds quite similar to mine! Having built an acoustic guitar first and then a dulcimer, I can certainly say you are better off starting with a dulcimer. In reality, while the two instruments are quite different, their construction is quite similar.

I'm not sure where you are at in the building process, but I will warn you that building instruments is in no way cheap or easy, but it is worth it. There is something extremely satisfying about playing an instrument you built and the fact that you have the freedom to build it however you choose.

That being said, aside from typical woodworking tools, you will need a bending iron (and other various specialty tools) with which to bend the sides. I made my own bending iron here. I have since upgraded the lightbulb to a ceramic heating element like the one pictured below. I highly recommend building your own as it costs about 1/5 of what you can buy a Stewmac one for.









I do recommend purchasing a pre-slotted fretboard for your dulcimer. You will still have the opportunity to add the frets and do all the fretwork, but not have to worry about cutting the slot dimensions wrong. Usually, if you are only building a few instruments, it will be cheaper to purchase a pre-slotted fretboard than purchase the saw to do it yourself. In my research, Folkcraft is the only place I know ofthat sells pre-slotted dulcimer fretboards.

You're welcome to check out my blog for the process of building an acoustic guitar. For building a dulcimer, you follow the exact same steps up for the body, except there is no neck on a dulcimer. If I was building a dulcimer again, I would glue the fretboard onto the dulcimer top prior to attaching the top.

Several people have suggested purchasing supplies through stewmac.com. While I do recommend them, I personally prefer Luthier's Mercantile International. I have found their service excellent and their prices more affordable than Stewmac.

Dulcimer project here
Guitar project here

I will mention I have never built an instrument from a kit, so I cannot attest to the quality of them. I have heard good things about Stewmac's kits though and I'd assume the same from Folkcraft's as well.

If you have any questions, feel free to message me and I'll do my best to answer them!
-Dale


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## bobnann (Apr 19, 2019)

As Dave mentioned above cutting the slots in the fretboard can be very challenging. The slots must be cut absolutely straight across the neck and in the exact location relative to scale length. As you go up the neck the spacing between frets grows smaller.
I cheated. I used the scale length from 5 string banjo which was an 1/4" different than the plans and placed the nut and bridge accordingly. Then I used my dividers to transfer each fret spacing to the dulcimer neck.


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## DMiller (Feb 7, 2017)

> As Dave mentioned above cutting the slots in the fretboard can be very challenging. The slots must be cut absolutely straight across the neck and in the exact location relative to scale length. As you go up the neck the spacing between frets grows smaller.
> I cheated. I used the scale length from 5 string banjo which was an 1/4" different than the plans and placed the nut and bridge accordingly. Then I used my dividers to transfer each fret spacing to the dulcimer neck.
> 
> - Bob Gnann


That's certainly one way to do it! One thing though, I'm assuming the dulcimer you made had a chromatic fretboard and not a diatonic one like most dulcimers have?

When I built mine (2020), Folkcraft was the only store that sold pre-slotted diatonic fretboards. It is easy to purchase custom spec'd ones through LMI or Stewmac though if the op wanted to go with a chromatic one though. Here's an excellent article on the differences between diatonic and chromatic.

While diatonic fretboards look somewhat more difficult to learn to play than the typical chromatic guitar fretboard, I found it quite easy to pick up. The dulcimer is a really excellent instrument to learn to play due to its relative ease!
-Dale


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## bobnann (Apr 19, 2019)

Actually I made mine with a diatonic fretboard per the original plans. My dulcimer first fret was measured out to the second fret on my banjo. The second fret on the dulcimer was equal to the fourth spacing on the banjo, etc. Using dividers to mark the spacing much easier and more precise than tape or rule.
Nice article on the scale differences. Thanks Dave.


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## trsnider (Nov 23, 2012)

I've assumed that you should also be able to play the instrument you make in order to tell if you made it acceptably & it is playable. Maybe that's not necessary.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

You don't need any musical knowledge or talent to build a mountain dulcimer. Just get a set of plans and start reading everything you can on dulcimers and building them while you build your mountain dulcimer. You will know quite a bit about them when you are finished.as for tuning there are a ton of apps available that make tuning very easy. Tools you will find most common woodworking tools are all that is necessary. Special tools you may need you will find on Stewmac for one as you need them. i have built several dulcimers, Ukuleles and a 3 octave Marimba and have absolutely no musical ability. you can see some of them on my projects page.
There are several webpages that have a calculator for fret spacing for both diatonic and chromatic fretboards. The traditional mt. dulcimer is a diatonic instrument and there are a lot of people that believe building a chromatic dulcimer deserver a death sentence. I built one with chromatic fretboard just for that reason

.


