leafcutterjohn.com

Incredible work, very interesting – beautiful guitar.

Well done, John. I had no idea people even attempted to do this themselves until now. The results look stunning. I especially like the deer detail in the head stock.

Just one comment about the documentation. It would be fascinating to see some breakdown of the costs. Cost of the kit + raw materials + specialist tools? What tools have you invested in especially and were there any you could borrow or hire? Etc.

Thanks for sharing. I look forward to hearing it in the flesh one day.

Hi Gusset – Great idea I’ve put the costings up here:

http://leafcutterjohn.com/?page_id=315

Wow…what a process. Building it AND documenting it all.

Best thing is that it sounds as good as it looks, which I’m sure gives you the greatest satisfaction in the end.

Excellent work. Fine looking instrument, I especially like the finish using True Oil.

Looks great! You did a great job on the little details…which are the parts that still kick my @ss! Keep at it!

I need to make a bridge for a cheap little Hondo I bought for my daughter. I’m a little lost on where to start. Size? How the strings will rest on the neck? How much of a slant do I use? Any sites or info on how to make one of these? Thanks!

You might try searching http://www.luthiersforum.com/ I got a lot of help there.

Thanks John!

Beautiful job! I think that you may have motivated me enough to build the same kit. Like you, I want a nice instrument that I am not willing to pay as much as I need to.

Big thanks for posting this article John. I’ve been toying with the idea of building my own guitar, and am now greatly encouraged and excited! All those details on suppliers/costs are dead useful as a reference too.

appreciate seeing the results-i’m currently building a zebra wood kit that i purchased and have all the parts to do a martin cutaway-plan on tru-oil for both. thanks—george

Very nice work, the guitar looks great!

Superb documentation, and the end result is stunning. Thanks for nine months of hard work in order for us to enjoy the process!

John, That is amazing. What strings did you choose? Thanks: Russell

Thanks Russell,

I use Martin custom light strings on this guitar.

Best,

J

Nice John.

The results are wonderful… it looks and sounds great!

hello john.
i am very interested in buying a stew mac guitar building kit.
i was wondering do you think that the dreadnaught model is as good as the o-ring model .
and what do you prefer
did you buy the dove tail neck or the bolt on
thanks, lockie.

Well I have never built the dread model so I can’t compare them – I don’t see any reason why it would not make as good a guitar as the triple 0.
I have various small and large body guitars here which all sound different, and have different uses. I recommend you go down to a guitar shop and try a few guitars with different body sizes to see what you like best.

I went for the dove tail neck which is slightly more difficult to fit than the bolt on, but if done with patience should be a more solid connection.

best of luck,

John.