Guitar Making Workshop

The Workshop

What better place to build your first guitar than in a professional guitar making workshop.

The venue for the Hancock Guitar Making Course is the same workshop where we build guitars the rest of the year. It is a purpose-build workspace for making guitars and is fully equipped with every necessary tool and jig from specialist luthiers tools and fine hand tools through to large woodworking machines.

There is a kitchenette in the workshop with a sink, refrigerator, microwave and kettle for your use. Lunch is never hard to find with plenty of takeaway restaurants, cafes and a supermarket within walking distance.

MAIN WORK ROOM
Main Work Room

The main work room is where you will do most of the building of your guitar. It’s a very clean and comfortable place to work and is climate controlled to keep the temperature perfect.

The separate dust room along with an air filtration unit keeps the air in the main work room clean and relatively dust-free.

Humidity is a very important consideration when building guitars. The workshop is kept in the perfect range of relative humidity thanks to the climate control, a humidifier and a dehumidifier.

DUST ROOM
Guitar Making Course - Dust Room

The health, safety and comfort of students is of the highest priority. We have a fully isolated ‘dust room’ to keep the majority of the dust away from the main workshop.

All of the most dusty jobs are done in this room including heavy sanding, routing and sawing. This room contains all of the large woodworking machines, which are fitted with dust-extractors.

SETUP ROOM
Guitar Setup Room

The setup of a guitar is an art in itself and requires a range of special tools and gauges. We have a dedicated room just for setting up and wiring guitars.

Luthier Course Tools

Tools Templates & Equipment

Our workshop is very well equipped with everything needed to build a guitar. You may decide to bring your own tools but there is no problem if you don’t, we have several sets of tools on hand for you to use. The only things that are mandatory to bring are a dust mask, ear and eye protection and a lot of enthusiasm.

Though it is not required you may decide to purchase your own set of lutherie tools to use at the course. We will provide a list of recommended tools before the course and can also supply the tools and have them ready for you to use when you arrive at the course.

The equipment available for your use during the course includes –

ELECTRICAL TOOLS & MACHINES
17“ Bandsaw
Large scroll saw
2 x 150mm x 800mm bench sanders
Pedestal drill press with 2-axis vice
Bobbin sander with 10mm-75mm bobbins
3 x 125mm Random orbit sanders
2 x Cordless Drills
2 x Dremel rotary tools
3 x Laminate trimmers
Medium plunge router
Large plunge router
Rotary wet sharpener
Large wet & dry vacuum
Dyson handheld vacuum
SPECIALIST GUITAR MAKING TOOLS
Precision router base for Dremel
Downcut inlay bits
Ball bearing router bits
Flush-trim router bits
Binding rebating bits
2 x Graduating callipers
Pearl cutting saw with ultra file blades
8 x Thumb & palm planes
Side bending iron with temprature control
3 x Fingerboard clamps
3 x Bridge clamps
Fingerboard radius sanding blocks
JIGS & TEMPLATES
Rosette & soundhole routing jig
Body shape templates
Side bending machine
Top & back jointing jig
2 x Go-deck boxes with go sticks
4 x Go-deck radius boards
8 x Side holding/body assembly jigs
Fingerboard gluing jig
Neck shaming templates
2 x Bridge gluing jigs
Saddle machining jig
SETUP & FRETTING TOOLS
3 x Fret levelling files
5 x Fret crowning files
2 x Fret slottng saws with guides
Fret arbour press with caul & inserts
Fingerboard guards
Fret end dressing file
Nut slotting gauge
20 x Nut slotting files
Bridge pin reamer
String slotting saw
String action gauge
Radius gauges
Slotted radius gauges
Under-string radius gauges
WOODWORKING TOOLS
3 x Digital callipers
150mm – 100mm metal rulers
8 x Woodworkers squares
Drill bits 1mm – 25mm
40 x Woodworking chisels
6 x Large wood planes
3 x Diamond sharpening stone
3 x Tenon saws
30 x Woodworking files & rasps
Cabinet scrapers & burnishes
3 x Sets of needle files
45 x Woodworking clamps
200 x Micro peg clamps
50 x Standard peg clamps
ADHESIVES & ABRASIVES
Sandpaper from 40 grit to 2000 grit
Various sanding discs & belts
9 x Different glues
Aerosol lacquers
Shellac
Cutting compound & polish
6 x Different tapes
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Approximately 50 different guitar making books
Soldering & electronics equipment
Electric pickup winding machine
Clarus acoustic amplifier with Raezer’s Edge Speaker
Marshall Half-Stack amplifier
Fender Twin Reverb amplifier
Hiwatt bass amplifier