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## GaryCN (Aug 18, 2007)

> Spend some time browsing StewMac they cater to instrument builders, I have an assortment of tools from them. https://www.stewmac.com/
> 
> - darthford


Agree they have very good stuff, I did 2 StewMac Ukulele kits, they are reasonable and a good learning experience.


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## CAE (Jun 30, 2021)

can anyone tell me what an acoustic guitar's dimensions are? also wondering what fret spacing is and how far away from frets the strings should be and how far apart from each other and away from the edges they should be


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## DMiller (Feb 7, 2017)

> can anyone tell me what an acoustic guitar s dimensions are? also wondering what fret spacing is and how far away from frets the strings should be and how far apart from each other and away from the edges they should be
> 
> - CAE


Hi Chad, 
I'll do my best to answer you're questions, although I'm not certain I'll be able to answer them all!

*Body Dimensions*
An acoustic guitar's dimensions vary tremendously depending on which body style you want and what your needs for the instrument are. More than likely, you're asking about a dreadnought body, which is the most popular body style available today. Martin Guitar Co. was the primary company originally behind this design; below I've added a reference (copied from The Acoustic Guitarist) showing the body dimensions of a Martin D-18 dreadnought.

Total length 40.5″
Body Length 19 7/8″
Upper bout width 11 3/8″
Lower bout width 15 5/8″
Depth 3 3/4″ - 4 3/4″
Fingerboard width at the nut 1 3/4"

You will find, however, that aside from the typical dimensions listed above that many professional luthiers each have their own modification of a body style. Guitar builders, unlike violin builders, have uniquely been allowed by the market to experiment with their own type of body style; due to this, it is extremely difficult to say "here's a guitar's dimensions."

*Fret Spacing/ Scale Lengths*
If I understand what you are asking correctly, you are referring to the scale length of the guitar. This also varies from one guitar to another; however, the typical scale length for a dreadnought body is 25.5 inches. It also depends on whether one is making a guitar in which the neck attaches to the body at the 14th fret (most common) or the 12th fret. Attaching to the neck at the 14th fret is standard for steel-string guitars while attaching at the 12th fret is standard for nylon/ classical guitars.

*String spacing above frets*
I'm not extremely knowledgeable about setting up a guitar's action, but my preference for this is to have the string height as close to the frets as possible without causing fret buzz. This will vary from one guitar to another, and how straight the neck and fretboard are will play a tremendous role in correct string height.

*"How far from the (fretboard) edges would the strings be?*
A properly set up guitar will not have the same spacing between each string. This is because some strings vibrate back and forth taking up more room. Consequently, the bass strings will need more room than the treble will.

I would encourage you to find a guitar-making book that covers guitar construction and setup. It will be of tremendous value to you in your pursuit in making instruments. Personally, I recommend Ervin Somogyi's Book _Making the Responsive Guitar. While not cheap, it is by far the most comprehensive and complete guitar making "textbook" I have read.

If you have any other questions, I'll be glad to do my best to answer them!
-Dale


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## CAE (Jun 30, 2021)

thanks gave me an idea where to start


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## DMiller (Feb 7, 2017)

Hi Chad,
Just out of curiosity, are you wanting to build an acoustic guitar or a dulcimer? Having built both, I can honestly say that their construction is very similar, however, a dulcimer is about 5x easier to build than a guitar.


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## CAE (Jun 30, 2021)

well I couldn't find strings for a dulcimer but I live in an area where guitars,bass guitars, and violins are extremely popular so I decided to try a guitar instead. I just got the strings and tuners today


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## DMiller (Feb 7, 2017)

> well I couldn t find strings for a dulcimer but I live in an area where guitars,bass guitars, and violins are extremely popular so I decided to try a guitar instead. I just got the strings and tuners today
> 
> - CAE


Hi Chad, 
The biggest piece of advice I can give you regarding building a guitar is to take it one step at a time. In essence, only buy what you need when you need it. I did the exact same thing on my first guitar that it appears you are doing: purchasing everything at once.

While there's no problem in having tuners and strings on hand, they really aren't necessary until you get to that stage in the instrument. If I were you, I'd recommend purchasing/ making a bending iron and guitar sides and work from there.

I say this primarily because on my first guitar I bought all the parts necessary for the last stages of the guitar first. As a result, when I actually got to that part of the process two years later, what I had originally bought I didn't like the quality of. Consequently, I ended up re-purchasing much of it in order to get what I really wanted.

-Dale


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## TxSurveyor (Jun 8, 2021)

Check out StewMac.
https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/


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