Building a es335 style guitar, and looking for some advice

[CHCGuitars]

So after breaking up from school early after exams i find myself with a long summer and not a whole lot to do and so i have decided to build a guitar. I have absolutely no experience with building guitars however i have done quite a bit of woodworking which will hopefully help.

I decided to jump right in at the deep end and build a 335 style hollow body guitar for a few reasons, firstly its a bit different i don't know anyone with a 335, secondly i love the idea of having a hollow body, i don't know why it just appeals to me, and thirdly Dave Grohl plays one and i think he is awesome!

As this is my first build i have watched numerous videos and read lots of forums and have a rough outline of what i want to do. Later this week i plan on ordering the wood for the body and neck which will be ash and maple respectively. The only place i could find that i could get this wood locally means that the ash will come in a long slab which i will then cut in half and glue together so it is the correct size for the body. Then what i planed to do, and i don't know if this will work, is cut a slice off the front of the blank say 15mm thick so i can hollow out the body. then i plan on cutting to shape and gluing together. So my first question is will this work? Then i plan on cutting the maple into a neck and sticking it together! if only it was so simple. the neck is the part that worries me the most as it will require precision and care, im worried about cutting the truss rod and especially about the fret board- cutting the slots and radiusing- so any guides are very much appreciated, alternatively does anyone know were pre done fret boards can be acquired in the uk for a relatively cheap price?

As for hardware i will cross that bridge when i come to it.
So far i have made a simple template from ply the shape of which i sketched out however i have found blueprints here which i will now be working for: Free PDF Guitar Blueprints
i doubt i will redo the template though as if its incorrect it makes it original right ?

Also im not sure if i mentioned but i will be working on a minimal budget with tools i already have which means i have a jigsaw, chisels, various hand saws, a sander, a hand drill and not a whole lot else i do plan on picking up a spoke shave for the neck profile but that is about it. This means i will have to cut the truss rod channel by hand with a chisel unless anyone can think of a better way?

Sorry for the wall of text but i am slightly worried about many aspects of this build but even if it doesn't go great im sure it will still be fun and i will definitely appreciate any advice, help, tips and tricks you can offer.
Thanks

tL:dr i am crazy and probably overambitious and am planning on building a guitar and need as much help as i can get!

 

[emoney]

Finding a buddy that has a router table would solve the truss rod channel issue. Outside of that, there's plenty "hand tool" threads around these parts for tips & hints.
Good luck!

 

[njk]

Hey I admire your ambition, but man your taking on a very big project for your first build.
Sure its doable, but the problems you may run into may be beyond your ability to understand them let alone put them right.
That site you linked has the lp special dc, just lose the neck pup and you'll have yourself a super guitar very rare in these parts, and the simplest neck pocket and overall build. All acheived with simple tools, just check Barnaby on this site, got lots of great guitars tips and videos, all done on his bench in a tiny flat in Tokyo, mad dogs and English men come to mind
You have a much better chance of going back to uni with a great playing hand built axe under youre arm, and an ash body and maple heck make a great combo for a solid body.

This is all just my opinion of course, but a 335's a steep learning curve.

Good luck I'll help whenever I can, which probably wont be often

Niall

 

[mux164]

hey mate i had a crack at a dg 335 it you want to check my build out it might give a bit of clarity, then again it might not haha. i just bought a neck though because making a neck scared me

 

[ARandall]

I'd be keeping it simple for your first build. I started off with kits, and even that can be hard if the kit is poorly built like my first two were.

Necks are very complicated to make, and the 335 guitar will be harder again, because if you want correct construction you'll have to laminate or even carve the top and back.

Even something simple like strat or tele needs a lot of precise skills

For ease of making, you'll need to cut the rough wood shapes with either a bandsaw or jigsaw. A router is needed for finetuning the shape with various different bits. You need drill bits too, and thats even before you get to finishing. Its also good to start with a template:

Guitar Building Templates - Guitar Building Templates