Electric Guitar Builders using the 30x30 Opinions Wanted

[reidcustoms]

Hey All!

Thinking about jumping into the CNC world for building electric guitars.

I’ve built a bunch of electrics from scratch using templates… I’m still very much a hobbyist but I’ve already got a wait list growing for my builds and I’ve had about enough of running a router to do cavities and thinline chambering especially. Probably my least fav part of the whole process.

My day job is in IT, I’m very comfortable with computers/tech and have done some 3d printing but have no experience with CAD/CAM outside of some basic woodworking jigs in tinkercad.

I’m sure there are a few of you around here who are using the 30x30 just wanted to ask a few questions.

1 - is 30x30 the preferred size? Ideally I’d go for the longboard but my shop space is at a premium (2 car garage that we still like to get the wifes car in when it’s gonna storm). I don’t think the 12x30 is worth considering? Not enough to do a full bass neck… Seems like the 30x30 should do 95% of guitar operations save for neck through or something.

2 - Fav software? I’ve been looking at Easel.

3 - Figuring out the 3d side… Ultimately I’d be happy with a machine that I could easily and quickly load up a blank and at least have the cavities/neck pocket and outline done without slaving over a dusty router, which I think is all 2D? Is it a lot harder to figure out how to do comfort carves/carved tops/radiuses?

4 - Realistically, just how frustrating is it? I know there will be a learning curve, but is it fairly reasonable to get to a point where you can drop on a blank and load up a known design and have an expectation that everything will just work? 3D printing which I thought would be quite frustrating has proven to be very enjoyable/accurate, is it a similar experience? As you all know, we work with some fairly expensive figured woods, I really don’t want to be chewing through a roasted flame maple neck blank by accident very often!

5 - My current output is ~1-2 bodies/necks a month. Which I know does not equate to a bunch of time on the router but it’s still probably ~2 hours per guitar if you account for setup time etc… Add in the occasional bearing failing, a slip into the template which you then have to patch, etc… it becomes a bit of a pain in the ass. I’m not asking for the CNC to necessarily decrease my actual time spent on the cavity portion (but i would hope it does), but just make it a lot less manual… fair assumption? Ideally I would like to increase my output as well.

Any other tips, insights, anything about building with CNC would be very much welcomed!

Cheers,
Rob

[Spamming_Eddie]

Hey Reidcustoms,

I could talk all day on how great things work on my setup and praise it into the realm of greek methology before I tell what I came to tell.

My setup and all experiance don’t match up against the journey William can bring to the table. Willam, a young enthausiast guitar builder, much like you, came in around the coldest winter night 2024. His beard was filled with ice, his face red, bitten by the deep freez throwing hail horizontal through the almost invisible streets. Even though the barren circomstances, Williams eyes held fire. “Hello,?”, his strong voice almost shook the forum, “can I ask a question?”. We nudded, “close the door!”, someone yelled from the back of the showoff topic. William ignored the Grump, sat down on a flimsy wooden whatchamacallit someone made as a gift.. it croaked but held out. Then the question came.

Hello from Goderich, Ontario

I run a small boutique guitar shop on in the coastal city of Goderich. A good year ago I bought a used Longmill MK2 30x30 from a gentleman whose health was failing him. The CNC sat in my partners garage with minimal use because life can get busy. The good news is that it will be coming to me now and that’s exciting. I have CarveCo Maker but am cutting my teeth on Fusion 360 which I really like a lot. I’m working from my MacBook Air for design but have my Dell laptop ready with gSender. I loo…

After he was done, we closed the door and drank a beer.
It was a night we remember well.

Since that cold night, William has told a many stories on his journeys. I think you will find them helpfull in many ways.

@William1

@William1 might even take some time to greet a fellow guitar man, though he is very bussy when it’s not so cold.

[William1]

Hi Reid,

I was where you are now this past Jan.
I found an amazing 3D software called Plasicity that is so fact to learn and gives me exactly what I need. Below you will se a couple of my CNC results.
The cost is $149USD and it’s not based on a monthly subscription. You own it! Sweet.
I use CarvecoMaker Plus only because I can project my fretslots onto the radius.

Im in the process of designing a Bigsby style Tremelo so I can cast it in aluminum.

Hope this helps

William

[William1]

Done! Thanks for referring me Eddie of Spam!

[Spamming_Eddie]

I still think you are Santa!

Somehow.

[William1]

Ho Ho Ho.

I’d need to gain a bunch of weight. LOL