Since building my first guitar, it quickly became apparent that I needed a few tools that could be dedicated to these projects. Accurate measurements are very important and I have learned that a tape measure just does not cut it, or mark it for that matter.
I had the Westcott ruler already (and used it extensively for the first build). I purchased a Swanson 6″ square, Swanson 36″ ruler and a 6″ ruler from Harbor Freight that measures to 64ths.
What do you do after you measure (twice of course)? Cut, and hopefully only once. My selection of handsaws was poor at best. The next purchases were a small selection of handsaws. I do have a power miter saw and table saw already but I tend to only use them for the initial rough cuts. Also I do most of my work late at night and I think that my neighbors and my sleeping family might have an issue if I were to fire up the table saw at 11:30pm. So handsaws it is!
And to hold the pieces of wood that have been measured and need to be cut? A 6″ woodworker’s vise. I enhanced the vise by attaching a couple of pine boards to it. That way I don’t mar the wood that gets clamped.
And finally I picked up a hand plane and a granite floor tile (poor man’s flat surface). I glued the floor tile to a piece of plywood to protect it from breaking. It appears to be very flat according to the measuring tools I have now. I will be able to double check it as soon as my precision ground straightedge arrives (24″ Veritas from Lee Valley). I used it to true the sole of the hand plane by taping various grits of sandpaper to it. After honing the blade, I was able to make thinner that paper shavings. Not too bad for a cheap Harbor Freight plane (No 33).
Horton Guitarworks 